T.J. Jackson, brothers inspired by famous uncle

 TJ Jackson was named temporary guardian of Michael Jackson's three children.
TJ Jackson was named temporary guardian of Michael Jackson's three children.
  • T.J. Jackson and his two brothers are the sons of Tito Jackson
  • He and his brothers were inspired to start a group after watching uncle Michael
  • Brother Taj says their mother "made sure that we had a real childhood"
  • Delores Martes died in 1994 in what later was found to have been a homicide

(CNN) -- Tito Joseph "TJ" Jackson, who on Wednesday was named temporary guardian of Michael Jackson's three children, was inspired by his famous uncle to form a singing group with his brothers.

TJ had been placed in charge of the children when the kids' grandmother, Katherine, left home on July 15 and will watch the children while the legal proceedings play out in a California court.

TJ Jackson, 34, is the son of Tito Jackson and the late Delores Martes Jackson. TJ and his older brothers, Taj and Taryll, form the R&B group 3T.

Jackson is married with three children, a boy and two girls.

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A 1995 article in People described the brothers' childhood as normal despite their famous father, uncle and aunts.

Taj Jackson told the magazine: "My mom made sure that we had a real childhood, with birthday parties, baseball, family outings, all that stuff."

They were close to their Uncle Michael. "He's like a third parent to us," Taj told People in 1995.

Eventually the brothers went along on one of his tours and decided to form a singing group and were recording their first album in 1994 at the time of their mother's death.

Initially it was believed Delores Martes Jackson, who had divorced from Tito Jackson in 1993, drowned in a swimming pool, but the case was reopened, and her sons in 1995 filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against a man they accused of killing her. Three years later, Donald Bohana was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, according to People magazine.

The last 3T album came out in 2005, according to Billboard.com, but the brothers performed together at a tribute concert for their late uncle in October 2011.

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