Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun (né Jackson; born December 11, 1954) is an American retired singer, songwriter, bass player, and member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of the Jackson 5, and played bass guitar. In 1983, he rejoined the group, which had been renamed the Jacksons; he then consistently played in the group's performances and recordings until he left the group again in 2020.

While Jermaine did not usually sing the lead vocal on the Jackson Five's biggest hits, he is featured on "I'll Be There" and "I Want You Back", among others. When four of the brothers left Motown Records for Epic Records in 1976 (having to rename the family act "the Jacksons" in the process), Jermaine, who had just married Motown founder Berry Gordy's daughter Hazel, stayed at Motown. He was replaced in the Jacksons by his youngest brother, Randy. Jermaine had a solo career concurrent with his brother Michael's, including some top-30 hits, until the 1980s. He produced and recorded duets with Whitney Houston on her debut album in 1985, and was a producer for the band Switch. After seven years outside the group he rejoined the Jacksons, and remained until 2020 through various breakups and reunions.

Jermaine was born December 11, 1954, at St Mary's Mercy Hospital in Gary, Indiana, He is the fourth child born to Joseph and Katherine Jackson. His siblings are Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, La Toya, Marlon, Brandon (Marlon's twin who died shortly after birth in 1957), Michael, Randy, and Janet. Jackson's father Joe had musical aspirations, playing guitar with his brother Luther in an R&B band, the Falcons, and his mother Katherine, a devout Jehovah's Witness, was a passionate pianist and singer. Their large family and limited means made them refocus, with Katherine becoming a housewife, and Joe a steel mill worker at nearby Inland Steel Company in East Chicago, Indiana, where they lived before moving to Gary in 1950.

While his father, Joe, worked long hours as a crane operator, Jermaine and his brothers, Tito and Jackie, secretly practiced their own songs using Joe's guitar, and they sang harmonies with their mother Katherine. Jermaine became the original lead singer, and also played the bass in the Jackson Brothers, an earlier incarnation of the Jackson 5 until 1966, when younger brother Michael began singing lead. Father Joe began rehearsing his sons under a strict regimen when he realized their potential, seeing his sons' talent as a way out of Gary. Jermaine would continue to provide some leads over the years. Jermaine graduated from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, in 1973.

Jermaine and his brothers first signed as the Jackson 5 with Gordon Keith of Steeltown Records in November 1967, and their first single "Big Boy", was released on January 31, 1968. After the group recorded three more songs with the Steeltown label (on two records) they were signed with Berry Gordy of Motown Records in 1969. As the second lead singer of the Jackson 5 with his brothers Jackie and Michael, Jermaine sang notable parts of "I Want You Back", "ABC", "I'll Be There", "The Love You Save", "Dancing Machine" and many other Jackson 5 songs. Jermaine performed as part of the group for six years. Not feeling that they were being paid fair royalties by Motown Records for their success as well as their desire for creative control, the Jackson 5 decided to leave the label and sign with Epic Records in 1975. However, Jermaine decided to stay with Motown Records, citing loyalty to the company as the reason. Others argue that Jermaine's marriage to Motown founder Berry Gordy's daughter Hazel, whom he married in 1973, was a deciding factor.

Jermaine split from the Jackson Five to start a solo career at Motown, and was replaced by his brother Randy. Unbeknownst to the group, Gordy had trademarked the name Jackson Five and did not allow the group to continue using the name when they left the label. Once signed with Epic, the group became known simply as the Jacksons. In 1983, Gordy asked the group to perform at the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special. After the success of the broadcast, Jermaine finally rejoined the band to record the album Victory which featured all six brothers on the Jackson's album cover. Jermaine also participated in the band's Victory Tour. He stayed with the group for their final album, 2300 Jackson Street, in 1989. Jermaine performed the song "If You'd Only Believe" on March 15, 1993, with his brothers Jackie, Tito and Randy, on the stage of the Grand Théâtre de Genève for the evening of the Nations. He also performed this song alone, on January 14, 1990, in Atlanta, in tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., during King Week 90 '. In 1997, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Jackson 5. In 2001, he reunited with his brothers to perform for the Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary Special.

Like Michael, Jermaine began a solo career while still a member of the Jackson 5, and had a hit with the 1972 Shep and the Limelites cover "Daddy's Home". It sold over one million copies by March 1973, and was awarded a gold disc. When the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975, Jermaine left the group and stayed at the label until 1983, when he finally rejoined his brothers for the Motown 25 television special, and their album Victory the following year. Jermaine was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his 1980 album Let's Get Serious. He had a number of Billboard top-30 hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including "Daddy's Home" (No. 9), "That's How Love Goes", "Let's Be Young Tonight", "Bass Odyssey", "Feel the Fire", "Let Me Tickle Your Fancy" (featuring Devo on backing vocals) (No. 18), "Let's Get Serious" (No. 9, also one of his only two UK hits, peaking at No. 8), "Dynamite" (No. 15), "Do What You Do" (No. 13), and "I Think It's Love" (No. 16). A duet with his brother Michael, "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good to Be True)", hit number one on the dance chart in 1984. Michael and he also collaborated with Rockwell, both providing guest vocals on his 1984 hit single, "Somebody's Watching Me".

In 1985, his duet with Pia Zadora, "When the Rain Begins to Fall", topped several singles charts in Europe, including Germany and France; in the United States, the duet only reached number 54 on the Billboard charts. His final chart success, 1989's "Don't Take It Personal", hit number one on the R&B singles chart. Some of Jermaine's finest moments as a singer can be heard in the soulful "Castles of Sand" and the Earth Wind & Fire-inspired "You Need to Be Loved". Jermaine was the executive producer of the Jackson Family Honors concert televised from the MGM Grand on February 22, 1994. On May 19, 2003, he performed "Let's Start Right Now" live on the talk show The View, hosted by Barbara Walters.