Columnist Jerry Fink: ‘Lost’ Jackson sister sails at Windjammer

Friday, July 27, 2001 | 9:32 a.m.

Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at jerry@ lasvegassun.com or 259-4058.

We all know Michael Jackson and his sister Janet. We also know of Jackson's brothers as the Jackson Five. Most of us even know LaToya. But familiarity with the members of the large family of entertainers begins to wane after that.

There are Tito and Jermaine, Randy, Marlon and Jackie.

But who the heck is Rebbie Jackson?

At 51, Rebbie (pronounced ree-bee, short for Maureen) is the oldest of her siblings. She made her lounge debut in Las Vegas last week at the Castaways' Windjammer, and will be there again tonight and Saturday for two performances.

It wasn't her debut in Las Vegas, however -- her first performance as a professional entertainer took place in 1975 at the old MGM Grand, where she performed with the entire family (but apparently got lost in the crowd).

"I was the last member of the family to get involved on the professional scene," Rebbie said, "although music has always been with me. My brother, Jackie, and I used to dance all the time. We won a lot of dancing contests (in Gary, Ind.)."

Rebbie attributes her late start to rearing a family, her own (a son and two daughters) and her siblings. She often had baby-sitting duties when her parents, Katherine and Joe, were tending to the family business.

After the MGM performance, Rebbie toured with her family for awhile and then pursued a solo career.

She has turned out four albums, including 1984's "Centipede," whose title track was written and produced by brother Michael.

Other albums include "Reaction" (1986) and "R U Tuff Enuff" (1988). She took a break after that and didn't record again until 1998's "Your's Faithfully."

Michael's comment on the "Your's Faithfully" album : "Maureen is now beginning to come out of her shell. She tried for some time to go in another direction, but she's now beginning to learn that her roots and her talents are in music; that's her gift and she's using it. She sings great and dances like a cat and we're going to see some great stuff from her."

Rebbie has a voice as soft and smooth as velvet, one that is easily overpowered by her band. She appears humble, almost ingratiating, when interviewed.

What have you been doing? Where are you touring?

"This and that, here and there," she says vaguely. "I have so many things in the works right now, I don't want to say anything in particular because it isn't written in stone.

"I'm working on some endorsements, a lot of different things. I can't talk about them yet."

She isn't shy about talking about her 15-year-old son, Austin (stage name Auggie), who does a quick entrance and exit in her lounge act.

"He actually started performing when I toured in Japan years ago," she said. "I was there about two weeks and he was watching me perform night after night. He was only 4 years old and he kept telling me he wanted to be in the show, but I was afraid, I didn't know what he was going to do.

"He kept showing me how he wasn't afraid ... and so finally I let him up there and I was shocked. He went to town. He held off a little bit the first time, but the audience got into it, saying 'Go Auggie, go Auggie.'

"The second time he was more assertive and the third time he was there. He hasn't been (routinely) performing with me ever since, but the desire to want to be invovled in music started there."

Rebbie says she now lives in Las Vegas, as does her sister, LaToya, and her parents.

"I have a few cousins here, too," she said.

Some of them may have been among the fans who packed the Windjammer for her first three days of performing.

The night that I attended was marred by a late start and equipment problems, but no one seemed to mind -- after all, she is a Jackson, and any Jackson is better than no Jackson.

Lounging around