Brian Oxman says Janet paid for Johnny's funeral, but is he a credible source of information? I thought he was long since out of the picture, but I guess he's still working for the family?

"Stabbing death of ex-drummer 'a real shock' to Jackson family

March 7, 2006

BY ANDY GRIMM Post-Tribune

Pop princess Janet Jackson will pay for funeral services for former Jackson 5 drummer Johnny Jackson this week.

News that Johnny Jackson had been killed last week "has come as a real shock to the Jackson family," said Jackson family attorney and spokesman Brian Oxman.

"He was like a brother to all of them," Oxman said Monday. "He was a part of their youth, and now that is gone."

Jackson's girlfriend, Yolanda R. Davis, who lived in the Gary apartment where the drummer was found bleeding from a stab wound, has been arrested and charged in the killing. She surrendered Friday, the day Johnny Jackson would have celebrated his 56th birthday.

Private services planned

Johnny Jackson's sister, who is handling her brother's funeral arrangements, would neither confirm nor deny any financial help from the Jackson family.

She did not want his funeral to be a public affair.

"My brother wasn't that type of person. He did not want to be on the scene like that," she said. "I want to keep it private and abide by his wishes."

Rift never healed?

Jackson, who is not related to the rest of the more famous Jackson clan, backed the Jackson 5 for 15 years and lived with the family after their 1969 move from Gary to Los Angeles.

Johnny Jackson left the band in the late 1970s, a split with the family that friends said never fully mended.

Janet Jackson, the youngest member of the pop dynasty, offered to pay because she "is just a sweet, sweet girl," Oxman said.

"[The Jacksons] always had the warmest feelings for Johnny," he said.

Visitation Friday

Visitation services for Johnny Jackson will be from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at Smith Bizzell & Warner Funeral Home, 4209 Grant in Gary. Funeral arrangements were pending.

Local musicians will pay tribute to Johnny Jackson with a jam session that begins at 8 p.m. Wednesday at The Edge Sports Bar & Grill, 1525 Chicago in Hammond.

Organizer Cal Spencer said he expects dozens of musicians who played with Jackson to sit in, including Jackson's former bandmates from local acts White Dove and Shut Up & Drive. Jackson's drum kit, draped in a funeral shroud, will be set up near the stage, Spencer said.

"We're calling all the musicians that he played with," Spencer said. "This is us playing goodbye to a fellow musician. Johnny was one of the top drummers in the world.""

http://www.suntimes.com/o...son07.html

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