Gamble and Huff honor the late Tito Jackson, who along with his famous brothers recorded 2 albums in Philly in the ‘70s

Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, co-founders of Philadelphia International Records, issued a statement Monday honoring the late Tito Jackson, who along with his superstar brother Michael, recorded two albums with Gamble and Huff in the 1970s.

“We had a great time working with Tito in the studio,” Gamble and Huff said, calling Tito Jackson a “joy to be around as a then upcoming songwriter and guitarist.”

The 70-year-old Jackson’s death was announced Sunday on social media by his sons TJ, Taj and Taryll Jackson.

The Jackson 5 spent seven years making hits at Motown Records before the Jacksons, as they were renamed, joined Epic Records in 1975 and began working with Gamble and Huff at their Sigma Sound studio on the edge of Chinatown. (Jermaine Jackson, an original member of the Jackson 5, stayed at Motown.)

“Recording and producing the first two Jacksons’ albums post leaving Motown here in the city of Philadelphia were a highlight of our music career,” Gamble and Huff said.

“The Jacksons,” the group’s first album with Gamble and Huff and was a joint venture between Epic and Philadelphia International, was released in 1976 and became a certified gold record. The record included a top-10 hit, “Enjoy Yourself.” The group’s follow-up album was “Goin’ Places,” which was released in 1977.

“Tito Jackson was a great musician, artist, father and music legend,” Gamble and Huff said. “We send our sincere condolences to his family and especially to his dear mother Ms. Katherine Jackson, his brothers and sisters.”