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Coverage of Michael Jackson's Memorial Service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles
Aired July 07, 2009 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. We're coming to you live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, which is, of course, the site of the memorial for Michael Jackson. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks very much for joining us in our continuing coverage, really, a celebration of the life of Michael Jackson. He's arrived at the Staples Center, and his body arriving in the hearse just a few moments ago, as you saw.
And now, I think the mood inside is probably going to shift. We're going to see more and more as the performers begin really that sense of celebration.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely. It actually seemed very somber to me as we saw the hearse go. It was the first time I sort of caught my breath and thought, wow, because the tone has been very celebratory -- not disrespectful, but certainly light and celebratory.
And you see the hearse and the casket being pulled into the hearse, and you realize the finality and the sadness of the moment.
They are here now, though, all those vehicles are here. They are going to off-load the hearse and put the casket in front of the stage, where we'll see a pretty incredible rundown, frankly, of performers.
Bryan Monroe is a New Edition and CNN analyst and also, of course, the long history of working with "Jet" and "Ebony."
BRYAN MONROE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, we understand we have performances from Jennifer Hudson, from John Mayer...
O'BRIEN: Mariah Carey.
MONROE: ... and Mariah Carey. And in fact, we should end up with the big celebration of "We are the World" that Lionel Richie will be leading.
COOPER: Hilary Rosen is standing by in Washington, former president of the Recording Industry of America.
Hilary, in terms of the legacy of Michael Jackson, which his family is very concerned about, in terms of, you know, new albums that will be coming out, the brand of Michael Jackson will continue on for many years, and to potentially enormous profit. HILARY ROSEN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA: Enormous profit. In fact, I've talked to a couple of the estate lawyers over the last couple of days, Anderson. And they believe that given the sales of his catalog over the last week, that this estate is likely to be out of debt within the next few months. I mean, when we talk about, you know, it originally having a, you know, few hundred million dollar debt.
There's also talk that maybe there will be a transaction with Sony music with the publishing. So there's a huge amount of money here going forward for Katherine Jackson and Michael Jackson's children.
COOPER: And at this point, as we know from the will, 40 percent -- most -- the money goes to the Jackson estate, which we believe 40 percent goes to Katherine Jackson, 40 percent to children, and 20 percent to various charities.
ROSEN: To charities.
And as was said before, the charities that Michael Jackson has supported have been strong in the African-American community and strong with children.
Although we also know that the trust does not specify which charities will get the money going forward. That is to be a decision of the executors, John Branca and John McClain. So, that's an enormously powerful position for those executers to be in.
O'BRIEN: You saw a moment ago some of the pictures of the perimeter and police making that kind of "V" shape in order to best protect the perimeter certainly now that the casket, the body of Michael Jackson, is inside Staples Center.
We're getting word the city of L.A. has actually a Web site that allows the public to donate money to help pay for this memorial service. It's estimated that all the security and logistical costs run $4 million or so, is one of the numbers that I heard. It definitely is expensive.
It's been running so far, from what I've seen, without a hitch. But there is the Web site now set up through the city that if people want to underwrite it, they can.
COOPER: And Bryan, the Jackson family themselves, I mean, they have serious financial trouble. There are many members of the Jackson family have had real financial trouble over the last year, many years.
MONROE: They have. They've tried to generate revenue separate from Michael and separate from the Jackson 5 or the Jacksons as individual recording artists.
Jermaine was his own single recording artist. Janet, of course, has been very successful. But they've also had some very big challenges. So I think over the next few days and few weeks, the sales of his music online through iTunes and everything else, may help recoup some of that debt, both Michael personally, the trust, and may spread over to the family.
O'BRIEN: When you would deal with the folks who are reading the magazine, and it was such a successful, the last interview that you had with Michael Jackson, it was incredibly successful and people wanted copies of it, and multiple copies of it -- do people talk about the Michael Jackson that they loved?
I've had so many people email me and say, well, the Michael that I loved was not the Michael Jackson of the last ten years. It was the Michael Jackson from the Jackson 5 up to somewhere around 1988, 1990, 1992.
MONROE: Well, there are many Michaels for many, many souls. The Jackson 5 in the early '70s and the early '80s. Michael Jackson as an individual recording artist. The Jacksons, when they did the big -- the big "Victory" tour which was so successful and even the later days of Michael, after "Off the Wall," which was my favorite album; "Thriller," which was the biggest seller of all-time. Then he did "Bad" and "Dangerous" and "Invincible" and then had some -- "HIStory," where he released some of his own songs, as well as a few new ones. Different phases of Michael's life.
We saw that there was universal love and respect for his music, even despite the controversy and despite the many phases that he personally went through, and the challenges and the struggles that he had, battling the demons inside himself.
COOPER: Joining us in -- in New York, Donna Brazile, as well as Roland Martin and Jeff Toobin.
Donna, you talked about your early remembrances of Michael Jackson, is there a song, you know, that when you think of Michael Jackson you think of?
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Oh, from the beginning "I Want You Back" to "Got to Be There," "Mama's Pearls," "ABC." I danced to all of Michael's music. I -- I loved him.
As a child growing up, in Louisiana, every month my mother would give us a couple of dollars. I would go out and get a "Right On" magazine. And I tell you, we had a competition in our household in terms of, you know, Michael's picture, Jermaine, Tito, Jackie.
It was an era that, right after Dr. King was assassinated, Bobby Kennedy. The following year the Jackson 5 came on the scene. They brought so much hope and so much inspiration.
And I was -- Roland Martin and I were talking a few moments ago about the concerts. Roland went to one in Houston. I went to one in New Orleans. But that summer my mother tried to convince us to go on vacation. And I said I wanted to stay home and go to the concert and, you know, did some baby-sitting jobs and some other odd jobs just to have enough money to buy his T-shirt and even more albums. And I still have all his albums.
COOPER: Roland Martin, in the last week or so, really, since Michael Jackson's death, we have seen the African-American community really embrace Michael Jackson without any ambivalence. There was an interesting article in "New York Times," that Marcus Mabry wrote about sort of changing attitudes or shifting attitudes in the African- American community towards Michael Jackson. What do you make -- what do you make of that?
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, first of all, there were never any shifting attitudes from the African-American community when it came to Michael Jackson. Sure, you had people who criticized Michael because of his skin, because of his hair, because of things long those lines. But you always had that.
The reality is, look, black people adore Sidney Poitier. They adore Quincy Jones. Look, you know, both those individuals married white women. So when somebody says, "Well, I'm going to criticize Michael because he married a white woman," that's absolute nonsense.
Look, people, African-Americans, adore Michael Jackson because of one thing: the music. You can go to any club in America. I don't care if you have the biggest gang-bangers or you have people who are upper middle-class who have tons of money. If you put on "Want to be Startin' Something," if you put on "Can't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," I can guarantee you, they will flood the dance floor.
And so it is about the music. And I think that's the piece there, when you think about musicians, when you think about why people adore entertainers, it is because of the work. Yes, there's a personal side, when people think about that. That's what it points to.
I have people e-mailing me who were trying to do their best to get tickets to go to London for one of those concerts. These folks didn't even have passports, but they said they wanted to be, certainly, at one of those concerts. And so, that's what it was about. It was simply about the music.
And he was indeed -- and I think more black folks are probably learning now the kind of barriers that Michael Jackson broke down that they probably didn't know existed when he was alive.
O'BRIEN: It's interesting, though, when you talk about African- Americans and Michael Jackson, because I think what Roland says about the music is very true. There's no -- he's right. And I'm not sure there's a lot of CDs you can put on where everyone would clear the floor and start dancing no matter they're from.
But at the same time, the skin tone thing. Michael Jackson never sort of confronted the questions as a black man. In fact, his -- while he was surrounded with, and his family was very close to him, but you really didn't hear him say that a lot. On one hand, he's breaking barriers. It's another one of those contradictions. Really breaking barriers for African-Americans and donating massive amounts of money to the United Negro College Fund. Close friends with every African-American star.
At the same time, there are many people in the black community who say, "Well, why is he getting whiter and whiter every day? His children are white. He has white children."
And I think that, while the music has been so incredibly successful and important, it has made people say -- that overwhelms any questions you have. His ability, his -- his talent overwhelms any of those questions about his motivations.
MONROE: I think, you know, particularly Michael's appearance, and when I sat down next to him for close to two hours, the appearance is striking. But I don't think it had to do did with a struggle with whether he was African-American or not. It was more about his own insecurities with facial features and some other things.
He told me and was very clear that he was a black man. For instance, he had a long-standing relationship with "Ebony" and "Jet" magazine. John H. Johnson, the founder of "Ebony, was one of his mentors and helped -- helped counsel him on financial issues. He used to come up to the building, he and Janet and the family, when he was 10, 11 years old, and have lunch and read books. So he very much was part of the black community.
O'BRIEN: And I would say that and he saw himself as part of a global community.
MONROE: Absolutely. And that's what we saw. We hear, we see the number of people that have come here from Brazil and from London, didn't even have tickets to this event, who just wanted to show up and be here as part of this remembrance. And, you know, you look at the impact he has had in the black community, and that's really a global community.
COOPER: There's certainly a lot of people sharing their remembrances of Michael Jackson. Everybody has a, as Soledad said, has a particular Michael Jackson that they remember, that they hold on to and are remembering on this day.
Tom Foreman is monitoring Twitter. Seeing a lot of people inside the Staples Center are sending out tweets. Tom, what are you hearing?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Anderson. When you talk about the community of Michael Jackson fans, this is where you really see them, all over the world. People have been posting messages relentlessly about their memories of Michael Jackson, what they're seeing at the service. Many people saying that they skipped work entirely today or skipped school if they were going to summer school. Some people taking their lunch breaks to watch all this, keep track.
This is one that our CNN people have sent from in the area. Carolyn Sung, one of our folks there. Mentioned the fact there is a heart-shaped floral arrangement outside, we mentioned before, and the big heart-shaped sky writing above. The picture she sends as well. You can just make it out there: the heart that was sky written up above the Staples Center there. As many, many people commented on in Twitter who were in the area.
Lisa Franz mentioned that people outside are playing music and dancing to it, and they are passing around photographs and sharing memories outside. People chanting "Michael, Michael" outside as they wait to get inside. Many more memories as people wait go inside.
Some confusion over the wrist bands as people tried to get lined up, because nobody who had a chance to get inside wanted to miss it, obviously. And the police dealing with the crowd.
One more thing worth mentioning as we look at all these comments from many, many fans, and I'm telling you, these are all over the world, many people just writing that they're crying as they think about what's happening today and the events over the past couple of weeks. What a surprise it was.
The city of Los Angeles, of course, is dealing with it in a different way, though. They're putting up on their Web site a plea here for people to help them raise enough money to cover all of the security that seems to be working quite well. Some of the fans not terribly happy about this, but nonetheless, the city of Los Angeles asking people to give to help pay for all of this effort. Because as you mentioned earlier, Anderson, California, of course, having a lot of monetary problems. And this is a very, very big event. One of the biggest I've ever seen there -- Anderson.
COOPER: Tom, thanks very much.
It was on this stage at the Staples Center just two nights before Michael Jackson died that we -- we have that video where we saw him, the final dress rehearsal, performing. Also, the night before he died, he was on again this very stage on Wednesday night, practicing until about 12:30 a.m.
I talked to Randy Phillips, who hugged him good-bye and said that the Michael Jackson he saw at 12:30 on, really, Thursday morning, the morning of the day he would die, was an optimistic Michael Jackson, a happy Michael Jackson.
O'BRIEN: Healthy in some ways, he was described as by some also. It's interesting. As we talk here outside the Staples Center, I've sort of gotten used to the drone of the choppers above our heads. And I can count one, two, three, four, five, six. That's just what I can see. It is incredible to know that the presence, the global interest, in this story.
But, you know, I think you're -- you're exactly right about that. You know, it's -- it is quite a remarkable thing.
COOPER: Obviously, now, Michael Jackson's children are inside the building, as well. So is Katherine Jackson, Joe Jackson, the father. Again, Bryan, this is a family which is -- has had many problems. A family which has separated in many ways. Joe Jackson and Katherine Jackson live apart. He lives in Vegas. She lives in California. They have been, I think, for about ten years or so. And yet, they are united in this terrible tragedy. MONROE: Well, it is sad that it took this tragedy to bring them back together. But they were -- they were actually together a few months ago for a celebration of Joe and Katherine's marriage.
COOPER: In Las Vegas.
MONROE: In Las Vegas. In fact, their first -- they said it was the first big party, anniversary party, that they'd ever done.
So this is a long-standing family that came out of Gary, Indiana. Joe was a steelworker and Katherine a devout Jehovah's Witness, who was very religious and very spiritual and, in fact, raised the children to really honor their families.
And even through the struggles, you've heard about how difficult Joe was sometimes in the rehearsals. Michael told me that, you know, Joseph would never beat him during the rehearsals, but only afterwards and then he laughed and giggled.
Then he went on to talk about how important Joseph was in teaching him discipline and teaching him how to perform. And he said something to me. He said, "Joseph taught me never let the audience see you cry." And that emotional connection was there.
Joseph had his own group, called the Falcons, when he was growing up, so he learned about staging and learned about performance from that.
COOPER: And Roland, we heard from Jermaine Jackson on "LARRY KING LIVE" the other day say that he learned of -- that something had happened to Michael Jackson, actually, from a call he got from CNN when he was driving. You also talked to one of Michael Jackson's other brothers, who told you about the moment he heard about Michael Jackson's death.
MARTIN: Yes. Marlon Jackson, he said that his daughter was watching television and she -- he was upstairs. He now lives in Georgia, and his daughter said, "Dad, they said Uncle Mike is dead."
And Marlon said, "Well, that surely can't be true." And he said he then called Frank DiLeo, Michael Jackson's manager, and he confirmed it. And he said, that's when he found out. So, when I talked to him, he said he was walking around in a daze. He was simply stunned to think that he was dead.
And, in fact, Marlon said the last time most of the family members saw Michael was on May 14 at that family gathering. And he said he was absolutely wonderful. He was sweet. He was there with his children. Reports about him being in a wheelchair, he said, wasn't true. He said he was looking great. They enjoyed it.
COOPER: Let's go inside -- let me just interrupt. Let's go to the stage inside the Staples Center. Smokey Robinson.
SMOKEY ROBINSON, SINGER: "I want you to know, even though I am not there at the Staples Center, I am there in my heart. I've decided to pause and be silent. This feels right for me.
"Michael was a personal love of mine, a treasured part of my world, part of the fabric of my life, and the way that I can't seem to find words to express. Michael wanted me to be there for his children, and I will be there if they ever need me.
"I hope today brings closure for all those who loved him. Thank you, Katherine and Joe, for sharing your son with the world and with me. I send my love and condolences to the Jackson family.
"Diana Ross."
"Dear Jackson family,
"It is with great sadness that we learned of the untimely death of Michael Jackson. Michael became close to us after he started visiting and performing in South Africa regularly. We grew fond of him, and he became close -- a close member of our family. We had great admiration for his talent and that he was able to triumph over tragedy on so many occasions in his life.
"Michael was a giant and a legend in the music industry. And we mourn with the millions of fans worldwide. We also mourn with his family and his friends over the loss of our dear friend. He will be missed and memories about him cherished for a very long time. My wife and I, our family, our friends, send you our condolences during this time of mourning. Be strong.
"Nelson Mandela."
COOPER: Just heard from Smokey Robinson, while we're waiting for the ceremony to formally start. Twenty thousand people inside the Staples Center, some 5,000 or 6,000 more watching on the Jumbo-Tron monitor in the Nokia Center right next door.
Around the world, tens of millions watching, London, Berlin, New Delhi, around the United States as well: Las Vegas; Neverland; Gary, Indiana; Harlem; Times Square.
O'BRIEN: Los Angeles where those pictures are coming from. People holding watch parties literally around the globe. This is Harlem, New York. It is likely to be one of the most watched events in recent history.
MONROE: The letters he was reading from Nelson Mandela, when Michael would enjoy going over to Africa. He told me about taking the kids to Africa and spending time in Johannesburg and Pretoria and Durbin (ph) and Cape Town. He loved Cape Town.
COOPER: We -- we're going to be bringing you the entire ceremony live without our comments, as little as possible. We will be talking. There just seems to be a break right now in the actual service.
One point five million of people tried to get tickets online. There were only some 11,000 actual seats inside the auditorium, inside the Staples Center, for the public. And additional 5,000 to 6,000 seats in the Nokia Center.
O'BRIEN: It really has gone very smoothly thus far, from the private ceremony that many people were concerned about the logistics of how that would actually happen. The many questions over the last couple of days, would the body be coming here. Could it logistically be pulled off, with the throngs of people who are expected to come out.
But the police here made it very clear they did not want people who did not have tickets to come by.
You're watching Times Square, of course, where people are going to watch it on the Jumbo-Tron, and even people here milling around get to watch it on many of the big screens here and in Los Angeles. But it has gone off so far without a hitch. It has been, at least from our vantage point -- pictures from Raleigh, North Carolina -- really well done as far as security goes and logistically, it's gone very smoothly. They've moved back on to schedule. They're really just a couple minutes behind.
COOPER: We're told that this will be a combination of speakers -- you just saw Smokey Robinson speaking there -- and performances by artists like Mariah Carey and Usher and Lionel Richie, at the end asking all the artists to come back on stage to perform "We Are the World," the song that he and Michael Jackson co-wrote together to raise so much money for famine relief in Africa.
O'BRIEN: Very significant, of course, that it was Smokey Robinson reading a note from Diana Ross, and that was the very first note we heard referencing a tribute to Michael Jackson. Diana Ross clearly has played such a critical role in the Jackson 5 and for Michael Jackson specifically.
MONROE: In fact, the first album was called "Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5."
COOPER: And it was Diana Ross that he starred in the movie "The Wiz" with, one of his first kind of solo projects, testing the waters.
O'BRIEN: With Quincy Jones.
COOPER: And then moved on to -- they actually had a hit song, I think from -- "Ease on Down the Road" from "The Wiz."
MONROE: "You Can't Win" from there, too.
COOPER: Diana Ross, of course, also named in Michael Jackson's will, as in the event that Katherine Jackson was unable to care for Michael Jackson's children, he said he would like her to care for them. She noted in the note read by Smokey Robinson that, if the kids need her, she would be there for them.
MONROE: And that's the family -- Diana Ross has a fantastic family, extended family, and that showed how important family was to Michael, that he named one of his dearest friends, Diana Ross, to step in if something were to happen. COOPER: You're looking at the left side of the screen. A videophone from inside the hall. On the right is the feed from inside the hall. That's a feed we don't have control over. So, it's right now while there's a break in -- before this service gets under way, the feed is just showing the "In Loving Memory of Michael Jackson, King of Pop" banner, which is up there inside the Staples Center.
This is a videophone image that we are sending to you, just showing people sitting, waiting. And, again, there are many people gathered -- gathered outside, as well, and all around the United States. The First AME Church in Los Angeles. Both throughout the United States and around the world.
O'BRIEN: It's incredible when I look at these young children. You think Michael Jackson was about that age. I mean, he was 11 years old when he was first on television and even much younger than that when he first became renowned, leading the family, literally as the lead singer of the Jackson 5. And you see small children like that and older folks here in Harlem, New York, watching the Jumbo-Tron.
COOPER: Five years old, 5 years old.
O'BRIEN: When you think about that, starting your career at 5, what pressure, what incredible success, and what brilliance, really, to -- to the work that he did as an entertainer.
MONROE: Soledad, we were talking about this earlier. My son was with me as I was preparing for the interview and played some of the old stuff in the car as we were driving down the road. He didn't know Michael Jackson from anyone. He was, like, "Daddy, who's that? I like that song. Play it again. I like that."
And he started listening to it, and when we got home he sat down on the computer, fired up YouTube, and started looking for every Michael Jackson video to learn the dancing and the moves. And, you know, he didn't know any of the controversy. He just knew the music.
O'BRIEN: It's so interesting when you listen to people who are musicians talk about the way that the songs were put together, the history of the songs. And the care that went into it. I mean, in your interview, you even talk about the -- literally the breaking down of some of the most famous songs we know.
MONROE: Yes. "Billie Jean," for instance, he talked about there, he actually laid down four different basses in that doing the bass line. He talked about the bass line being the protagonist to the song, the guitar adding character. He was a student of music. He studied Tchaikovsky. He studied Mozart. And really went to school about the music, the art, and what it took to build a song.
COOPER: Also, in terms of his dancing. He was a student of dance. You look at some of his moves, and you see Grace Kelly. You look at some of his moves, and you see Fred Astaire.
O'BRIEN: Marcel Marceau.
COOPER: Exactly.
MONROE: In fact, Fred Astaire called him after the Motown 25 performance and said, "Michael, I watched it last night. I taped it. I watched it again this morning, and, Michael, you really -- you really knocked them on their behinds," as we should say.
O'BRIEN: But he didn't use the word "behind."
MONROE: And he was very much a big fan. And even if you look at Michael's physical shape, when I saw him and I hugged him, he very much had that dancer's body.
O'BRIEN: Was he physically prepared to do this massive tour? I mean, obviously, the pressure for the financial interests, the pressure for just getting it right, I mean, having a gigantic fan base that was expecting you to once again knock the ball out of the ballpark, do it better than you did it the last time?
MONROE: Well, people have to remember, he was 50 years old, but he brought on Lou Ferrigno to help train him and get him physically ready.
COOPER: Although I must say, I interviewed Lou Ferrigno, and they only actually met once, I think, in May. So I'm not -- a lot of people quoted Lou Ferrigno as being an expert on Michael Jackson's physical health. I'm not sure how accurate that is.
But I will say that I talked to Kenny Ortega, who's the director of the event that you are about witness. And just as a reminder, we are watching the scene inside the Staples Center; 20,000 people have gathered to celebrate the life and to say good-bye to Michael Jackson.
We are waiting them bringing in Michael Jackson. We believe his -- his casket will be placed at the front of the stage as the performers sing above him, a whole spectrum of performers; also a number of people, we anticipate, will be speaking, as well. But I talked to Kenny Ortega, who is the director of this celebration...
O'BRIEN: He did all "The High School Musical."
COOPER: He did, and he was a co-director and co-creator of the '02 shows that Michael Jackson was going to do. And I asked him what kind of shape was Michael Jackson in, you know, as a performer. And he said building, that he was building.
You know, he was 50 years old. He wouldn't go as far as to say he was at the top of his form. That would be a hyperbole. But he did say that his voice was opening up, he was getting better and better and that he was certainly ready and optimistic about the shows.
And he said that one of the last things Michael Jackson said to him is, you know, asked him, "Are you excited?"
And he said, "I'm excited."
And he then, Kenny Ortega asked Jackson if he was excited, and he said that he was excited and they hugged good-bye. And that was the last that hey saw of each other.
O'BRIEN: The pressure had to be incredible, though, I mean, you know, when you see, especially today. Michael Jackson sort of created the tone of these shows, these performances that are incredible, that are over the top with pyrotechnics and great dancing. And some people even said that he was thinking about creating a new move, you know, again, another way to top yourself from what you've done before.
So, one has to imagine that the pressure going into something like this would have to be just tremendous.
MONROE: And Michael was a perfectionist.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
MONROE: That's the other part that people don't realize. It wasn't like he just showed up and danced and sang. He knew every single component of the show that they were producing. The dance moves, the lighting cues, what songs would come on, what camera shots there would be. He was talking during Motown 25 he did -- had a similar involvement to every minute detail. And that kind of pressure, along with that kind of perfectionism, is a tough burden to shoulder.
O'BRIEN: People have described him as actually being involved in the costumes, you know, every single -- micromanaging. You would think that once you get to the level of Michael Jackson, you can kind of assign the costumes to somebody else, but actually, he was so involved in every minute detail of this concert.
Again, because the stakes were so high. Is that fair to say, the stakes were incredibly high?
MONROE: The stakes were enormous. They were enormous financially, a lot of the money that was going to be raised out of these shows were going to go towards his other debts and other ventures. They were enormous emotionally because of the connection he had to his fans. And he really wanted to put on a show for his fans. And he also he wanted to put on a show for his kids, who had -- really hadn't seen him perform the way that many of us had seen him.
O'BRIEN: Right. I mean, that really does raise the stakes, doesn't it, for the first time to be performing for your children, who are 11 and 12, and I think the youngest, 7 years old.
MONROE: Seven years old.
O'BRIEN: You know, really, you know, what pressure all around.
COOPER: And he was going to bring his family to England. They had already had a house rented by AEG Live, the company which was putting on, promoting the shows. And he was going to get one day off in between each show. That was something which he had worked out with them, as part of the agreement, to get him to actually do 50 performances. O'BRIEN: He really struggled the last time he did a show. I mean, it was -- they now talked to some of the medical professionals who have been with him about how difficult it was for him to do those grueling -- those shows are absolutely grueling.
MONROE: It's a lot of energy and, you know, just being on stage and dancing. Some people are saying that, at 50, he was out-dancing some of the 25-year-olds.
O'BRIEN: You're looking inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where we are awaiting for the memorial service to get under way.
A few minutes ago, about ten minutes ago, Smokey Robinson came out, and the first thing he did was to read a short note from Diana Ross, really apologizing for missing what is surely to be such a sad event for her, who has such a personal connection, a personal relationship with not just Michael Jackson but the entire Jackson family. And a relationship that spans, you know, 40-some years, really.
We also heard from Nelson Mandela. And when you look at it that way, clearly an indication of a guy -- first, really, Diana Ross, someone he met as a child, and next Nelson Mandela, someone he was so connected to with his humanitarian work. I mean, talk about a global impact right there in those first five minutes. Smokey Robinson speaking.
MONROE: And again, the power of the music, globally, Quincy Jones would tell me, Quincy is not here today. He's in Europe. But he would tell me about going to places like Dar Es Salaam and hearing -- and going into a club in Tanzania and hearing them put on "Want to Be Startin' Something" and everybody would come out.
COOPER: I remember being in Hanoi, Vietnam in 1991. There was a U.S. embargo on, still. I was going to school there. And being someplace where a performer was singing a Michael Jackson song.
And I went up to them afterward, because they sang it so well. The person did not speak a word of English, but they had memorized it so well that they could perform that song and make it sound as if they spoke English.
O'BRIEN: Why -- why, globally, did he have such an impact? I mean, there are many -- there are many performers who are so famous in the United States who are very talented, very good, but somehow don't manage to make that impact that Michael Jackson did globally. Part of it, of course, dropping "Thriller" simultaneously around the world, but it's more than that.
MONROE: But he was even big globally before, during the Jackson 5 days. It came down to the music. And we will try to make a whole bunch of sense out of it, but at the end of the day, music moves people. It's -- music's the kind of thing that moves you at your soul, at the core of your emotion. And it can be in English; it can be in Spanish. If you're moved, you are moved. And whether it was Hanoi or Africa or Moscow or Sydney, Australia, it was about the music.
COOPER: there was also such -- I think one of the things that -- I mean, there are many great musicians, but I think people felt connected to Michael Jackson because of his vulnerability. And you saw a man on stage who appeared free and happy and optimistic. And yet you knew once, you know, you started to know even in the "Off the Wall" days that there was -- there was a lot going on in his own life that belied some of that. And yet I think that drew many people to him and wanted to sort of protect him, even from those who were around him.
MONROE: Yes. There was a shyness there and, in some ways, a naivete that people could connect to. One of the things I found, personally, when I met him and from talking to the dozens of folks who were close to him, universally they say he was such a nice, kind person...
COOPER: Yes.
MONROE: ... that he was very polite, very well-mannered. When we did the shoot at the Brooklyn Museum, he would come over and talk to the security guys and the assistants and the photographers' assistants and everyone standing around set and interact with them. He was not standoffish at all.
O'BRIEN: Another contradiction, a man who was so universal. I mean, everyone everywhere identified with him, and yet, at the same time you absolutely felt that he was otherworldly. I mean, toward the end, his look became very androgynous. His -- he just seemed very disconnected to some degree.
COOPER: And there are certainly a lot of questions about what happened to Michael Jackson, and there are investigations. The DEA, we know, is involved with the Los Angeles Police Department.
But all of that, all those questions, all the questions about custody, certainly for the people inside the Staples Center right now. And that is the image you're looking at on the right-hand side of your screen. For those 20,000 people assembled and for many of the people watching around the world, those questions are put away for right now. And right now is the time to remember the man that they loved and the artist that they so enjoyed, that so many of us so enjoyed over the years.
I want to show you that -- that first time that we saw the casket of Michael Jackson being taken out of the Forest Lawn Cemetery a short time ago. This is the first glimpse we had of the casket bearing the body of Michael Jackson.
Several of the brothers of Michael Jackson acting as pallbearers there, as they move the body carefully into the hearse. Really sort of a shot -- I mean, all of this, as we were sitting here, kind of took an intake of breath. It really is -- brings it home.
O'BRIEN: I would absolutely agree, I mean, especially where we are at the Staples Center, at that moment they took the shot and you realized, oh, gosh, that's the casket.
MONROE: That was Michael.
O'BRIEN: That's Michael Jackson. And the mood here has been so upbeat. Not disrespectfully so, but just people signing and remembering his life. And the minute the photo book went up, Don referenced the number of e-mails requesting, "May I have -- see if you can get a photo book from Michael Jackson's memorial."
And then you see this really somber, somber scene of some of his brothers as pallbearers, putting the casket in the back of that hearse and then watching as the hearse made its way down the highway right here to the Staples Center. It is really a final moment.
The family I know wanted to focus on Michael Jackson's legacy, which is tremendous.
MONROE: And we'll see likely, if they bring the casket in and put it front and center on the stage.
O'BRIEN: The Staples Center holds roughly 20,000 people. It is incredible to think that over a million and a half people immediately went online to see if they could be one of the chosen to be inside that center. What a remarkable story to share.
COOPER: We heard from the airlines that the number of people flying to the Los Angeles area actually has increased over the last week, or week and a half. They can't say for sure whether or not that had anything to do with Michael Jackson. But --
O'BRIEN: Definitely the journalists. I mean, we --
MONROE: 2,200 credentialed journalists today all wanting to tell parts of this story, both in the United States and globally.
COOPER: I want to play that rehearsal -- which is the video that we got several days ago. This is the final dress rehearsal from Michael Jackson's concerts.
This is it. Let's watch.
(VIDEO CLIP OF MICHAEL JACKSON'S FINAL DRESS REHEARSAL)
COOPER: All right. That's the last rehearsal from Michael Jackson on this stage.
People now gathering to the stage there. We've heard some applause. Let's go back and watch the celebration of the life of Michael Jackson.
(EXTENDED MUSIC)
LUCIUS SMITH, PASTOR: Good morning, and welcome. My name is Pastor Lucius Smith, and I am proud to call the Jackson family my friends.
To millions around the world, Michael Jackson was an idol, a hero, even a king. But first and foremost, this man before us today was our brother, our son, our father, and our friend. Michael Jackson was and always shall be a beloved part of the Jackson family and the family of man.
And so today we gather those who know and love Michael best and those who came to know and love him through his good works. We come together in this space where only days ago Michael sang and danced and brought his joy as only he could. We come together and we remember the time. We remember this man by celebrating his life and all of the love that he brought to our own lives for half a century.
Our hearts are heavy today because this man, this brother, this son, this father, and this friend, is gone far too soon. But as long as we remember our time with him, the truth is, he is never really gone at all. As long as we remember him, he will be there forever to comfort us.
In his very beautiful and very human heart, Michael Jackson wanted nothing more than to give love to the world, to share of his singular talent and his soul and perhaps be loved back in return. Through his words, his music, and his countless good deeds, Michael did so much to try and heal our world.
And so for the Jackson family and for all who grieve his loss everywhere in our world, may this moment of remembrance, a moment of healing, a moment of music and a moment of love, bring comfort to those who loved our friend.
God bless you.
(APPLAUSE)
(EXTENDED MUSIC)
QUEEN LATIFAH, PERFORMING ARTIST: I'm here representing millions of fans around the world who grew up listening to Michael, being inspired and loving Michael from a distance. All of you.
(APPLAUSE)
Somehow when Michael Jackson sang, when he danced, we never felt distant. We felt like he was right there, right for us. You believed in Michael, and he believed in you. He made you believe in yourself.
I've loved him all my life. One of the first records my brother and I ever bought was "Dancing Machine." And I'll never forget the of two us trying to, like, get the robot going, trying to be like the Jackson 5.
Thank you. Thank you.
Michael was the biggest star on earth.
(APPLAUSE)
He let me know that as an African-American, you could travel the world. There was a world outside of America. Other people, all you people who came here to pay respects to someone who you felt was one of you, a human being, first.
This morning I spoke with perhaps one of our greatest poets, Maya Angelou, and I'm so honored that she asked me to share some words that she wrote for Michael.
"We Had Him," by Dr. Maya Angelou.
"Beloved, now we know that we know nothing. Now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind. Without notice our dear love can escape our doting embrace. Sing our songs among the stars and walk our dances across the face of the moon. In the instant we learned that Michael is gone, we know nothing. No clocks can tell our time and no oceans can rush our tides. With the abrupt absence of our treasure, though we are many, each of us is achingly alone, piercingly alone. Only when we confess our confusion can we remember that he was a gift to us, and we did have him. He came to us from the creator, trailing creativity in abundance. Despite the anguish of life, he was sheathed in mother love and family love and survived, and did not more than that. He thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style. We had him. Whether we knew who he was or did not know, he was ours, and we were his. We had him, beautiful, delighting our eyes. He raked his hat, slanted over his brow, and took a pose on his toes for all of us. And we laughed and stomped our feet for him. We were enchanted with his passion because he held nothing. He gave us all he had been give given. Today, in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, in Ghana's Black Star Square, in Johannesburg and Pittsburgh; in Birmingham, Alabama, and Birmingham, England; we are missing Michael Jackson. But we do know we had him, and 'We Are the World.' Thank you."
(APPLAUSE)
(EXTENDED MUSIC)
BERRY GORDY, MOTOWN FOUNDER: He was driven by his hunger to learn, to constantly top himself, to be the best. He was the consummate student. He studied the greats and became greater. He raised the bar and then broke the bar. His talent and creativity thrust him and entertainment into another stratosphere.
The Motown family mourns the death of our friend and brother, Michael Jackson, who was like a son to me. Our deep condolences go out to all his family -- his parents, Joe and Katherine, his beautiful children, his sisters and brothers, and his nieces and nephews.
Michael Jackson was 10 years old when he and his brothers, Jackie, Jermaine, Tito and Marlon auditioned for me at Motown in Detroit, that July day in 1968, and blew us all away. The Jackson 5 were just amazing. And little Michael's performance was way beyond his years. This little kid had an incredible knowingness about him. He sang with such feeling, inspiration. Michael had a quality that I couldn't completely understand but we all knew he was special.
Aside from singing and dancing like James Brown and Jackie Wilson, he sung a Smokey Robinson song called "Who's Loving You." He sang it with the sadness and passion of a man who had been living the blues and heartbreak his whole life. As great as Smokey sang it, I thought Michael was better.
(LAUGHTER)
You know. I went to Smokey and I said, hey, man. I think he got you on that one. Smokey said, me too. That was Motown.
Motown was built on love and competition and sometimes the competition got in the way of the love but the love always won out. We competed on everything. In California, we had a baseball game every week, the Jacksons versus the Gordys. Unfortunately for us, Tito and Jackie were big home-run hitters. They would knock the ball out of the park. But, then, so was my son, Berry. And I'm not going to tell you who won most of the games but I will tell you that the Gordys cried a lot.
And even though little Michael was the catcher for the Jacksons and missed a lot of balls, we still cried a lot. But we swam and we joked and we played games and when Michael performed his songs, you could feel the happiness in his soul, because that's what he loved to do.
Michael inspired me so much that for days I walked around humming a bright little happy tune with him in mind, "Oh, baby, da, da, da, de, da, da, da, da." Then, I put a group together and we came up with four hits records for them: "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save," and "I'll Be There."
(APPLAUSE)
The Jackson 5 was the only group in history to have their first four records go to number one.
(APPLAUSE)
In 1983, the brothers reunited and returned to do Motown's 25th anniversary show. After a high-powered dazzling medley of their songs, Michael took the stage alone and made pop history. From the first beat of "Billie Jean" and the toss of that hat, I was mesmerized. But when he did his iconic moonwalk, I was shock. It was magic.
(APPLAUSE)
Michael Jackson went into orbit and never came down. Though it ended way too soon, Michael's life was beautiful. Sure, there was some sad times and maybe some questionable decisions on his part, but Michael Jackson accomplished everything he dreamed of.
(APPLAUSE)
At 10 years old, he had passion. He had passion to be the greatest entertainer in the world and he was willing to work as hard to do whatever it took to become what he, indeed, became -- the undisputed "King of Pop" the world over (ph).
(APPLAUSE)
What kid wouldn't give his right arm to fulfill his wildest childhood dreams? Michael loved it all, every moment on stage, every moment in rehearsal. Michael loved creating what had never been done before. He loved everything and everybody, especially his fans.
(APPLAUSE)
I must say, though, that he did have two personalities. Off stage, he was shy, soft-spoken and childlike. But when he took the stage in front of his screaming fans, he turned into another person -- a master, a take-no-prisoners showman. It was like, kill or be killed.
I mean, Michael was awesome, totally in charge. In fact, the more I think and talk about Michael Jackson, I feel the "King of Pop" is not big enough for him. I think he is simply the greatest entertainer that ever lived.
(APPLAUSE)