Michael Jackson memorial service

From Jackopedia

Michael Jackson memorial service
Held at the Staples Center, where Michael Jackson rehearsed on June 23 (two days before he died).
Participants	Rev. Lucious Smith, Smokey Robinson, Mariah Carey, Trey Lorenz, Queen Latifah, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Jennifer Hudson, Berry Gordy, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, John Mayer, Brooke Shields, Jermaine Jackson, Martin Luther King III, Bernice King, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Usher, Shaheen Jafargholi, Kenny Ortega, Judith Hill, Marlon Jackson, Janet Jackson, Paris Jackson, Orianthi Panagaris
Location	Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
Date	July 7, 2009
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Michael Jackson's memorial service was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, 12 days after he died on June 25. The service was broadcast live around the world, and was viewed by 31.1 million U.S. TV viewers and millions of others elsewhere in the world.^[1][2] It was preceded by a private family service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Hall of Liberty in Hollywood Hills, and followed by a gathering in Beverly Hills for family and close friends.

Jackson's closed, solid-bronze casket, plated with 14-karat gold and lined with blue velvet, was taken to the Staples Center in a motorcade via the Golden State and Harbor freeways, arriving just before 10:00 a.m. local time, where it was placed in front of the stage. The memorial began a few minutes after 10:30 a.m. with music and a eulogy from Pastor Lucious Smith. The stage was filled with floral arrangements, with photographs and film of Jackson and the Jackson 5 projected onto screens at the back. Music and video montages traced his life from the beginning of his career to the end.^[3]

Jackson's brothers, sitting in the front row, each wore a single, white, sequined glove in tribute of their late brother. Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Jermaine Jackson, and Shaheen Jafargholi sang Jackson's songs, and John Mayer played guitar. Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson gave moving eulogies, while Queen Latifah read, "We had him," a poem written for the occasion by Maya Angelou:

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
But we do know we had him, and we are the world.^[4]

The Reverend Al Sharpton won a standing ovation when he told Jackson's children, "There wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. What was strange was what your daddy had to deal with."^[5] Toward the end, the family gathered on stage to offer the final eulogies. Jackson's 11-year-old daughter, Paris Katherine, broke down as she told the crowd, "Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine ... I just wanted to say I love him so much."^[6] Marlon Jackson said, "Maybe now, Michael, they will leave you alone."^[7]

Contents 1 Background 2 Service 2.1 Guest list 2.2 Casket 2.3 Live broadcast 2.4 Cost 3 Burial 4 References

[edit] Background

Life and death of Michael Jackson Aug 29, 1958: Born in Gary, Indiana. 1964: Starts performing with Jackson 5. 1971: 1st solo album, Got to Be There. 1972: 2nd solo album, Ben; The song of the same name became his first US #1 in Billboard Hot 100 charts. 1979: Off the Wall; broke his nose, first rhinoplasty. early 1980s: Appearance starts to change. 1982: Thriller. Mar 25, 1983. First performance of the moonwalk. Jan 1984: Burns his scalp filming Pepsi ad; starts using painkillers; third rhinoplasty. May 14, 1984: Honored by Pres. Reagan for charity work. 1986: Vitiligo and lupus diagnosis; fourth rhinoplasty and cleft chin. 1987: Bad. 1988: Moves into Neverland. Apr 1988: Moonwalk published. Apr 5, 1990: Honored by Pres. Bush for charity work. 1991: Dangerous Sep 30, 1992: Heal the World Foundation launched. May 1992: Befriends Jordan Chandler, 13. Jul 1993: Surgery to fix scalp after 1984 burn; given painkillers. Aug 18, 1993: LAPD investigaton after Chandler says he was molested. Nov 13, 1993: Cancels Dangerous tour; checks into rehab in London for analgesia abuse. Winter 1993: La Toya publicly accuses him of pedophilia; she later retracts. Jan 1, 1994. Settles with Chandlers for $10–22 million. May 26, 1994: Marries Lisa Marie Presley. 1995: HIStory. Jan 1996: Presley files for divorce. Sep 7, 1996: HIStory tour begins. Nov 14, 1996: Marries Debbie Rowe. Feb 13, 1997: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr. born to Rowe. Apr 3, 1998: Paris-Michael Katherine born to Rowe. 2001: Final album, Invincible. Feb 2002: Prince Michael Jackson II born to unidentified surrogate. Nov 18, 2003: 70 police officers raid Neverland. Dec 18, 2003: Jackson charged with molestation of Arvizo. Jan 2004: Friends say he again becomes addicted to painkillers. Jan 31, 2005. People v. Jackson begins. Jun 13, 2005. Not guilty verdict. Mar 10, 2009: Announces This is It tour to begin in July. Jun 25, 2009: Dies, cardiac arrest. Jul 7, 2009: Memorial in Los Angeles; watched by over 1 billion people. This box: view • talk • edit

The service was organized by Jackson's concert promoter, AEG Live,^[8] the 17,500 free tickets given away through an online lottery that attracted over 1.2 million applicants in 24 hours ^[9] and the webpage received over a half-billion hits.^[10] Streets around the center were sealed off, and an extra 1,400 officers were on duty, at a cost of $1.4 million to the city.^[11] The motorcade for Jackson's casket was headed by two police motorcycle outriders, and the LA freeways were closed for the journey of approximately 11 miles (18 km) from Forest Lawn to the Staples Center.

[edit] Service

The service began with Smokey Robinson reading messages of condolence from Diana Ross and Nelson Mandela. A gospel choir sang Andrae Crouch's "Soon and Very Soon" as Jackson's casket entered, followed by statements from Pastor Lucious Smith. Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz then sang "I'll Be There", a number one single for both The Jackson 5 and Carey and Lorenz. This was followed by statements from Queen Latifah, who also read "We Had Him", a poem written by Maya Angelou for the occasion. Lionel Richie, Jackson's friend and his co-writer on "We Are the World", performed the song "Jesus Is Love" by The Commodores. The statement by Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records where Jackson and his brothers began their career, that Jackson was "the greatest entertainer that ever lived" was greeted with great applause from the crowd.

A video montage of Michael Jackson performances followed, including Neverland Ranch, his meeting with Ronald Reagan, "Billie Jean", "Smooth Criminal", "Thriller", "Scream", "You Are Not Alone", "We Are the World", scenes from his film The Wiz, and his appearance at Super Bowl XXVII. Stevie Wonder spoke, played a small portion of "I Can't Help It", a song from Off the Wall that Wonder co-wrote, then performed a version of his songs "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" and "They Won't Go When I Go". Next Kobe Bryant spoke about Jackson's humanitarian work, and Magic Johnson (who had appeared in the video "Remember the Time") recalled his memories of Jackson. Accompanied by a dancing chorus, Jennifer Hudson performed "Will You Be There" from Jackson's Dangerous. John Mayer played guitar on a mainly instrumental version of "Human Nature" from Jackson's Thriller. Brooke Shields then spoke about the personal time she spent with Jackson, read excerpts from The Little Prince, and said that his favorite song was Charlie Chaplin's "Smile", a song immediately then performed by Jermaine Jackson, Michael's older brother.

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s children, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, then stated that Michael Jackson was the best that he could be. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas, Houston), representing the United States House of Representatives, emphasized that in America, people are "innocent until proven guilty" (as the crowd cheered) then spoke about his "American story" plus his meetings with foreign diplomats, and that "Michael never stopped giving". She then went on to claim him as an American icon and world humanitarian (House Resolution 600^[12]), closing her speech with a military salute as she said, "Michael Jackson, I salute you." Usher walked to the casket and then sang Larry Grossman and Buzz Kohan's "Gone Too Soon", which Jackson recorded as a tribute for Ryan White after his death. Following Usher, a clip from The Ed Sullivan Show in 1969 featuring the Jackson 5's rendition of The Miracles' "Who's Lovin' You" was shown. Following this, the song's composer, Smokey Robinson, spoke about the Jackson 5 covering his song, and continued with a speech. Shaheen Jafargholi from Britain's Got Talent then performed the song.

Jackson choreographer Kenny Ortega presented Jafargholi, honored Jackson, and introduced the final performance of the memorial, which Michael had been slated to perform during the This Is It tour. The concerts' chorus singers performed "We Are the World" and were joined on the stage by several of the guest speakers and performers as well as the Jackson family for the final chorus. With the entire group still on stage, Judith Hill, one of the chorus singers, then led a performance of "Heal the World", with the remainder of the group joining in the chorus.

Jackson's family then addressed the crowd. Jermaine Jackson—who had earlier performed a tearful rendition of "Smile"—gave a brief eulogy, followed by a lengthier eulogy by Marlon Jackson. Then Marlon apparently handed the microphone to Janet Jackson, but in a move that came as a surprise to the show's organizers, she lowered the microphone for Paris Jackson, Michael's daughter. Paris tearfully addressed the crowd:

“

Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine ... and I just want to say that I love him so much...

”

Marlon Jackson then thanked the crowd in attendance, and the family escorted the casket out of the arena while an instrumental version of "Man in the Mirror" was performed. A microphone placed centre stage was lit by spotlight while the instrumental version of "Man in the Mirror" played out, symbolising the 'absence' of Michael Jackson. Pastor Lucious Smith closed the service with a prayer at 12:48 p.m.^[13][14][15]

[edit] Guest list

The participants were Ron Boyd (family friend), Kobe Bryant, Mariah Carey, Andrae Crouch (choir), Berry Gordy, Queen Latifah, Judith Hill (recruited 'This Is It' performer), Jennifer Hudson, Shaheen Jafargholi (a child finalist on Britain's Got Talent, who sang a Jackson song), Magic Johnson, Martin Luther King III, Bernice A. King, John Mayer, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Brooke Shields, Pastor Lucious Smith (family friend), Usher, and Stevie Wonder.^[16]

In addition to the above persons, ABC News reported, Lionel Richie's daughter Nicole, who was Michael's goddaughter, and singers Akon and Sean Combs would attend the services.^[17]

Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife and mother of two of his three children, hoping not to be a distraction,^[18] did not attend the funeral; nor did his first wife, Lisa Marie Presley.^[19] Elizabeth Taylor & Diana Ross, two of Jackson's closest friends, and Macaulay Culkin, also did not attend.^[17]

[edit] Casket

Jackson was presented in a gold-plated solid bronze Promethean casket furnished by the Batesville Casket Company, which cost roughly $25,000. It is similar to the one in which James Brown was buried.^[20][21] The closed casket at the Staples Center was decorated with red roses and Bells of Ireland flower arrangement.

[edit] Live broadcast

The funeral was broadcast live around the world, from the U.S. to Slovakia to India, with an estimated one billion viewers, a record that rivals that of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales and the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Public screenings were held in 37 cinemas across the U.S., as well as in Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Bucharest, Gothenburg, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Malmö, Oslo, Paris, Milan, Sevilla, Stockholm, and Tallinn.^[22] There was also a live broadcast at 3am in Melbourne, Australia at Federation Square.^[23]

According to Nielsen, 31 million Americans watched the service live on television.^[24]

The memorial service was the most watched event in online streaming history, with more online viewers than President Obama's inauguration.^[25] CNN's webcast drew at least 9.7 million streams; their feed on Ustream, 4.6 million streams; and MSNBC's feed via Justin.tv drew three million.^[26]

[edit] Cost

The city of Los Angeles, which is $530 million in debt, said the memorial had cost the city $1.4 million for 1,400 police officers, trash pick-up, sanitation, and traffic control. The city has set up a webpage asking fans for donations to help with the expenses, though it keeps crashing.

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said it would be wrong to expect taxpayers to finance a private event. "The city attorney does not want something like this happening again, the city paying for a private event," spokesman John Franklin told CNN. "That's especially in a cash-strapped city, where people have been furloughed or even lost jobs."^[27]

[edit] Burial

No information was released about the disposition of the body. Jackson was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, though he disassociated himself from the religion,^[28] and his religion was unknown prior to speculations of his conversion to another religion.^{[29] [30]} The Daily Telegraph writes that the family would like to have the casket and remains entombed in concrete because of fears it may be interfered with, and later moved to the Neverland Ranch, next to the train station that Jackson used every day to reach his private zoo..^[31] Because California law regulates where the deceased may be buried, the family would have to obtain permission from land use authorities to allow for burial at Neverland.^[32]

[edit] References