Michael Jackson memorial: What a day of TV mourning
TV coverage of the Michael Jackson’s death had it all Tuesday: helicopter freeway shots of the funeral procession, an army of breathless anchors to ratchet up anticipation and, last but not least, the singer’s gold-plated, flower-draped casket on view for a massive worldwide audience.
Yet through all the media build-up, anticipation and pomp, the actual memorial service remained extraordinarily moving and elegant.
Talk about a day of TV worthy of the king of pop spectaculars. Maybe the difference lies mainly in all the new media that have arrived in the last 30 years, but Elvis Presley went out like a peasant in 1977 compared to Jackson's TV sendoff Tuesday.
The TV coverage started early on the network morning shows, and it was as wild and uneven as Jackson's remarkable life and career.
The Today show, the highest-rated program in morning TV, had a profile of Bubbles, the chimp who once lived with Jackson. The piece featured Bubbles shuffling along in a caged area, and suggested that either Jackson's moonwalk was inspired by Bubbles -- or Bubbles was imitating the moonwalk because he knew Jackson was dead (even though the chimp now lives in Florida).
As nutty as that report sounds, it was representative of much of the massive run-up to the memorial service on this day of wall-to-wall Jackson TV.
But while the media might have acted without much restraint in the morning, the memorial service at the Staples Center opened on a far more subdued and respectful note with Smokey Robinson reading statements of condolence from Diana Ross and Nelson Mandela. And that heightened tone was maintained through the program that ran just over two hours. It was a dignified and impressive event with bits of fire and soul.
After a delay following Robinson's remarks, the memorial got under way at 1:33 p.m. with a gospel choir singing "we are going to see the king," as Jackson's casket was carried into the hall. You could hear the crowd gasp as it arrived.
Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz followed with "I'll Be There," and the cameras showed tear-streaked faces from inside the hall and remote locations ranging from Harlem to Tokyo.
Queen Latifah came next reading a poem written about Jackson by Maya Angelou, We Had Him: "He came to us from the creator trailing creativity in abundance," one line said. "We had him...He was ours and we were his."
Lionel Richie sang "Jesus Is Love" with a full gospel choir. And then, came the legendary Motown founder Berry Gordy, who said Michael Jackson "was like a son to me." Gordy recounted the audition at Motown when Michael was 10.
"He was special. He sang a Smokey Robinson song, 'Who's Lovin' You,'" Gordy said. "He sang it with the blues and passion of a man who had been living it his whole life. He sang it better than Smokey... Though it ended way too soon, Michael Jackson's life was beautiful...He became the undisputed king of pop... I think he is simply the greatest entertainer that ever lived."
Powerful words coming from Gordy and it drew rousing applause from the crowd.
Stevie Wonder sang "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer," a song he said he wrote for Jackson, as the TV cameras showed the flower-draped coffin and shots of mourning fans from locations around the world.
What the first hour of the memorial lacked was humor. Magic Johnson came onstage with Kobe Bryant at 2:15 p.m., and tried to fill that void with talk about him and Michael eating "a bucket of Kentucky fried chicken." The audience seemed to appreciate the chance to smile at a fond and bittersweet recollection by one of its heroes.
The most rousing performance in the early going came from Jennifer Hudson singing "Will You Be There." She stuck with the gospel tone that each of the songs struck.
The Rev. Al Sharpton brought the crowd to its feet with a spirited sermon that again attacked those who focused on the more controversial aspects of Jackson's life.
Addressing Michael's three children, Sharpton said, "There weren't anything strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with. But he dealt with it anyway. He dealt with it for us."
Sharpton said of Jackson, "He pulled down the color curtain...He brought blacks and whites and and Asians Latinos together."
Sharpton was embraced by Jackson's brothers when he came off the stage as the audience stood in applause. Sharpton's fiery words are going to be the talk of the memorial, but there was a gentleness on display as well.
After Brooke Shields, who dated Jackson as a teenager and remained a lifelong friend, reminisced about how the performer's favorite song was Charlie Chaplin's "Smile," Jermaine Jackson came onstage and sang it with tenderness. His performance was one of the memorial's most touching moments.
Usher's performance of "Gone Too Soon" included the singer descending the stage to touch the golden flower-draped casket and then breaking into tears before he ended the song. He was embraced by several members of the Jackson family.
Another high point included an adolescent singer, Shaheen Jafargholi, singing "Who's Lovin' You," following a clip of Jackson singing the song in 1969 on The Ed Sullivan Show and Robinson remembering what he felt like the first time he heard Jackson perform his composition. If Robinson made the crowd smile with the memory of a 10-year-old putting him to shame, the choral finale brought forth tears around the world.
The closing songs -- We Are The World and Heal The World -- were sung by an all-star chorus in tribute to Jackson, who wrote them both. And they showed him for the sensitive artist and global pop phenomenon he had become.
The event closed with family members talking about Michael Jackson, and in the end, no one was more eloquent than Jackson's daughter, Paris.
"Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could imagine," she said breaking into tears. "And I just want to say I love him so much."
None of the many great entertainers, politician or civil rights leaders who took thre stage at the Staples Center Tuesday afternoon, did better than 11-year-old Paris in honoring her father. With those few wrenching words, she helped us to see him and those he loved and left behind as human beings rather than celebrities.
And so, the TV mourning finally ends. But brace yourself for some major blowback as the media start feeling self-conscious about all the coverage and begin complaining that today's events were somehow anti-climactic. If it comes, I will have none of it.
Michael Jackson had the largest audience in media history for his memorial service Tuesday, and his friends and family gave his hundreds of millions of fans one terrific and touching show.
Comments
MJ was a great artist but hopefully we can get back to real news after today. There is a related post at http://iamsoannoyed.com/?p=2088
Posted by: carly | July 7, 2009 2:01 PM
Died like a peasant? But that's right, since he'd been born almost like one. At a shotgun house, with only 3 people in attendance, in 1935. This was not the house in Gary, Indiana, where Michael was conceived, nor a hospital. Now, fast forward to 1977. There were news choppers, 100,000 people in the streets, three states running out of flowers just to meet the demand, with 75,000 people passing through his dead body, and that was less than 30 hours after he's passed away. Not an entire week, in a city the size of Los Angeles. Grief, of the real kind, in a city of 300,000. And lasting. Worldwide, Presley sold 600 million albums and singles before he died, and bingo, year and year, after that, an additional 400 million have been sold ( mostly albums). And counting. In all earnesty, it was the most referenced funeral, other than that of a politician or a religious figure, in history. Then came Lennon's assassination, 4 years after and Lady Diana's death, but that was 18 years after Lennon's. And now, 12 years after Lady Di's passing, what do you get, when you google for Jackson's death, in the news section of that engine? Well, one of the things you get is that 32,000 of those hits are references to Elvis. Not even the last name is needed. Try Monroe, Lady Di, try anyone else other than Elvis. Try Lennon's. You don't get nearly the same kind of referencing. Here's, I believe, one of the reasons. When Elvis died, President Carter's offical statement did not mention anyone, other than Presley. There was no need. Presley did not need referencing. Today, President Obama mentioned, from Moscow, of all places, that "yes, like Elvis, and Lennon, and even Sinatra, etc.etc.etc". Does all that referencing tells us something about Jackson's death, this week? Yeah, for one, that the reaction has been phenomenal. But, to make ludriucous comparisons in trying to belittle what was in itself, an awesome week in recent US history (August 16 to 23, in 1977, the week that broke all record in selling newspapers, since the death of JFK, by making a reference that it was like a peasant's funeral, is truly, wishful thinking. It's like saying, today, that Valentino's funeral was that of a pauper, when 100,000 lined the streets of New York, when it happened. The city stopped. New York City, which was then 15 times larger than Los Angeles stopped. The world's most populous city, then. Look at the "New York Times", for that week, as well as the preceedingn one, since his death took about ten days. And the world listened, and wept for Valentino, throughout.
So, one should think twice about the words one use, lest risking to end up with a tart on one's face say, in 32 years, when the death of Jackson, and that of Presley, and that of Lennon, and that of Sinatra, and Valentino, and Monroe be continuously mentioned, to varying degrees, naturally. But, here's the heart of the matter. Will Jackson be talked about, in thirty years time, as Elvis is, today? Would his home be a shrine? And if so, would there be 16 million, and counting, that would go out of their way, to Memphis, and pay to see it? Today, Jackson's fans would do the impossible to be there. But, 30 years from now, I doubt the same passion will be present, in the general public that is, worldwide, to make him a larger figure, in US history, than is the case with Presley.
Posted by: Jim Burrows | July 7, 2009 3:06 PM
Who was the woman with the straight blonde hair and sun glasses when they sang We are the World and Heal the World?
Posted by: anonymous | July 7, 2009 3:37 PM
Who was the girl that sang the last song at the memorial?
Posted by: Cyndi | July 7, 2009 3:39 PM
Clearly times are differant now as is media, hype and all the rest is why MJ has this attention on his memorial..if this was Elvis would be bigger than this. Plus they didn't wait 2 weeks to bury Elvis..
Posted by: Curt | July 7, 2009 4:02 PM
Regarding this statement made by you: Sharpton said of Jackson, "He pulled down the color curtain...He brought blacks and whites and Latinos together."
I believe you misquoted Sharpton. I am almost sure that he included Asians in the list of peoples before he said Latinos. I don't have a DVR to check it. Maybe you can do so and fix the quote.
Also the finale was not exactly sung by an "all-star" chorus. The main performers were the back-up singers who were to perform in London with Jackson. I think for the most part that they are unknowns. There were famous people on the stage during the final songs (most notably Lionel Ritchie who co-wrote "We are the World") but they did not have microphones.
Hi Micahelle, Thanks. I played back the moment and you are right. I added Asians. Thanks. Z
Posted by: Michelle | July 7, 2009 5:33 PM
The blonde woman with the sun glasses ir oranthi, not sure of the speeling, mj's guitarist seen in his rehersal video.. Austrialian
Posted by: stevie | July 7, 2009 5:39 PM
you can't be more serious... I just read some of the dumbest comments written on the internet. Elvis Presley??? There is NO comparisson. He could never touch as many hearts like Michael did! RIP WGE!
Posted by: nas | July 7, 2009 5:56 PM
you can't be more serious... I just read some of the dumbest comments written on the internet. Elvis Presley??? There is NO comparisson. He could never touch as many hearts like Michael did! RIP WGE!
Posted by: nas | July 7, 2009 5:56 PM
The service was very moving. I think because people spoke from the heart. Michael's daughter Paris was very moving. Children can often say what adults have trouble expressing they don't need to use lot of words. It was clear that Paris will miss her daddy. It was a nice service.
Posted by: Sherry T. | July 7, 2009 6:17 PM
I was in HS when Elvis died, and was not a Elvis fan, but the idea that he died like a peasant compared to Jackson is a joke. It is true the wall to wall coverage did not exist when Elvis died, but much of the country did not yet have cable. CNN was not around, let alone MSNBC, Fox, E, etc. You can't compare the coverage when much of the country was limited to the 3 networks and PBS, when Elvis died. I don't recall Elvis' funeral, but do recall extensive coverage. Mainly because I found it annoying, and difficult to avoid. However, I have seen some footage of it recently. And all the pundits predicted Jackson's funeral would surpass Elvis'. It wasn't even close. Not even all the ticket winners to a star studded free concert picked up their tickets. Yes over a million tried to get tickets (or so the claim is made), but how many really wanted to try and sell them, before they realized they couldn't? LAPD expected a crowd matching the 250,000 that lined the roads for Elvis' casket to drive by, and other than press approximately 1,000 showed up. I happened to be in LA on June 26th. My son wanted to go see Jackson's star. There were a lot of people at the walk of fame, and I expected a number of people to show up at his funeral (if for no other reason than there were crowds everyday during his trial). And yet throngs didn't show. On Reliable Sources you were beyond excited and claimed the coverage hadn't been excessive. What a joke. Yes a lot of people want to hear the latest, and they have tuned in, but a lot more are sick of the coverage.
Lastly, it has been almost 2 weeks since Jackson died, as a result the cable media, and far too much network time had excessive coverage, so on that measurement the coverage--which usually peeks after the funeral-- far exceeded Princess Di, and Elvis. However, you should not equate coverage with people caring. And given most people have their funeral 3 days after death (or close to that) comparing the coverage of Di or Elvis who weren't in limbo for 12 days is foolish. I feel for Jackson's children, and I take no pleasure in his death, but I can't wait until the medis puts the story to bed!!!!!!!
Posted by: Sara | July 7, 2009 6:29 PM
The real difference between the Death of Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson is this.
The whole world loved Elvis.
A sadness swept the globe.
Michael's passing has generated pity and media hype.
Posted by: Maurice Colgan | July 7, 2009 6:49 PM
hey i'm sheetal all the way form Fiji Islands and i'am deeply sad regarding the lose of our King Michael Jackson!
i dont really know much about him but did love his song.He was a true King indeed and have changed many's life with his touching song!
i would like to give my love to all his families members and also the kids!
and also wana say that Michael i love you and you are in my heart and will always be remeberd for who you are!!!!!
love sheetal
Posted by: sheetal | July 7, 2009 7:05 PM
why are the elvis fans so upset when michael jackson is compared with him? michael jackson wrote music, sang music, and reinvented music. if not for elvis' pretty face, he won't be phenomenal. the old elvis generation should have realized that no other big artist had the name of elvis that's why his name comes up even without the last name. to the individual who looked up elvis in wikipedia, the reason why his name has 32000 hits is because people were comparing their funerals. no, i have nothing against elvis, and not a fan of michael, but people are more sensible now. they can watch it on the screen, they can watch it on the internet, why would you spend hours in the summer sun just to watch a hearse/casket/whatever go by? if one knows how to make an analogous comparison between 1977 population, media and supply of flowers, one would realize that elvis' send-off was not like a peasant's. but it was not of this magnitude, either. period.
to the one who said that she was not an elvis fan (but that week in august '77 was an awesome week) ... yeah, right. and i'm jessica alba.
what the elvis die-hards fail to overlook is that most of the people who wanted a glimpse of elvis' casket were, duh, females. or curious onlookers. when elvis died, only his generation wept. when michael jackson died, even the new generation wept (i don't know why).
again, i'm not a jackson fan. i don't have a single copy of any of his albums nor his music on my ipod. but i do appreciate michael jackson's musical genius.
Posted by: carrie | July 8, 2009 12:44 AM
The Blonde with the glasses was Orianthi. She is an Australian guitarist. Check out her fan club page.
http://www.orianthi.net/index2.html
Posted by: Jason | July 8, 2009 5:00 AM
Michael Jackson was simply the best. He made the world a better place to live. May his children be like him. The world can use more people like Michael Jackson.
There are too many negative people that try to spread their hate and don't do anything to help others. All they do is complain. Every person deserves peace after death.
Celebrate Michael Jackson for who he really was, a special, rare person that put others before himself.
Thank you Michael Jackson for inspiring the world to open their arms as you did.
tp://magicwriter.blogspot.com/2009/07/mike-and-microphone.html
Posted by: JSmooth | July 8, 2009 5:58 AM
Magic Johnson’s story about the KFC lunch was a nice humanistic touch, but I was more impressed when he shut down father Joe Jackson. Saying Michael’s kids would have a wonderful grandmother, loving uncles and aunts, and plenty of cousins to play with. No mention of Joe. Subtle but damning. Good play, Magic!
Posted by: Paul | July 8, 2009 10:56 AM
Dream on, If Elvis had died recently his funeral would have been much bigger then MJ. Don`t forget, there was not satellite cable etc in 1977,
We will see in32 years time(I wont be around) if 600000 people are still visiting MJ grave as they do Elvis 32 years after his death. Elvis ` Aloha from Hawaii was the biggest watched tv show EVER. Keep dreaming but stop talking rubbish
Posted by: chris clarke | July 8, 2009 2:48 PM
All of that hoopla nonsense...of course MJs fans will talk about this man for years and years and years to come. He will never ever be forgotten. This man was the greatest entertainer of all time. No one moved his body like this guy. He was amazing. Sorry, can't take that away no matter how much you go on and on about other celebs. If you like Elvis, fine. But MJs fans are right there! He'll never die.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 8, 2009 8:24 PM
Sarah...The whole world loved MJ. Elvis was not as global as Jackson, sorry. You're just trying to stir the pot. No one pitited MJ, he was the bomb and we all know it. What you failed to mention is that some ticket holders didn't pick up tickets, because they couldn't get to the event in time. Nothing will ever be seen like this again and in your heart, you know it or you wouldn't be on here trying to compare people's deaths. You're sick!
Posted by: Vegas | July 8, 2009 8:28 PM
I so totally agree with you JSmooth! I noticed the omission as well. Even if it wasn't on purpose I'm sure whatever guilt Joe may have felt was well deserved.
Posted by: tracie | July 8, 2009 9:29 PM
Comparing funerals? Are you people bored? Why can't BOTH men be great to their particular genre of music. Elvis was the king of ROCK, Michael was the king of POP. Big difference. Globally, I think Michael Jackson wins this round because he traveled to more places and his music was exposed to more people. His style was universal and Elvis appealled to a certain group of people. There are some songs of Elvis I liked but I was not a real Elvis fan. I did not follow his funeral and the news after it. I am however a child of the Jackson 5 era and followed Michael through most of his career. His style of music made you want to either sing or dance. Personally, I am not going to get into a pissing contest over who was better. That is up to those who have nothing else to do. It is like comparing sports teams. Therefore, since the topic is about Michael's memorial, I will say this. I found it to be very classy and tasteful and gave honor to the man, the true entertainer. All the "haters' can now find someone else to harrass and lie about. Michael is resting in the arms of God. Safe from the nonsense of this world....
OMG....Arguing over the size of a funeral....you guys are really funny...LOL....
Posted by: JadeH | July 8, 2009 10:13 PM
Not everyone loved Jackson. You are all delusional
Posted by: EC | July 10, 2009 7:19 AM