his son writing on twitter very sadz to say it's true. david cameron called bowie a master of invention. >> and that is all of our time. thanks for being with us. i'm tony harris. john siegenthaler is back right now. >> we begin with the challenges facing president obama as he prepared for tomorrow's state of the union address. it will be his last and it comes at a time when american's foreign policy is being questioned especially in the mid-ing east. in iraq isil is claiming responsibility for several attacks, including one at a baghdad mall. in all 52 people were killed. in syrian russian war plains are suspected of bombing a school in aleppo. the russian defense ministry has not commented.

russia began carrying out air strikes in the country last september. yemen reports that a hospital in a province was destroyed in an air strike by the saudi-lead coalition. a government official disputes the report saying the clinic was only damaged. it comes one day after the aid group doctors without borders said four people were killed in an attack in the north. and the u.s. navy releases a film that shows provacative actions from iran. the video was made public after a freedom of information act request from al jazeera america. jamie mcintyre reports from the pentagon. >> reporter: john, the pentagon denounced the iranian action at the time saying firing small rockets from boats as a u.s. aircraft carrier passed by was

dangerous and unprofessional. iran denied firing any rockets. meanwhile the pentagon has been sitting on the video evidence for two weeks, and it took our formal request to pry it lose. the image ray was maken by a maeve i have tea hawk helicopter. as it was passing through the strait the day after christmas. the video obtained by al jazeera under the freedom of information act, shows there are several other vessels in the international shipping lane, including what appears to be a commercial oil tanker. then the camera focuses in on five small boats. the u.s. navy says it's the kind of live fire exercise iran does all the time. except this time, the fuselage was fired less than a mile from the american supercarrier truman which was on its way to unsyria.

while they posed no direct threat to the carrier, a pentagon spokesman said they were extremely unprofessional. >> the proximity is highly unusual, that is not something responsible countries do. >> reporter: john mccain the respect chairman of the armed services committee, says this is another example of president obama turning a blind eye to iranian provocation. even democrats want to know how and when the white house plans recommend sanctions against iran for two recent ballistic missile tests. missiles that might be capable of delivering a nuclear war head some day. the white house said the president is still reviewing the

facts. >> we will issue those sanctions and those designations at the appropriate time, no question. >> what is the appropriate time? >> we'll issue the designations when it is time. >> but there is no immediate plan to do so. >> we'll issue it when it's time. >> reporter: in both cases the white house is trying to determine if what it considers to be provocative acts are the work of hard liners in iran, who much like hard liners in the united states would like nothing better than to see the nuclear accord derailed. john. jamie thank you. iran is one of many topics president obama is expected to touch upon in his final state of the union address tomorrow. tonight the president and his staff are putting those final touches on his speech. the white house released a preview today. ♪ >> i want us to be able when we walk out this door to say we couldn't think of anything else that we didn't try to do;

that -- that we didn't shy away from a challenge because it was hard. >> mike viqueira is in washington with more on the big speech. mike? >> reporter: good evening, john. it is going to be shaping up as part fair well address part call to action for many of the items that remain of president obama's agenda. but a legacy-minded president obama is going to be trying to do just that. bunnish his legacy, by in part looking back on all of the things he considers to be successes in his term in office. the message from president obama tuesday night, i'm not a lame duck. there's more to do. >> the president of the united states! ♪ >> reporter: but a white house multimedia pr blitz before the speech makes his approach clear, building a legacy for the future will mean revisiting the past. >> we will rebuild. we will recover, and the united states of america will emerge stronger than before. >> reporter: that was 2009, just

a month after taking office, his first speech to congress, heading into his final state of the union, the unemployment rate is down to 5%, the economy is growing, the domestic auto industry has risen from its death bed, and some are predicting dollar a gallon gas this year. all positive signs by most measures, and yet years of slow growth, stagnant wages, and income inequality. all factors of voter anxiety over their economic future, fuelling the rise of populous like donald trump and bernie sanders. which brings up another problem for the president, the calendar, in just three weeks the first votes of 2016 will be cast in iowa. it will consume much of the political oxygen, complicating relations with congress. >> the president shall give to congress information about the state of our union. >> reporter: while aids say this

state of the union will be non-traditional, there are boxes the president still wants to check. closing the military prison at guantanamo bay. criminal justice reform, and pushing the pacific rim trade pact through congress. and john, the president will also point to foreign policy and claim successes, the opening of cuba, and the still controversial nuclear deal with iran, but we'll face a skeptical congress, and the majority of americans in recently polls show most americans don't approve of the president's foreign policy. >> mike thank you. i'm joined by author of several best-selling books. david welcome. when you look back at the president's approval rating when he got this job to now, it has

dropped dramatically. what happened? >> well, some of it is personal. some of it is sociological and political. i think that the country has been on a trend of divisiveness for a generation now, and it sort of is peaking at this moment of the last year of obama's presidency. i think that in terms of -- of the world, his foreign policy is -- has been met with some dislike in -- in the united states, partly because of the events that have happened that are somewhat beyond his control. he has not been good at defining the foreign policy particularly in the middle east. part of it is inmrikable, because the economy has improved year before year during his president even as his popularity as diminished. >> he gave a little preview of his speech. let's listen.

>> our ability to come together as one american family and pull ourselves closer to the america believe in. it's hard to see sometimes in the day-to-day noise of washington, but it is who we are, and it is what i want to focus on in this state of the union address. >> what comes through to me, not just in this sound bite, but in his townhall meeting about guns, is his frustration. is his legacy going to be his inability to work with congress. >> i think that history will be much kinder to him than the president is, but certainly from the very beginning of his national notoriety. it was with that speech in 2004 when we talked about no blue states or red states, but the united states, he came in to office with that of sort of the construct of what kind of president he would be, and for a variety of reasons, many that had more to do with the

republican party and the divisiveness, he was unable to accomplish that part of his mission. >> i think i understand the republican side, a lot as been said about it, but talk about his own personality and why that may have played a role. >> president obama is not your traditional transactional politician. he is very distinct from his democratic predecessor, bill clinton in that respect. bill clinton needed people. president obama didn't need people in the same way, so from the beginning of his presidency, you have seen this reluctance to deal with congress, part of that is very personal because of the way he resolved the contradictions of his own life, he figured if i can resolve being black and white and dealing with so many other issues, why can't the country, why can't the congress? and that has not served him well in the day-to-day of politics, even though in the long run it

has been a very steadying force for him. >> do you expect president obama to be a big part of the campaign for the democratic campaign? >> he has not played a big part in the last seven years. i think the clinton campaign in particular, is not particularly enraptured even with the way he is going to deliver his state of the union address tomorrow night. i don't think he sees that as his mission honestly. >> he served two terms, and yet he seems -- toward the end, you get the impression not just the frustration, but that he's not satisfied with what he hasn't been able to accomplish. is that fair? >> that's very fair. i think he has been frustrated for years, and certainly he is not blameless in that regard, but i think he is dealt with an

incredibly difficult situation from the moment he took office when the economy was in a hand basket, and he -- i think that next week he is going to go to detroit. i think that some of his efforts like what he did to bailout the auto industry are underrecognized in terms of its importance in many other parts of the economy. so i think he feels frustrated about that. but from what i can tell tomorrow night he is not going to say this is all i accomplished, but somebody else will say that, and it's a lot more than he gets credit for. >> david thank you for joining us. >> thank you, john. ali velshi will join us for our special coverage of the state of the union beginning tomorrow night at 8:00. one of the president's goal was to close guantanamo down. today a saudi man was released. he was one of the first suspects

taken there. the population peaked at nearly 700 in 2003. 103 men are currently being held including 40 who have been cleared for release. pentagon officials tell al jazeera the u.s. has hit isil where it hurts, its wallet. a storage facility in mosul was hit by 2,000-pound bombs. the amount destroyed is not known, but it is estimated to be in the millions of dollars. and now to syria again where some relief has arrived for tens of thousands of people caught? that country's civil war. convoys, food and medicine reached the town of madaya outside of.com -- damascus. caroline malone reports. >> reporter: a red cross convoy

left damascus carrying desperately needed aide to the besieged town of madaya in western syria. but more needs to be done to help others in need. >> what is going on now is not good enough. the united nations have done this exactly three months ago, and look where we are at now. >> reporter: to the north supply trucks from the red crescent aid organization head for two other towns. both convoys had to arrive at the same time. pro-government forces have blockaded madaya for months. the other towns are cut off by armed rebel groups. people in madaya say they have been reduced to eating handfuls of salt, tree leaves, grass, and dogs and cats. >> we are arabs.

these children what wrong have they done? this child what wrong did he commit? >> reporter: the world food program says the aid carried to madaya will meet the needs of 40,000 people but only for one month. the u.n. says there are 400,000 people trapped by various sieges across syria. the u.n. has more aid convoys planned for across syria, but their delivery depends on the warring sides and whether they will let the deliveries of aid through. caroline malone, al jazeera, near the syria, lebanon border in afghanistan four nations relaunched talks today aimed at ending years of bloodshed. they met in islamabad, trying to convince the taliban to come to the table and end the violence. the recently won back territory in the south and carried out a series of suicide attacks in

kabul. taliban officials say the group is split on whether or not to participate. now to david bowie, extraordina extraordinary, revolutionary, and one of a kind. he died yesterday of cancer. he was 69 years old. tonight fans around the world are mourning his death. he passed away on sunday following an 18-month battle with cancer. emma hayward has more on his remarkable life. ♪ >> reporter: icon innovative, visionary, he was no ordinary artist, he transcended the worlds of music, fashion, and drama, in a karri which began in the 60s to become one of the most recognized performers in the world. born david jones in 1947, bowie rose to fame with the 1969 single "space oddity" ♪ ground control to major tom

>> reporter: in the area of lon do where he was born, fans paid tribute. >> 1977 when i walked into a disco and heard "heros." >> he would screw up the rule book, check it out and start all over again. >> reporter: in a career spanning six decades, he became a global success and the master of reinvention. none more so that as iggi star ♪ changes, turn and face the strange changes ♪ >> reporter: when bogey became ziggy, his profile soared, but

flamboyant bowie constantly transfored his image and carved out a successful career in film and on the stage. >> what is remarkable as well about -- about this extraordinary trajectory is basically it's an album a year, an album ever 18 months. he is writing, recording, touring, and at the same time, you know, moving on to the next project. i mean, it's incredible, incredible speed, incredible kind of dedication to himself and to his conceptual ideas. ♪ let's dance ♪ put on your red shoes and dance the blues ♪ >> reporter: in all he released 25 albums, a stream of new early materials brought him new generations of fans, which help him keep one step ahead of his rivals. david bowie was 69. he released what will be his

final album "black star," on friday. ♪ >> reporter: emma hayward, al jazeera, london. we'll have much more on the life and legacy of david bowie coming up in our next half hour. we'll talk to ge smith who played with bowie. coming up, the dramatic video of el chapo's arrest. division problem, job security, or extorsion. plus money for nothing. >> it's fun to play, neighbor -- you never know. playing powerball, a billion dollars jackpot and a nearly zero chance of winning it. why we do it.

los angeles police chief

charlie beck is recommending criminal charges for an officer who shot and killed an unarmed homeless man last may. he was on his some -- stomach when the officer shot him twice in the back. it is now up to the district attorney to decide whether the officer will actually face trials. a maryland appeals court has ruled to delay the trial of caesar goodson. freddie gray suffered a spinal injury in police custody. john terrett is in baltimore tonight. john? >> john, good evening, the judge in baltimore wants officer william porter to testify as a key prosecution witness, but the lowest appeals court says just a moment, we'll be the ones to decide that, and by the way, we

might take our time at it. it means the case is entering uncharted legal territory. a dramatic development, a maryland appeals court altering the trial of officer goodson in the death of freddie gray just as the jury was being selected. goodson drove the police van when freddie gray suffered a severe spinal injury and died a week later. they are trying to decide if officer porter could be forced to testify in the trial of goodson. barry williams in charge of all six police trials compelled officer porter to testify in the case even though he is facing his own retrial in the spring. without porter's testimony there are questions about whether the prosecution could prove its case. >> officer porter is the only

state's witness that connects the dots that proves that officer goodson was aware that freddy gray needed emergency medical assistance, so without officer porter testifying, the state may not be able to prove that goodson was aware that friendly gray needed emergency medical help. >> reporter: but porter's lawyers complained that forcing porter to testify is unfair and unconstitutional. >> as his attorney i would be very concerned about his testifying, because despite the immunity that the state has given officer porter to compel him to testify, there is still concern he could be prosecuted for perjury. >> reporter: he is also concerned he could be vulnerable to federal prosecution. it's a logistical nightmare for the state and prosecution attorneys throwing months of careful planning in which each trial is separate and in sequence into disarray. >> it is very unusual and there

will be weeks if not months before the court of special appeals makes its final decision, and once that make that final decision, there is also the possibility the losing party would file an appeal to the court of appeals. >> reporter: baltimore has worked hard to repair relations between the community and the police in the past eight months, but the longer these trials drag on, many fear the greater the chance of frustration growing over the lack o a resolution, including the chances of a return to the kind of street violence seen in the afterth of freddie gray's death. there are six baltimore police officers involved in the freddie gray case. three are now involved in this appeal, which leaves the other three, al jazeera has learned that the other three trials can go ahead, but they are very unlikely to be brought up. they will start as scheduled much later in the year. john? >> all right.

john, thank you very much. still ahead, capturing el chappo, dark, blurry, and scattered with gunfire, a look at the dangerous mission to catch him. and the chal friends a group of teachers who say paying union dues violates their first amendment rights.

hi, everyone, this is al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler. shutout, the daring raid to capture a mexican drug lord. while the u.s. is fighting to extradite el chapo to america. you have almost no chance of winning the biggest powerball payout ever. over a billion dollars. why people still keep playing. plus changes. ♪ changes >> david bowie helped redefine

much of popular culture. guitarist ge smith talks about the man, the music, and the impact. ♪ we are getting a new look at the operation to recapture one of the world's most wanted drug-lords. video shows the raid that lead to his arrest. mexico's attorney general says it could take up to a year to extradite him to the u.s. adam raney has more from mexico city. >> reporter: a deadly raid caught on video by mexican marines. gunfire on both sides and they look for joaquin el chapo guzman again neighborhoods, a barrage of bullets, five people killed in the raid. el chapo, though, was tonight be found. these marines call out, where he

is? as they ask the woman where he is, she says i don't know. he slipped into the sewers, and drawled for a few hundred meters before surfacing and stealing a car from a woman nearby. authorities caught up with me, and he is now in the maxim security prison he escaped from in july. he could be extradited to the u.s. his lawyers will file as many motions as they can to delay the process. mexican authorities are keen to get el chapo into the hands of u.s. authorities as soon as they can, a dramatic turn around from 2014 when they refused to extra di -- extradite him. but now there is pressure to hold on to him to ensure that extradition is successful. >> at least six prosecutors across the country have secured

indictments against gustman. chicago is one of them. ashar qureshi reports. >> reporter: in 2013 he was named public enemy number one. it's a dubious moniker last used by chicago law enforcement to describe ganger al capone in the 1930s. >> his involvement with the day-to-day drug trade in chicago is of a major significance, and he controls the street gangs by supplying them with the drugs. >> reporter: in chicago the u.s. drug enforcement agency estimates his gang supplies 80% of the drugs in the city. he escaped in 2001 using money, bribes, and a series of tunnels. after 12 years on the rin, he was captured in 2014, but escaped again last july through

a mile long tunnel. following a dramatic raid, he was recaptured a third time on friday. >> translator: authorities carried out intense and careful intelligence work and a criminal investigation that allowed them to identify and arrest guzman and dismantle the network of influence and protection of this criminal >> reporter: that network is the dominant cartel presence in the united states with chicago at the seen ter of the distribution network. in 2009 federal authorities in illinois indicted guzman and dismantleman in what was called one of the most significant drug importation conspiracies ever charg charged in chicago. in the last several years more than 20 members have been indicted. in a state the dea said:

ultimately it will be the u.s. attorney general who will determine where guzman and dismantleman should face trial should he be extradited. mexican authorities warn it could take at least a year. >> probably the most important thing is the weight of the evidence, because you don't want to spend a lot of resources to get him here only to have the case fall apart. but in addition the significance of those charges, what they consist of. >> reporter: the other big question people are asking is whether or not guzman and dismantleman's arrest will have any effect on the flow of drugs into the united states or here on to the streets of chicago. the drug lord himself says no.

and while some law enforcement officials believe the arrest may cause a temporary disruption in supply, the multi-billion dollars industry will undoubtedly still continue. >> david katz is a former dea agent. welcome. >> thank you. >> it seems to me one of the big questions is, during that year if he is actually extradited in a year, how can mexico hold him? they haven't done a good job so far. >> no, they haven't. if history is any prediction of the future, they are going to have issue.

he knows if he comes to the united states his continued pattern of escape and recapture is over. so i would imagine he would do everything in his power and with his considerable fortune to try to escape while he still can. >> he has been on the run off and on for a while, so who is running the operation? is he really running the operation? >> absolutely. he has a very top-down support structure. even while he was incarcerated, he was in charge. in that is another thing that will stop once he comes here. because his ability to communicate will be curtailed. >> so one of his subordinates will take over presumably if he comes here? >> yes, one thing they fear is coming to this country. at that point, i think they back off a little bit. >> back off on what?

>> stop maybe -- >> don't sell as many drugs -- >> curtail their activities to some extent -- >> do you really believe that? >> yeah, i do. >> you believe because he is behind bars there will be fewer drugs in the united states. >> absolutely. if you recall 25 years ago -- >> there is demand in columbia, though. >> of course. the best strategy is a two-prong. you have to decrease demand. but while supplies are so prolific, that is a hard thing to do. and make treatment and rehabilitation a greater priority. 25 years ago columbia was ever bit as bad as mexico, and they got handle on it, by basically letting these drug lords come here for prosecution. >> but the fight against drugs

is as difficult as it ever was. >> no doubt. >> but the idea that the united states could fight it, defeat it, stop the inflow and use of drugs in this country just isn't going to happen. >> it's prohibition on a bigger scale, for sure. but if there was no intervention effort or educational effort, imagine what the situation would be. it would be far worse. but there have been periods in our history where we have knocked it down, and for a number of reasons, budget, the focus changes and the fight gets backed up a little bit. >> what do you think about the sean penn interview? >> i think he is an absolute moron and disgrace. >> why? >> just the very idea that he would want to sit in the room -- for -- i don't know if he is doing a role -- i don't know what the ultimate purpose

was, but this man is a butcher. he is responsible for thousands of deaths. >> sean penn is not a trained reporter, but there have been reporters who interviewed social media social media before 9/11, or many other very bad people. so why is there something wrong with that? >> i think that anyone who would actually -- he talked about embracing him and having a pleasant conversation with him. i can't even imagine. this guy has more blood on his hand as any human being. there is no isil member who has more deaths on his hands. >> thank you very much. the iowa caucus is just three weeks away. a new poll has donald trump and ted cruz in a dead heat.

cruz has higher favorability numbers. marco rubio got 15%, the next were in single digits. the next republican debate will have just seven candidates participating. rand paul and carly fiorina do not have enough support in the poles to qualify. paul says he will protest the decision, and will not participate in the undercard debate. now to the democrats, bernie sanders could be gaining ground on hillary clinton both in iowa and nationally. david -- david shuster reports. >> reporter: the anxiety in the clinton campaign seems to be growing. clinton's campaign manager wrote:

he notes that in both states bernie sanders is now outspending clinton on television ads. >> it's time for our next president to get in there and take on wall street and big business. >> reporter: the progressive push appears to be working. the poll of iowa democrats indicates sanders has pulled into a statistical tie. and nationally the newest poll shows clinton ahead by just four. making matters worse, the polls were conducted before the latest controversy. last friday the state department released another set ofg. emails clinton kept on our private server. jake sullivan wrote that he was having difficulty transmitting certain information because of issues sending by secure facts. clinton responded by writing that he turn it into non-paper with no identifying heading and

send none secure. clinton denied any wrongdoing on sunday. >> we are trying to get the best information we can, and obviously what i'm asking for is whatever can be transmitted if it doesn't come through secure to be transmitted on the unclassified system. >> reporter: but republicans have pounced. charles grassley called the email disturbing, and former independent council who has deep contacts in the fbi says the bureau's investigation is intensifying. >> they are now at over 1200 classified emails and that's just for the ones we know about from the state department. that doesn't include the ones that the fbi is in fact recov recovering? >> in the midst of the distractions knocking clinton off message -- sanders has had a

better chance to stay focused. >> in wall street does not end its greed, we will end it for them. >> reporter: some clinton supporters are now bracing for the possibility that she loses both iowa and new hampshire, but the only presidential candidate to ever lose both and still capture the nomination was blil in 1992. and every candidate who has been declared the winner of iowa and new hampshire, like mitt romney in 2012, won the nomination. more presidential politics at the top of the hour, ali velshi talks to one of the republican hopefuls. >> john tonight i interview mike huckabee, the former arkansas governor, won the iowa caucuses in 2008, but is now struggling. meanwhile ted cruz has captured

the biggest share of evangelical voters in iowa. that's "on target" tonight at 9:00 eastern, john? >> ali thank you. today the supreme court heard arguments in a case that would deal a major blow to unions. at issue the fair share dues. courtney keeley is in washington. >> reporter: i stand with rebuck ka, do you? [ cheers ] >> reporter: backers of rebecca and nine other teefrps who are suing the california teacher's union gathered outside the supreme court on monday. the plaintiffs say paying the fees violates their first

amendment rights to freedom of speech. >> because when we work together we have power. >> reporter: prounion demonstrators argue a ruling in favor of the teachers would unravel decades of progress. inside the court typical lines were drawn on the bench. justice kegan points out ruling against the union would have many more legal repercussions. saying: the surprise came from conservative justice scalia. court servers suspected he might lean in favor of the unions. his questioning during monday's oral arguments indicate otherwise. the supreme court had 80 minutes to listen to arguments, 20 minutes beyond the usual 60. the decisioning won't be made until june, but this case could

deliver a punishing blow to public sector unions across the country. rebecca has taught for 28 years. half of her career was as a full union member. >> the unions forced me to fund collective bargaining efforts that are harmful to my students, and that's offensive to me. >> our position is that those fees are fair because the union provides a wide range of services from which all of the members benefit, and that that is constitutional. >> reporter: the union argues the fair share fee is simply a user fee for services, and has nothing to do with politics left or right. coming up next on the broadcast, why people buy into the illusive dream of lottery riches. and the artistry of david bowie.

guitarist ge smith who knew bogey joins us live.

the u.s. powerball jackpot reached more than $11 billion, the largest ever. americans are lining up across the country to buy tickets despite having almost no chance of winning the massive prize. >> here is the winner, yee-haw. >> america has gone crazy for the powerball thanks to a jackpot worth $1.4 billion. after taxes that's $651 million if you take the lump sum payout. but it's the longest of long shots. the lottery association which runs powerball puts the odds of wins it at three times the odds of dying in an asteroid strike. some psychologists say we know there is little shot of winning, but we pay two bucks a ticket for the right to dream about

what their lives could be like, the cheap entry fee is too much to resist, yet the poorest among us are paying the highest price. a famous duke study, found the poorest one third of house holds about half of all weekly lottery tickets. maine tripled his advertising budget for the lottery, and paid off in tens of thousands of dollars in revenue. you the state legislature is investigating the marketing strategy to see if it is unfairly targeting lower-income people. one group reports americans spent more than $70 billion on lotteries in 2014. that's more than they spent on sports tickets, books, games, movies, and music combined. the next drawing is on wednesday night. ringling brothers is

retiring its remaining elephants early. 11 elephants will be moved in may to its 200-acre conservation center in florida. they announced the plan following public outcry for the elephant's well-being. coming up next, remembering david bowie, the ever-changing styles, the ground-breaking music. i'll talk to ge smith who knew and played with bowie.

fans are paying tribute to david bowie in his south london hometown. a makeshift memorial was set up in the place where he was born as david jones back in 1947. they have been leaving flowers and lighting candles in honor of the legendary rock icon. he lost an 18-month battle with cancer on sunday. ♪ let's dance, put on your red shoes and dance the blues ♪ >> his death comes days after his 69th birthday, and the release of his latest album. the british rocker was constantly changing personas and styles, pushing artistic boundaries, never repeating himself. he released two albums in recent

years. ge smith is a formal musical director for "saturday night live." he played and tours with bowie and helped jump start smith's career by casting in him a music video, take a look. ♪ fashion ♪ you shout it while you are dancing on the dance floor ♪ >> ge smith is in southhampton new york. welcome. thank you for joining us. and i'm sorry for your loss of your friend. >> thank you, john. >> tell me what you'll remember about -- about david bowie. >> you know, i was thinking about that in the car on the way coming here to the studio, and what i remember is that he was always smiling. he was -- he was -- the guy i knew, you know, was a happy -- a happy man, david bowie. very smart, very passionate

about his work. >> you know, there are so many people who saw the different sides of your friend, and they sort of wondered who he is. who was the real david bowie? because we saw so many different characters. >> yeah, i don't know. i can only tell you about the guy that i knew. and i knew him for a couple of years back in the early '80s. and then would just see him occasionally after that. but he was always friendly and kurtous and inclusive. >> you met him while he was looking for unusual faces for his video on the song "fashion," right? >> that's right. yeah. i was at a party, and he happened to be there as well, and asked me, you know, hey, what are you doing tomorrow? you know? and i said nothing. and he said, welcome -- come be

in my video, and later on that same evening he found out i played the guitar. and he said, wow, you can be the guitar player. so that's how that happened. >> what was it like to play with him on stage. >> we did the johnny carson show -- the old "tonight show," with carson, and it was fantastic. i loved rehearsing for that, you know? because it was quick. we had to learn the things quick, and he -- he just knew his music. he was a real professional. as far as i could see. >> yeah, i mean, so -- so this wasn't -- i mean, obviously his success over decades in music, he has to be -- a talented musician, but he was very serious. you might get the impression of watching him dress up in red hair and some pretty wild outfits that he wasn't sewerous about the fusic, but you say he

was. >> he was. and he was always very serious, obviously about entertaining people. and a lot of performers you hear them -- they don't want to embrace that part of it, the entertainment part. but he was very aware of it, and new how to work it. >> so you -- you told us what you remember -- what you think you'll remember about him. what do you think the music world will remember about him? >> his influence was -- was huge in the music business. you can hear it in almost any band these days. from youtube on down the line. everybody listened to his music. you know, in the '70s, all of those records "diamond dog," all of that stuff, very influential records. >> i understand you have got a great story about him at the airport getting on a plane?

>> yeah, we were going to -- to california from new york city. this is -- you know, a long time ago, obviously pre-tsa days. and i had a guitar with me. and we had eight people booked. and i'm getting on the plane carrying the guitar, and the woman says you can't bring that on the plane. because guitars don't do well in the luggage department. so i said, hey, david, she won't let me bring the guitar. he immediately grabs the guitar and goes up to her, and said elvis presley gave this to me the week before he died. and they wrapped it in blankets and it has the best ride ever. he was an actor as well as a musician.

and just a nice guy. >> yeah. he clearly has an influence on so many of us. ge, thank you for sharing your story. >> thank you, john. thank you. >> that's our program. thank you for watching. i'm john siegenthaler. we'll leave you with some images from david bowie's amazing career. ♪ ♪ i, i will be me ♪ and you, you will be queen ♪ nothing will stand in our way ♪ ♪ we will be heros, just for one day ♪

♪ we can be us, just for one day ♪ ♪ i, i can remember >> i'm ali velshi. "on target" tonight. mike huckabee is struggling in the polls but is not giving up his fight to be the 2016 republican nominee for president. i'll ask him how long he'll stay in the race and why he still has faith that evangelical voters will still have faith in him and reject ted cruz. the 2016 election proirnl season officially kicks off with