were being let into the stapl ceer. people who werticket holders andad the armnd announcements is being made about allowing them insid the staples center and they have beenheering every time an athounsment has en made 're told that just within the last few minutes, the family michael jason has left the family compound in enco and headed st lawn cemetery for a private memorial service. there you see thears the highway. i'm joined this hour by my colleague, tamron hall a david shuster who re back in new yor at msnbc headquarters. go morning. >> good rning, chris. >> chris, good morning. firsof all, it's anonor to be here with her in new york regardless of what you think of chael jackson this is a day unlike anything a lot of us has ever seen. it'sincredibl chs, on my w in i wa listening to the radio and they were invitingeople in new york cityo come down to times square whichill be played out on the huge screens youre very familiar with. i image people will be walking by television sets best buy and other sto getting a

glimpse of this. ey are expecting a billion people, 'm heard, to be watching this via television a manythers there in that crowd and it's incredibl to this, chris. get on perspective. u're there in the midst of a of this. how does the ergy feel thre? it is celebration, more somber? take us inside what you're seeing. >> i will tell you that i've be here over the last several dayseay through the weekend and up until today. and there was such a change, i think, because it h been 12 days sce the death of michael jackson. fans have had ti to geve and now they are really celebrating his life. thpeople i saw coming in tay were jus very excited that they ha beat the odds t they were able to get a ticket to go inside the staples cter. they know it is going to a trendous show. in fact,housands are already gaing here at the sples center, as i said, that ty were allowed in just within the last houor so. and th over in hollood hills, the legend'sfamily and closest iends are heading to

forest lawn cemetery and that is where the private funeral service will be th i the sme placehere stars ke bte davis and lucill ball are at rest. severahundred thousands mourners a expected to pack los angeles, at least that is what they are preparing for. center stage is where i amat the staples center. this cld be t lgest celebry memorial service ever held. >> chris, want to -- >> morehan 1.5 million fans had ped for ticke b only 1100 were given out. we will go insi staples. 6,500 more fans at the nokia nter for a simuast. here is my wristband. there of the staples center this is blueor the medi a gold for people who want acce to the memorial service. are told, by the way, taon andavid, there were few tickets that were not picked up and they are making them available to se people, but they do expect at least, at this point, staples to be lled.

>>hris i wanto take our audice to live pickets. our producers are telling me that we have right now of the procession caring michael jackson's body to fort lawn cemetery. michael jkson's body being escoed according to some reports by sw.a. team members. thfamily, we saw video of them leaving. thefamily, the jackson compound as it has been refeed to, and you can imagine e people who are on e other side, david, o trafficinally realizing perhaps what is happeng and who is passi them or whe remains are psing. >> you have to bieve they have me sort of police escort to ear traffic and keep se of the crazies away whowant to somehow get involved in this processional nbc george lewis is outside the family compound in encino. they left aew minutes ago, but descbehat the scene has been like this morning where you are, george. >> wll, it's beennteresting to see thisong line of limo and suvs and the go lift

logistics to get them lined and read to go. two dozen carescorted down the freeway now escorted by the california highway patrol too few hrs to get everybody point in the right direction. theyre headed at forest lawn, 12 mil east of here on the 101 freeway. it will probably take them, i would say, another 15 or s minuteto getthere. they left abou0 minutes ago and they seem toe making good progress through the morning rush hour trafficn los angeles. the motorcade wasled byjoe he was sitting in the passenger seat of the front vehicle ju bend the police cort and then various other family members hin we could make out most of the people in the vehicles because of the dark tinted windows, bu we did see joe jackson ihe lead. we didee some of michael jackson's brothers in the courtyard inront of the family hoe getting ready to board the vehicles before the morcade

tookff. this is going to be a day of mourning for the family, mixed with the celebration of the lif of michael jackson and what we're told there will be a private service at the fost huge public gathering at sples center in downtown, loangeles, and pole are telling nbc new that the cass a a time bearinthe body of michael jackson will be taken to the second ceremony at staples center. david? >> nbc george lewisn encino, cafornia. george poied out the california highway patl are escorting e motorcade. you got to believe, based on the lackf traffic, that they have blocked off all of the exits to ma sure that they can get quickly fom enci to the cemetery, but ite a scene. >> fifteen-minute re according to george lewis. weearned a couple of details. the cask omichael jackson is estimated at 5,000, royal blue

velvet a gold similar to the casket used by james brown when his dy laid for fa to e it at the apollo in harlem. let's go bk to chris jansg at the staples center who h more details othscene there. ris? >> we're high above the staples center. as i'm going to look again, it doesn't seem they've opened the doors yet but a t fans are stre streaming in. mike taibbi is on e ground there. what can youell us, mike? >>he people are staming in veryvery -- in a very oderly faion. i was talking police before and they were saying, in some ways,he intelligence theare getting suggestso them that this will be an event that is less than anticipated andhat is to s not all of the hotels are sold out an a dierence one police officer told me betweesitting on your laptop or your computer and putng your bidin to get one of these cket and actually getti one d then booking and paying for plantickets and finding a hotel roomn los angeles and

transportationo th venue. maybe the better sensee will get is the fan intert in this event is going to be in venu like cameron was talkingabout in times sare n york or the theaters arou the country where people wil watch thi remony once it begins in a couple of hours. we are inside the police perimeter here over here, though, it looks lik a very quiet area wh a couple of helicoprs eding their hover overad and people streaming a ve orderly fashion toward the entrae to the ara. it's going t pick up for sure the next couple of hours but we'll know at the end of the day how ny people actually swed up, whether it is gng to be 700 thousand, or whheit is going require $3 million of pense for the city of los angeles. all th to be answer as the day goes on. >> mike, thanks vermuch. erare key people from michael jackson's past who will not be heretoday. jackson two ex-wive among them. sa marieres and debbie rowe the mother of his two older

children d long time friend elizabeth ylor will not attend. shtold fans on the intern her feelings are private and miael would not want r to share he grief with the world. let's talk to courtney hazlett and toure. thank you both f being here. i haveto say when i went tobed lastight you re up senng messages because you were atst lawn, courtney. i know you've been inside staples nter and wng your sources. what can you tell usbout what to expect today? >> this is such an interesting day. i wa to say, first, the dichotomy images we're getting and watchi the procession on the road on the scen here. emotional to s it and you turn around and the fans cheeng it's magicalnd sad at the same time. wh i'm getting from my sources is what we're going tsee inside is going to be much the same. a lotf today's memorial is id to be viewed with the influencthat michael tried to have o his london concerts. many the people involved with the london conce were --irst

of all, ey were all rehearsin when they fou out about chael's death so they were heren los angeles for the planning of this memorial service and theyere very, very involved, first of all. the jackson family, we mig see performance from on of the brothers. >> there is a lot of talking abou jermaine possibly singing "smile"? >> correct. think at's highly likely. i think a t of credi needs to go to family for keeping this very much about michael and his spirit. they've worked very hardnd it'seen frustrating f us as the press so ofte getting details out because pele wt to know, but the reason it was rd to get the details is the mily was keeping it cse to e cuff and make su this was all about michael today. >> yh. i talked to reverend jackson a few minutes ago. he reminded me that michael was a showm. he loved th wo to be watching him. he would lve this. if he could see this. if he is looking dn from heaven or erever he is, that would love they ve t redefine the parameters of the world.

you ow, funeral, this is t peoples funeral. the people dn't get to goo e real funer s this is the real funeral at the staples center. is image is all or the world. a billion people tching. thisthe way hewould want to be sent out. >> he wasalso, a lot of people have said, that the private michael was diffent than the one a lot of the world thought they kn. he was aerycompetitive person. he cared, obviously, ether his records were number one. he loved the fact that "thriller" was the biggest lling albumf all time. i'm also told that he loved the fact that he morehan doubled the number of sold-out showst the 02 arena in london from ince. he sold out 50 shows for prince this is somedy you would assume that, in death, as in lifewoul want to go out in a very big way. >> anything is possible. the king of pop name comes from come elvisets th king of rock thing? what about me? en't i bigger than elvi i'm going toe the king of pop and be bigger than elvi

>> i thi what peop don't realize about celebrity, you and i have sdied the nest of it so slow thoroughly is that they might seem reclusi and might seemo eccentric but they are very competitive and everything they do is verycalculated in terms of their reer and the people they surround themselves with. michael jackson set the bar very, very high fo that exact thing. buthe flip sides that he wasn't able to have a al life beuse t. d that is the tragedy here. is that all we have left really is the showmanship and at the end of the day, that's what we will remember and i thk that's fantastic, but it's sad, you know, the subtext this is a guy who didn't have a ance at a real life. >> and who had so many difficult days in the last decade of his life. we are on the air for eight hours. courtney, you'reoing to be going se. >> i wil be inside the staple center. >> toure is going to stay with me. we are gng to have this covered for you throughouthe whe day. wee going to be taking a look theings theyus talked about. his incredible showmanship what

he was as a singer, as a danr, how he redene videos, his influence on v and vice versa. we be talking witthe fans so we have a full day of coverage plned you here on msnbc. now back to new york and tamron and david briefly about michael ckn lk during an terview with moscow with chuck todd. >> chuck asked e president if agreed with shpt's claim that michael jackson's imprint ved the way for other african-americans includg tiger wos ane president himself. >>ou know what i do believe is that black sports gures and black entertainers helped to create aomfort level with african-americs at had an impact historically datingack topeople lke sidney poitier.

i would say that he is probably a long li of black entertainers tt had a perfu pa on the culture. >> contessa brewer joins us live. yohad a chance to talk to reverendlsharpton this morning. he haseen spending a lot of time with the family. what are they telling m? what is the mood >> he said it's really time to focus on michael jackson's accomplishments. he inot happy so many people are willing to spend so much time focusing on the mor controversial years that michael jackson spe in front of the famili cameras with bizarre behavior. pointed that out fore the president didhat michael jackson s part of a group of entertners who made avere americans feel more comfortae with black people. d the talked about the family. as you said, he is spending a lot of time wh the family. he says, they are, obviousl devastat butting on a brave face forhe public. let me play it.

they are heartbroken, but determed, rmined to uphole his legacy and determined to give him a send-off that is, in some way, reprente of the mmoth impact he's had on the music world andculture world at rge. >> specically, reverend sharpton, he has three children now wh thisas got be just so iredibly full of anguish for them that they've lost the pers who was sopivotal in their lives. how th they doin >> they seem to be ying to deal with comfortable in the fact that they with their grdmother and in the home th've grown up with. i'sure inside a lot of pain and anguish which is why they need tho they know best and know well and know them to help them get through ts process angrow. not going to be easy thing to grow up to be michael jackson's child and th scruny

and the celebrity a ensincivity that comes with that. but i lieve that because katherine jackson, michael motherhas had to deal with that all of her cldren's lives, she's absolutely more equipped than anyo to be able to help them to cope with that in their ves. >> i know that you're eludg to fact tha there may be a custody battle in ste with debbie ro. when you say innsitivity, what doou mean by that, reverend arpton? >> i mn ople are insensitive to the fact they infringe on people's privac these are children and they are thrust to be pubc figures. i thin even in this geving period, peop have not had any kind of regard for thefact this family is grieving. 's more like we ned you to do th, explain that, let's handle this. they've made atremendous, in my

opinion, tough face inside -- outsideof a real broken heart. they've had a tremendous los here. >> we ow michael jackson loved g spectacles and big shows and this memorial serviceoday is shing up to be exactly that. 're all sitting ba hoping that it is what he would have wanted. reverend sharpton, good to have you and thk you. >>hanu and god bss. >> michael jackson's children presumably alongside aunts and uncles now and grdpar the. you see joe jackson there. >> al sharpton is doing the eulogy and sound lke heas tten strict instructions on the famil what h can and cannot say we know he can go off the cuff and he has his own memories of michael. in your interview d another on i saw onhe "usa today" with him itsounds like the family has said let's focus on the loveand not decisionhe division. intriguing way of handling it but i think he has the marching orders on what tey want him to

say. >>e wait an see whethere foows them. >> speing of the marching orders, th the man who le "the jackson ve" famous and a result making michael jackson thking of pop. i believe tt is a 5,000 dollarca escortg fated the family there. ther is an opulent funeral rvice, one that this famil feels is fittingf the man who called mself the king of pop and ihink many people will say he lived up t his claim. >> i'm impressed with your ity todeify what kin of rolls-royce that is! >> we now our cars in texas. >> chris janng standing by at the staples center. do people there have any sort of monitors to see what we're seeing acrs the country a around the world as fars what is happening at forest lawn? do they ha in real-time the portunity to keep up with this processional? >> no, they don't. they're down there justeay waing and wesee apolice

presence. they jt opened the door. the first door i've seen oped and i'm sitting her with toure. we've beeneeng track o whether not they are letting people inside. one of the things they say very specifally is they weren't going to put any coverage u on th screens he. foa very good reason which is security. they didn'tant people trying to get through securityithout a wristband bause theyhought that, somehow, they could watch what was going on. i mean, there are bigscreen, lcd tvs downhere. if you ever come downhere, you are used to seeing them. dodo have images of michael jacksoup here but the people here, except tse who may be connected rough their phone or twitte or hearing i from so of people on e outside, are not seeing any of these images and you see on your right the big crd that has gathered here at the staples center. toure, there has been a lot of back aforth about what was going onn the family and who s making thedecisions, but i

ink it would be fair toay that whatever disagreements they had, everyone had in mind very clearlmichjackson' rol as a pop icon and they wanted to do tt justice. >> yeah. a lot of divisioin the family. katherine is a jehovah witness but jermaine is a muslim. i'm tol by close sources that michael convertedo muslim toward the end of his life. perhs not confirmed by the nation of islam, b was arting that journey. so i mean, there must have been a lot discussion within the mily about how do we dohis the way miael would ha wanted? we're not sure. t it seems to be very somber. i see both of those things here. i see peopleingber and i seeeople also b celebratory and people dressed in alllack and i see people dressed i ways that are specifically recalli chl jackson, the hat, e arm ba and some of the colors, thred and the black tt he liked to wea >> michaeljackson t-hirts and you do recni there are people who are dressed as if the was a member of their own

family and they were going to a memorial serve. >> we've known m so long in all ofur lives thhe has got to seem le a member of the family. i mean,celebrities become that in your life. t michael jackson has been a huge celebrity for 40years. i mean, i remember watching h saturday morning tar cartoon sh as a little boy and going to party and listeninto "off the wa" from "thriller." and then later on, the music. he's been part our lives for solong. the chair habe snatchedut from under u i mean, so sudden as opposed to farrah fawcett and other recen death whh we saw coming as she was sick for several days. michael suddenly gone. it's a shock to the system and we are stil proving it even those we've had the 12 days to deal. >> tamron, let meo back to you. were seeing some of the activity >> right. >> i think we're waiting to see who beyond the famil will be at this very close private morial

service at forestlawn. >>hris, we see number of people originally i mean, wh you say private, i thought just the family but w've seen quite few ople getting out of these vehicles. what do you kn will happen at this private ceremony what have you be able to learn abit? >> yeah, they've been keeping this very close to the vest and you can understand that micel jason lived so much of his life virtually his entire life in the public eye. for good and for bad. e mily has been heartened, we are told byeople of the family by the tremeous ououring of love and attention he has been getting. but you also hrd from the rere jessie jackson an the reverend al sharpton their concerns about some of the negativehings that have been talked about about michael jackson. i ink they wanted, to some extent, keep thisittle piece of it private for them because they are a family. >> i think also a lot of moving parts for them. ths a long time to plan memorial funeral but, still,

there's a lot of moving rts. we wer talking yesterday, we're still noclear if hes going to be buried at forest lawn. there is still discussion there iso much of angoing dynamic situion for the family trying to figure it out. sometimes perhaps it's family misiormation to throw off the media and the ns but i think th are probably still trying to figure t which way do we go and h d we handle all of these decisions? >>et's go -- was going to y, miael okwu, i think he is at forestlawn. michael, what n you tell us from there? >> well, i can tell you all of the vehicles are here now. just bore they came, ri about 30 unmarked police hicles and some marked ones there are various motorcyclists and polices who arrived here and californiaighway patrol and then we saw that procession

there were at least about 30 cars. the first four of them,e believe, were either beleys or rolls-royc rolls-royces. black. we undstand at least a dozen other vehicles w look like they contain membe of the jackson family. it wasard to ge a real clear look insideo we couldn't really me out the individuals. but i can tell you tha the procession is now iide the property here at forest lawn. there' sll some hecopters erhead. we understandhattaffers here, chris, have been toldnot come to wk. not to repor here till 10:00 this mornin so we assume they arrived hre a little bit after 8:00 th this isoing to go on for the nxt uplehours or so. the big question, of coue, is going to be what is happening with michaeljackson's body. he actually beinguried here? ere have been all kindsf rumors and speculati as you we know that michael jackson might, in fact, be buried at

some other cemetery or may be cremated and hisshes spread ov his beledneverland. all of these issues, i suppo, are questions we may have answerin the coming days or so. but forheimmediate day, the big question is whether mhael ckson's body, his casket, will emerge from fest lawn ceremony, e cemetery with his faly. we're told that the jacksons will leave t cetery right after the sces here which we can confirm will be a cled casket ceremony, and make their way to downtown los angeles and the staples center. will michaeljackson's cast be with them so that those thousands of fans who have descended onhe stapl center, certainly the ones who have gotten ticts to go inside, can say their last good-byes there. that's a qution we are hoping to have answers in the nt couple ohour chris? >> yes, mhael, thank you very much. we have be in ctact about

thwith the lapd and theyell us they are prared fo the body to be returned re to the staples center but, again, aot of decions have been made a the last minute anpeople have chantheir mind. i need to go over to zac boss o is a deejay from las vegas. from chicago i'm living in las veg for the suer. >> you actually go one of the arm bands. i see it. tell me -- i mean, particularly somebody whos life is inlved with music aas a deejayhy you wantedo be here and what michael jackson means to yo. >> being a deejay and being in the music industry and i'monly 21 soi was born in '88 and way after "thriller "o and all of the otr good stuff. being an artistr being a deejay and on the club scene and playing his sic there is no better like gratification, especially after h passed away. i've played a 45-minute set of straight michael jackson songs and escially in gas. eryb from allver the worl and they are coming

together andheering for michael similar to wat is happening today and shouting miael! chael! if i d that three weeks ago, it'sdifferent. heould -- they wod walk of i can play maybe t or e ngs. definite not back-to-back. but to py a 30 to 45-minute set of michael jackson's sos an to have that kro reaction is -- >> i want toask youbout your generation. beuse those of us who so of gr up with micel jackson d, yousay, you know, i remember sitting at ho and waiting for the "thriller" video to be debuted the first time do you see he is having a renaissance? are people beingexsed to him maybfor the first time and finding an appreciation for his >> you know, i really do. i think so because en right when he passed away and allf the radio stations right aw started pling michael jackson andmt for the first time who knows how lg actual played music vids and played michl jackson music videos

nonstop and people were like actually saw t. yove heard the music but ve rarely do people see the music deos except for yubers. >> you were born in 8? yes. >> it' interesting tome when people are born afr the moment of some these greatest celebritie you don really lies how gigantic michael was in '83. even chris jansing is saying, wow, this is azing. whenid youcome around i personally feel thisuy and like this guy? where your introduction? >> i think after kind of i'm a huge -- as i said "back to th future" fan and the cafe they arplaying "beat it." i'm singing along. i' been deejaying about seven years an private parties and clubs and whatave you. just comng in and being exposed to tat ty of si not only michael jackson but, you know, different artist inis genre has shaped crrent musicand

akon and so and so. >> so u hear that and understand that? >> when the 2 anniversary of "tiller" came out on carbon dioxide and you cd and akon and so many other aists contributingo m and for me, at first you'd hear that song or those songand to hr them with our aists today, our artists, quote/unquote, it's a different aspect of what -- >> you had to go bac and see and discoveror yoursf? >> right, exactly. >> did youdiscover ff the wall earlier? >> i havegrea song "i want you back." a lot of tis stuff,clubs are playing it now are all remixes. tcp of his songs and different lyrics. big outcry, actually on twitter focalling on deejays play his origin music. n't reapplicion it or match it up. >> you understd the value of

that. >>ight. >> hand quincyoan answer teddy rileynd were to create great musiand we focusn matchups 's not the product of the world. . it's great of you to come over a tal to us. apprecia it. we're heading back to new york. >> it's great to he from the true fans. here is this kid from chicago, now inega and madeis way probably strappedfor cash, but wanted to be a part of this moment. with u is nancy giles a social commento commentator. i want to talk tyou aboutthe social impact. here it is thiswhite kid from the midwest the cebring. i hate to put in in black and white terms but michael jackson's history is ashis song said, lackor white." >> i think alsharpton said earlr michael jacktonwas a trailblaze he brought black so music to a

huge awed yen audience. when you think about his performance on t ed slin show which was 40 years ago. in 1969 heas one of e first artists that really wen global! and micel jacksonlone is a solo performer. he integratedmtv because of the song "beatit," and because eddie van halen fm van halen played that incredible guitar solo becse mtv didn't pay blk artists beforeichael jackson. s mureached acss so many diffent barriers for so many, many years. >> nancy, the interest in all of this, the last days, i think it's taken a l of le by surprise have you bn able to detect whether this does in fact, cut across every other sort of social and racialbarrier? is the a particular segment of our society that is more interestedn another? i mean, is it hard to pin down? >> i t it e i thin it really touches a lot of us thatre of the sa age because we rememberrowing up

in a cntry before cable t before the internet, andhen kids like a group o kids from gary, inianaoor kids,rom shee talent alone could reach a super status and get fans from all over the world and galvaniz their fame in a way that just didn't happen anymore. on the internet you've got bands that have differen little polarized groups of fans and what not, but i think michael jackson and thejackson five and their fame were not going toee anybody of that caler, of that big grp of fans anymore. it's just not possible because our entertainment iso fractured now. >> nancy,hat is fascinating i know it isage thing and we remember michaejackson in his pre but i hav a 3-year-old niece this weekend who saw "thriller." even though she called it griller, she attempted to mimic the nce of this video. this is a3-year-old cld who will never know michael jackn

in the way we did andalf the kids o there are under the age i would sayf 35 30ears old. >> here butedy part. so much wat he did that is video that h'll always have fans. s fans will kerowing and growing and growing. and e images and the son and the tunethat were so catchy and the beats tat wereso funky and daceable, they're going catch eye and the ear of kids for yearsto come. i love that your little niece is sa griller. that so cute. >> interesting mome in our house. the dance moves. you can latch on to a couple of moves and totally be witit. wow. david, someone mad the pint atve you ever beenat a wedding and jackson five or michael jacksonong comes on, you got grandmas and uncles and erybody rushi to dance oor. his music ma us all so comfortable even if you ally couldn't dan. david? that is your cue! that is my family! >> nancy, we want toend it back o to ris jansing.

u're looking alive pickets from the staples center where chris is now high above gettin that visual. also the funeral home were michael jockson jacon's private ceremony i taking e. is. >> i remember one of th most poignant momentsor me when they were hang aorial f princess diana and her brother said something and i' grossly paraphrasing here, that, u know, she was tan froms at her mostbeautiful. you ow, i don't know tt we say that of michael butou're right. he has captured snapshots in timet will always be remembered and for me and i think a lot of people around the world, watching those michael ckson videos again not havng se them in 10 or 20 years or more has really reintroduced us to whye was such a constant show manman.

we are keeping tou. damian is alsoith us. he is with nbc. i'm a celebrity g me out of here! >> yeah. >> there has been a lot of talk abouthe synergy betwe mtv and michael ckson. michael jackson is said made michael jackson and michael jackson made m. >> we at mtv owe a lot to michael and what did he creative for the art form itself. i mean, he rlly created e t f that is music video that we see today. priority to michael jackso an artist would make a vid for promotion and promote the album. michael t only was he a great business m at proting the album but h created sry tellwhich is prominent now in music vios with the 14-minutthriller that had ner been done before. >> let's show, sort of separat threen here but show a little bit "thriller." he brings in a very prominent director john landis and h

throrows a lot of money at itit >> yes. >> y get th r redleather jaet and sleeves are pushed up. right. but ironicic narrative. you think yourere watching thee dedeo t it's a aovovie thehey e watctcngng. you think h he's a niice guy bu then he this monster so of character. >> oul. >> at the end he's not a monster! >> right. >> b then heis ansnster! >> crazy.y. >> absolutely. this is one of tse mumusic videos and really o only a handful, literallyly only a handful that youou know exactly where yoyou were when this vide caca out. i wass 3years old. it was 83. c c remember extltly where i was and i'm sre thatts the casese for lot people wawahihingight now.w. that doesn't happen anore. sic video isis this arar form that has kind of los its luer, i think, in a lot of differenent ways. so thehe fact tat this remind you ofofxactly whereou were and how you wer feeling at that poinint in yo life is incredibly

autiful and that is theeeauty of mus is whenou hear a sonong thatat brings you back. . >> kanye only takes iteriouy now and d labelsre not wling snd a milllliondollars to do avideo. >>ight. >> p part of wt you see with michael jackckson it not justo omote the so, it's a piece of art i in and oftself that you can love and appreciatete on it own. >> billiejean, the sond single o off "riller." thnavive that you n nrrativ that you talk abo. watcng it, , i've forgottenen allowing h h long u watch the videoo beforthe music stas. it happepened in "thrilr" and "billie jean"and we gotot the moonlk there and those fourr steps changed d sistory. i ththink has is the moment whe he became akonicic >> you walk down the reet and the stre lights up as you g go along. >ove it. its unbelievelyy creive. music vio isrt form and totallll novelt that p point in

me in videoousic histo. greaeasong o top of tht. >> besest v video ever madee "s" which he did wiwith janet jacon. when youou watcht, not only th i-fi tough edgyy video bu you see th sweetetss between michael jajackson and his sisis. they m me greatrocking mumusic. i thinkhats probably oneneof his edgest songng >> i like mihahael ability to go from a dioeoey ind of thhin to a pop sensibility. he really wawas-- hereated the template for w wt a pop star is. therere wi never be another pop star bigger than michael jackn. >> i coun't be that big partly causemv- mtv d doe't't sw videos a amomore. it doesn't payay off the way wh mhael was there. e music industry is struurured dierently. that's whamakes today so special and mak these vi so sci in the fact that

there will never beanother. there may be another, but chances are the obably, in many years we won'ttsee anyone quite like m micel jakskson >> as i w w saying, no of ththes videos were, as far as im coerned, theususic was eat. ththk you for c comgg inin mie. nonow back too n neyork. w w were ju talking h here thator peoplehoho n'n' remember miael jjacon or wewere too young you wonder how many people imagin michael ckson as the monsterer from "thririll" >> michael jackson, wchch one will you rememberer? we're going to bring in e eugee robertsosonof "the w whihingn post." viously, you have diffffert t members if yououe e a black pern in this country yoyou h hav you memory oficiceljacksonrr we stst inerviewed a kiki f fro t midwest in chicagago livinginin

vegas andd in onont of the stles center withh hismemory. i don't think people knknledge iteeeems lot until now. >> no. ii agree with u.u. ififou're sllhthtly oldereers keke me,ouou rememberwhwhen he first came out. yoyou mememb i want uu back.k. thatsingle. r remembe ththa at holidayeeas going to a dance. i s s ke 16 yeararsldld so i i was aigig deal that i could ive to thedance, the hidid dae.e. that record was on and evevybybd was j jumngng andobody couldld believe t tha thissnn 11-year-od boy who sang with sowfulness o a great soul singer r anbebeen doininitit a hisllif h hhat mown p pitit.. it was amamazi debut.t. then, of course,he other mile

posts inin h career.r. yorealking about hrhrler" anand "b"bile jean" and the f fs moonwalk. ere is a special r ronance for afafcan-americans who sawwhihis young man g gw up anddaw this family g gr up. and identified with this family and its struggles and its susuccseses. i think in an intntim and spspial way. i love eugene binson. y time we can veull lit litterer.. pulitzer pririzewinner talking ououtdancing. >> can do better than that.. watching theeereny what thought back o,o, as weee this fold today, you knknowii coveveddhe princess dna funeral i londoo and really 's's the onlyly kddff ththinii can think bckck on t tt aa r refence point. > cpare it to elvis. i was a kid i t t southanand to

sesee at ococsion of pipink cadillacs and n we arehehere a procession o blala rolls-royces honoring theeusus great. the ababoreness of itpeaks on t to what t fans wantntnd wantnt t stars to go out l li this. >> they do. d it's- this is such --this is l.a.aroyalty in a way. th i ithe royal sendoff,f,f f you wiwiln l.a. i meaea the procession dwnwn th frfreey y an in london,, o of course, it was t tououghhee hallllow s strts of stminster with princessdiane.. in los angeleses, is a freeway and ststinions are for us lalawnndndhen thetaples centerer instead o westminststerabbey. a lot off differences but o one similarity is thhis is somomnen whoouchedo manany lives arrou the world and whom peoplee ftt

eyey ow. a a w way that weon't feelel w knknowhehe public figures. ey were just in their infancycy to peoples relelatnsnshi with michael jackson. that perhaps we weren't even awarare untile was onone. >>eueuge robinson, pulitzer prize winner o of "the washingt st" and you had a great pipiec isis morning on sarah palin and talk aboututerer perhaps tomorr. a pleasure to have youou on, eueune. weook at the ctures, now we're intoto e speculation as to what is going onon inside.e. and tore was tataining ararer, wh d do ey do with the caetet? a anycase, let's go to riris jansing. >hese are live ptutures we're showing g ou audience,,chris, inside the stataesescenente someme oththeirst images coming out what the f fan will s see o they are inside. >> i think i's not unimportanan to rememin p peoe that tt's the last stage w whe mimiaeael j jkn

performed. e night before he d die theree was full rereararsa for hiss tour he was g goi toto begigin the arena. this was a tour ty hoped wldld gogo for along as three years and w wou come backck here and come back rrosthe united states and go to hisans all ouou the world.. many of thoseanan are o outde of the staples cter rightow and they are just ststarngngo slowlyly l people in lilitt bit. miguel i downhere on s strt veve what are y youeeeein miguel? > chris, as y you know,w,thes here at t th staplples centered opened about 45 minunuteago. youanan see b behdd m still hundreds of fans outut herre,ve ththghgh t doors are open. does noteecearily mean they are going in. many arecoconggating near these billboarardsitithmichael's name and pipicks. ththeye bnn coming h herseveral dada t to gn them andeave him ssages. asas fss ctinue to that, yoyolll see to the leftthis is one of the e nyny entrances where hundreds andnd tusands of fans

willacactuly c co throughh before 10:00 today. ey have their tickets in nd. th also havehose wristbanands sohe fafans will cgregate here thugugh is entrancend make their way across this billboar anan down the street to t t staples ceer. wehould also point out i is not just hundrere a and hundred of fans o herere there'ss a ton of media hher riser is fullll of mededia fromt just locallyy here from los angeles and aososs the natiti but across t the country. rereal a acte scene out here. we expect it t get busier as we approach 10:00.. back to youou. > miguel, thksks very mh.h. i'm also joinedowow in addition to toure b by lllly bush who is with "acceses hollywood.d." good to seeee you. you said you woke this moininto the sound off hehelipters. > l livin encino aboutthalf a mile from the jajaconons maybe t even. th helicopters woke m m u upabot 5:0000 above ee house.e. frankly, i also wrkrk at "acces hollywooood"aacrs the sttetet

from forest lawn wrerethey are going. th is my rouu.. frankly if was blocked off ery day, this would bebe a faasastithing. h howong have you been with ccccs"? >> six, s sev years? a long titi. >> peoplpl askedththe question d who elseseomompas to tts. ii thinknk i i read 75,5,00 p p tutued out for elvis prpresy'y' funeral. enen royall funeral o of princes diana did not t se totake on sort off this k ki of i imrtanc in t tms of just the a amont of attention thatat'seieing paidto it, i t thi, in some ses. the werequestions raised is there anybody in e enttatainnt whwhos passing cocoul rivalal t? >> i don't thihinko.o. not at this s pot.t. t,t,you know, thisis iis, you owow,ichael jajackn,n,his is --- i i thinkack to gerald fo when he psese away a a few years ago. nowhere near this k kin of

presence. this was- even r ralald eaeaga >> ronalalrerelionan of the united stateses. i spent some t tim with m micell jackson inin ldodon '0,, novembmb a andctober ofof ' in a cording ststud. and it was really -- got t to see the wayay he operarateanan n we w wen out, we w wt out to didier one night inloloon at a sushi place and michaelasas fascinineded wh the crowds.s. hehe wteted know how many people are outthere? oo is ssemied? wanted t know arewe creating a a spectacle. what is happening today t thiis mimiaelckson. thisis iaapeck tagle. the caskett is at forest lawn d meme dn from forest l law to th staples centnterndnd arrive and come in.n. the emotion in th place. right now i nd it to be mellowow. people looking ouound how am i susuppededo feel?? i don't know yetet i thinkk t emotion inn t th place e is going toe out of hand. t to t the casket the aples center which were aring they are going to dodo, closeded casket is soiichl

jajackn in that you get t spectacle e anthth mystery. a little bit, exexctly. alof the brothers are weaeari yellow ties.. that is usually rererved for military. >>nd the children going g . >> the chilildr have been a big ququtition where are they? acact andrince getsut of the cacar' holding his olerer brother's hand. pepeop feel so deeply notot children. ihahapped be i in london when prinince diana died. i thought nonodydy inamerica wh cocod do that in erica. ththinin aotot of ways michael jackson has done e atat to us. t every personn is crying but so many aricans are ururng hihindthis. >> 's's true. you know wht? it's t tou f f themedia. i'm a fann ofichael jackson's s music. i i ewew uin the ''80 it's big for me. what was the first a alb you lolove >> thriller" really turned me

.. i meme with the masses a a t te i went back. to me a reporter c coring this, it's's very difficult because, you know,w, iovoved michael jackson. at the same time, there's s lo of unanswered qstions that, you knknow we all wh we could have sat down wthth michaelel jackson i in a privava r roo one-on-one a andouound out everythihing had him tell us the wholeorks so thatt we cacan, i don't knoe sett free mourn 150%. >>eaea >> do yoyoknknowhat i'm saying? w wneed to gogo. but whwh d do u thinin t is most important ththing g e famiy accomplisheded tayayith this memorial?? >> i'll tell yo i gotoo give ig ups t to a lot o of people. ththe family m mee sure t theha their prprive e mont and i think that's i iorortabebeuse there needs --ouou c't b bjujust giant spectataclee o or everyon els weird coming out. youu have thatamamil ment. think ofof t f fks who put t th onon, aeg, they d didhehe londo to a and put this together and when miichlliedhehey d to t all of h his equipmentout of the ststaps s nter and refund

ckets toll of the people whoho bought them inin london and hado put this ogogetr. these guysys putonon concerts a prpromioio all the time b but ts really well done in ashshor ouountf ti. . >>unlike anynyiningnyone has had too face so they rere stting from g grnd roro >> look atat ee oer out here. there isis order, hris. pelelere quietly ming around. ereris tons a tons ofof media but it's we organized. there is some excitement but also mber. a soerer mood as llll. >> without a question. you walk aroundd pplpl are waiting to see. this is an eveven ththeyetet t stage. flflows s the stage a not much else. then you wait. fofor e emotiononf the moment t take over. it cananecome anything and i ththin my f feeng is thattt's going to b bldld and build and become quite emotional nside. > aitittlbit of evryrying, too. . the music, the tribute. the uunawewerequestions. ere is mystery there. >> the singingff jermaine. thatat wl l brg down thehouse. he will be t big name of the night. >> a l l of stars coming.

justin timberlake and usher. mokey obobson. >> jenennirr hudsonon,,mariah. > billy bush, always geat to see you. they're here with us.. back tnenew rk now. >chchs, thhanyoyou ry much. you start to s people filing toto the s staeses cente aneveryone waiaitio see what's going happen at f fostst lawnwn a the motorcade to movove to there from staplplcenter, it is such aspectacle,,ucuch a scenene. >> it is. lelet'brbrinin dan abrara, ceo ofof a abrs research andndegal al to talk abououii dan, you followed m micelel jajackn'n's ials and tribulations, if weight say ththat but it's an i intesting tuturnt. the e e his fanans d d the are the people who wanto rember the e cu k k singing as achchd orhe verysusuccsful pop star. > yeah. e vast majority ofof p pm around the world a going to remembeber michaeael ckckn that way. in fact, i i thk more peoeopl i theununit states who are loloing back at the trialanand

the trtria a a tribulatioionsas you put t .. anand thinink, in particularar, the people whoho s throughgh t triaialvery dada it's veryry hr toto sarate out michael l jasosn the performerrorom chael jackcksoththe rson who o ss accusesed lhese improprietetie becaususe saw t the deotapes, we s sawllllhe evence, et cetera. dodon't m meathat it makes him lelelly guilty, but it does, at the very least,t, taint yourr ie m micel jackson. again,, think thatfofor e publblictt llar,, particularly n an internationonalscale, all of that i i vevey, very m mu in th diststan, , en you get closer to the united states, it's a lititt more towards thehe forefront and for those off you who llllowhe trial, even moreso. >> n, every ti we briri up ee t troleledast of michael jackson, we just getoombded with peoplple o o nt to say, why are you doingthat? and they point ouout, whileee ws found not guilty on t the mol t momoleatatio charges, but tlklk

little bit briefly, i thihinkt'' imrtrtanto put on display, was s d l,l,s someonehoho corerehis trial andeega troubles, despspit t t fact he was found not guilty in aourt oflaw, w w the evidencece trere in youour nd thatee did have sosomeort of problbl.. people say,ouounow whwha michael jajackn n s not a role model inin tes of t theayaye inracted with children, i is that fair? there's no questioio he wasn't a role modedeln n e way he behahave wards certain children. so s saye was a role model in n the way he behaved t towdsds hi own children. but there's's nququeson that s behavior wasbizarre at thee very ast and i think w woe than that. but, aiain, when people s he wasn't found gutyty in the iaia that doesn't means that's's the end of t t ququir doesn't mean thatt michael jackckso is s soone who doesn't deserve scorn o orcriticism. iteans he dsn't go to jail. that's w whaththcriminal case wawas fofor. he settledut of court for an enenmous amount of money y wi another boy.y. some would say,, look, he j js

wanted that to goo away. thth's fine, but theest of us can make jujumement about what w think thatat means.s. and basedd o onhat w w saw bothi therialndnd before the t tri leing uppto itit. michael jacksoson isone of the most famous people i in hehe or. and whenen y a arene of the most fafamo peoplein the worldanan uu get repeatedlyy acucuse of something like thihis and the authorities end up charging you ana a t of evidence c com in, it is impossibletoto say, we ouldsisimp ignore all of that because he was f fou legally guilty, anang t ososecors weren'n't lele to p pro theieiae to th ry bendnd a reasonable dodoub >> let't' b bri in gloriaallred, victimss rightsatattoeyey, o has obviously beennvolved with mimiaeael ckson's cases throughout the ar glglor, , at is your impressioi of what we'ree seeining today? especially that you u weo actively invnvolddanda big

voicicagagait michael jackson ovov the years. >> well,i think that today, most p pplpl who are herere at stlelecenter areertainly wanting to memeer his micic, ar wntntinto rememberer his talent and h artistry, andnd n inclined t w wnt t to rememeeret elephant in the room,, which is ththe aususatns of cild molestatioion aiait him. b buts a society, shouldn'n' we acknowlededgehehe elephant i e room and tk about it? >> llll , think we should. cacae what happens is,, th fans all over the world,they see h his wonderfulaancg on the ternet, on television. they hear his music. but, of course,hey could never see and h heawhwhatent on behind closed dorsrs anththats part of his legacy. a grere talent wi p po

judgdgntnt a poor persosona chchoiss his conduct towaward chchilen. and itit a allartfis legacy. and i just don't think thhat we n n igre it. we can't suppress i dan is absolutely right. it's's trerend everyone c can me ththeiown decisionssininhe court ofof plic opnion. yocacastill love him ass a an ararti and a great talentndnd ststilsasa that his cnduct tords childrenisis not ytythi thatat aonon should emulate.e. >>gloria, t tnknk y very much fofor urur insisit.t. want t send i back to chris in ont of the stapleles center with more o on e e ene that i imagine the anticipationonss grwiwi. we e evegogot a note that theyey o onehour behind for this s to get started, c chr.. reporter: s.s. we will s s h long it takes em tooomeououof thatvevery private e reremo you're seeing on one s si o of your reen. well, there's t the staples cter picture. but t th the inside othth stapaps s ceer, they're just starting to let peopp in. the stageis set. veve simple with flowowernd

sosome instruments thther then, of ououe, at forores la cemetery, wherere eeamily has gone in,, i icluding the the young children ofichael ckckso prince michael,l, paris, and little blanket. wee going to take a a break. but when ce back, we'll ve continuing coverere e ofhe ny faces o of michael jackson,n, one of thehe biggest memorials that has ever bnn seen. certaiaiy,y, t biggest event re in los angeles sincncththe olymympi.. wewell be t tking about miaeae jackson's sisic, about his legacy. 'l'lalso be lking about how the city in the middldle of a budget crisis i i going to pay fothis. it's all ahead, full covovere e the michaeael ckcksomemorial on msmsnb free credit rerepo d d !

tellll yr r frnds, tell your d,d, tl your mom! ver mind, they've been nging our songs since we first shod up with our pirate h hon! if you're not into fake ord fights pointy slippereranand green wool tightss take a tip from a knknig who knows ee credit report dot com let's go! vo: offer applplies withth enrollment in triple advanan.

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