tavis: gooevening from los angeles. michael jackson was memorialized in l.a. today in an event seen around the world. a look at some of the sites and sounds from the staples center and my conversation with berry gordy. also tonight we will introduce you to three young siblings from mississippi who make up the homemade jamz blues band. they may not be the jackson family but they make up this talented trio with a bright future. we are you glad you joined us. berry gordy and music from the

homemade jamz blues band all coming up right now. >> there is a many things that walmart is looking forward to doing, like helping people live better. because of your help, the best is yet to come. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance. working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station by viewers like you. thank you.

>> [singing] ♪ we are going to see the king ♪ we are going to see the king i love you, my brother. i celebrate your life and i am glad i had the chance to know you. >♪ i thought you would go and come ♪

>> to the outside world michael was a genius. with his unchallenged ability. to the people who were lucky enough to know him personally, he was caring and funny, honest, pure, non-jaded and he was a lover of life. ♪ call my name and i'll be there ♪ >> the more i think and talk about michael jackson, i feel the king of pop is not big enough for him. i think he is simply -- i think he is simply the greatest entertainer that ever lived. [applause] ♪

[applause] >> scenes from earlier today in los angeles at the memorial service honoring the life and legacy of michael jackson. as a kid, i had a special reverence for michael jackson and the entire jackson family. seeing these young black men broke from a house in gary up the road from me to the biggest stages in the world was on sparring. most recently, i sat down with motown founder berry gordy to talk about the man, the music, and the icon that was, is, and always be michael jackson. >> i look at pictures of him and me and i think about that first

song they did. "i want you back". it was something i walked around humming in my head because i wanted him to be young even though he was dancing like james brown and he was doing all the great steps, i felt that anything he sung like james brown would be too old for just a young energetic, powerful, bright young man. i walked around humming, something that would be right for him at his age and me and three other guys produced and wrote it. every time i see it, it tears me into another -- throws me into another time. i opened my interview with this. going back with great memories. tavis: i am glad you're here. those memories spark to questions for me right now.

in no particular order. you wanted to put michael and a group out there with the right song and would blow people away is when he started singing stuff that belied the fact he was young. you have this little guy singing songs and putting it out there in such a way that no kid could understand the emotions but he did it in a convincing and compelling manner and that is what put -- blow people away. >> on the album was a smokey song called "who's loving you" and i thought that would not be his three or four songs because that was like 50 years of i mean, this man -- he was

kicking smokey's -- he was in so much passion and where did that emotion come from? you have heard this song. tavis: we have discussed this a thousand times. what did you make of that? here was this kid who was taking the lyrics and singing them like he had been living 50 years. >> he has been here before. it is like impossible. he was this kid who was so excited about everything he was doing and i hear people talk all the time about he did not have a childhood and he did not have this and he was miserable.

michael was happy and young. he was vibrant. he was a kid. he was always playing jokes and pranks and doing things. we would have baseball games every week, the jacksons versus the gordys. it was love and competition. to michael, the greatest joy -- he came to me and he loved my house in belair. when he got a house twice as big as mine in neverland he was so excited. we were love and competition. we competed on everything. smokey and stevie and michael

got better than me. there were so much better in their singing and i thought he was -- each year each one would come along and when all the rest of them kinnelon i went into freefall. i stopped calling myself a writer. i am just the chairmen. -- chairman. i was thrilled. to have a child who was 9 or 10 years old to pursue his dream and become the greatest entertainer in the world takes work. people seem to think that he just happened and had a bad childhood but all the sudden he became -- this did not happen overnight. he dreamed of working. when others were playing and we were doing a rehearsal or something, the rehearsal would

finish and the other guys might have the guitars and they were playing back and forth but never. he was always -- if i was working with him which i did in many cases, i could always look at michael and he was staring. he was focusing. no playing. he did this by choice. he is a genius. he was a genius at 9 or 10. singing that song showed as he could do -- but it is like anything else. michael being the biggest star in the world, of folklore just comes. people say stuff. he was the most miserable kid we have seen. kids would give their right arm to pursue their dream and 9. tavis: as with the parents. to cash in on pursuing their dream in america. you mentioned and you were right about this, it is what makes motown so great and what we celebrate motown this year.

i was thinking michael died at 50. this is motown's 50th year. i am glad to have you back. motown had some innate genius is. stevie and martin, these cats are geniuses. other than being so young, what do you think was michael's genius? >> he was a different kind of genius. michael was a thinker. he did more research than any of the artists i have mentioned. he was a researcher. he researched me. he researched all the great people came before him. he wanted to meet the stars and he ended up meeting so many of them. at ninth, he was researching and looking and studying -- at nine he was researching and looking in studying. geniuses are geniuses. when michael later in life because he was a genius and because he had thoughts that

were above everybody's, he would think how to promote himself. michael was in charge of most of his life. because he was that smart. even though i was at one. the manager he wanted to do something, he knew how to talk to me about it in a shy, nice way and respectful and everything. when he got on stage he became this impresario and his whole attitude would change but he was one of those great rare individuals who deserves to be called the king of pop. tavis: i was back in indiana on the day michael jackson past week. i hearkened back to my earliest memories and the pride i knew knowing the superstars. i was planning to see one of the 50 shows that michael was

planning to perform. it is sad the shows will not take place. the music and memories inside us will live on, i suspect, forever. i will introduce you to a young family of musicians who may not be the jackson'ns. at least not yet. stay tuned for the homemade jamz blues band. i want to introduce you to an amazing young blues group. the homemade jamz blues band from mississippi. they are three siblings, ryan, kyle, and taya. we will talk to the family in a moment. here they are. the homemade jamz blues band performing "voodoo woman". ♪

[singing] ♪ ♪

♪ you put a spell on me ♪ you put a spell on me ♪ ♪ got me a voodoo woman, a woman ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ [applause]

tavis: i hope you enjoyed that as much as we did. berry gordthe homemade jamz blu. glad to see you here. i have these young folk on my radio program on public radio and i was blown away by them and i called my producer and said we'd need to get these kids on the show. i am delighted to night that they have made their late-night national tv debut on our program. i want to start by asking you, ryan, they are seated in order of age. i want you to explain what this is, show me how it like that. tell me the story of how these guitars get made. >> this is a muffler

guitar made from the car muffler. we started building these three years ago. the story behind it is i was -- we were building our first vehicle. tavis: you were building a vehicle? as in something to drive? >> just restoring it. tavis: your dad is building cars. ford is in trouble. go ahead. >> we ordered some mufflers and when they came in, my dad took a good look and said, maybe i could take his muffler and try to build a guitar. just for fun. i was -- i did not want to take the muffler because it was supposed to go under my first car. he took it anyway and said, i am going to take it and we will get

to your car later. i told him, okay, we will try this on the condition that you buy me another muffler. a week later, we came out of the garage with a muffler guitar and it looks and sounds great. a very basic form of what you see now. by the way, the guitar -- first guitar is in the b.b. king newseum. tavis: it lights up when you play. that is cool. what they cannot see -- hold that thing up. when you are in stage, that thing blows smoke out of the muffler. >> it really does. tavis: that is hot. you have a double next year and this is a lead guitar. this is kyle in the middle.

your dad made this? >> yes, sir. my bass was made after ryan's. i wanted it black. it lights up as well. tavis: that is your favorite color? >> yes, sir. black and blue. it is a 6 string. we took -- what bass did we take apart? tavis: you have the ford emblem but also, can you hold up the strap? do you see the strap? that is a regular seat belt. he has a seat belt strapped on his homemade guitar and it works. this is taya, she is 10 and plays the drums.

how did you get in the group? >> it started with my brothers. they were already playing their instruments and they were in need of a drummer. they were practicing in the living room and i asked them if i could play and they said sure. we had a drum set then and i hopped behind the drums and started from there. tavis: how long did it take her before she could carry the beat? >> about three hours. tavis: she worked it out. >> she worked everything out. by the end of the day, she knew she could keep a steady beat to the songs we knew. tavis: that is amazing. there are a lot of boys saying you cannot play with us. you cannot get in this group. >> that is what we said at first. tavis: now the truth comes out. first you told her no. >> mom was in the next room. she said let her play.

sheby the ended the day maybe we should have her. tavis: now she is part of the group and you are glad to have her. you have two cds out. >> the music comes when i am waiting for practice and i am fumbling around my base and i come up with a nice little group. when i get the petals and stuff hooked up he will come in with his guitar and taya comes in with the drum beat and we jam that for a long while to make sure it is stuck in our head. that will sit down and start writing lyrics. tavis: your dad does the lyric content. how do you go to school? when you are about to become internationally recognized? >> recently we were pulled out of public school and we are home

schooled. tavis: deal like that better? >> yes, sir. tavis: give me some idea of the places you have played already. >> last year we were in holland and switzerland as well as canada, the year before that we were in mexico and another trip to canada and later on this year, we will be going to norway. no. tavistavis: tell me about your parents. it takes a lot of love on the part of your parents to let you do this and get behind you and make your instruments. tell me about your parents. >> our parents are very supportive of us. very supportive. ready for us to go anywhere. the drivers around everywhere know matter how long the drive.

they are great parents. >> the recently let go of their jobs for -- so we can pursue our dream of becoming blues musicians. tavis: they quit their jobs to get beyonbehind you? i will shut up here. let me thank you andfor coming n the program. we will close out with more music from them. you do not want to miss it. the homemade jamz blues band. stay with us. tavis: from their new cd "i got blues for you", the the homemade jamz blues band accompanied by their father with the song "hobo man". from l.a., keep the faith.

♪ i'm a hobo man ♪ ♪ well, i'm a hobo man, i just rode in your town ♪ ♪ >> for more information, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: i am tavis smiley. join me next time with the first black mayor of mississippi. we will see you then. >> there is so much that walmart is looking forward to doing. we're looking forward to help

you build stronger communities and relationships because the best is yet to come. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance. working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station by viewers like you. thank you. >> we are pbs. thank you. >> we are pbs.