Jul 7, 2009 6:58 pm US/Pacific
Gone Too Soon: What We'll Miss Most
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Roughly 20,000 people bid farewell to Michael Jackson at Staples Center Tuesday.
Dave Hogan/Getty Images
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Tickets for Michael Jackson memorial service at Staples Center, Los Angeles, California.
AP
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The Staples Center which is one of the possible locations for a public memorial service for music legend Michael Jackson, after his recent death, in Los Angeles on July 1, 2009.
Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images
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Less than two weeks after Michael Jackson rehearsed at Staples Center for his prophetically titled
This Is It tour, the King of Pop's casket was humbly laid beneath the same stage he had so recently owned – just as he commanded every stage he graced since the age of 5.
Instead of a 50-concert tour at a sold-out London arena, some 20,000 fans gathered in Los Angeles Tuesday morning for Jackson's public memorial service; a final goodbye to the artistic genius many consider to be the world's all-time greatest musician.
From Magic Johnson, who reminisced about eating Kentucky Fried Chicken with his one-time idol who Johnson swears "helped him be a better point guard," to Smokey Robinson's admission that "he sang my song better than me," celebrities and family members had no shortage of tributes to Jackson.
And all of his fans – no matter where they may have been today – surely have their own tributes to share.
I, for one, drove my college roommates absolutely insane by playing The Jacksons'
Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) on repeat for months straight. Years before that, I vacuumed and dusted my way into ownership of his
Dangerous album on cassette tape, and subsequently danced around my room to
Black or White and
Will You Be There until the thing wore out. Thankfully, CDs had taken over in time for the release of
Number Ones, which, to this day, is some of the most frequently played music on my iPod.
It would be nearly impossible to find someone who doesn't have a fond memory of the Gloved One or his music. Whether you remember Jackson as a 10-year-old fronting
The Jackson 5, or the visionary who pioneered the modern-day music video with hits such as
Thriller (the best-selling album of all time), Michael Jackson changed American pop culture, and in turn, the world.
As I sat through Jackson's memorial pondering his talent, musical accomplishments and humanitarian efforts, I felt extremely honored to be a part of
HIStory. Rarely do you realize that you'll remember something for the rest of your life as you're experiencing it. What an unbelievable privilege it was to see Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Usher, Jennifer Hudson – and many others – pay homage to Jackson by performing some of his favorite music (Jermaine Jackson's rendition of Charlie Chaplin's
Smile), as well as his greatest hits.
You could also literally feel hearts around the world breaking when Jackson's 11-year-old daughter, Paris-Michael, sobbed into the microphone: "Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. And I just wanted to say I love him – so much."
I certainly didn't want to be the only news person wiping my eyes with a paper Staples napkin (we try not to do that on the job), but I was quite relieved to see criers – and their napkins – in every which direction. The world may have lost a legend, but Jackson's grieving family reminded us of those who lost a father, brother, son, cousin and close friend.
Despite the controversy that surrounded Jackson in recent years, no one can argue that the King of Pop is
Gone Too Soon.
Jenn McBride
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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Slideshow: Family, Friends & Fans Bid Jackson Farewell
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