Michael Jackson Remembered

He was praised and ridiculed. He broke down barriers and built them around himself. He soared to heights unimaginable with his music, and he made the front page of gutter tabloids worldwide. For Michael Jackson, the spotlight was always present, and the rest of the world followed. Even his passing has played out in the spotlight: Thousands are expected to swamp Los Angeles to mourn him today at the Staples Center.

The city of Los Angeles braces for massive spectacle as an army of Michael Jackson fans poured into the city from places far-flung, to collectively mourn their idol in a massive ceremony today. Gates to the Staples Center were opened about 6 a.m. PT. The LAPD has put up concrete barriers around the center, allowing only fans with tickets to the star-studded event to enter. Parking lots in the area raised their prices, some as high as $30. Airports throughout Southern California saw a spike in bookings. And several movie theaters in the area announced special screenings of the event, which will also be carried live by some television networks and Web sites.

Monday night, more than 12 hours before the service, the mood was almost festive, with fans lined up around the block to sign the memorial wall. Police and security officers kept a close watch. Helicopters flew overhead, and sheriff's deputies could be seen strolling through with bomb-sniffing dogs. Media from around the world rolled cameras and took photos. Vendors strolled through the crowd, offering everything from Jackson T-shirts to copies of old magazines featuring the star on the cover to homemade “King of Pop" soda for $5.

The Jackson family remained tight-lipped about where the singer will be buried, but signs pointed to Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn cemetery. Several carloads of people, including family members among them, came and went from the heavily secured cemetery after sunset Monday. Shortly before the cars began arriving, a hearse drove up, with at least five police cars in tow.

Today will begin with a private gathering of Jackson family members at the cemetery at 8 a.m. (PT). The California Highway Patrol will escort Jackson family members from his parents' Encino, California, home to the cemetery and then to the Staples Center. AEG Live, the concert promoter handling the memorial, said there would be no funeral processional. The Staples event is expected to feature singers Mariah Carey, Usher and Stevie Wonder. Also participating will be basketball stars Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson; singers Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer and Smokey Robinson; and activists Martin Luther King III and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

All day Monday, fans who won tickets to the memorial service through a lottery swarmed to Dodger Stadium -- some in smart cars, some on scooters and even one in an airport shuttle. They entered energized with anticipation and exited shaking with excitement, holding two priceless tickets and sporting wristbands that organizers put on them to prevent resale. Organizers used a computer to choose 8,750 names from 1.6 million people who registered online. Each received a pair of tickets, for a total of 17,500 tickets.

Just 11,000 of those are for seats inside the Staples Center. The other 6,500 are for viewing the memorial telecast across the street at the Nokia Theater. AEG Live owns and operates both venues. The Jackson family set aside an additional 9,000 Staples Center seats to give out to people they choose.

Also Monday, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted control of Michael Jackson's assets to the executors of his will. The executors, his longtime personal attorney, and a music industry executive and longtime friend sought immediate control of the entertainer's assets at a hearing before the judge. The men said control of the assets would allow them to tend to Jackson's numerous outstanding debts, legal cases and business obligations (lawyer speak for we’re going to fill our pockets and give you some change too). The media talks about MJ’s debts, but he always had the leverage with half ownership of the various star music catalogs, including the Beatles, Sly and the Family Stone, and until recently Little Richard’s. The Beatles alone is worth more that $500 million.

The judge appointed the men special administrators until another hearing on August 3. He said they will be responsible for protecting the estate from immediate losses. His mother, Katherine Jackson, started administering his assets the day after he died. Lawyers for Katherine Jackson objected to the judge's decision, saying "irreparable damage" could be done to the estate in coming weeks with lawyers in control. Do you think his assets should be controlled by lawyers or his mother?

The Great Lady of Soul: Bettye LaVette

Bettye LaVette received universal praise for her outstanding rendition of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” in a duet with Jon Bon Jovi on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the Inaugural Celebration on January 18th. This marks the second time in the past two months she has been in the capitol making an unforgettable impression with anyone lucky enough to have the chance to hear her. The first was at the Kennedy Center Honors when she amazed the audience with her own very unique version of the Who's "Love Reign O'er Me." Not many people can say that they song for two presidents in six weeks (George W. Bush at the Kennedy Center Honors and Barack Obama at the Inaugural Celebration). And like me, most of you probably never even heard of Bettye LaVette. And I like to think of myself as well versed in music.

Bettye LaVette stole the show at the Kennedy Center Honors. She gave the powerhouse performance of the evening when she sang her unparalleled version of “Love Reign O’er Me” as part of the Who tribute. She wasn't the biggest name on stage, but her performance provided the evening's most spectacular moment. She was so phenomenal. The room was pin-drop silent when she sang. "The Kennedy Center Honors was the most exciting thing I have every done in my life, because there were so many of my favorite politicians there," says Bettye. "And this year has been the greatest year of my life. Who would have ever imagined both Barack and I going to the White House?” said Ms. LaVette.

Of singing for then President Obama, Ms LaVette said: "In the middle of the song I turned and looked and Obama was on the stage, the whole group of them, and my eyes were just fixed on him for a moment. I was singing the line 'I always believed that a change would come,' and just as I turned, our eyes locked and he was mouthing the words along."

Utne Reader had the best headline of the event: "Bettye LaVette and the Soul of Barack Obama." And even the sports world took notice. Roger Craig, former NFL running back for the San Francisco 49ers confessed to the San Francisco Chronicle: "Oh…when Bon Jovi and Bettye LaVette sang Sam Cooke's stirring civil-rights song, 'A Change Is Gonna Come,' on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday? I cried like a baby."

Bettye LaVette did not disappoint. Revered for her ability to take other's compositions and make them her own, LaVette performed brilliantly. Ms. LaVette, the reigning "Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year," is once again nominated in that category for the Blues Foundation's 2009 Blues Music Awards.

Ms. LaVette has been on a roll since her 2005 release on Anti- Records, My Own Hell to Raise which brought her back into the national spotlight, 43 years after her first single "My Man is a Loving Man," was released in 1962 when she was a teen. This roll only gathered more strength and critical acclaim when Anti- issued her second CD for the label in 2007, the Grammy nominated, The Scene of the Crime.

A partial list of musical performers at the Inaugural Celebration includes, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, Heather Hedley, Herbie Hancock, John Legend, Usher Raymond IV, Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, U2 and Stevie Wonder. Among those reading historical passages will be Jack Black, Steve Carrell, Rosario Dawson, Jamie Foxx, Tom Hanks, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah, Laura Linney and Denzel Washington.

- "LaVette... isn't just an engaging performer, she's a musical force of nature, a hurricane in heels that whips up a fiery mix of soul, jazz, country and blues." -The Houston Chronicle.

Trumpet Awards, Syndicated, To Air on TV One

Samuel L. Jackson and his wife, actress LaTonya Richardson hosted the 16th annual Trumpet Awards which aired in syndication in March and will air on TV One Sunday April 13 at 8 p.m. EST. The Trumpet Awards is often referred to as “the Oscars for Black America”. More than 20 of the best and brightest achievers in the Black community were honored during the show which was taped at the Atlanta Civic Center.

Among the honored were Halle Berry (Entertainment & Pinnacle Awards); Danny Glover (Humanitarian); Najee (Arts); and Ludacris (Usher Ramond Altruism Award). Black achievement was saluted in every field including law, business, medicine, politics and public service. “The audience basked in the success stories of some very great African-Americans,” said Xernona Clayton, the founder of the Trumpet Awards and president and CEO of Trumpet Awards Foundation. “This year’s television program was syndicated for the first time and broadcast around the country, in addition, to being aired in 177 countries around the world.”

Other 2008 Trumpet Award honorees were: Sheila C. Johnson (Entrepreneur); Shareef Abdul-Rahim (Community Service); Dr. T. B. Boyd III (Business); the Honorable Judge Paul L. Brady (Legal); Brian O. Jordan (Athlete/Developer); twin brothers Dr. Vance and Dr. Vincent Moss (Medicine) and Don Thompson (Corporate Executive). This year’s Tower of Power honorees were Georgians and included Thurbert Baker, Georgia Attorney General and president of the National Association of Attorneys General; Representative Sanford Bishop Jr; Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr; Representative Hank Johnson; Khalil Johnson, COO, Georgia World Congress Center Authority; Representative David Scott; State Representative Georganna Sinkield; State Representative Calvin Smyre, president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators; Michael Thurmond, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Labor and State Representative Al Williams.

India.Arie was among the performers and among the presenters were Usher, Representative John Lewis, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Representative Maxine Waters and former U. N. Ambassador Andrew Young. Michelle Obama was also on hand to address the audience.