Jun 26, 2009 1:16 pm US/Eastern
NYers Gather In Memory Of A 'True Apollo Legend'
Fans Of All Ages Dance, Sing In The Streets Of NYC In Memory Of The "King Of Pop"
Crowds Flock To Apollo Theater In Harlem To Mourn Loss Of An Icon
Reporting
Jay Dow
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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CBS 2 HD was outside the Apollo Theater in Harlem Thursday night as crowds gathered in the streets to mourn the loss of Michael Jackson, a true Apollo legend.
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People hold up Michael Jackson pictures as media and spectators wait for a news conference about Michael Jackson's death at UCLA Medical Plaza June 25, 2009, in Los Angeles, Calif.
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Fans created a makeshift memorial to Michael Jackson outside the Jackson family compound in Encino.
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A massive crowd of mourning fans and paparazzi gathered outside the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
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Fans have formed a vigil and memorial around Michael Jackson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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The "King of Pop's" career took off in the late 1960's, when the Jackson 5 won the Amateur Night at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem.
Forty-two years ago, a dynamic 9-year-old boy, performing with his brothers, blew away the notoriously finicky Apollo crowd with the song "I Want You Back."
Winning that amateur night was just the beginning. Michael Jackson was well on his way to becoming a household name.
What Is Your Favorite Michael Jackson Memory? Tell Us.
New Yorkers, like Harlem's Katie Dickerson, saw Jackson as one of their own ever since those early years in the 60's.
"There's not going to be any one else like him (for) the rest of this life," Dickerson said.
Fans have been gathering in Harlem since Jackson's death was announced Thursday evening.
They sang his hits, imitated his dance moves and cried with each other in memory of the man that influenced so many people's lives. It was a testament to Jackson's impact on American pop culture, which transcended age, race, and several generations.
The theater's Billboard read "Michael Jackson: A True Apollo Legend."
The Rev. Al Sharpton issued a statement on the music legend's passing:
"A friend of Michael's for the last 35 years, I call on people around the world to pray for him and his family in the hour. I have known Michael since we were both teens, worked with him, marched for him, hosted him at our House of Justice headquarters in New York, and we joined together to eulogize our mutual idol, James Brown. I have known him at his high moments and his low moments and I know he would want us to pray for his family."
Later, Sharpton spoke in front of the Apollo, waxing poetic about the music icon for 15 minutes.
"Michael Jackson loved the Apollo. I remember in 2002 he did a show here to raise money for the Democratic Party. And later we met that night and it led to him talking about how he felt he had been treated unfairly in the music industry. And he marched the streets of Harlem with us and he came to the Harlem headquarters of the National Action Network, where many ridiculed him. It's amazing to see in the last hour how many people are praising him that wouldn't go near him in the last few years and condemned him.
"In my last conversation, including conversations a couple of months ago when I was teasing him I was coming to England to see him perform again, he talked about how many people had let him down. But I told him it didn't matter because he'd never let the fans down.
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Some, like Dallen Shakespeare of Utah, see the gathering of people as the best way to show appreciation for Jackson's musical genius.
"He was one of the most amazing performers the world has ever known," Shakespeare said. "To pay a tribute to him is an honor."
New Yorkers continue dancing in the streets Friday while parked cars belt out Jackson's hits. Many have been seen signing personal notes on cardboard posters laid out underneath the Apollo's marquee.
Loretta Abbot, who was a part of the energetic crowd of fans, believes Jackson's impact in Harlem was undeniable, and his legacy is assured.
"He was one of the greatest entertainers we ever had," Abbot said. "We had Sammy Davis Jr., we had James Brown and we had Michael Jackson."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
2009 Celebrity Deaths, July-Dec.
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