tavis: good evening fromos angeles. michael jackson was memorialized in l.a. today in an event seen arnd the world. a look atome of the sites and sods from the staples center and my conveation with berry rdy. so tonit we will introduc you to three young siblings from ssissippiho make up the homade jamz blues band. they may not be the jackn family but they mke up this talented trio with a bright future. we aou gad you join us.

berry gordy and music from the homemade jamzlues band l cing up righnow. >> there is a many things that walmart is looking rward to doig, like helng people live better becaus of your hlp, the best iset to come. >> natioide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwidensurance. workinto improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that ces with it. >> nionwide is on your side. >> and by contributionto your pbs statn by viewers like you. thank you.

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

>> to the outsideorld michael was a genius. with his unchallenged ability. to the people who were luc enough tknow him personally, he was cari and funny, honest, pur n-jaded and he was a lover of life. ♪ call my name and i'll be there ♪ >>thmore i think d talk about michael jackson, i feel the king of p is not bi enough for him i think he is simply -- i tnk he is simply the greatest entertainer that ever lid. [applause] ♪

[applause] >> cenes from earlier today in os angeles athe memorial serce honoring the life a legacy of michael jackson. as aid, i had a special reverence for michael jkson and the entire jackson family. seeing these young blacmen broke from a house in gary up the ro from meo the biggest stages in the world was on sparrg. most recentl i sat down with motown founder berry gordy to talk abo the man, t mic, and the icon that ws, is, and always be michael jackson. >> i look a picturesf him and

me and i think about that first song they did. "i want you back". it wa something i walked aroun humming in my head because i want him to be young en though heas dancing lke james brown and he w doing all the great steps, i felt tat anything sung like james brown would be too old for just a young ergetic, powerful, bright young man. i walked around humming, something that wld be right for him at his age and me and three other guys produced and wrotet. every time i e it, it tears me into another -- throws me into another time. i oped my ierview with this. going back withreat memories. tavis: i amlad you're here. those mories spark to questions for me right n.

ino particular order. you wanted to put michael and a group out there wi the right song and would blow people away is when he arted singing stuff that belithe fache was young. you have this lite guy singing songs and putting it out the uch a w that ki could understand the emotions but he did it in a convincing and compelling manner anthat is what p -- bloweople away. >> on the album was a smoke song called ho's long you" and i thought that would not his three or four songbecause that was lik50 yearsf i mn, this m -- h was

kicking smokey's -- he was in so much passion and where did that emotion come from? yo have hearthis song. tavis: weave discussed this a thousa times. what did you make of that? here was this kid who was ting the lyri and siing them likhe had be living 50 years. >>e has been here before. it is like impossib. he was this kid who was so excited abouteverything he was doing and i hear peoe talk all the te abut he did not have a ildhood and he did n have this and heas miserable.

chael was happy and young. he was vibrant. he was a kid. he was always playing jkes and pranks and doing thin. would have baseba games every week, the cksons rsus he gordys. it was love and compition. to michael, the greatest joy-- he came to me and he loved my housen beir. when he got a house twice abig as minin neverland he was excited. we were lov ancompetition. we coeted on everything. okey and stevie and michael

got better than me. there were so much bettr in their singg and i tught he was -- each year each one would comelong d when all the rest of them kinnelon i went ito freefal i stopped calling melf a writer. i just the chairmen. -- chairman. i wasthrilled. to he a child who w 9 or 10 years old to pursuhis dream and beco the greatest entertainer in the world takes work. people seemto think that he just happened and had a bad childhood but all the sden he became -- this did n happen oveight. he dreame working. when oths were playi and we were doing a rehearsal soething, the rearsal would

fiish and the oth guys might havehe guitars and they were playing backndorth but never. he was always - if i was working with him which i did many cases, i could alwa look at michaeand he was staring. he was focusing. playing. he did is by choice. he is a gius. he was a gius at 9 or 1 sinng that song showed he could do --buit is like anything else. michael bei the biggest star in the world, of folklore just comes. peole say stuff. he was the most miserable kid we have seen. ks would givtheir right arm pursue tir dreamnd 9. tavis: with the parents. to cash in on pursuintheir dream in america you meioned andyou were right aut this, it is at makes motown so greatnd what we

cebrate motown this year. iwas thinking michael died at . this is mown's 50th year. i am glad to have you bk. motown had some innate genius is. stevi and marti these cats are geniuses. her than beinso yng, what do u think was michael's geniu >> he was a different kind of genius. micel was a thinker. he did mre research than any of the aists i ha mentioned. he w a researcher. he researched me. rearched a thereat peop came beforehim. he wanted t meethe stars and ended up meeting so manof them. at ninth, he was researcng and looking a studying -- at ni he was researching and oking in studyin geniuses are geuses. when michael lar in fe because he waa 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. cause he w that smart. evenhough iwas at one. the nager he wanted to do somethin he knew how to talk to me about n a shy, nice way andespectful and evything. en he got on stage he became th imesario and his ole attitude would change but he was one of those great rare indiduals who deserves to be calledhe king of pop. tavis: i w back i india on the y michael jason p5st week. i arkened back tomy earliest memoes and the pride knew knowing the superstars. i was planning to seene of the 50hows that michael was

planning to perform. it take ple. the music and memories inside us will live on, i suspect, forever. i will introdce you a young family musicians whmay not the jackson'ns. at least not yet. statuned forthe homeme jamz blues band. want to introduce you to an amazing young blues gro. the homemade ja blues band from mississippi. they are three siblis, ryan, kyle, an taya. we will talk to the family in a moment. here they are he 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 ♪ ♪ woman ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ [applause]

tavii 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 radi program on pubc radio and i was blown awayy them and i called my produceand said we'd need toget these kids on the show. i am delighted to night that they have made thr late-night naonal tv debut on our program. i want totart by asking you, ryan, they are sted in order of age. i want you to expin what this is, shome how it like that. ll me the sry of how these guita get made. >> ts is a muffler

guitar made from the car muffler. e started building these thre yearsago. the storyehind it is i was -- we were buildingur first vehic. tav: you were building a vehicle? as in something to driv >> just restoring it. tavis your dads building cars. ford is trouble. go ahead. >> we ordered so mufflerand when they ca in, myad took a good look and said, maybe i coul take s muffler and try to buil a guitar just r fun. i was -- i did not want to take the muffler because it was supposed to go under my fir car. took it anyway d said, i am goi to te it and we willget

to your calater. i told him, oy, we will try this on the condition that you buy me another muffler. a week later,e came out of e garage with a muffler guita and it looks andounds great. a ry basic frm ofhat you see w. by the way, the guitar - first guitar in the b.b. king newseum. tavis: it lights up when you play. th is cool. what they cannot see -- hold that thing up. wh you are in stage, that thing blows smokout of the uffler. >> it really does. tavis that ishot. yo have a double nexyear and this is a lead guitar. this is kyle in the middle.

your dad made this? yes, si my bass was made after ryan's i wanted it black. it lights up a well. tavis: that is your favorite lor? >> yes, sir. black and blue it is a 6 strg. we took -- what bass did we take art? tavi you have the ford emem ut also, can you hold up the strap? o you see the stp? that is a regular seat bt. he has aeat belt strapped on his hemade guitar andt works. this is taya, she is 10 and

plays t drums. howid you get i the grou >> it start with my brother they were already pling their instruments and theyere in need a drummer. theyere prticing in the iving room and i aed them if i could play and tey said sure. we had a dm set then and i hoppedehind the drums d startefrom there. tavis: howong did it take her before she couldarry the beat? >> about three hours. tavis: she worked it out. >> she worked everything out. by the end of the day, she knew sheould kp a steady beato the songs wknew. vis: that is amazing. there are a lot of boys saying ou cannot play with us you cannot et inthis group. >> that is what we said at first. tavis:ow the truth comes out. first you told her . >> mom was in the next room.

she saidet her play. shebyheended the dy maybe we shoul have her. tavis: now she is part of the group and you are glad have her. you hve tcds out. >>he music come when i am waiting for pracce and i am fumbling arnd my base and i come up with a nice little gro. when i get theetals and stuff hooked up he wi come i with his guitarnd taya comes in with the drum beat and we jam that for long whileto make re it is stuck in our head that will sit down and start writing lyrics. tavis: yur dad does the lyric ntent. how do u go to schol? whn you are about to bome inteationally recognized? >> recently we were pulled out of public school and we are hom

schooled. tavis: dl like that better? >> yes, sir. tavis: givee some idea of the places you have played already. >> last yeare were in hland and switzerland as well as canada, the year before thate were in mexico and another trip to canada and lateron this year, will be going to norway. no. tavistavis:tell me about your parts. it tes a lot of lo on the partf your parents to let yo do this and get behind you and makeour instruments. ll me about your parents. >> our parentsre very supporti of us. ry supportive. eady for us to go anywhere. the drivers around erywhere know matter how long the dre.

they e great parents. t recely let go ofheir jobs for --so we can pursue our dream of becoming blues musicians. tavis: ey quit their jobs to get yonehind you? i will shut up here. le me thank you andfor coming on the program. we will cse out with me music from tm. u do not want to miss it th homemade jamz blues band. stay with us. tavis: from their new cd "i got bluefor you", the the homema jamz blues band accompanied by their father withhe song "hobo man". from l.a., keep the faith.

♪ i'm a hobo man ♪ ♪ well, i'm a hobo man, i just rode inour town ♪ ♪ >> for more information, visit tas smiley at pbs.org. tavis: am tavis smiley. joine next time with the first black mayor of mississippi. we will see u then. >> tre is so much that walmart is looking forward to doi. 're looki forward to help

you build stronger communities and relationships because the best is yet to come. >> nationwide iurance proudly suorts tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insuran. working to impve financial litecy and the economic empowerment that comes witit. >> nationwidis on your side. and by contributions to you pbs station by vwers like you. thk you. pbs station by vwers like you. thk you. >> we are p. >> we are p.