Michael Jackson's Life To Be Celebrated Saturday In Brooklyn

An event organized by director Spike Lee to celebrate the life of Michael Jackson on what would have been his 51st birthday is expected to draw more than 10,000 fans of the late King of Pop — five times the number initially expected — on Saturday, August 29th, at the Nethermead meadow in Prospect Park. The festivities will get underway at noon and run until 5 p.m., rain or shine, and the event is free.

Michael Jackson's life and career, in photos.

According to The New York Times, Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn's borough president, will be presenting a proclamation during the event, declaring August 29th Michael Jackson Day in Brooklyn. The Rev. Al Sharpton will also be on hand to offer some words and a prayer while DJ Spinna will be at the ones and twos, unleashing hits from Jackson's storied career.

Lee, who worked with Jackson in Brazil on the music video for "They Don't Care About Us," told The Root, an online magazine on black culture, earlier this month that the event, originally conceived as a block party-style gathering, was "going to just be how we do it, Brooklyn-style, I'll leave it at that. It's going to be a joyous, festive, celebratory party."

Look back at Jackson's all-star memorial.

Also expected to speak during the event is City Councilwoman Letitia James of Brooklyn, who has suggested the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station be renamed or co-named after Jackson, as it was the scene for the 1987 video "Bad."

See how fans celebrated the King of Pop in the days after his death.

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Song Stories

“Is It True”

Brenda Lee | 1964

As the British Invasion reached its peak in 1964, Brenda Lee went from Nashville to London to record one of her hardest-rocking hits, her perky vocal backed by a stuttering, squalling guitar. That guitar was played by session musician Jimmy Page, yet to skyrocket to fame with first the Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin. "She said to me, 'I've come here to make a record with the British sound,'" remembered producer Mickie Most. "She felt she wouldn't get the same sound in Nashville because they're only just catching up on the British beat group sound of about six months ago."

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