Michael Jackson News

At this point, Joe Jackson knows more about his own record project than his son's funeral plans.

In a news conference Monday, the Jackson patriarch confirmed that the family is planning a public memorial service commensurate with their son's pop legacy. But he was short on details.

The 80-year-old Jackson also said he was gladdened that his wife, Katherine, was granted at least temporary custody of his grandchildren today.

But in a bizarre move that came across as self-serving, Jackson bookended the press conference not with news on his son's death but with plugs for a new musical endeavor—something called Ranch Records.

Flanked by longtime family friend and adviser Rev. Al Sharpton, as well as his Ranch Records partner Marshall Thompson (of the classic soul group the Chi-Lites), the elder Jackson said he wished his son were here to appreciate the tributes in the wake of his surprise death last Thursday.

"The family and I are very proud to see all of you come out here and help us with this whole situation. I wish Michael could be here to see all this. Michael was a superstar. He was loved in every country and the U.S...but one thing Michael didn't know, he didn't know how strong this could be."

Asked about the funeral, the elder Jackson noted that they "don't have a time frame yet" because they're still awaiting the results of the second autopsy. But he shot down rumors that Jackson would be buried in Neverland Ranch.

In the wake of a court order this morning granting Katherine temporary custody of Michael's three kids, Joe said the family and the kids were happy because they had similar-aged cousins to play with.

"We love those kids still," he said. "We're going to take care of them and give them the education they're supposed to have. We can do that. And we have the area enough and the premises large enough to be able to extend to them all the help that they might need."

As for the nanny who's effectively been raising Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket, Joe Jackson said they were looking at keeping her in the children's life since "she's a good friend of the family and the kids."

He also said that he last saw his son alive just a week ago, and that he hadn't talked to his son's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray.

Sharpton, meanwhile, declared that the family would proceed carefully and deliberately in planning a celebration of Jackson's life.

"There's going to be a tribute at the Apollo. People are planning museums in Gary, Indiana," he said. "There's all kinds of things the family is going to consider. As a family they came out of Gary and they gave the world a whole new glow and they must be careful to protect that glow."

(Originally published June 29, 2009, at 12:35 p.m. PT)

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