Choir pays tribute to Jackson as family planning funeral

LOS ANGELES, June 28 (Xinhua) -- A 200-voice Los Angeles choir paid tribute to Michael Jackson Sunday by singing one of his hit songs as the family of the late "King of Pop" is planning a public funeral.

"Man in the Mirror" songwriter Siedah Garrett led the multicultural Agape International Choir to perform the song repeatedly at the Agape Spiritual Center to honor the superstar, who died Thursday here at the age of 50.

Meanwhile, Jackson's family huddled in his childhood home in a Los Angeles suburb considering how to memorize their biggest star as family friend the Reverend Al Sharpton flew in to help plan a funeral.

Sharpton reportedly spoke with Jackson's brothers about possibilities for a public memorial, and was invited to come to Los Angeles to help the family plan it.

They also reportedly discussed the possibility of a series of memorials around the world. The Los Angeles Police Department said it has been in contact with the family in case they need official help with crowds.

According to celebrity website TMZ.com, Jackson's little brother Randy, 47, is poised to take charge of the superstar's estate for the family, and former Jackson manager Leonard Rowe was set to help. It was unclear who the entertainer named as his executor of his will.

Civil rights leader and family friend the Reverend Jesse Jackson has been acting as a spokesman for the family, but it was unclear where news would come from next.

The Jackson family Saturday hire a pathologist to conduct private post-mortem to independently determine the cause of death. An autopsy by the Los Angeles County coroner was inconclusive pending the result of toxicological tests.

A spokesperson for the coroner's office said that a private lab may get results faster than the typical four to six weeks it takes the office to get the final results.

Jackson apparently got an injection of Demerol, a strong painkiller similar to morphine, shortly before he was rushed to the hospital in deep coma Thursday afternoon. He was pronounced dead later at the hospital.

The pop singer, who won 13 Grammy Awards and sold 750 million albums worldwide during his 40-year career, has been reportedly addicted to Demerol for about 20 years.