MICHAEL JACKSON BILLIE JEAN (LIVE AT MOTOWN 25: YESTERDAY, TODAY, FOREVER)
Michael Jackson may have taken the world by storm with his Motown 25 performance of Billie Jean in 1983, but for many viewers, the intricate move looked familiar, as many had been puzzling over how it was achieved ever since Shalamar’s Jeffrey Daniel caused a sensation with his performance of A Night To Remember on Top Of The Pops the previous June (see Top 5 Groundbreaking Dance Performances).
The date was 25 March 1983. Despite a line-up boasting Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and a much-hyped reunion of Diana Ross & The Supremes to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Motown Records, it was Michael Jackson’s performance of his latest single Billie Jean - during which he debuted the moonwalk - which dominated the event. A dance tour-de-force, the performance earned him an Emmy nomination, the seal of approval from his idol Fred Astaire and shot him to stratospheric success. One small, perfectly executed dance step for Michael Jackson was one giant leap for the music business, redefining what it meant to be an artist in the 80s, with performance becoming a key part of the pop package.
Despite being regarded as one of the greatest live performances of all time, perfectionist Michael Jackson later revealed he was annoyed with his performance, as he stopped his moonwalk a split second too early. His disappointment was appeased the following day when his dance hero Fred Astaire telephoned him to say how much he enjoyed the performance. youtube.com/watch?v=g3t9-kf7ZNA
Touring Europe solo to promote the single, Jeffrey was astounded by the reaction to his dancing, as he had been performing in a similar style on the legendary American music TV show Soul Train since 1978 - in fact, it was his signature ‘bodypopping’ that landed him a place in the lineup of Shalamar. The group was put together by Soul Train creator Don Cornelius and booking agent Dick Griffey, who enlisted Soul Train dancers Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel - the latter mainly due to his showmanship.
From the glitter-strewn Hollywood stages to the cardboard-covered Harlem street corners where breakdancers busted moves to hip-hop, the early 80s saw the resurgence of dance as an artform achieving a level of popularity and influence not seen since the golden age of Hollywood musicals - with the main outlet for displaying this new wave of creativity the newly established MTV.
MADONNA VOGUE (LIVE FROM THE 1990 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS) Madonna celebrated the end of her hugely successful Blond Ambition tour with a victory lap performance at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards. Dressed in full Marie Antoinette drag (Madonna appeared in the dress worn by Glenn Close in Dangerous Liaisons), the performance encapsulated the flamboyance, attitude and humour of the dance it celebrated. youtube.com/watch?v=lTaXtWWR16A
An ardent student of dance, Michael Jackson watched Soul Train religiously to keep up with the latest trends and was in awe of the backslide move. He contacted Jeffrey to ask him to teach it to him. Jeffrey went to Jackson’s house in California and taught him the move, which Michael renamed the moonwalk. As the video to Billie Jean had already been filmed, Jackson chose to debut it during the Motown 25 special. The rest is history.
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