Michael Jackson performing "Billie Jean" in 2001.
Now as people know, Michael Jackson is one of the most famous performers in the history of popular music and that he is also one of the best dancers ever. Well people know that in 1983, Jackson made history when he performed the “moonwalk” at Motown 25, well it has since been confirmed that Jackson learned the dance from a variation of dancers including Soul Train’s and Shalamar member Jeffrey Daniels, Michael “Boogaloo” Shrimp and Poppin’ Pete among other dancers who all originated from the Bay Area of California. The dance actually has roots in black culture going as far back as the 1930s before Michael polished it and made it his own. Here are just two videos to explain some of the origins from that legendary trademark dance that helped to make Michael Jackson the “king of pop”:
Now let me state not one man “invented” this dance, this dance was always a part of dance culture, of black culture and even in the form of mimes and other unsung dancing heroes. So just sit back and relax as one of the greatest dances gets analyzed. These videos and this post is a tribute to all the dancers and not an attack so please be gentle. LOL
Good to see your post. I have also written about the origins of the Moonwalk on my blog Am I Scary for you? Minstrelsy, Metamorphosis and Michael Jackson.
http://amiscaryforyou-michaeljackson.blogspot.com/2008/09/moonwalk-origins.html
Jackson is a master at blending and incorporating various styles and making them his own.
Love the blog! Another great read!
Cheers, Giada
Just passing by.Btw, your website have great content!
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Making Money $150 An Hour
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micheal did invent the moon walk everyone knows that
yeah right,he did, he said he saw kids off the street doing it and added some MJ to it<3
Interesting post. Watching the older clips clarified for me the reason people were blown away by MJ’s moonwalk — his magician-like ability to make you watch the flat foot instead of the foot that pushes him backward. I’ve been watching videos of him moonwalking over and over again today (to learn how to do it myself, heh) and it is very difficult to look at his other leg. Really! Even when I concentrate very hard on trying to watch what he’s doing with the other foot, I can’t help myself, I look at the flat foot instead. Magicians do the same thing when they perform magic tricks — they perform the mechanics of the trick in plain sight while using psychological and perceptual tricks to direct your attention elsewhere. It’s amazing that Michael Jackson, a dancer and musician, not only figured out how to turn a sleight-of-hand technique into a mind-blowing dance move but also refined and executed it so brilliantly. He took a clever physical joke (“Ha ha, look, I’m sliding backwards”) and turned it into a true illusion (“WTF, he just went BACKWARDS!”) That is genius.
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Great post. Although it is common knowledge that MJ did not invent the moowalk, he did indeed perfect it.
The way he moves his head while doing it is what seals the deal.
His long limbs add to the effect too.
Amazing dancer indeed.
great read!!!! wow, all these years i thought he really invented it…believe me, THAT’S NO SLAM TO MICHAEL, BECAUSE I AM A FAN FOREVER. R.I.P. MJ…you will NEVER be forgotten…ever!
magnifique
Great documentary. Thank-you.
Can you tell me what performance Michael Jackson is in (when, what venue) at the end of the first video “History of the Moonwalk”, in gold costume?
i saw james cagney do the ‘moon walk’ in a clip that may be 70 years old.
still looking for it. anybodyseen it?
nice! i’m gonna make my own journal
Jeffrey Daniel is amazing! He and Bill Bailey were definitely moonwalking. I didn’t see the essential appearing-to-walk-forward-while-moving-backward in their predecessors. But that’s a lot of entertaining and impressive dance footage.
For those who missed the video, you need to get the “SOLAR GALAXY OF STARS” DVD featuring The Whispers, Lakeside, Dynasty and Shalamar circa 1980 recorded live at the Concord Pavilllion in California.They each do more songs than they did on the album and, yes, Michael went on record as saying he learned the moonwalk from Jeffrey Daniel. Also on YouTube: James Brown, Michael Jackson and Prince together on the same stage in which Michael surprises James Brown with his perfect imitation of the Godfather of Soul.
WoW…
Thanks for the early morning mind bender.
jeffrey daniels and bill bailey did do the moonwalk before michael, but no nearly as good. michael made it look like he was moving backwards effortlessly, not evening dancing. MJ was definetely better at entertaining then these other people. MJ is the king of pop because he was a musical genuis and the best dancer to ever live:) R.I.P MJ- you are a legend
wow!!!!!!!!amazingly nice…..RIP michael jackson
This was really interesting. I didn’t know the history. Thanks for posting. I grew up watching Michael Jackson on MTV and loved his music/performances/dancing. In later years, as he became more secluded and embroiled in controversy, I kind of forgot about all of his great performances. He became just this odd celebrity to me. But in tTe past few days I’ve just been watching his videos over and over. And I’m just sad. This is what I will remember about him. I really like the last dance clip have on here — where he’s in the gold suit. What is that from?
Did you know Michael Jackson is actually listed (along with 2 other Black people) with inventing a special show he invented that allowed him to walk sideways in the “Billie Jean” video he did in which the sidewalk lit up? I guess that puts him up there with David Ruffin, who invented the four-way microphone the Temptations used when he was with them!
James Cagney did the moonwalk in Yankee Doodle Dandy .
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mickael et le roi de la pop il restera a jamais dans notre coeur !!! on t’aime mickael !!!! (snif)
Rest In Peace R.I.P
tuge peludo
para sempre 4Ever Michael ….Brazil
Morre um Homem fika uma LENDA
rest peace micheal we love you
I like michel jakson music is good and he can dans very good. if i lokke he to tv he dans. Í just said how he can dans son. main I just Michel jakson he had ben best to dans and syng, main he daed. I must see Michel jakson hevey time. I just said to people. we meste big stor in the word,
Years ago I went to the opening of the Seattle Art Museum, and watched a film made by an anthropologist in 1964. It was a tribal dance in Africa (I have forgotten which country), and I was amazed to see moonwalking. It was much closer to Michael Jackson’s version than any of the old film clips of I have seen of African-American dancers. The origins may go back centuries – not just decades.
P Diddy had very precisely described the genius of Michael Jackson: “He showed that you can actually see the beat. He made the music come to life. He made me believe in magic.”
Check other notable tributes paid to Michael Jackson by peers:
http://www.tributespaid.com/category/m/michael-jackson
RIP michael…
Who says that M.J is passed away, look carefully he is doing Moon Walking in Heaven.
Legends never die………so as Michael Jackson…..he is immortal in Billions of Hearts.
RIP Michael.
M.J has given a birth to legendary Music. He will always remain always remain alive in our heart thru his Music.
Rest In Peace Michael.
mihahel jeksonu çok hayranım
Michael Jackson, é o meu papai de coração, no meu MSN só tem imagem dele é eu gosto muito dele e ele sempre estará no meu coração, !!!!
TE AMO E SEMPRE VOU TE AMAR MIKE,!
BJS:Annita Ingrid
what did u just say? im english
R.I.P MICHEAL JACKSON!!!!!!
I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER AND EVER!!!!
WHY`D YOU HAVE TO LEAVE?
NO MATTER WHAT MICHEAL, U WILL ALWAYS BE THE KING OF POP!!!
DUDE YOUR THE BEST!!!!!!
THANKS FOR ALL MICHAEL,
YOU ARE THE BEST DANCER THAT I SEE IN MY LIFE,
KING OF POP
THE BEST
I totally enjoy the blog, but I have problem sometimes openning the blog, may be I should use another browser, Im using firefox… i will download opera… thanks belly dancing lessons
WE MISS YOU MICHAEL….WE WILL LOVE YOU FOR EVER…..:(
I just wish u could of stayed alive! I always liked your music!Also i always
liked your dancing before u died! I will always listen to your music!Forever i will cherish the memories of u aways! Also my great grandma-
reall likes your dancing, music ,& ur dance moves!Me & my great grandma
will remember u always!
the kids in my class said it was billy ocean and we all told him it wasnt.so i have proof,thanks so much.
MICHAEL JACKSON IS THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Michael, your love is magical, that’s how I feel…. Michael you make me speechless….. I Love You ♥
MICHAEL JACKSON, ALWAYS HE WILL BE IN MY HEART… THANKS SU MUCH MY SWEET MICHAEL..<3
now i know the history of moonwalk
))))
LOVE YOU MJ!!!!!!!!!!! RIP
I love you so much and Michael forever and ever in to my life and heart
I miss you MichaEL
Rest in peace my friend, and may your Feet never get tired in Heaven.
To your family, I am so sorry for your loss, all of you are in my Prayers.
I had a ring side set win that happend. You see at the time I was the drummer of Shalamar.
Ronnie Hawkins was doing it extremely well way back when in 1958 – 59 with his drummer the incomparable Levon Helm! – Seen here in all its amazing clarity – http://www.levonhelm.com/video/levon_1959.wmv
The moonwalk was originally started in 1932 by Cab Calloway back then it is was called “The Buzz” and it was a similar step as Michael Jackson’s famous move. However it did not become quite as famous as it is today until Michael Jackson preformed it during Billie Jean on an ABC television special. After that MTV began playing it over and over again making it internationally recognized as well. Michael Jackson brought it to be what it is today because so many people now recognize it and the moonwalk has become a signature dance move to multiple different people. It is a part of current and previous pop culture because even movies such as Charlie’s Angels have shown the moonwalk. Also people who are not even dancers feel the need to learn this move and do so by different social means. Either a friend or a random person teaches them or possibly they go through the hundreds of youtube: How to videos. This just comes to show how fixed it is in our modern culture because it is shown in social networks like youtube that connect people worldwide. Lastly it is something even little children talk about which just shows how deeply it is rooted in people’s general knowledge.
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music,[1] used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting.
Dance may also be regarded as a form of nonverbal communication between humans, and is also performed by other animals (bee dance, patterns of behaviour such as a mating dance). Gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming are sports that incorporate dance, while martial arts kata are often compared to dances. Motion in ordinarily inanimate objects may also be described as dances (the leaves danced in the wind).
Definitions of what constitutes dance are dependent on social, cultural, aesthetic, artistic and moral constraints and range from functional movement (such as folk dance) to virtuoso techniques such as ballet. Dance can be participatory, social or performed for an audience. It can also be ceremonial, competitive or erotic. Dance movements may be without significance in themselves, such as in ballet or European folk dance, or have a gestural vocabulary/symbolic system as in many Asian dances. Dance can embody or express ideas, emotions or tell a story.
Dancing has evolved many styles. Breakdancing and Krumping are related to the hip hop culture. African dance is interpretative. Ballet, Ballroom, Waltz, and Tango are classical styles of dance while Square and the Electric Slide are forms of step dances.
Every dance, no matter what style, has something in common. It not only involves flexibility and body movement, but also physics. If the proper physics is not taken into consideration, injuries may occur.
Choreography is the art of creating dances. The person who creates (i.e., choreographs) a dance is known as the choreographer.
thank u
Thanks for making that – I knew about Jeffry Daniels but not back so far – nice one.
i mis u mj
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He is the best in singing and dancing
Michael Jackson was ,is and always will be the best dancer singer and performer ever in the history of … something. i forget what its called .whatevs.MJ is awesome!
<3