Retro Video of the Week: "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson

Apologies for not posting a Tuesday Top Ten.  I was too busy because, you know, life.  Am I right?

But to make up for it, boy do I have a treat for you.  Thirty-five years ago today was the Motown 25 Special, a tribute concert special on NBC to celebrate Motown Records's 25th anniversary.  The lineup was ridiculous:  Stevie Wonder; Marvin Gaye; a battle of the bands between The Temptations and the Four Tops; reunions of The Supremes, The Miracles, and the Jackson 5; Mary Wells; Martha Reeves; Junior Walker; Lionel Richie; The Commodores; DeBarge.

But one man stood above the rest.  As the Jackson 5 ended their set, their lead singer -- the diminutive 24-year-old Michael -- stayed out on stage for a solo performance that would cement his status as a pop icon.  It's not that Michael Jackson wasn't already a star.  Obviously, he was the lead singer of the Jackson 5, who had 19 Top 40 hits (including 10 Top 10s and four #1s) between 1969 and 1980.  And he had his own string of Top 10 solo hits in the '70s and through 1980.  

Of course, Thriller came out in 1982.  Jackson's duet with Paul McCartney, "The Girl Is Mine" had hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982.  "Billie Jean" was released in January 1983 and had already spent 7 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March and April of that year, and "Beat It" was #1 on the charts at the time of the Motown 25 Special.  

But Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean" during the Motown 25 Special is one of legend because he unveiled for the first time the moonwalk -- a dance move copied by what I estimate to be every single person who has ever seen it who has working legs.  And with one backwards glide, he went from being Michael Jackson to being Michael Jackson.  Suddenly, every kid in America wanted parachute pants, a studded red leather jacket, and a glittery glove on one hand only.  As a child in the early '80s, it's impossible to understate to future generations how huge Micheal Jackson was.

For your viewing and listening pleasure, here are both the music video to "Billie Jean" and Jackson's performance on the Motown 25 Special (the moonwalk is at the 3:38 mark).