It was an immediate sensation and became one of the most talked about concerts and TV specials ever. In an era before social media, MOTOWN 25 was a true water-cooler event, marking the first time that music fans saw Michael Jackson do the moonwalk (aka: the six seconds that changed the world), in addition to many other buzzworthy moments — reunions by the Miracles and the Supremes; the first battle of the bands between The Temptations and Four Tops; and the hottest comedian in the world at the time, Richard Pryor, as host.
Taped before a live audience MOTOWN 25 featured virtually every Motown artist from the company’s inception, including Jackson moonwalking during “Billie Jean” and performing “I Want You Back” with The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye crooning “What’s Going On”, Smokey Robinson with “The Tears of a Clown”, Stevie Wonder soulfully singing “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)”, Diana Ross with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, The Temptations with “My Girl”, Four Tops with “Baby I Need Your Loving” and many more! A seminal event in pop culture history, this concert event would go on to provide the backstory for the Tony®-nominated Broadway play, “Motown: The Musical”, as well as set the bar for all future televised concert events.
