This is Jeffrey Daniel, a dancer and singer from the group Shalamar who helped Mike Jackson become the dancing machine we all grew to admire. Check it out:

We first worked with him in 1980, but he did not do the moonwalk publicly until 1983 [on Motown's 25th anniversary TV special]. And after he did it, he asked, "How was it?" And I said, "Why did you wait so long?" He said, "Well, it still didn't come out right." I'm like, Huh? This is the performance that totally blew everyone away — and he said something didn't come out right. Whatever was going on in his mind, we would never know it. We all know that it was a mind-blowing performance, and it just took him to another level.

Re-live that groundbreaking Motown 25 performance -- and take a look at Bill Bailey, THE original Moonwalker -- after the stretch.

STRETCH...

Mike's first "Moonwalk": Motown 25, 1983


This is footage of legendary hoofer Bill Bailey doing the Moonwalk back in 1955!!




Suppliers: illseed and Time Magazine