I love this video that juxtapositions Fred Astaire's movie clips from Daddy Long Legs and The Band Wagon over Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" single. The dance choreography, fashion, stage design, vivid color, and overall drama of the movie is simply amazing. Everything is very conscious and elegant. I wish I saw more of this type of dedication to craft and class in today's music videos. Even though the above video is from films, I think some of the more artistic elements can transfer over into mainstream music videos. Watching Fred Astaire dance really shows you that Michael Jackson did his research on the greats before him, and through practice appropriated his own innovative mark onto history. The video below has some more examples of possible influences on Michael Jackson's historic moves like that of the infamous Moonwalk. Long live the King!
Dancers in alphabetical order: Fred Astaire, Bill Bailey, Buck and Bubbles, Cab Calloway, Clark Brothers, Sammy Davis Jr., Daniel L. Haynes, Rubberneck Holmes, Patterson and Jackson, Eleanor Powell, Bill Robinson, Three Chefs, Tip Tap and Toe ft. Ray Winfield, Earl Snakehips Tucker
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4 Comments
Message from Montie said:
I found the video fascinating, mainly because I argued my 87-year-old grandfather into the ground that Michael Jackson did not create the Moonwalk. He swore up and down he did. And then I read Moonwalk, in which Michael Jackson pays tribute to street dancers who taught him how to do it. Boogaloo Shrimp has gone on record stating that Michael Jackson would ask him to do the dance over and over again. But I didn't know about the guys above who were doing it before Boogaloo Shrimp. But MJ paid credit to breakers.
steph said:
This is a really cool video. I didn't know that Michael Jackson didn't create the moonwalk. He is still an awesome dancer and performer though. One of the very best.
Weezy
Maks G said:
He learned from the best, and in a way he did create the moonwalk because before him there was nothing ever called the "Moonwalk" except for when Armstrong actually walked on the moon.. lol
rheather said:
Wow! This is really, really cool! I
Any other MJ fans out there planning to watch the TV Guide Network's Michael Jackson special, Gone Too Soon, airing June 25th? I'm really excited to see it.
Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3b9oXa9v8c
http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/gone-soon/305026
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