Origin of the Backslide/Moonwalk | 1930-1983
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- čas přidán 14. 03. 2021
- A famous dance move made popular by Michael Jackson, the "Backslide", now more commonly know as the "Moonwalk", can be traced back as far as the early Jazz age on film.
Earliest film footage known appears to be in the 1930s of a demonstration of the "Cake Walk" dance (originating in the late 1800s-early 1900s, possibly suggesting the Backside goes as far back as the 1900s, if it was not added to the dance from the Jazz styles of the time). The move (as well as the dancing styles) have been passed down through generations of entertainers to the modern day. From cultural dance, to early stage performers and street dancers.
There's a old saying " There's nothing new under the sun." Remember that young ppl.
Facts
Makes you wonder if like 13,000 years ago there was some Mesopotamian dance tribe that figured out this s*** on a sandy stone floor...
did anyone find it ironic that the eclipse did the moonwalk 4 year before MJ but danced it to a MJ song
Even more ironic, watching this clip again I realized that Jeffrey Daniel is also dancing to a MJ song called Lovely one.
Maybe not even a coincidence, probably how Michael took notice of the dance move.
@@RABS23 That Eclipse dance routine is also where some of MJ's inspiration for the Thriller dance came from, too, and some moves in Beat It.
Recognise the Thriller slide/head crank move.
czcams.com/video/6McuBTJy4Gk/video.html
Lol I said this exact statement to myself right before I read this comment
So they inspired each other 😜😂
Some of the earlier ones were rough but Jeffrey Daniel's was perfection especially the part with the dog.
There were a lot of song and dance men in major movies that did this dance like Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. Even Buddy ebsen who played grandpa on the clampetts or Beverly hillbillies. When Jackson first did this performance, apparently Buddy ebsen said that's nothing new we've been doing this for 45 years. Suit to him and tell those people above it was not anything new when they saw it but everybody thought buddy was crazy
Smoothest I've seen for sure. What a guy!
Jeff Daniels had that isht on lockdown! 👍🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Jeffrey so smooth and fluid with it
Yeah Jeffrey said he modified it by stretching out the strides and covering more ground. No one was doing it like that b4
All those dancers of times gone by are spectacular. Such a pleasure to watch.
I think I just don't like it when people try to imply that Michael ever tried to lay claim to the move. He just did it. He was inspired by all dancers.
Having said that...he brought it to life so perfectly for a generation that had never seen it.
MJ named, it popularized it, and perfected it along with a shit load of other dances
Thank you for putting this video out.This is why, history is so important.
The same thing happened with rap music. Most believe it started in New York in the 70s, but it actually started down south in the Church decades before that.
Look up the Jubalaires. They were a Florida group rapping in the 40s and 50s.
bruh MJ named, it popularized it, and perfected it
@@janepatton8100 MJ revolutionized music and dance
😂 this isn't history, it's opinion.
Charlie Chaplin did this. Michael admitted that he learned it from watching Charlie.
Michael was inspired by these dancers to create his own twist and spin off of these dances
yessir
Check out Bob fosse in Little Prince 1974, Mj took more than 50% of mannerism and moves from him.
@@brownm.r1981
Bob Fosse seldomly gets any credit.
@@brownm.r1981 You are 100% correct!
Si ,l ha sempre detto... Forever Michael ❤️
cool to find some more current clips of the backslide in the 70s
Many great dancers set foot on earth like Bill Bailey, Boogaloo Dan, Daniel Jefrey . Many people think moonwalk was started by MJ. Learnt from this post .Thank you .
Yes, but MJ make the move famous around the world. No one before him did it.
Some of yall are crazy...I know Mike is a Legend but nobody can do that dance like JD. His is killing everybody's.
To call Michael a legend is a severe understatement, he's literally the goat
bruh MJ named, it popularized it, and perfected it
Michael turbo Chambers did it best after Jeffrey. Chambers taught Mike the sideways moonwalk, widen the strides and doing it in place. Jeffrey taught him to do it in a circle and backwards
@AC-mp7cx How the hell could he perfect it, if he doesn't do it the best? Make it make sense.
love seeing the origin....I was about 7 years old when Motown 25 happen.... the point of this is that it was a time where there was only 30 to 40 channel on cable at best....most could only get the local channels (CBS/ABC/NBC) and that was it.... so when MJ did the moonwalk, it was fkn amazing because MOST people didn't know about the backslide... So while MJ was influence by other dancers, he popularized it and took it to another stratosphere ...thus the Moonwalk was born
bruh MJ named, it popularized it, and perfected it
Michael always told that he was very much inspired by people like James Brown, Fred Astare and black kids dancing in the streets and that all of them teached him how to dance. Michael was able to combine all the elements with his songwriting, singing and dancing. He made all the dancing his own and perfected it. While doing his moonwalk Michael moves his shoulders as well unlike the other dancers, it makes the illusion hoger.
Ohhhh please.... He lied and claimed it as his own created dance. But you can find this move in 1930, 1940's Bill Bailey.
@@paulaoyedele2081 not true
@@paulaoyedele2081child pleeeeease.
@@paulaoyedele2081he didn't learn that from Bill Bailey. That lil 5 second stint was nothing
Michael asked Jeffery Daniel to teach him the "moonwalk" which James Brown use to call the "camelwalk" which had evolved over the years b4 these guys were born. King Solomon said "nothing is new under the sun." All we do is repeat what was, to be as it is. & that's ok too😉
The camel walk is not the same move as the backslide.
Amen to King Solomon
Eclipse gets the credit for best representation of the dance move, and performing it in a way nobody really has on screen. The foot flow and friction to the floor was near perfect during leg transitioning. Literal best representation of what the move actually is, and how it can be manipulated into any direction with practice.
Very interesting to see all the old film footage where the dance move came from.
MJ is explosion of moonwalk.
No, MJ saw someone else do it, wanted to learn it, learned it and called it the "Moonwalk" and had people thinking he created it.
@@thedarkstranger963 he never claimed e created it dumbass
@@joshdaboss2365 Joshdabitch: I didn't post MJ claimed to have invented the dance. Put down the crack pipe and try to read correctly.
@@thedarkstranger963 yeah but you implied it you dumbo.
1930’s dancers did it called The Backslide and then Bill Bailey did it in the 40’s and 50’s. Michael brought it to us and we loved it!
Thank you for sharing this!!! So so neat to see the history behind it!!! These dancers were so so soooo smooth. Dare I say it... even smoother than MJ!!!
bruh MJ named, it popularized it, and perfected it
you're also brain dead if you think they came close to him
Tell the truth, but know disrespect to M. J though.
@@roxannemiller6961 no disrespect intended!!! 😇. Originals alot of times do it better tjan someone who is inspired by it. MJ is a master in his own right for so many reasons... INCLUDING HIS SPIN/TAKE on this dance.
@@niclu "inspired" lol you mean he copied it ripped it off lol
There are 2 things I can see in this video:
1. The material (backslide/moonwalk)
2. The person who brought that material out and made it "global"
But of course, credit to all these people who invented and perfected this dance move.
This is just a clip it because there are long dancing scenes in those old Golden era Hollywood song and dance movies where Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly or Buddy ebsen or whoever it may be are doing the basic mashup and what we call moondance. Cat dancers would generally incorporate this into their work. Everybody knows MJ was a student of old school Hollywood. He was absolutely fascinated with what they call the Golden era. That's why he was so fascinated with people like Elizabeth Taylor and was a good friend of his. He was also influenced by people from Motown obviously. James Brown would do the mashup. The press saw it and ran with it. Have you ever heard the cliche what's old is new and what's new is old? There's nothing new under the Sun. It's all been done before. Does that mean Eminem is not a guest in the house of hip Hop anymore? Hahaha
I have missed these oldies but goodies ❣
Thanks for calling it the Backslide!!!
That is what we called at back in 1979
Also pantomimes in France were doing this move for many years as early as the 1940s
bruh MJ named, it popularized it, and perfected it
@@AC-mp7cx 😂😂😂🤡
@@AC-mp7cx Perfected it? He didn't even do it the best.
@@sydboski MJs style was the best
@@mohammadsufian7890 Maybe white people called backslide in 79 who knows, i have 59 now and my grandfather used to tell me people did this on he's ancient days and that this was "the floating" and kids on the streets were doing this here and there, so i bet you anything this didnt start on France.
And yes, some few people can think MJ was not the best on the moonwalk as much as they want but the other 99% of people on the planet do not share the same view you guys have about this, so you guys not liking MJ moves is really not a big deal i guess.
The moonwalk that David Bowie did in 1974 was missing, during a concert on the Diamond Dogs tour, very much in the style that Jackson would popularize, it should be noted that at that Bowie concert, Jackson was in the audience, meaning that the influence that he could have is evident have
R.i.p. Michael Jackson
I loved doing the moon walk as a kid
MJ named, it popularized it, and perfected it along with a shit load of other dances
@@AC-mp7cx uh huh?
Lots of love for michael jackson from India...
Absolute shock right there. I was there watching what I thought was the 1st moon walk but now I realized it had been copied. Guess the old saying is true- There is nothing new under the sun.
The first time Michael saw someone do the backslide was in a show in Las Vegas a Cher show one of the dancers Damita Joe Freeman who was a Soul Train dancer was on the show and did it. Michael went backstage to ask her to teach him ..she saw it on a PBS special from old B&W footage...then Jeffrey Daniel showed him.
Met Shabba Doo early 70's doing the moonwalk,robot and locking. He was also a soul train dancer planting west coast flavor pre Hip HOP in Brooklyn! Bed Stuy Do or Die!
Michael Jackson never claimed to have created the Moonwalk, he just used it and adopted it but never did he say or imply that he created it.
Backslide it is. When people referred to it as MW I was confused. I thought they were talking about the Gravity-Defying Lean .........bill Bailey, Boogaloo Dan, Daniel Jeffrey, James Brown, Fred Astare all these guys were popular for it.
James Brown an Fred Astaire did not do the move.
WOW !!!
Good Learn Something New
Thanks so much for creating & compiling different pieces of info...
Its goes with everything original, there is always room for improvement. MJ took the same steps and made it his own by not changing it but adding to it. Looking at the different back slides shown in this clip, the MJ moonwalk looks more refined and clean. Hats off to the Original dancers who came up with this....Respect !
Dis you & I watch the same clip of jefferey Daniel group those guys were way smoother love MIKE and no doubt the greatest entertainer of all time but MIKE said a zillion he watched and learned many a dance from the innovative BLACK DANCERS OF THE SOUL TRAIN ERA and as we see it goes further back then that its called evolution and Jefferey also said when he worked with MIKE that he loves to practice to perfection / so the love & respect for each others craft was mutual /
bruh MJ named, it popularized it, and perfected it
MJ was a better dancer than anyone ron paizley use your brain please He influenced soul train since he was on it since the early 70s
@@AC-mp7cx 😂😂😂😂🤡
@@Johnny-667 I was thinking the same thing about AC lol
Very rare video thanks for uplooad this 🤠
Great Video
A pleasure, great history.
It was done a lot in Breakdancing and Popping
I know. It was common by the time Michael did it, but it was exciting because Michael did it. Ya know??
@@monember2722
Actually, it wasn't common until after he did it, that's why most assumed he invented it.
@@janepatton8100 I argue that it was common. B boys, poplockers, (however you want to categorize street style dancing in the early 80s) regularly did it. Michael perhaps expanded the audience.
@@monember2722
That's not "common"... 🤔.
A thing isn't common if it's unique to a specific demographic (young pop lockers), of a specific minority group (black people).
"Common" is pop culture. MJ introduced it to pop culture (all racial/ethnic groups), thereby making it "common".
@@janepatton8100 if the move is common among the population that created it and commonly seen by those who observed them, then it is a common move among those who would dance that type of dance. Even today, non street style dance does not incorporate the backslide and it is not now nor was it practiced outside of that narrow style. It might be more well know because of Michael, but the move was commonly practiced prior to him doing it on national tv. The fun fact was that Michael did a cool street move.
I saw some clips from 30 and 50 where they also were doing the backslide. An bit earlier version, same base move
Yeah some of them did in own way Jeffrey and turbo did it in ice skating way .mj did it in mall escalator watery way in it all on the knees and the shoes how u do it
@@tavwilliam9367 not sure I follow your comment. There is no way "to do it", it's a evaluation of a move. It's not MJ move
@@RomboutVersluijs basically man all of them had different feels how they did the moon walk .I'm a dancer myself. Other wrds one person might do it fast. And the other one might do it slow. Tbh mj stamp the move. So anyone do it now u automatically think of Michael Jackson.
This stuff puts me in the space of heaven😍
Fantastic research!
Beautiful
1:31 absolute best
MJ actually hired Daniels to teach him the dance.
Jeffrey Daniel perfected it and taught MJ and he perfected it and made it his own into the moonwalk
MJ named, it popularized it, and perfected it along with a shit load of other dances
Yup! Finally somebody is getting it right. Locking, Pop locking, electric boogaloo, and glide are from the west coast. Long Beach and South-LA. The dance shown here I learned when I was 12-13 years old in 80/81 it was called the backslide. The Moonwalk is forward, of course when MJ did it somehow the press called it the moonwalk. To the side there are two variations the spider walk and the glide.
bruh MJ named, it popularized it, and perfected it
Yes! Thank you! The dance move is called backslide, I don't know why, but it irritates me a little, when people call it moonwalk, 'cause it isn't it's true name.
Let's be honest Michael Jackson was the real one who made this dance popular
Imo MJ being first on a World Stage is what made it popular more so than it being him. Had it been Prince (or James Brown in his day) under the exact same circumstances the dance would have become just as popular. Similar to Chubby Checker & the Twist.
Just accept the fact that history of the moonwalk origin was brought to you and stop being too debating about it.
Exactly
@@kyngizymusic6390 I get what you're saying. But when did it become "too debating" just to share thoughts and express opinions?
Dude,I learned how to Backslide /Moonwalk from a Mine in New York in 1977,No doubt M.J. Put the dance move on the world stage,But that same move was being done when M.J.’s granddad was a kid.And will still be done past his grandkids days.As a Veteran Break Dancer,I can tell you the move wasn’t a secret.Some of us could do it.But some couldn’t.And if M.J.hadn’t done it in 83,The Break Dance craze would have put it on the map for sure.M.J. also had Jeffrey choreograph some of his best known dance videos,and last I knew,Jeffrey still dancing around the world.Win,win situation.
All behavior is learned, years ago when they were talking about the moonwalk my mother said they use to call that dance the backwards slot. Like someone said MJ made it popular for the time because he was popular.
Awesome
Most don’t know that the guy speaking and dancing on “Soul Train” and the other clips is Jeffrey Daniel (aka 1/3 of the group Shalamar). Both he and Jodi Watley were Soul Train dancers and lovers before meeting Howard Hewett; and forming Shalamar.
Jeffrey Daniels version is the best, hands down
no one can beat michael jacksons moonwalk so awesome
Lovely
Shout out to all the pop lockers from the 80's especially from Dallas TX...U funk productions Rip Ushay the Dj...The Star Studded Strutters....Major Harris, Gerald , Levert awesome dancers.... The Box heads....back in the day these guys ruled The dance scene in Dallas 80's Disco Joe...Rocket Pros...and of course King Arthur! The only pop locking hip flexing shocking and locking Ballet dancer.
At twilight skating rink in pleasant Grove😂
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Amazing 👏🏿
In 1974 the Funkateers from Inkster Michigan was Hip Hop Dancing and during their routine practicing created their version of the Moonwalk five, years before any other Dance Group in America, Remember the Funkateers had a Dance-Off with the Hollywood Swingers and won in 1978 ... Now You Know!!!
1975 footage is so bright and amazing
It's actually from the late 2000s-2010s, I put 1975 as it's a documentation of the man's statement. Sadly I have found no 1975 footage of him.
Aannd, that is the job of each subsequent generation. Take yesterday a little bit further.
Now that I see this, I find it so disrespectful that MJ went ahead and renamed it the moonwalk as if he was the one that invented it. Not only that, but when the media asked him how he came up with the moonwalk, he said watching street kids dancing gave him inspiration when in truth, it was Jeffrey Daniel all along who taught him how to "moonwalk". Wow.
He didn't rename it. People just started calling it that.
@@ddjmfan He did. It was previously called the back slide.
@@ddjmfan it was known as backslide for many years before MJ renamed it
So many talented and inspiring dancers. You might not know the then famous movie "Beat Street". It is an homage to all these fantastic dancers, that did great however not in commercial terms.
Jeffery Daniels was magic! Smooth, doesn’t get any credit for being Early pioneers
In 70 with MJ Music😂 perfect fit …
this changes Nothing- because nothing is new but he was creative in his expression
he didnt originate a single dance move
billy balley founder of moonwalk, mj taken moon walk to next level
It goes back farther than Bill Baily. Tappers had that move down long before that.... the tap shoe with those silky smooth floors.... it was almost to easy for the athletic types. Michael came along at the right time in the right venue to pull it out again. Glad he did. And he did it without tap shoes.
That happens when somebody creates something and someone else comes along, perfect it and makes it popular.
it wasnt even a matter of perfecting it, its more of when someone famous does it then it becomes more popular.
É bom mostrar os artistas (até antes desconhecidos/pelo grande público),porém Michael sempre falou das inspirações dele. Apenas aperfeiçoou os passos. Graças a ele ficou conhecido no mundo inteiro Simples assim.Forever Michael
Aprenderam com Marcel Marceou
Say wat u want MJ perfected it to the point where he owns it nw😒
Bill Bailey did that long before these guy was even born
mj didn’t invent it he just perfected it
Also named the dance
Both Jeffrey and Michael were influenced by these dancer's that open the doors for break dancing.
This dance was out before MJ did it
0:08
BIG PROPS TO JEFFREY DANIEL FOR THE CREATION AND INTRODUCTION OF THE ''MOON WALK''...
Pero el de Michael Jackson es el que más emoción produce!💓
Oh yeah! I remember that Soul Train episode, way ahead of MJ.
That’s amazing for 👍
I saw Jeffrey do it during a Solar Records tour with Shalamar and saw Michael do it during 2 Bad concerts. It is the dance move double that can’t be conquered.
Mike was smart. He learned this move from so many different people everybody thinks they are the only ones that taught him lol..
Wow.
My Vote - considering Earliest & Smoothest:
1. Bill Bailey
2. Ronnie Hawkins
2. Jeffrey Daniel (* my absolute favorite )
3. Michael Jackson (he was by no means the best, just made it extremely popular as his stardom soared)
The moonwalk goes back to the 1870s being performed by black people look it up
they do that dance so much better!!
Lol they were dancing to day and night
Not only did they moonwalk but they did it to Working Day and Night before MJ did it during Billie Jean....wow.
Gotcha!
1:20 they even played MJ song
Unreal
I actually remember when it was the backslide before being called the moonwalk.
They all are much better at it than Michael ever was
Mj marketed this very well
people act like michael just had a moonwalk, he made it famous world wide , his dances moved with the rhythm of the music the way cartoons like tom and jerry performed with music
MJ did it the best.
Backslide originated way back 30s or maybe before that. Bill Bailey did it and he probably got it from Bo Jangles ...and so on.
It's even possible that an unknown everyday Sam dreamt up the idea, and Bo Jangles, or Bill Bailey picke it up and ran with it.
I WOULD TRULY ENJOY WATCHIN HOW MY ANCESTORS N BIBLICAL DAY'S USED 2 DANCE. ( 3 ), TAKE IT BACK WHERE IT STARTED.
i LOVE IT AS THEY BACKSLIDE TO TH EJACKSON 5
And Michael Jackson claimed in 1983 it was his crafted move that was born in that first performance of Billie Jean. What a schmo!
Yes Michael Jackson did stuff to me when I was young & attractive we would eat KFC chicken in bed man the Colnel do indeed make a mean bird
WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!?! You mean to tell me I have been sitting here believing Micael Jackson invented the moonwalk for THIRTY SEVEN YEARS?!?! How can something like this happen?!
Michael Jackson told Oprah that he did NOT invent the Moonwalk/backslide..that he learned it from black street children..Jeffrey Daniel actually taught Michael..
MJ... added the special sauce on it.... 😎
But MJ Rules.
But they were dancing to Michael's song
So what there dancers not singers so much of 70s & 80s styles came from the SOULTRAIN dancers MIKE like eveyone else was a fan of the soultrain Dancers he said he was Jeffery Dance all the time even before Jeffery and jody Watley ( also a soul train dAncer )were a part the groups Shalamar !!!
When you think about it, there is no reason to call it the "Moonwalk"
I'll admit, when Michael first did it, it wasn't as good (he may have been nervous too). his Spin is FLAWLESS though!
It takes muscle memory to master that move. You can tell he had just started doing it.
He mastered it by the bad tour tho