Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever
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Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever was a 1983 television special produced by Suzanne de Passe for Motown Records, to commemorate Motown's twenty-fifth year of existence. The show was also co-written by de Passe along with Ruth Adkins Robinson who would go on to write shows with de Passe for the next 25 years, including the follow up label tributes--through "Motown 40," Buz Kohan was the head writer of the threesome. The program was taped before a live studio audience on March 25, 1983, and broadcast on NBC on May 16. Among its highlights were a Temptations/Four Tops "battle of the bands", Marvin Gaye's inspired speech about black music history and his memorable performance of "What's Going On", a Jackson 5 reunion, Michael Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean", and an abbreviated reunion of Diana Ross & the Supremes, who performed their final #1 hit, "Someday We'll Be Together" from 1969.
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[edit] Performances
[edit] Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye, who ironically had left the label a year before to sign with Columbia Records and had a current hit with "Sexual Healing," agreed at the last minute to join the roster of other Motown legends to perform. When he came on, he played the piano and gave the audience a narrative of black music history before he stepped off the piano and sung his classic 1971 hit, "What's Going On", to thunderous applause.
[edit] Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" was a song he recorded for Epic Records in 1982, not a Motown song; he planned to attend and not perform on Motown 25 before he successfully negotiated his solo spot and the permission to sing a non-Motown song. His physically complicated dancing performance received significant applause from the audience, especially when Jackson executed his trademark moonwalk for the first time. Despite his success and the audience's obvious approval, Jackson actually cried when he was finished performing because he thought he did a horrible job. His Emmy-nominated performance contributed to his Thriller album's success and his status as a musical and cultural icon of the 20th century. Jackson's performance can be found on the CD/DVD Thriller 25.
[edit] Diana Ross & the Supremes
The Supremes reunion between original members Diana Ross, and Mary Wilson, and Supremes replacement Cindy Birdsong was cut short when Ross, frustrated by the fact that Wilson and Birdsong moved with her as she walked closer to the edge of the stage, which prompted Ross to push Wilson towards the back of the stage. A few moments later, Motown labelmates such as Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and others quickly filled the stage for an impromptu finale. Although producer Suzanne de Passe had instructed Diana to introduce Berry Gordy after leading the finale, Mary decided to do the honors, by calling Berry down herself. This led Diana to tell Mary "it's been taken care of".
By the time the reunion aired on May 16, the Ross/Wilson altercations had been excised from the special, but they were widely reported, and the performance resulted in bad publicity for Ross.
[edit] The Temptations/Four Tops
The Temptations and Four Tops competed in a "Battle of the Bands" style event. The only original Temptations performing were Melvin Franklin and Otis Williams, as Eddie Kendricks had had a falling out with the group and Paul Williams had died in 1973. And Al Bryant had died in 1976. Joining Williams and Franklin were then-Temptations Dennis Edwards, Richard Street, and Ron Tyson. All of the original members of the Four Tops performed: Reynaldo "Obie" Benson, Duke Fakir, and Larry Payton, with Levi Stubbs providing the lead vocals. The two groups performed "Reach Out I'll Be There", "Get Ready", "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)", "My Girl" and "(I Know) I'm Losing You", among other numbers. The joint performance was a success, and the Temptations and Four Tops toured together for two years following the special.
This "battle" later returned in a special at the Apollo theater and created a long running tour for the two groups to compete in.
[edit] Trivia
- Interestingly, Motown was founded in January 1959, meaning that a twenty-fifth anniversary special should have aired in 1984, not 1983. One could argue that Gordy's vision of what would become "Hitsville U.S.A." was conceived in 1958, considering the month of Motown's founding.
- Marvin Gaye's performance on the show, following his appearances in February 1983 on the Grammys and the NBA All-Star Game, was his final national television appearance before his murder a year later in 1984.
- Michael Jackson's concert performances of "Billie Jean" in the years since Motown 25 are always formatted on his performance on this special, from the opening pose with the fedora to the moonwalk routine in the song's bridge.
- According to the documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown, James Jamerson, a key component of the Motown sound, and member of The Funk Brothers who recorded many of the backing tracks to the Motown hits, had to buy a Motown 25 ticket from a scalper and sat at the back of the hall with the general public. By this time, Jamerson was ruined by alcohol and his career as one of the most in demand session players was virtually over. Jamerson died less than five months later that year from alcoholism.
- Linda Ronstadt performed "Ooh Baby Baby" and "Tracks of My Tears" with Smokey Robinson. She had hits with both songs and in 1976 her version of "Tracks of My Tears" even went to #12 on the Billboard Country Singles Chart, a first for a Motown song.
[edit] References
- Posner, Gerald (2002). Motown : Music, Money, Sex, and Power. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50062-6.
- Wilson, Mary and Romanowski, Patricia (1986, 1990, 2000). Dreamgirl & Supreme Faith: My Life as a Supreme. New York: Cooper Square Publishers. ISBN 0-8154-1000-X.
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