Event: Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever
Year: 1983

This video shows Michael Jackson performing Billie Jean and the Moonwalk for the first time at the Mowtown 25th Anniversary.

It's an amazing piece of history. This performance alone took Michael's superstardom to a whole new level. Michael was getting calls from dance legends like Gene Kelly asking him how on earth he danced like that. Literally no one had ever seem such a performance.

Hear the gasp of the crowd as they witness the first Moonwalk. Michael then follows that with an amazing spin, which again is another very difficult dance move. On completion of the spin, he bends his knees and rises up on his toes.

Michael stated years later to Oprah Winfrey in 1993 that he wasn't happy with his whole performance, in particular when rising up on his toes as he had intended to stay up on his toes longer.

Billie Jean Lyrics ( opens in a new window).