May 16, 1983: Michael Jackson Overshadows the Motown 25 Special

May 16, 1983: NBC airs the special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever – a year ahead of Motown Records' actual 25th Anniversary. It was taped before a live audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, California, on March 25.

It was thought that the highlight might be the "Battle of the Bands" between the Temptations and the Four Tops, which led to a highly successful joint tour between them. Or it might be Smokey Robinson reuniting with his former group, The Miracles. Or it might be Marvin Gaye continuing his comeback, with a speech about the history of black music and a performance of his song "What's Going On."

Or it might be Diana Ross singing with The Supremes for the 1st time since 1969. She reunited with Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong, who had replaced Florence Ballard in 1967. But the reunion was acrimonious.

 

But when Michael Jackson decided to sing his current single, the Number 1 song in the country at the time, it became one of those "Where Were You?" moments. I was at home in East Brunswick, and I didn't watch it.

Jackson had been a star since he and his brothers, as The Jackson Five, had their 1st Number 1 hit, "I Want You Back," in 1969. He had become a solo star with his 1979 album Off the Wall. He'd released Thriller, including "Billie Jean," the preceding November 29, making him bigger than ever. But this performance lifted him up to another level, the way appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show did for Elvis Presley in 1956 and The Beatles in 1964.

"Billie Jean" had hit Number 1 on March 5, and lasted 7 weeks on top, including the day of the special's taping. It had been succeeded for 1 week by "Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners. That was succeeded, immediately the next week, by Jackson's next single, "Beat It," which had Eddie Van Halen on lead guitar, the 1st fusion of Motown and metal. "Beat It" was still Number 1 when the special aired.

When the Jackson Five were starting out, Michael said he wanted to wear a hat onstage, like his idol, the aforementioned Marvin Gaye. He was told no, because it was an "adult" thing to do. Apparently, women went crazy when Marvin took off his hat, and flung it offstage.

This time, as the opening notes to "Billie Jean" began, Michael put a hat on, and the girls screamed. He did some moves that no one had ever seen before, but became a standard part of his routine. Then he took the hat off, and flung it offstage. Then he started sliding backwards, which he called the "moonwalk."

He didn't invent it. Cab Calloway was seen using it on film in 1932. Suggesting it was already well-known back then, he said in 1985 that it was called "the buzz." Bill Bailey did it in the all-black 1943 film musical The Cabin in the Sky. In 1944, Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien did it in Meet Me in St. Louis. Around the same time, Marcel Marceau, the world's foremost mime, began doing something like it.

In 1958, Dick Van Dyke appeared on, of all things, The Pat Boone Show, and did a routine he called "Mailing a Letter on a Windy Corner," which included a move similar to the Moonwalk. And in 1969, just 4 months after Apollo 11 landed on the actual Moon, Judy the Frog taught a dance called "The Moonwalk" on the kids' show H.R. Pufnstuf.

During the special, Jackson wore a sequined glove on his left hand, but not on his right. In later appearances, he would wear one on his right, but not on his left. He later explained: "I felt that one glove was cool… Wearing two gloves seemed so ordinary."

A joke came out of this: "Did you hear the New York Mets signed Michael Jackson? Just what they need: Another guy who wears a glove on only one hand for no apparent reason." Actually, there had already been a Mike Jackson in the major leagues, pitching for 4 different teams from 1970 to 1973; and there would later be a Michael Jackson, pitching for 8 teams from 1986 to 2004, collecting 142 saves. But neither of them ever played for the Mets.

Before the special, Michael Jackson was as big as most stars ever get. After it, he was as big as the biggest stars ever got.

It would become a blessing... and, alternately, a curse.

In a 2012 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History, Michael Jackson was played as a boy by Bentley Green, and as an adult by "Nice" Peter Shukoff, against "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist as Elvis Presley.

*

May 16, 1983 was a Monday. The NBA was in the middle of its Conference Finals, but no games were played. The Philadelphia 76ers would beat the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Lakers would beat the San Antonio Spurs, and then the Sixers would beat an injury-stricken Laker team in 4 straight to win the title.

The Stanley Cup Finals were between Games 3 and 4. The next night, the New York Islanders beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-2 at the Nassau Coliseum in Hempstead, New York, to win their 4th straight Stanley Cup. One dynasty was not quite ready to give way to the next. The following season, it did: The Isles' "Drive For Five" was ended in the Finals by the Oilers of Wayne Gretzky.

And there were 5 games played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-0 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Ron Guidry pitched a 3-hit shutout, giving up only a double to Lou Whitaker, and singles to Lance Parrish and Chet Lemon. For the Yankees, Ken Griffey Sr. went 3-for-4 with a walk, and Dave Winfield went 1-for-5 with 2 RBIs.

* The New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-4 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Darryl Strawberry, on his way to being named National League Rookie of the Year, hit a home run.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. An error by catcher Ted Simmons, with former Yankee top prospect Mickey Klutts at the plate, allowed Barry Bonnell to score the winning run in the top of the 11th inning. Robin Yount went 1-for-5. Paul Molitor went 0-for-5, but did draw a walk.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The A's led 7-0 going into the bottom of the 9th, but the Twins nearly came all the way back: The inning began with back-to-back home runs by Dave Engle and Bobby Mitchell, followed by a walk, a strikeout, a groundout, a 2-run homer by Gary Gaetti, another walk, another 2-run homer by Mickey Hatcher, and a single, meaning the tying run was on base, before reliever Tom Burgmeier, replacing the melting-down Dave Beard, slammed the door. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4.

* And the Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

January 20, 1988: Mike Love Speaks His Mind and Vents His Spleen

January 20, 1988: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame holds its induction ceremony in the ballroom of The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. The Hall of Fame building, selected to be built in Cleveland, would not open until 1995.

The Hall has one rule for eligibility for performers: The person or group must have released his or her first record at least 25 years earlier. This time, each having released their 1st record in 1962, and thus inducted in their 1st year of eligibility, were The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Supremes, and Bob Dylan. Not in their 1st year, but also inducted, were The Drifters.

Of The Beatles, George Harrison and Ringo Starr showed up to claim their places in history. Representing John Lennon were his widow, Yoko Ono; and John’s sons Julian (whose mother was John's first wife, Cynthia Twist) and Sean (whose mother was Yoko). Julian and Yoko managed to put their differences aside for the sake of the occasion.

Paul McCartney did not show up, and it would take a few more years before he made peace with George and Ringo, and a few more to do so with Yoko.

But, for once, The Beatles were not the big story of the occasion. Nor was it that Diana Ross refused to come, and thus did not accept her award with fellow Supremes Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong, and the daughters of the late Florence Ballard.

The big story was Mike Love, making a colossal jerk of himself with his induction speech. He spoke his mind, and in so doing, he vented his spleen.

The Beach Boys, from the suburbs of Los Angeles, burst onto the rock and roll scene in 1962, and from then until 1969, cranked out several great songs about girls, cars and surfing. With their usually upbeat lyrics, their superb harmonies, their Hawaiian shirts, and their connection with good times, especially in the Summer, they have been considered by many to be the greatest American rock band -- or, perhaps more accurately, the most American rock band.

They consisted of 3 brothers: Brian Wilson, the main songwriter and bass guitarist; Carl Wilson, the lead guitarist; and Dennis Wilson, the drummer; their 1st cousin, Mike Love, the lead singer; and Brian's best friend, Al Jardine, the rhythm guitarist. Bruce Johnston, who had filled in for Brian on bass for live performances from 1965 onward, was not included as an official inductee. Nor was actor John Stamos, who had drummed for the group since Dennis' death by drowning in 1983.

Love has become known as one of the few overt conservatives in rock music. (Johnston has as well, but the rest of the band stayed liberal.) But, despite it being the start of a Presidential election year, Love's anger on this night wasn't about politics. It was about music -- specifically, about performing it live. He compared his group's touring schedule with those of the ex-Beatles, of The Rolling Stones and their lead singer Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel.

From its 1st in 1986, the Hall of Fame induction ceremony has concluded with a jam session, in which the inductees and the introducers take turns on the stage, cranking out their familiar tunes. Referring to this, Love said, "The Beach Boys did about 180 performances last year. I'd like to see the Mop Tops match that! I'd like to see Mick Jagger get out on this stage and do 'I Get Around,' versus 'Jumpin' Jack Flash,' any day now. And I'd like to see some people kick out the jams, and I challenge the Boss to get up on stage and jam."

At this point, Paul Shaffer and The World's Most Dangerous Band, the house band for Late Night with David Letterman and for the ceremony, kicked into the Beach Boys' song "Good Vibrations," in an attempt to get Love to stop.

He wouldn't: "I wanna see Billy Joel, see if he can still tickle ivories. I know Mick Jagger won't be here tonight, he's gonna have to stay in England. But I'd like to see us in the Coliseum, and he at Wembley Stadium, because he's always been chickenshit to get on stage with The Beach Boys."

Since The Beatles were the headliners, they were the last act to be introduced, and Mick hadn't yet given his speech, to introduce them. But he was there, to give it. The Stones became eligible the next year, and were elected.

Springsteen was at the ceremony to introduce Dylan, and Joel was there to introduce The Drifters. The Beach Boys' introduction speech had been given by Elton John, who was certainly no slouch in the touring department, despite approaching the depth of substance abuse issues that he finally got free of in 1990. Love didn't mention Elton, or The Drifters, or The Supremes, and certainly not Diana Ross. The Supremes were introduced by 1986 charter inductee Little Richard. Love didn't mention him, either.

"Carl Wilson came up to me afterward," said Shaffer. "He handed me his award and said, 'Our career is over.'"

It wasn't. The Beach Boys still sold out arenas and stadiums. Carl Wilson died in 1998, and that led to a split between factions led by Mike and Brian, and a 50th Anniversary reunion tour in 2012, after which they split again.

In a 2013 interview with The Guardian, Love tried to explain himself. "I hadn't meditated that morning," he said. "It was so funny. Someone said to me, 'Hey, Mike, you're either meditating too much or not enough!'"

Funny? Funny how? Love didn't amuse me. He wasn't that kind of clown.

After Love finished his diatribe, Dylan was the next inductee, As always, there was an air of mystery about him. No one knew if he would say something controversial, or even if what he said would be understood. But he spoke clearly. For the most part, he avoided controversy. He thanked a few people, and added, "I'd also like to thank Mike Love, for not mentioning me!"

When people stopped laughing, Dylan said, referring to what's become known as his "Never Ending Tour," "I play a lot of dates every year, too. Peace, love and harmony is greatly important, indeed. But so is forgiveness, and we gotta have that too."

As usual, Dylan had a good point. But a lot of rock and roll fans still haven't forgive Mike Love for being an ass that night.

*

That night, January 20, 1988, was a Wednesday, Baseball was out of season. The NFL was between rounds of its Playoffs. There were 6 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Seattle SuperSonics, 108-96 at the Seattle Center Coliseum. Xavier McDaniel led all scorers on the night with 41 points.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Golden State Warriors, 103-101 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Phoenix Suns, 131-115 at the Boston Garden.

* The Washington Bullets beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 110-98 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Utah Jazz, 120-117 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah. Karl Malone scored 39 in defeat for the Jazz.

* And the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Indiana Pacers, 104-97 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

And there were 2 games in the NHL. The Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins, 5-3 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. And the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 8-3.