Before it was the Moonwalk, it was Backsliding, or The Buzz
April 18, 2014 1:52 PM Subscribe
Moonwalking is often attributed to Michael Jackson, but as summarized in this low resolution clip from Soccer AM, it was performed under various names in decades before MJ's live television performance in 1983. Let's backslide through the years, from Cab Calloway's 1932 version that he called "The Buzz" to Jeffrey Daniel performing the backslide as a member of Shalamar in 1982 on Top of the Pops in the UK.
Another early performer of gliding steps was the mime, Étienne Decroux, who taught both Marcel Marceau and David Bowie, both who might have influenced Jackson (see Bowie live in the Diamond Dogs tour, and Michael Jackson with Marcel Marceau in 1997). Around the 1950s, Bill Bailey mixed gliding steps with his tap dance routines and Mexican comedian/dancer Adalberto Martinez "Resortes" backslid, while Dick Van Dyke mailed a letter on a windy corner, and even the Godfather of Soul was known to float and glide on his feet in the 1960s. H.R Pufnstuf was also ahead of the curve, as seen in this clip where kids are taught The Moonwalk, a stationary version of the gliding step. But most credit Jeffrey Daniels with being the one to influence and teach Michael what he would call the Moonwalk. Here's Daniels with Casper Canidate and Cooley Jaxson/Jackson backsliding on Soultrain in 1979, before that performance with Shalamar on TOTP.
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posted by chara at 2:09 PM on April 18, 2014 [2 favorites]