Despite me showing clear evidence to the contrary, everybody still believes Michael Jackson has gone to meet his maker (no, I mean his metaphysical maker, not the San Fernando Valley plastic surgeons).
Anyway, as a way of remembering MJ for what he was, today's edition of YouTube Tuesday is a triple feature dedicated to Jacko's signature dance move, the moonwalk.
Contrary to popular belief, Jackson didn't "invent" the moonwalk. He copied/learned it from famous French mime Marcel Marceau.
(One of you French speakers can put the translation in the comments if you wish, but I think the gist is that Marceau is saying what a great mime Jackson would have been because he wouldn't need to apply white face makeup.)
Jackson gets credit for being the first American to use the moonwalk in the context of dance, but as this archival footage shows, Bill Baily was years ahead of MJ.
Still, as the voice over in the video below notes, the moonwalk still has some street cred. So here's a little instruction on how to perfect your moonwalk.
tagged: Michael Jackson, Marcel Marceau, moonwalk, Bill Baily, dance, mime, pop culture
I'd say that Bill Bailey hits it just about right on the head. And that "drum roll" he does at about 1:18 with his left foot is some nice stuff, eh? Hot clip. Liked that.
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