Michael

I cannot believe Michael Jackson died, but really when I think about it....he was one of those people you really can't see as an old person, you know?

My memories of COURSE are around the Thriller video, which I loved. My friend and I would try to do the dance in front of the TV over and over. I also had the one-hour special Making of Thriller, which was fantastic and I wish I still had. Maybe my dad can find me a copy. Hmmm.

My main memories, though, focus on the 1983 Motown 25 Anniversary Reunion special, which I still have a copy of. The whole thing is fantastic. Richard Pryor MCs it, so that should tell you something. But there were several reunions of old groups of which the Jackson 5 were only one.

But, oh! They and Michael really stole the show, IMHO. There are two segments to this: first the Jackson 5 sing together again. Watch the crowd in this segment.



Then, the rest leave and Michael does Billie Jean live, with his first live moonwalk (which is erroneously named, what Michael does is actually called a backslide).



Overall, I think this performance was at the height of his fame, when he was in his prime and before he got, well, weird. Enjoy. If I could go back in time, this 2-hour special would be on my list of top 10 things I'd like to see.