Prince Appeared Before Michael Jackson on MTV?

[Chaka]

Since Michael Jackson's passing, it's been often noted that he was the first black artist to have a video on MTV. Not to take anything away from Michael Jackson or his amazing legacy, but that claim doesn't appear to be the case.

I was reading a Prince blog and a poster argued that "1999" was actually the first video by a black artist to appear on MTV. The poster backed it up by linking to MTV's video rotation list for each year and there is "1999" debuting in 1982. I think the Pointer Sisters and Grandmaster Flash also had videos air before Michael Jackson's "Thriller" debuted in 1983.

Again, this is not meant to disparage the King of Pop. I just thought this was very interesting and wonder how the facts got distorted over the years.

Here's a link to the MTV Video Rotation List by year: http://www.mtv.com/music/yearbook/index.jhtml?contentId=1535819

[Private Affair]

interesting bit of trivia anyways...

[Hb]

Two Superstars.

RIP, MJ.

[Trina Smith-Patterson]

Are you sure? M.J's Off the Wall came out in 1979 and Prince's 1999 didn't come out until 1982.

[Chaka]

"Thriller" wasn't on the Off The Wall album and MTV didn't air until 1981.

[MAAT]

Now you know that we don't like to get facts mixed up with our beliefs. You just tore down another myth that we want to believe about M.J.. Well since you went and opened the door I may as well destroy another lie with some more truth and facts. Most people can tell you or remember when M.J. did his famous 'Moon Walk.' He blew us away, and the camera guy started going the wrong way and had to catch up with the camera. This was one of the coolest moves that I had ever seen done. Then I remembered that when I was boy I had seen that move before but couldn't remember who or where. After a quick search I found it. I saw it back in 1955 . Here is the clip that I found on the net. You Tube-Bill Bailey- Moon Walk Forgive me for telling you the truth again.....I hate that!

[Ima Freeman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pKV4UOvgb8

Michael certainly brought the moonwalk to the larger public. Particularly white audiences. But most black youth knew long before the performance that the moves he was doing came from the young brother in the movie "Breaking". His surname was Turbo. Click the above site to see the moves at its best. It was reported back then that he enlisted these brothers from the movie to teach him some moves. We know without a doubt that the founders of all the great dance routines came from those great hoofers of ole', and no one can take that away from them. I'm not exactly sure that Michael himself ever took credit for inventing the moonwalk, but the ignorance of others attributed it to him. Because we tend to believe the report of the media, most just accepted it. For a moment most thought Britney Spears could dance because of the media. WOW. I believe Michael could'nt help but express himself through dance, as an Afrikan descendent, it was in his nature to move and strut across the stage while performing, no white entertainer in history has ever been as fluent as the Afrikan people, not even Elvis, there was nothing natural about his moves, only rehearsed. And I'm sure Michael in some ways, just as Sammy Davis, Jr. (Mr. Bojangles), was paying homage to those that had come before him. Who knows?

Michael is, perhaps, one of the last great entertainers. He begins the closing of the chapter of an era of those who put there all into perfecting their performances from the soul. In an age of the microwave society, where rappers go into a booth and "spit" some lyrics off the top of their head/ass, and call it art, and sell millions. What does that say about where we are as a society? Their are truly few artist left today who really care about what they send into the atmosphere!

Freeman