Throwback Thursday and Moonwalk
Bill Bailey was the first person known to have recorded the
step that Michael Jackson made famous more recently: the “Moonwalk”. Bailey
called it the “Backslide”. He was born on December 8, 1912, the son of James
and Ella Mae Bailey. Later his younger sister Pearl Bailey, was born. He began dancing in the church his father pastored.
Bill Bailey is believed to have studied with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and
King Rastus Brown, and he soon began performing professionally, sometimes with
Cab Calloway’s sister, Blanche Calloway. His fame increased in the 1940s when
he appeared in the movie “Cabin in the Sky”, dancing in the kitchen scene. He
went on to appear in many other movies from the 1930s to the 1950s.
He performed in nightclubs, on Broadway, and was featured
more than once on The Ed Sullivan Show. He
was a headliner at The Apollo, where he was wildly popular. Later, when “An
Evening at the Apollo” became a television series, he appeared eight times – in
the first season.
In 1965 he retired and became pastor of a Harlem church, and
he continued to preach until his death on December 12, 1978.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Dance History Factoid #106:
“Bill Bailey was a famous tap dancer who is said to have
performed the first “moonwalk”.
Link of the Day:
Quote
of the Day:
“Everyone must
leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or
a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden
planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go
when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted,
you're there.”
― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
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