Filmed on March 25 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and aired May 16, the show won an Emmy Award and a George Foster Peabody Award and had a huge viewership buzzing about its all-star performances – including Michael Jackson's debut of his moonwalk steps during 'Billie Jean' after a Jackson 5 reunion, a vocal 'battle' ...

Shot on March 25th, 1983 at the Los Angeles Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Motown artists old (Gaye, Ross, Jackson) and new (DeBarge, High Ingery) rehearsed for two days before unveiling the big show.

'Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever' Turns 40: Michael Jackson, Diana Ross … Do you remember what you were doing the evening of May 16, 1983? Well, you may have been one of the 47 million people tuned into NBC's landmark special “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever.”

1983 On this date in 1983, the Motown 25th anniversary concert took place in Pasadena, California. Michael performed “Billie Jean” and showed off his signature moonwalk for the first time.

Motown was the first commercial US record label to be owned by an African American. Between 1961 and 1971, Motown produced 110 US top 10 hits. 51. Before they were The Temptations, the members were in two different groups; the Primes and the Distants.

Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American-owned label that achieved crossover success.

Motown is a famous record label founded in Detroit, Michigan in the late 1950s by Berry Gordy. It is known for signing many well-known rhythm and blues singers and groups. Some of the artists who sang on the label include: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.

Detroit Its name, a portmanteau of motor and town, has become a nickname for Detroit, where the label was originally headquartered. Detroit, Michigan, U.S. Los Angeles, California, U.S. Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American-owned label that achieved crossover success.

While civil rights protesters in the 1960s and '70s voiced Black demands for full equality, it was Motown's music that brought African American voices and faces into homes across the nation, introducing baby boomers and their parents to Black culture.

The label's roster of artists included some of the most creative players and singers of the time, but Motown's success was not just due to its talent, but its production process and organization. Gordy could be dictatorial in his governance of the label, and records did not get released without his personal approval.

Motown enjoyed its greatest success between 1965 and 1968, when it dominated the Billboard charts. Although the company was never quite the force in the 1970s that it was in the '60s (having lost several key performers), it was still a formidable enterprise with the Jackson 5, the Commodores, Wonder, and Ross.

From 1961 to 1971, Motown Record Corporation produced 110 top ten hits, from artists that included Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye, and The Four Tops. Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and The Temptations were signed by a third label, which Gordy named after himself.