Marlon Jackson is reflecting on some of music’s most iconic moments — including the surprising origins of the moonwalk — as he looks back on life as part of one of entertainment’s most famous families.
The singer, 68, appeared on WFAN radio ahead of an upcoming performance with his brothers, where hosts Craig Carton and Chris McMonigle asked him about key memories from late brother Michael Jackson’s career. When the conversation turned to Michael’s legendary moonwalk debut, Marlon revealed that the family already knew it was coming.
“We knew that he was gonna do [that move],” Marlon said, explaining that he, Tito, Jackie and Jermaine had watched Michael practice it during rehearsals for the 1983 primetime special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever.
Asked whether Michael understood how iconic the moment would become, Marlon shared a detail that stunned the hosts: the move didn’t originate with Michael — or even with a professional dancer.
“My nephew, not on my family’s side, on my wife’s side, was the first person that showed him the moonwalk,” he said. “He was eight years old.” The child called it “the backwards slide,” Marlon added.
From there, dancer Jeffrey Daniel helped refine the move. Daniel, who performed it on Soul Train as early as 1979, later taught Michael how to execute it cleanly. Michael then renamed it the moonwalk.
In a 2025 interview with Channels TV, Daniel recalled meeting Michael and Janet Jackson after a Shalamar performance at Disneyland in 1980. “He brought little Janet Jackson and they stood in the wing and watched us dance. Then he asked me to teach him to dance,” Daniel said.
Daniel went on to work with Michael beginning in 1981 and throughout his career, co‑choreographing the music videos for “Beat It” and “Smooth Criminal,” and traveling with him to Brazil for “They Don’t Really Care About Us.”
