Does anyone here know which performer had the first ever back up dancers? I know that groups always danced together, but I'm talking about solo acts.


For example, Madonna and Janet Jackson took the back up dancer concept to new heights in the 80's and now it's become standard.


but who was the first solo act to use back up dancers? i tried looking on google with no success...

thanks in advance

That's going to be hard to prove and/or find out. I say that only because groups in the 50s popularized dancing while performing. That's where the concept came from. I would think it got even more popularized by groups like the Temps and Four Tops because they had choreographed routines along with the lead singer standing out.

In the mid-80s (when Madonna, Janet, Paula, etc.) came along, they stuck with that same concept

Janet.

midiscover said:

The Temptations were around a hell of a lot longer than Janet.

daPrettyman said:

She took it to whole another level. Synchronization and errythang!!

You mean the first person to have synchronized backing dancers in music videos, not movies, right? Hmm....Yeah, that was Michael Jackson.

daPrettyman said:

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles were BEFORE The Temptations. But these were self-contained group that were their own dancers.

I would say Ike & Tina Turner had back-up dancers before anyone else.

WaterInYourBath said:

On the live stage, Ike & Tina had back-up dancers years before Michael.

TonyVanDam said:

James Brown had them before Ike & Tina

mimi2 said:

Madge has rarely had dancers in her videos. Lucky Star, True Blue, Vogue, Don't Tell Me, Hung Up, Sorry being the only ones i can think of off hand. The Virgin Tour 1985 featured two back up "singers" and dancers, Who's That Girl 87 had three back up dancers and three back up singers who danced in a couple songs. Blonde Ambition 1990, Girlie Show 1993, Drowned World Tour 2001, ReInvention 2004, Confessions 2006 and Sticky and Sweet 2008-9 she had the dance troups you are referring too. Janet and Madge were both in rehersal for tours in 1990 at about the same time J launched her tour in March and Madge in May. Madge's though featured more dancers, more costume changes, and the headset mic for more than one song. I'm not certain who used dancers first in a music video. I don't know if i agree that it was MJ.
Janet uses the backup dancers in videos more than any of the other artists in videos.

midiscover said:

Are you sure? I'm so used to seeing James dancing solo.

TonyVanDam said:

Excellent. Here are the answers:

Live stage: Ike & Tina
Music Video: Michael Jackson

WaterInYourBath said:

midiscover said:

I'm really sorry, but why did you type Janet next to Mike? She's great, I like her, but the question is asking for the "first" artists to showcase/popularize backup dancers, not the ones who use them the most. Regarding videos, when did Janet have backing dancers before Michael, or even during the "Thriller" era when he started using them? I'm not a hardcore fan of Janet like you, but I've studied her history too, and I really don't remember her using sync-dancers in videos before MJ started that phenomenon. So I don't understand her inclusion with this.

Madonna had dancers at her very first performance at Danceteria in 1982.

Harlepolis said:

THAT'S what I'm saying. I don't know of any other artist that had back-up dancers before Ike & Tina had them first.

WaterInYourBath said:

MJ wasn't the first either.

Ike & Tina

James Brown had a singing group that he fronted. He didn't start having "background dancers" until after the Famous Flames split up.

And the Miracles and Temptations and Four Tops and whoever were self-contained groups.

So it was Ike & Tina with the Ikettes. James did had a female dancer backing him up starting around 1967.

Marvin Gaye had background singers/dancers when he returned to the road in 1974.

For ONCE the Jacksons didn't even start that shit and I love them but they didn't start it.

You're ALL wrong!

The first and BADDEST artist to have backup dancers was Mickey Mouse!

PurpleJedi said:

Damn u old!

Just kidding.

But seriously we meant ARTISTS not children.

So the MMC don't count.

Actually if you wanna go THAT route, we've had backup dancers since the damn 1930s with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and them!
[Edited 12/1/09 10:29am]

Jesus

PurpleJedi said:

CORRECTION: Just like The Temptations, The MMC were a self-contained group.

people think that just because it happened before music videos, it did not exist

Cinnie said:

Yes it's been happening for a long time.

Cinnie said:

Duke Ellington's "tan, brown and beige" ensemble from his Cotton Club days comes to mind.....

Harlepolis said:

Ike looks like he's about to commit a crime

bboy87 said:

I know! That is one shifty lookin' motherfucka,,,,um, RIP

And he probably fucked all of those ladies in that pic,,,,,in one session
[Edited 12/1/09 13:23pm]