Joyce Moore, wife of Sam Moore of Motown legends Sam & Dave, worked for Michael Jackson’s father, Joe, in his management office. One night in 1982, she witnessed the birth of a signature move.
Sam was booked as a support act for James Brown at the Beverly Theater in L.A. I went to the gig, and Michael was there. That particular night, James had “issues.” He was wearing a red jumpsuit, and having problems with his business, because either he didn’t have on a jockstrap, or he had some technical operating problem, and every time he moved and started doing a dance, he had to adjust.
And he went through about a 10- or 15-minute period where every time he went “UGH,” he would have to fix himself. And Michael was there, and he’s watching this from the side of the stage where we all were, and about a month later, all of a sudden, Michael’s doing that whole thing where he’s grabbing at his crotch.
And I said to my daughter Michelle, “Do you know where Michael got this from?” And she said, “Oh, my God. James Brown!” Michael incorporated what he thought was … God knows what Michael thought James was doing. He thought this was some dance maneuver that James had just come up with.