MOTOWN 25 #1 Selling DVD

[reese]

What's caused this to be such a big hit?

A Motown #1 on Billboard; it's been years.

Many people have fond memories of the program. I think there was a sense of excitement attached to it that hasn't happened with many programs since. And of course, many people missed the original telecasts, as well as the vhs release, so now they can see what all the fuss was about.

Personally, it takes be back to my high school days, when it was common to see Diana, Smokey, Stevie, the Jacksons, and the rest on the charts. I remember setting my small tape recorder next to the television because I knew the show was going to be special. Later I taped the FM simulcast off a local station. The next day in school, MOTOWN 25 was all anybody talking about.

Hopefully its success on dvd will lead to some other Motown specials being released as well.

[jobeterob]

How many people have actually bought this DVD?

There are some remarkable items in it. The booklet is incredible.

The Supremes have pretty much been removed from it. It is Diana Ross alone; in his essay in the book Ross is called the First Lady of Motown in some glowing terms.

[Jimi LaLumia]

on the brand new Billboard chart, MOTOWN 25 bounces back to #2!..simply amazing how well this continues to sell through....holiday sales for this will be massive..
http://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/music-video

[jobeterob]

The booklet alone is worth the price.

[thommg]

I saw this as a stand alone DVD of the show only at Target this past week. It was $11.99.

[jobeterob]

The booklet is awesome with great essays on Robinson, Gaye, Jackson & the Jacksons, the Tops & Tempts, Ross, Wonder, Pryor. And a couple pages on everyone else. Lots of explanation.

No Motown fan would want to miss out on that.

[vgalindo]

Is the booklet included in the 3 dvd set?

[jobeterob]

I got the 6 DVD Set so I don't know.

The booklet is excellent; the stories are warm and family like and emphasizes the family feel of Motown.

There are some pictures of the "event" taken during the day of Diana and Marvin together that I have never seen before.

It puts quite a different blush on the event and how the people there felt about it.

[jobeterob]

Listened to Duke and Otis and Smokey and Suzanne as they watched the Tempts/Four Tops medley and how it led to performing together for the next 31 years.

How Jermaine Jackson's microphone went dead and Michael walked over with his and they sang I'll Be There, doing their parts with the one microphone ~ as told by Russ Terrana.

About Adam Ant talking about Diana Ross dancing with him; how initially they were asked why they did not have control of Diana ~ and then they realized they had "gold".

How five days before the show Diana said she would come to the building but she would NOT set foot on that stage [[her words, they say) ~ and she came and vamped with Adam and appeared.

And Suzanne cried about the finale and how emotional it was to have them all there.

[Jimi LaLumia]

yet another week at #2, heading for two months of Top 3 chart positioning on Billboard!
http://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/music-video

[skooldem1]

They are now showing the advertisement for this in a 1 hour "commercial" shown on all different cable channels. It's like how they do those Time/Life compilation CD's or for Ed Sullivan or Carol Burnett shows. I saw it in my cable guide like 5 times on different channels last night. Has anyone else noticed this? I started noticing it on Monday.

For those that have the 6 DVD set, on this commercial it says that it includes a copy of the original event program/playbill. Was this included in your set? If anyone has it, I'd like to know if it list the performers and the songs they would be singing that night?

[reese]

They are now showing the advertisement for this in a 1 hour "commercial" shown on all different cable channels. It's like how they do those Time/Life compilation CD's or for Ed Sullivan or Carol Burnett shows. I saw it in my cable guide like 5 times on different channels last night. Has anyone else noticed this? I started noticing it on Monday.

For those that have the 6 DVD set, on this commercial it says that it includes a copy of the original event program/playbill. Was this included in your set? If anyone has it, I'd like to know if it list the performers and the songs they would be singing that night?

I've seen the infomercial listed on my cable guide, but I haven't seen the show myself as of yet.

Re the program, it was included in the 6 dvd set. It isn't very elaborate, only six pages. It lists some of the performers, not all. It does not list the songs that they would perform. It also mentions that there would be surprise guests.

The rest of the program consists of a Yesterday section, with small black and photos of many Motown acts, everyone from the Boone Sisters to the Marvelettes to the Underdogs. A Today section contains small black and white photos of acts like Bobby Nunn, Mona Lisa Young, Lionel Richie, and Stevie Wonder. A Forever section shows sheet music of Motown copyrights like MY GUY and FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE, along with a few photos from LADY SINGS THE BLUES, MAHOGANY, and SCOTT JOPLIN. The back cover has production credits for the show itself.

[jobeterob]

Playbill reads something like this:

MOTOWN 25

YESTERDAY TODAY FOREVER


starring


STEVIE WONDER DIANA ROSS

DICK CLARK

RICHARD PRYOR SMOKEY ROBINSON

LINDA RONSTADT

LIONEL RICHIE RICK JAMES

TEMPTATIONS

JERMAINE JACKSON ADAM ANT

JOSE FELICIANO

T.G. SHEPPARD BILLY DEE WILLIAMS

ASHFORD & SIMPSON

COMMODORES FOUR TOPS

SYREETA

DEBARGE HIGH INERGY

and many surprise guest stars

[jobeterob]

the second name I typed in each line was over to the other side of the program

[jobeterob]

Second page said:

On behalf of the National Association for
Sickle Cell Diseases Inc. You Are Cordially Invited
To Attend the Historic Celebration
In Honor of the Music
And the Artists Who Created
The Sound That Has
Romanced the World for
More Than Two and A Half Decades

MOTOWN 25
Yesterday Today Forever

Friday March 25, 1983

Pasadena Civic Auditorium
300 East Green Street
Pasadena

7:00 PM Doors Close
7:30 PM Performance Begins

THE PERFORMANCE WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A GALA SUPPER AT THE PLAZA PASADENA

Ticket request will be honored as received

Net Proceeds benefit the National Association for Sickle Cell Diseases

BLACK TIE RSVP

This event will be aired on NBC TV

[marymary]

They are now showing the advertisement for this in a 1 hour "commercial" shown on all different cable channels. It's like how they do those Time/Life compilation CD's or for Ed Sullivan or Carol Burnett shows. I saw it in my cable guide like 5 times on different channels last night. Has anyone else noticed this? I started noticing it on Monday.

For those that have the 6 DVD set, on this commercial it says that it includes a copy of the original event program/playbill. Was this included in your set? If anyone has it, I'd like to know if it list the performers and the songs they would be singing that night?

I have it on in the background right now...they've played it twice in a row so I've managed to see the whole thing by now. Pretty repetitive, one millisecond shot of Jr Walker for every five clips of Smokey, etc. Considering the breadth of performers they had you'd think they'd want to show that off a bit more. They also are ***not showing the moonwalk*** to make it an exclusive that you have to buy the DVD for...someone needs to tell the producers that youtube exists lol, that is not the effective sales tactic it used it be.

[Jimi LaLumia]

by the way,Motown 25 hanging this week at #4 and #5 respectively, still Top 5 after almost two months!!! [[but my boy Johnny Thunders drops to #36 from #10!!!!)
http://dailypostal.com/2014/11/13/bi...-sales-111314/