Before Michael and the Jacksons there was Little Dion

[Laidbackman]

Looks like Little Dion was already sporting his little version of the 70's afro in 67', on American Bandstand. Don't yall laugh, but American Bandstand was the dance show everybody's mother use to watch to get the latest dance, I don't care where you lived. I know that's hard to believe. Then Soul Train came along and saved the day. But you'd look like a bigger fool going to a party, and trying to dance the way they did on Soul Train. We didn't know it then, but most of those cats on that show went to dancing school to dance like that. The best the average joe could do from Soul Train was the robot. And most us couldn't do that the way they did it.

Spoiler

 

[pete clemenza]

Maybe he did, but when I say mainstream, I mean when everybody Black, including male, female, child and adult, and all Black vocalist tried to grow one. It didn't fade out until the late 70's. The Jackson Five started it because all five off them had one. Btw, I don't remember Sam Cooke wearing an afro. He probably wore it natural, when the perm was popular.

Don't exclude The Black Panthers movement that started in 1966. The afro, black shades, and 'black is beautiful' was brought to the forefront by them. I think the Jacksons and all the other musicians and actors back then solidified it and made it stick

 

[Laidbackman]

Don't exclude The Black Panthers movement that started in 1966. The afro, black shades, and 'black is beautiful' was brought to the forefront by them. I think the Jacksons and all the other musicians and actors back then solidified it and made it stick

Yes the Panthers did initiate the Black Power movement, and they wore the bush/afro, but they didn't make it go mainstream with Black people. In fact, most Blacks back then disassociated themselves with the Panthers and the NOI. They were known to be violent for turning on each other, especially the Panthers, thanks to Cointelpro. I mentioned in a post above that there was this Black female troll on this other Black website who picked fights with me all the time. Although I agreed that the bush got popular first in Chicago because of the Panthers, she tried to say the Jackson Five didn't make it go mainstream with the rest of us, and that the Panthers did. I searched you-tube for riots from 66' to 68', in all major cites, and I saw nobody wearing an afro, including in Chicago. So that chick was outta her mind. No wonder they band her for a week.

Btw, Wikipedia won't tell you that the Jackson Five made the bush/afro go mainstream in the Black community. They won't even tell you the hairstyle was once called the bush. Can you imagine somebody telling you the fade was never called the philly. Also when you search Wikipedia, it will tell you nothing I shared here in post #57. I guess sometimes you can only get it from the source.

 

[Laidbackman]

Little Dion went back a little further than I thought. Marlon Jackson referenced him as one of the performers he and his brothers watched at the Apollo before they broke through.