POP MUSIC REVIEW : A ‘Motown’ History Lesson

OK, so Motown’s not the first to lie about its age.

“Motown 30: What’s Goin’ On,” which was taped Monday at the Pantages Theatre for a CBS special, was designed as a successor to Motown’s spectacular 25th anniversary special . . . which took place in 1983.

The producers of the show can be forgiven for the fib, which links it to the 1983 special. That event was both a television and Motown landmark, highlighted by electrifying performances by Michael Jackson, moonwalking his way through “Billie Jean” in what turned out to be a key step in his rise to the top, and Marvin Gaye, capping his triumphant commercial and artistic comeback.

But by recalling “Motown 25,” Monday’s show evoked a standard it could not possibly live up to. There was no Michael this time, and no Marvin, who was shot and killed by his father in 1984.

Few moments in Monday’s concert, which will be televised on Nov. 25, even hinted at that spectacle. What could have been a peak--a touchingly understated tribute to ailing singer Mary Wells by Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight--fell a bit flat.

And if the producers failed at math, they get straight A’s in history.

“I remember watching ‘The Mickey Mouse Club’ or ‘American Bandstand’ and not seeing one black person,” said Suzanne dePasse, president of Gordy/dePasse Productions and the show’s executive producer, during a Monday afternoon rehearsal. “We went from practically invisible to dominating performances in every art, and that’s the reason for this show.”

On that count, the show, a black-tie affair benefiting the Brotherhood Crusade, succeeded as both entertainment and education, with humor pushing aside self- righteousness, pride winning over smugness and talent speaking for itself.

The event centered on Motown music and artists, including Wonder, Robinson and Knight, but also featured a wide spectrum of performers, including singer-dancer Debbie Allen, rappers Queen Latifah and Heavy D & the Boyz, actress-comedienne Whoopi Goldberg (masquerading as Diana Ross) and “Phantom of the Opera” star Robert Guillaume.

Many of the veterans remembered during the show how, like dePasse, they struggled to find black role models in the arts when they were growing up, while the younger performers expressed their appreciation for the groundbreaking done in the past. In fact, the most thrilling moments may have been the Jackson (Miss.) State University marching band opening the show with dynamic versions of several Motown hits, and the Soul Children of Chicago’s uplifting gospel numbers.

A typical point was made by Damon and Keenan Ivory Wayans introducing a segment about television. Noting that 30 years ago TV Guide ran an article titled “What Does the Negro Want From TV?” Damon ad libbed a little from his script, saying, “He wants the same thing in 1990: to be on it . . . and get paid! “

Television provided as much of an anchor for the show as music, with actor-director Robert Townsend (“Hollywood Shuffle”) starring in a series of skits dealing with black television: Nat King Cole’s 15-minute weekly show in 1957, Bill Cosby in “I Spy” in 1968, “Soul Train” in 1972. For 1983, it was the “Motown 25” special itself, leading into a live re-creation of the Temptations-Four Tops medley from that show.

As much fun as that medley was, it made the point that in 1983 Motown had a sense of renewal. In 1990, it’s mostly memories. Even Motown’s current teen group the Boys, in an energetic, accomplished spot, belabored its debt to and worship of the Jackson 5.

And in seven years, when they do “Motown 35,” nothing from this show will be looked back on like the Michael and Marvin moments from the past.