The Triumph Tour was a concert tour by the Jacksons, covering the United States and Canada from July 8 to September 26, 1981. The tour grossed a total of $5.5 million , setting a record breaking four sold out concerts in Inglewood, California.
History By 1981, the Jacksons had regained success as a platinum-selling recording group with two albums, Destiny (1978) and Triumph (1980). Additionally, lead singer Michael Jackson was in the final stages of promoting his 1979 multi-platinum album, Off the Wall. This tour allowed Michael to bring in new show production ideas more to his liking. Inspired by Earth, Wind & Fire's live shows, Michael created the costumes and designed the stage. He and his brothers also collaborated on an intro that signaled similarities to their "Can You Feel It" music video. As it had been for many years, the choreography was done by Michael, Jackie and Marlon Jackson. The shows included magical elements designed by Doug Henning—for example, Michael disappearing in smoke during "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".Doug Henning Michael Jackson -wind Triumphwww.AllMichaelJackson.com Michael Jackson biography: The Jacksons yearswww.Michael-Jackson-trader.com
Touring tenure The Triumph Tour began in Memphis, Tennessee, and ended with a sold-out week of shows in Inglewood. Each show earned highly positive reviews, in part due to Michael's leadership and showmanship. His brothers also earned praise, particularly for Randy's and Tito's musicality, and Marlon's dance ability. The tour marked the last truly integrated group effort, as Michael's solo career would soon eclipse his success with his brothers. The tour was so well-received and popular that Epic had the brothers record a variety of shows, and compile them for an upcoming live release. The tracks were recorded during stops in Memphis, New York City, Buffalo and Providence. The live album, The Jacksons Live!, came out in late 1981, and went gold in its initial run and has sold over two million copies worldwide.
After the tour ended, Michael went back to record Thriller, his follow-up to Off the Wall (1979). It would be three years before the Jacksons would go back on the road again. Rolling Stone later named the Triumph Tour one of the best 25 tours between 1967 and 1987. To showcase the success of the Triumph Tour, Michael Jackson commented that it was their first show without any marginal material.
Stage The stage was dark and had three groups of strobe lights, all of them containing different colors of lights, facing the stage diagonally. The stage also had a spotlight that followed the main performers. In addition to the lighting, the musicians played their instruments on fixtures (the horn section to the left of the stage, the drums to the center, and keyboards to the right; with the exception of the guitarists and Randy Jackson who played the piano, keyboards, and different percussions).
Opening act Stacy Lattisaw
Tour dates The tour dates are adapted from both The Jacksons: Legacy and Michael Jackson FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the King of Pop, although there are sources that state that some shows took place on different days.
+List of 1981 tour dates, showing date, city, country and venueTour dates:
Box office score data: Memphis (July 8), Dallas (July 11): Lakeland (July 28), Cincinnati (August 8): Atlanta (August 12), Philadelphia (August 14), Hartford (August 15): Providence (August 21), Buffalo (August 2): Tempe (September 15): Oakland (September 22): Inglewood (September 18–19, 25–26): Date (1981)CityCountryVenueJuly 8MemphisUnited StatesMid-South ColiseumJuly 10Oklahoma CityMyriad Convention CenterJuly 11DallasReunion ArenaJuly 12HoustonThe SummitJuly 15San AntonioHemisFair ArenaJuly 17Baton RougeRiverside Centroplex ArenaJuly 18MobileMobile Municipal AuditoriumJuly 22AtlantaOmni Coliseum July 24GreensboroGreensboro ColiseumJuly 25CharlotteCharlotte ColiseumJuly 26HamptonHampton ColiseumJuly 28LakelandLakeland Civic CenterJuly 31LandoverCapital CentreAugust 1August 2BuffaloBuffalo Memorial AuditoriumAugust 4MontrealCanadaMontreal ForumAugust 5TorontoMaple Leaf GardensAugust 7UniondaleUnited StatesNassau Veterans Memorial ColiseumAugust 8CincinnatiRiverfront ColiseumAugust 9RichfieldRichfield ColiseumAugust 13PittsburghCivic ArenaAugust 14PhiladelphiaSpectrumAugust 15HartfordHartford Civic CenterAugust 16ProvidenceProvidence Civic CenterAugust 18New York CityMadison Square GardenAugust 19August 21DetroitJoe Louis ArenaAugust 22IndianapolisMarket Square ArenaAugust 23TrotwoodHara ArenaAugust 26MilwaukeeMECCA ArenaAugust 28ChicagoChicago StadiumAugust 29LexingtonRupp ArenaAugust 31NashvilleNashville Municipal Auditorium September 1Kansas CityKemper ArenaSeptember 2St. LouisCheckerdomeSeptember 3DenverMcNichols Sports ArenaSeptember 5ChicagoChicago StadiumSeptember 6WinchesterLas Vegas Convention CenterSeptember 8San DiegoSan Diego Sports ArenaSeptember 10Daly CityCow PalaceSeptember 15TempeASU Activity CenterSeptember 18InglewoodThe ForumSeptember 19September 22OaklandOakland–Alameda County Coliseum ArenaSeptember 25InglewoodThe ForumSeptember 26
Box office score data VenueCityTickets sold / availableGross revenueMid-South ColiseumMemphis11,999 / 11,999$118,528Reunion ArenaDallas15,602 / 15,602$153,252Lakeland Civic CenterLakeland10,000 / 10,000$107,000Buffalo Memorial AuditoriumBuffalo11,000 / 11,000$115,000Riverfront ColiseumCincinnati15,898 / 15,898$166,038Omni ColiseumAtlanta15,667 / 15,667$163,773SpectrumPhiladelphia17,842 / 17,842$224,881Hartford Civic CenterHartford11,153 / 11,153$121,490Providence Civic CenterProvidence13,000 / 13,000$146,000ASU Activity CenterTempe7,230 / 14,000$75,915The ForumInglewood55,000 / 55,000$633,029Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum ArenaOakland12,435 / 14,000$149,633Total196,826 / 205,161 (95%)$2,174,539
Personnel The Jacksons Michael Jackson – vocals Jackie Jackson – vocals, percussion Tito Jackson – guitar, vocals Marlon Jackson – vocals, percussion Randy Jackson – vocals, congas, piano, keyboards
Band David Williams – guitar Bill Wolfer – synthesizer Mike McKinney – bass Jonathan Moffett – drums Wesley Phillips, Cloris Grimes, Alan (Funt) Prater, Roderick (Mac) McMorris – horns
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