Triumph Tour

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Triumph Tour
Tour by the Jacksons
LocationNorth America
Associated album
Start dateJuly 8, 1981
End dateSeptember 26, 1981
No. of shows46
Box officeUS $5.5 million
($17.7 million in 2022 dollars)[1]
The Jacksons tour chronology

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 ($17.7 million in 2022), setting a record breaking four sold out concerts in Inglewood, California, just southwest of Los Angeles.[2]

History[edit]

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. It was on this tour that he first wore his sequined glove, which later became world-famous after his Motown 25 performance. 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".[3][4][5]

Touring tenure[edit]

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. It's rumored that the tracks were recorded during stops in Memphis, New York City, Buffalo and Providence. The live album, The Jacksons Live!, came out in the winter of 1981, and went gold in its initial run. Current sales are two million.

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. After the Triumph tour, Michael patterned the Victory Tour (1984) and his Bad World Tour (1987–1989).

Stage[edit]

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 assorted percussion).

Opening act[edit]

Set list[edit]

  1. "Can You Feel It"
  2. "Things I Do for You"
  3. "Off the Wall"
  4. "Ben"
  5. "Walk Right Now"
  6. "This Place Hotel"
  7. "She's Out of My Life"
  8. "I Want You Back" / "ABC" / "The Love You Save"
  9. "I'll Be There"
  10. "Rock with You"
  11. "Lovely One"
  12. "Workin' Day and Night"
  13. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"
  14. "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)"

Tour dates[edit]

List of 1981 tour dates, showing date, city, country, venue, attendance, gross[6][7][8][9][10]
Date
(1981)
City Country Venue
July 8 Memphis United States Mid-South Coliseum
July 10 Oklahoma City Myriad Convention Center
July 11 Dallas Reunion Arena
July 12 Houston The Summit
July 15 San Antonio HemisFair Arena
July 17 Baton Rouge Riverside Centroplex Arena
July 18 Mobile Mobile Municipal Auditorium
July 22 Atlanta Omni Coliseum
July 24 Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum
July 25 Charlotte Charlotte Coliseum
July 26 Hampton Hampton Coliseum
July 28 Lakeland Lakeland Civic Center
July 31 Landover Capital Centre
August 1
August 2 Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
August 4 Montreal Canada Montreal Forum
August 5 Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens
August 7 Uniondale United States Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
August 8 Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum
August 9 Richfield Richfield Coliseum
August 13 Pittsburgh Civic Arena
August 14 Philadelphia Spectrum
August 15 Hartford Hartford Civic Center
August 16 Providence Providence Civic Center
August 18 New York City Madison Square Garden
August 19
August 21 Detroit Joe Louis Arena
August 22 Indianapolis Market Square Arena
August 23 Trotwood Hara Arena
August 26 Milwaukee MECCA Arena
August 28 Chicago Chicago Stadium
August 29 Lexington Rupp Arena
August 31 Nashville Nashville Municipal Auditorium
September 1 Kansas City Kemper Arena
September 2 St. Louis Checkerdome
September 3 Denver McNichols Sports Arena
September 5 Chicago Chicago Stadium
September 6 Winchester Las Vegas Convention Center
September 8 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena
September 10 Daly City Cow Palace
September 15 Tempe ASU Activity Center
September 18 Inglewood The Forum
September 19
September 22 Oakland Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena
September 25 Inglewood The Forum
September 26

Box office score data[edit]

Venue City Tickets sold / available Gross revenue
Mid-South Coliseum Memphis 11,999 / 11,999 $118,528
Reunion Arena Dallas 15,602 / 15,602 $153,252
Lakeland Civic Center Lakeland 10,000 / 10,000 $107,000
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Buffalo 11,000 / 11,000 $115,000
Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati 15,898 / 15,898 $166,038
Omni Coliseum Atlanta 15,667 / 15,667 $163,773
Spectrum Philadelphia 17,842 / 17,842 $224,881
Hartford Civic Center Hartford 11,153 / 11,153 $121,490
Providence Civic Center Providence 13,000 / 13,000 $146,000
ASU Activity Center Tempe 7,230 / 14,000 $75,915
The Forum Inglewood 55,000 / 55,000 $633,029
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena Oakland 12,435 / 14,000 $149,633
Total 196,826 / 205,161 (95%) $2,174,539

Personnel[edit]

The Jacksons
Band
  • David Williams – guitar
  • Bill Wolfer[11] – synthesizer
  • Mike McKinney – bass
  • Jonathan Moffett – drums
  • Wesley Phillips, Cloris Grimes, Alan (Funt) Prater, Roderick (Mac) McMorris – horns (East Coast Horns)

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  2. ^ "Triumph Tour (1981)". titojackson.com. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Doug Henning Michael Jackson -wind Triumph
  4. ^ Michael Jackson - Off the Wallwww.AllMichaelJackson.com Archived 2010-01-07 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Michael Jackson biography: The Jacksons yearswww.Michael-Jackson-trader.com Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "It's a Jacksons' Summer! They're taking off again". Billboard. Vol. 93. New York: Billboard Publications, Inc. 4 July 1981. pp. 28–29. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  7. ^ "The Jacksons - Triumph Tour (1981)". The Michael Jackson Fan Club. June 2013. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  8. ^ Ralston, Jeannie (July 29, 1981). "The Jacksons: All Eyes Were on Michael Last Night". Evening Independent. Vol. 74, no. 230. St. Petersburg, Florida: Times Publishing Company. p. 8B. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  9. ^ "Michael Jackson Fan Site Billie Jean". www.billiejean.be.
  10. ^ Box office score data:
  11. ^ "Bill Wolfer | Credits". AllMusic.