Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever was a 1983 television special produced by Suzanne de Passe for Motown Records, to commemorate Motown's twenty-fifth year of existence. (Motown was founded in January 1959, meaning that a twenty-fifth anniversary special should have aired in 1984, not 1983. One could argue that Gordy's vision of what would become "Hitsville U.S.A." was conceived in 1958, considering the month of Motown's founding.) The show was also co-written by de Passe along with Ruth Adkins Robinson who would go on to write shows with de Passe for the next 25 years, including the follow up label tributes—through "Motown 40," Buz Kohan was the head writer of the threesome. The program was taped before a live studio audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California on March 25, 1983,[1] and broadcast on NBC on May 16. Among its highlights were Michael Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean", a Temptations/Four Tops "battle of the bands", Marvin Gaye's inspired speech about black music history and his memorable performance of "What's Going On", a Jackson 5 reunion, and an abbreviated reunion of Diana Ross & the Supremes, who performed their final #1 hit, "Someday We'll Be Together" from 1969.

Performances by:
Debbie Allen, Boy George, Bunny Briggs, James Brown, Gregg Burge, The Cadillacs, Joe Cocker, The Commodores, Sammy Davis Jr, DeBarge and El DeBarge, The Drifters, Billy Eckstine, The Four Tops, Al Green, Sam Harris, Gregory Hines, Jennifer Holliday, Thelma Houston, Chuck Jackson, Ludie Jones, Patti Labelle, Little Richard, The Manhattans, Marilyn McCoo, George Michael, New Edition (with Bobby Brown), New Jersey Mass Choir, Harold Nicholas of the Famed Nicholas Brothers, Wilson Pickett, Billy Preston, Lou Rawls, Martha Reeves, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Sandman Sims, Jimmy Slyde, Mavis Staples, Rod Stewart, The Temptations, Willie Tyler & Lester, Luther Vandross, Sarah Vaughn, Mary Wells, Vanessa Williams, and Stevie Wonder!.