11/10 - What '90s Rap Title Made Webster's Dictionary?
Plus trivia on Rocky V, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, TLC, and more
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
November 10th, 2023 • Issue 177
This week in the ‘80s and ‘90s
November 10th
1969 - Sesame Street premiered.
1983 - Microsoft formally announced Windows.
1984 - The famous He-Man episode “The Problem with Power” aired.
1990 - The series finales of Charles in Charge and Pee-Wee’s Playhouse both aired.
1990 - Mariah Carey’s single Love Takes Time hit number one.
1990 - Candyman’s one hit, Knockin’ Boots, peaked at number nine.
1992 - The single Rebirth of Slick by Digable Planets was released.
1992 - The episode of Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper where Mr. Cooper joined the Golden State Warriors aired.
Mark Curry played in an actual NBA (preseason) game for Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper.
Curry played for the Warriors against the Phoenix Suns in an NBA preseason game. The game was played at the University of California, Berkeley, because Kevin Johnson from the Suns was having his number retired there that night.
Curry scored one basket, which was a major plot point on the episode.
1993 - John Wayne Bobbit was acquitted of marital sexual assault.
1997 - WorldCom and MCI announced their merger, the largest in history at the time at $37 billion.
2000 - Little Nicky hit theaters, ending Adam Sandler’s hot streak.
2001 - The first iPods were shipped.
November 11th
1987 - The series finale of Transformers aired.
1987 - Anthony Kennedy was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court.
1987 - Van Gogh’s Irises sold for a then-record $53.6 million.
Though Irises sold for a record price at the time, it’s now 31st-most expensive (adjusted for inflation).
The most expensive painting now is Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which sold for $450.3 million in 2017 ($537.6 million adjusted for inflation).
1988 - Iron Eagle II hit theaters.
1989 - Bad English’s single When I See You Smile hit number one.
1991 - Michael Jackson’s single Black or White and Mint Condition’s single Breakin’ My Heart were both released.
1992 - Aladdin hit theaters.
1992 - Shaquille O’Neal played in his first NBA game.
1994 - Interview with the Vampire and The Santa Clause both hit theaters.
1995 - The Spartan cheerleaders debuted on Saturday Night Live.
1995 - Take That’s one U.S. hit, Back for Good, peaked at number seven.
1996 - Toni Braxton’s single Unbreak My Heart was released.
1997 - Boyz II Men’s final top 10 hit, A Song for Mama, was released.
1997 - Columbus announced its new expansion NHL team would be called the Blue Jackets.
2000 - Creed’s single With Arms Wide Open hit number one.
November 12th
1983 - Lionel Richie’s single All Night Long (All Night) hit number one.
One of the foreign-language parts of All Night Long (All Night) is complete gibberish.
While words like “karamu” (Swahili) and “fiesta” (Spanish) are very real, the lyric “Tam bo li de say de moi ya, hey jambo jambo” is gibberish. Richie says, “I made it up on the spot.”
1984 - Madonna’s album Like a Virgin was released.
1987 - The Jetsons series finale aired.
1988 - The Escape Club’s single Wild, Wild West hit number one.
1990 - The Philadelphia Eagles defeated Washington in the “body bag” game.
1991 - The episode of Full House where Becky and Jesse’s twins were born aired.
1993 - Michael Jackson canceled his world tour, citing a painkiller addiction.
1996 - Jewel’s debut single You Were Meant for Me was released, as was Duncan Sheik’s single Barely Breathing and Eminem’s first album, Infinite.
1996 - The first Ultimate Fighting Championship event was held.
1999 - Dogma hit theaters.
2003 - The Casa Bonita episode of South Park premiered.
November 13th
1982 - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C..
1982 - An arcade player set a record score on Asteroids that stood for 27 years, longer than any other record in video game history.
1987 - Sonny and Cher performed together for the final time, singing I Got You Babe on Late Night with David Letterman.
1990 - Tesla’s single Sings was released.
1991 - Beauty and the Beast hit theaters.
1992 - Bram Stoker’s Dracula hit theaters.
1992 - Riddick Bowe defeated Evander Holyfield to become boxing’s undisputed heavyweight champion.
1994 - The “Lisa on Ice” episode of The Simpsons aired on FOX.
1997 - The Lion King musical opened on Broadway.
1998 - I Still Know What You Did Last Summer hit theaters.
1999 - BG’s Bling Bling peaked at number 36.
“Bling” and the variant “Bling Bling” were added to Webster’s Dictionary in 2006.
And Webster’s credits the first known use to B.G.’s song in 1999. (Though Lil Wayne has since claimed he, not lower-on-the-Cash-Money-records-hierarchy B.G., first coined the term.)
1999 - Lou Bega’s Mambo No. 5 peaked at number 3 on the Billboard charts.
1999 - Len’s one hit, Steal My Sunshine, peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.
2000 - The Beatles compilation album 1 was released.
2001 - Shakira’s first English album, Laundry Service, was released.
November 14th
1986 - Hoosiers hit theaters.
Jack Nicholson wanted to play the lead in Hoosiers.
However he couldn’t because of a scheduling conflict: He was testifying in Timothy Hutton’s fraud lawsuit against MGM and couldn’t work for six months.
Nicholson later told the director the movie was “great” and Gene Hackman was “terrific” — but it would’ve “been a megahit” with Jack as the star.
1988 - Murphy Brown premiered on CBS.
1990 - L.A. Lakers star James Worthy was arrested on solicitation charges.
1991 - Michael Jackson’s video for Black or White premiered on FOX after an episode of The Simpsons.
1992 - The single from the TV show The Heights, How Do You Talk to an Angel, hit number one.
1995 - Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s single One Sweet Day was released, as was Collective Soul’s The World I Know.
1996 - The series finale aired of Ren and Stimpy.
1996 - Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe got married.
1997 - Anastasia hit theaters.
1998 - The series finales aired of Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain.
1998 - Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman were married.
1998 - Lauryn Hill’s single Doo Wop (That Thing) hit number one.
2000 - Marilyn Manson’s album Holy Wood, featuring album art of him on a crucifix, was released but banned by several retail chains.
2003 - Love Actually hit theaters.
November 15th
1980 - Kenny Rogers’s single Lady hit number one, and Devo’s Whip It peaked at number 14.
1986 - The Beastie Boys released their debut album and the first rap album to hit number one on Billboard, License to Ill.
1990 - Milli Vanilli admitted to lip syncing all their songs.
1991 - Cape Fear hit theaters.
1993 - A 72-year-old man broke the world record for consecutive free throws made at 2,750.
1993 - Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Christina Aguilera joined the Mickey Mouse Club.
1994 - TLC’s album CrazySexyCool was released.
TLC held Clive Davis, the president of their record label, hostage over their low pay for CrazySexyCool.
Even though CrazySexyCool sold millions of copies, the three members of TLC only received $50,000 each — and had to file for bankruptcy shortly after the album came out.
So they stormed into the office of Clive Davis, who was then-president of their record label, Arista. They brought along some women Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes met during her time at a halfway house to block the door.
Eventually the police came — and Davis agreed to renegotiate their contracts.
1994 - Soul for Real’s single Candy Rain was released.
1995 - The series finale aired of Mr. Bean.
1996 - Space Jam and The English Patient hit theaters.
2001 - The Xbox went on sale in North America.
November 16th
1990 - Home Alone hit theaters.
1990 - Rocky V hit theaters.
The actor/boxers who starred in Rocky V were supposed to have an actual boxing match one month after the movie came out… but it was canceled due to an injury.
Not much about Rocky V turned out well, including this.
In the movie, Michael Anthony Williams played world champion Union Cane and Tommy Morrison played Rocky’s disciple-turned-rival Tommy Gunn. In the movie, Gunn defeats Cane for the title.
Williams and Morrison were both actually boxers, and had a match scheduled to coincide with Rocky V’s release.
But an injury to Williams led to the fight’s cancelation — and they never wound up having a match.
1993 - Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, and Sting released their single All for Love.
1993 - Domino’s single Ghetto Jam was released.
1994 - Major League Soccer announced it would debut in 1996.
1996 - The SNL skit “Delicious Dish” debuted.
1996 - Jingle All the Way hit theaters.
1999 - Dr. Dre’s album The Chronic 2001 was released.
2001 - The first Harry Potter movie hit theaters.
2002 - The first case of SARS was discovered.
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
This was inevitable after the success of the Mario movie. Nintendo and Sony have announced a live-action movie based on The Legend of Zelda is in the works.
The Simpsons has retired the “Homer chokes Bart” recurring bit because, as Homer says, “times have changed.” I also haven’t read an article on the New York Post in a long time and I really appreciate how they called Homer the “matriarch of the Simpson family.” Never change, you incorrigible garbage chute, never change.
A Friends guest star who was hired to be the “other woman” when Chandler cheated on Monica says Matthew Perry killed the story line because he, accurately, said “the audience will never forgive him.”
Stephen King is releasing a sequel to 1981’s Cujo in May, called Rattlesnakes.
Sharon Stone says a former Sony executive exposed himself to her in a meeting in the ‘80s.
Hootie & the Blowfish is headlining a North American tour next summer, and bringing along Collective Soul and Edwin McCain.
Porno for Pyros is releasing their first new song since 1997 next week.
The Karate Kid’s choreographer, who taught Ralph Macchio the crane kick, and who also played a tournament ref in the film, passed away this week. His name is Pat E. Johnson and he died at age 84.
Recommendations of the week
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved
MovieWeb ranked the 30 best animated Disney characters of all time. Though it’s less ‘90s-heavy than I would’ve guessed, they all eventually find their way in there.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you forgot
Check out this oral history of 1993’s Addams Family Values — a movie that has become more appreciated and respected (by a small cult audience and critics) as time has passed.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you never knew existed
Here’s the unlikely story of how competitive Tetris went viral.
Have a great week!
-Sam