1/31 - Who Was the 1st Major Singer in a Super Bowl Halftime Show?
Plus trivia on The Firm, Magic vs. Michael, Sheriff, Hogan vs. Andre, and more
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
January 31st, 2025 • Issue 241
Be Kind, Rewind
What happened on this day in the ‘80s and ‘90s — plus lots of bonus trivia
January 31st
1981 - Blondie’s single The Tide Is High hit number one.
1986 - Down and Out in Beverly Hills hit theaters.
1988 - The Washington Redskins defeated the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl XXII halftime show was the first to feature a major recording artist.
And that artist was… Chubby Checker.
He appeared with the Rockettes, 88 grand pianos, and the USC and San Diego State marching bands.
Before then (and for a few years after as well), the halftime shows were mainly college marching bands.
1988 - The Wonder Years premiered on ABC following the Super Bowl.
1989 - LaToya Jackson appeared in Playboy.
1990 - McDonald’s opened its first location in the Soviet Union.
1990 - The National daily sports newspaper began publishing.
1993 - The Spin Doctors’ single Two Princes was released.
1993 - The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl.
1993 - Michael Jackson performed the first solo Super Bowl halftime show.
1997 - Waiting for Guffman hit (a few) theaters and the special edition re-release of Star Wars hit (a lot of) theaters.
1998 - Janet Jackson’s single Together Again hit number one.
1999 - Family Guy premiered.
1999 - The Denver Broncos defeated the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl.
2000 - Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens was in a group fight where, let’s just say, someone stabbed someone.
February 1st
1980 - Blondie’s single Call Me was released.
1982 - Late Night with David Letterman premiered on NBC.
1988 - Contra was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
1989 - Tecmo Bowl was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
1991 - John Grisham’s book The Firm was released and became the bestselling novel of the year.
John Grisham was an unknown author when he wrote The Firm — but still managed to sell the film rights before he even had a publisher.
Grisham was working as a lawyer in Mississippi when he got his first novel, A Time to Kill, published by a small company. It didn’t sell well, but he decided to still try to finish his second novel, The Firm.
Somehow, he managed to sell the movie rights to Paramount Pictures before he even had a publisher on board.
1992 - The Cold War came to an end.
1992 - The Super Nintendo Super Scope was released.
1994 - Jeff Gillooly pleaded guilty for his role in the Nancy Kerrigan attack.
1994 - Green Day’s album Dookie was released.
1995 - Better Than Ezra’s single Good was released.
1995 - Classic Sports Network, now called ESPN Classic, went live.
1996 - Bone Thugs ‘n Harmony’s single Tha Crossroads was released.
1996 - Visa and Mastercard announced new security features to allow for safe online shopping.
1997 - Gina G’s one hit, Ooh Ahh (Just a Little Bit), peaked at number 12.
1999 - The Lycos search engine launched an mp3 search feature.
February 2nd
1980 - The FBI released the details of its ABSCAM corruption sting.
1985 - O.J. Simpson married Nicole Brown.
1985 - Foreigner’s I Want to Know What Love Is hit number one.
1992 - Elton John and George Michael’s Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me hit number one.
1996 - Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan played against each other in the NBA for the first time since their respective returns from retirement.
In the first game between Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan since their returns from retirement, neither led their team in scoring.
The leading scorer for Jordan’s Bulls was Scottie Pippen, with 30. Jordan had 17.
The leading scorer for Magic’s Lakers was Cedric Ceballos, with 23. Magic had 15.
The Bulls won the game, 99 to 84.
1996 - Black Sheep hit theaters.
1998 - President Clinton introduced the country’s first balanced budget in 30 years.
1999 - Blackstreet’s single Take Me There was released.
1999 - TLC’s single No Scrubs was released.
1999 - Hugo Chavez took office in Venezuela, and immediately began planning how to alter Georgia voting machines 21 years later from beyond the grave.
2000 - The Oxygen Network debuted.
February 3rd
1979 - Y.M.C.A. by the Village People peaked at number two.
1986 - Pixar spun off from Lucasfilm to become an independent company.
1990 - Darryl Strawberry entered rehab.
1993 - Reds owner Marge Schott was suspended by Major League Baseball for racist comments.
1993 - The trial of the LAPD officers who beat Rodney King began.
1995 - Boys on the Side hit theaters.
All 13 songs on the Boys on the Side soundtrack are from female artists.
The soundtrack includes music from Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, Annie Lennox, Indigo Girls, and Stevie Nicks.
It also had a cover of Roy Orbison’s You Got It by Bonnie Raitt, which became a top 40 hit.
1995 - The Jerky Boys movie hit theaters.
1996 - Joan Osbourne’s only hit, One of Us, peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
1997 - Az Yet’s cover of Hard to Say I’m Sorry was released.
1998 - Usher’s single Nice and Slow was released.
2001 - The XFL debuted.
2001 - Shaggy’s single It Wasn’t Me hit number one.
February 4th
1980 - Studio 54 held its grand closing party on its final night in business.
1983 - Karen Carpenter died as a result of anorexia.
1984 - Culture Club’s single Karma Chameleon hit number one.
1989 - Sheriff’s single When I’m With You hit number one.
Sheriff had been broken up for four years when When I’m With You hit number one.
Sheriff released the track in 1983, where it became a top 10 hit in their native Canada and a minor U.S. radio hit.
But then, in November 1988, a radio program director in Minneapolis started playing it. The song’s popularity grew, so Capitol Records re-released the single. And by February, it was the biggest hit in the country.
Which was a surprise to the fellas from Sheriff, who’d broken up in 1985 due to major tension in the band.
After the surprise reincarnation of When I’m With You, a few of them tried to reconcile with the others — but they couldn’t get over their beef.
1991 - Pete Rose was banned for life from the Baseball Hall of Fame for gambling on games.
1994 - Alex Trebek became the first game show host with three simultaneous shows on TV in Jeopardy!, Classic Concentration, and To Tell the Truth.
1997 - A jury found O.J. Simpson liable in the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
1998 - Belgian writer Noel Godin hit Bill Gates in the face with a pie.
2000 - The Sims was released on PC.
2000 - Scream 3 hit theaters.
February 5th
1983 - Africa by Toto hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
1986 - Prince’s single Kiss was released.
1988 - Andre the Giant defeated Hulk Hogan on a WWF special on NBC thanks to an evil twin referee.
The Hulk Hogan-Andre the Giant match on NBC is still the highest-rated pro wrestling broadcast in U.S. history.
33 million people watched the live broadcast of The Main Event on NBC in prime time, drawing a 15.2 Nielsen rating.
Both of those numbers were all-time records for pro wrestling on U.S. television — and both records are still in place today. (And will almost certainly never be broken.)
1993 - Larry Bird retired and Magic Johnson surprised him by wearing a Celtics t-shirt.
1994 - The cartoon Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? premiered on FOX.
2001 - Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman announced their separation.
2001 - Kelly Ripa was announced as Regis Philbin’s new co-host.
February 6th
1982 - Centerfold by the J. Geils Band hit number one.
1985 - Perrier released its first new product in 123 years, water with a twist of fruit.
1988 - Michael Jordan defeated Dominique Wilkens in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
1988 - Tiffany’s single Could’ve Been hit number one.
1991 - Street Fighter II hit arcades.
1991 - Black Box’s single Strike It Up was released.
1993 - Arthur Ashe passed away.
1995 - Tupac was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison.
1995 - Montell Jordan’s single This Is How We Do It was released.
1998 - The ill-advised movie Blues Brothers 2000 was released.
Blues Brothers 2000 had dozens of cameos… but not one from Jim Belushi.
Jim Belushi was not able to be a part of the movie — to pay homage to his late brother, who, of course starred in the original Blues Brothers.
The reason: Jim’s contract with a drama on ABC called Total Security claimed all the movie’s filming dates, so he couldn’t appear.
1998 - Mary Kay LeTourneau was sentenced to seven years in prison.
1998 - Washington National Airport was renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport.
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
Little House on the Prairie, which ended in 1983, is getting a reboot at Netflix.
A reboot of the surprisingly decent 1998 horror film The Faculty is in the works.
Though Matthew Lillard’s character was killed at the end of Scream — spoiler? — he’s coming back for Scream 7.
A Super Bowl commercial based on When Harry Met Sally… has been released. It’s for mayonnaise.
A Pac-Man movie that’s been in development since 2022 is in jeopardy because it’s being produced by Justin Baldoni — and everything is on hold amidst his legal war with Blake Lively.
Steven Spielberg says he’s always fought hard to stop any sequels to E.T. — and it was tough because “I didn’t have any rights.”
Monica Lewinsky is starting a new podcast.
Get Your Book-It Stickers Here
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Have a great week!
-Sam