2/16 - What Was Disney's 1st Hit Animated Series?
Plus trivia on Wham, Blue Chips, Contra, R.E.M., and more
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
February 16th, 2024 • Issue 191
This week in the ‘80s and ‘90s
February 16th
1980 - Captain & Tennille’s single Do That to Me One More Time hit number one.
1985 - Wham!’s single Careless Whisper hit number one.
Wham! auditioned tried out 11 different sax players before they found one who could nail the signature solo at the beginning of Careless Whisper.
The sax solo was difficult because it required hitting a whole lot of notes in one breath. Sax player Steve Gregory was the 11th to try and the only one who could pull it off.
1992 - Magic Johnson’s jersey was retired by the Los Angeles Lakers.
1993 - Tupac’s album Strictly for My [Friends and Foes] was released.
1996 - Happy Gilmore hit theaters.
1996 - Muppet Treasure Island hit theaters.
1997 - Real McCoy’s single One More Time was released.
February 17th
1979 - A Prairie Home Companion debuted.
1984 - Flashdance hit theaters.
1989 - Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure hit theaters.
1994 - David Robinson recorded a rare quadruple-double — double digits in four of the five major statistical categories.
There have only been four quadruple-doubles in NBA history.
A quadruple-double involves a player hitting double digits in four of the five primary statistical categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks) in a single game.
Nate Thurmond did it in 1974… Alvin Robertson in 1986… Hakeem Olajuwon in 1990… and David Robinson 30 years ago today.
1995 - The Brady Bunch Movie and Heavyweights hit theaters.
1996 - The series finale aired of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
1996 - Everything But the Girl’s one hit, Missing, peaked at number two.
1996 - Garry Kasparov defeated Deep Blue in chess.
1998 - Jermaine Dupri’s single The Party Continues was released.
1998 - Destiny’s Child’s self-titled debut album was released.
February 18th
1983 - The Sting II hit theaters.
1985 - The WWF’s special The War to Settle the Score aired on MTV.
1991 - The NBA Dream Team concept was revealed.
1993 - Silk’s single Freak Me was released.
1993 - Wrestler Kerry Von Erich passed away at age 33.
1994 - Reality Bites hit theaters.
1994 - Blue Chips hit theaters.
Nick Nolte’s character in Blue Chips makes a wildly coincidental reference to LeBron James.
Nolte’s character, Pete Bell, gives a speech that “some place in America right now, there’s some 10-year-old kid. He's out there on that playground, and he's playing, he's dribbling between his legs, he's going left, he's going right, he's already above the rim, and he's stuffing it home. And you know what's going to happen to this kid? Five minutes from now he's gonna be surrounded by you. Agents, corporate sponsors, and coaches, I mean, people like me just drooling over this kid because he holds our future employment in his hands.”
LeBron James was 10 years old at the time… and just a few years away from everything in that speech coming true.
1995 - Blessid Union of Souls’ single I Believe was released.
1998 - Legendary Cubs announcer Harry Carey died.
1998 - Andrea Bocelli made his operatic debut.
2000 - The Whole Nine Yards and Boiler Room both hit theaters.
2001 - Dale Earnhardt tragically died in a crash at the Daytona 500.
February 19th
1968 - Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood premiered.
1980 - AC/DC’s Bon Scott died from alcohol poisoning.
1982 - Ozzy Osbourne was arrested for peeing on the Alamo.
1983 - Patti Austin and James Ingram’s duet Baby, Come to Me hit number one.
1985 - Mick Jagger’s first solo album, She’s the Boss, was released.
1990 - Adobe Photoshop was released.
1991 - REM’s single Losing My Religion was released.
Losing My Religion is R.E.M.’s biggest hit in the U.S.
Losing My Religion was a surprise pick by R.E.M.’s record label as the lead single off their album Out of Time — but it turned out to be the right pick.
The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 — the highest rank of any R.E.M. song. It also won two Grammy awards and was certified gold.
1991 - Public Enemy boycotted the Grammys after rap categories were left off the main telecast.
1993 - Army of Darkness hit theaters.
1994 - Martin Lawrence received a lifetime ban from Saturday Night Live.
1995 - Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee got married.
1995 - The Australia episode of The Simpsons premiered.
1996 - Oasis’s single Don’t Look Back in Anger was released.
1999 - Office Space and Jawbreaker both hit theaters.
2000 - Mariah Carey’s single Thank God I Found You hit number one.
2000 - Blink 182’s only top 40 hit, All the Small Things, peaked at number 6.
2002 - Bobsledder Vonetta Flowers became the first Black gold medalist in Winter Olympics history.
February 20th
1979 - This Old House premiered on PBS.
1986 - The Chunnel was officially announced.
1987 - Contra hit arcades.
When Contra was ported to Nintendo, both characters on the box art were directly modeled after Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator.
Most fans believed the characters on the cover were modeled after Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. But nope… both characters are clear illustrated versions of two of Schwarzenegger’s looks in Predator.
1988 - Expose’s single Seasons Change hit number one.
1992 - Ross Perot announced he would run for president.
1993 - Harold Miner won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
1996 - VH1 Storytellers premiered.
1996 - Snoop Dogg was found not guilty of murder in the case that they gave him.
1996 - Celine Dion’s single Because You Loved Me was released.
1998 - Tara Lipinski became the youngest figure skating gold medal winner at age 15.
1999 - Gene Siskel passed away.
February 21st
1981 - Charles Rocket dropped an f-bomb on Saturday Night Live and Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood debuted.
1986 - The Legend of Zelda was released in Japan.
1986 - Pitcher Rollie Fingers made his choice between retirement and shaving his signature mustache.
1992 - Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot hit theaters.
Sylvester Stallone named Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot as the film he most regrets doing.
The buddy cop comedy with Stallone and Estelle Getty was clearly not a career highlight.
In a 2006 interview, when Stallone was asked what movies he regrets, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot was his number one answer.
(He also named Oscar, Get Carter, Driven, Detox, and Rhinestone.)
1992 - Kristi Yamaguchi won the gold medal in figure skating.
1995 - TLC’s single Red Light Special and Joan Osbourne’s single One of Us were released.
1997 - Wheel of Fortune switched to its all-digital letter board.
2003 - Old School hit theaters.
February 22nd
1980 - The Miracle on Ice happened at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
1987 - Andy Warhol passed away.
1990 - Milli Vanilli won the Grammy for Best New Artist.
1991 - Adventures of the Gummi Bears aired its series finale.
Adventures of the Gummi Bears was Disney’s first successful animated TV series.
Disney launched two animated series in 1985: Adventures of the Gummi Bears and The Wuzzles. The latter only lasted 13 episodes. Adventures of the Gummi Bears lasted six seasons and gets the credit for paving the way for future Disney series like DuckTales and Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers.
1997 - Scientists in Scotland announced they’d cloned a sheep, which they named Dolly.
1997 - The Spice Girls single Wannabe hit number one.
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame narrowed down 15 nominees for induction in its 2024 class. Pretty much all of them were massive acts in the ‘80s and ‘90s: Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Eric B. & Rakim, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Jane’s Addiction, Kool & the Gang, Lenny Kravitz, Oasis, Sinéad O’Connor, Ozzy Osbourne, Sade, and A Tribe Called Quest.
Liam Gallagher was not happy that Oasis was nominated.
A sequel to 1984’s Repo Man is coming from its original writer/director. The sequel is called Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer. Emilio Estevez will not be back as the lead; that role is going to Kiowa Gordon from Twilight.
The trailer is out for X-Men ‘97, a long-awaited sequel to 1992-1997’s X-Men: The Animated Series.
Michael Jordan’s son and Scottie Pippen’s ex-wife have broken up after a year of dating.
Billy Joey cracked the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time since 1997 with his new single, Turn the Lights Back On.
Sharon Stone was so famous after Basic Instinct that she says the police moved her to a secure location during the O.J. Simpson chase.
John Larroquette says the Night Court reboot gave him “sadness” initially because he was the only original cast member involved.
Here are the six Mattel toy-based movies in the works that aim to follow in Barbie’s footsteps.
After a global search, Sony has cast Ben Wang (from the Disney+ series American Born Chinese) to star in their Karate Kid reboot.
Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre are getting in on the “canned alcohol” trend by selling a new line of gin and juice in a can.
Kate Hudson appeared in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York when she was around 13 — she was a singer in a children’s choir. She says she occasionally gets residual checks for 10 cents.
Recommendations of the week
Articles and more about ‘80s and ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, and never knew existed
Check out this list of 20 nostalgic fast food collectibles from ‘90s movie tie-ins.
After the Super Bowl Twins ad was a hit, Josh Gad shared some pages of the Twins sequel Triplets he was once hired to write. The movie was never made.
In 1995, radio DJs offered a Super Bowl trip to Miami… then sent the 15 winners to Miami, Manitoba, Canada to watch the game on TV. And people were not happy with the prank.
Nostalgia gets a bad rap. Here’s why looking backwards actually helps us move forward. Or, as the subtitle suggests, rewatching your favorite childhood movies is good for you.
Have a great week!
-Sam