3/8 - What Duo Turned Down House Party Before Kid 'n Play?
Plus trivia on Beck, R.E.M., Heart, Fastball, COPS, Snow's Informer, and more.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
March 8th, 2024 • Issue 194
Be Kind, Rewind
What happened on this day in the ‘80s and ‘90s — plus lots of bonus trivia
March 8th
1983 - President Ronald Reagan referred to the U.S.S.R. as an “evil empire”.
1987 - The series finale of The A-Team aired on NBC.
1991 - New Jack City hit theaters.
1993 - Beck’s single Loser was released.
Loser’s nonsensical lyrics were based on Beck’s stream-of-consciousness tactic to win over bored, disinterested audiences.
When Beck was starting out and performing in coffee houses and bars, he’d make up bad rap lyrics that were random, stream-of-consciousness thoughts to see if the audience was paying attention.
Those lyrics then became the basis for Loser. (Lyrics like “Dog food stalls with the beefcake pantyhose.”)
1993 - Beavis and Butt-Head premiered on MTV.
1994 - Coolio’s single Fantastic Voyage was released.
1996 - The Birdcage and Fargo both hit theaters.
1996 - Celine Dion’s album Falling Into You was released.
1999 - Joe DiMaggio passed away.
March 9th
1984 - Splash hit theaters.
1985 - REO Speedwagon’s single Can’t Fight This Feeling hit number one.
1987 - Rags to Riches premiered.
1987 - U2’s album The Joshua Tree was released.
1990 - Joe Versus the Volcano hit theaters.
1990 - House Party hit theaters.
House Party was offered to DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince before it went to Kid ‘n Play.
DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were entangled in a lawsuit with New Line Cinema over the duo’s song A Nightmare on My Street. New Line, which was behind A Nightmare on Elm Street, sued.
As part of the settlement, New Line offered up a deal: If Jeff and Will did two movies for the studio, that would cover the debt and they wouldn’t have to pay out of pocket.
But DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince decided they weren’t going to agree to that under any circumstances. So when they were offered the first script — House Party — they immediately turned it down.
New Line then offered it to Kid ‘n Play.
1991 - Mariah Carey’s single Someday hit number one.
1995 - Arizona and Tampa were granted MLB expansion teams.
1996 - George Burns passed away.
1996 - Oasis’s Wonderwall peaked at number eight, the band’s only top 40 hit in the U.S. (believe it or not).
1997 - Notorious B.I.G. was killed in Los Angeles and his murder remains officially unsolved.
1998 - Dr. Dre signed Eminem.
March 10th
1980 - Willard Scott became the weatherman on the Today show.
1988 - Prince’s album Lovesexy was released.
1989 - Police Academy 6: City Under Siege hit theaters.
1989 - The series finale of Webster aired, as did the series finale of game show Finders Keepers.
1992 - Jodeci’s single Come and Talk to Me was released.
1997 - The first PalmPilot was released.
1998 - Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place premiered on ABC.
1998 - Fastball’s album All the Pain Money Can Buy was released.
Fastball says their band name “really has no meaning behind it.”
The band known as Fastball went by a few other names first, and got their most traction with the name Magneto USA.
Their label was worried another band called Magneto might file a lawsuit, so the band had to pick another name. If they delayed, it would slow down their album production — so they randomly picked “Fastball.”
March 11th
1986 - Popsicle announced plans to switch from two-sticks to a one-stick version.
1986 - The NFL adopted instant replay, although they’d drop it six years later.
1988 - Stand and Deliver and Vice Versa hit theaters.
1989 - COPS premiered on FOX.
COPS got the rights to use Inner Circle’s Bad Boys as its theme song for just $2,500.
Inner Circle released Bad Boys in 1987. A COPS crew member heard it and thought it might work for the show — and the producers secured the rights for a bargain $2,500.
1993 - H-Town’s single Knockin’ Da Boots was released.
1993 - “Last Exit to Springfield”, often called the best Simpsons episode ever, premiered on FOX.
1994 - Four Weddings and a Funeral hit theaters.
1995 - Des’ree’s one hit, You Gotta Be, peaked at number five.
1996 - Steve Austin debuted his new Stone Cold gimmick at a WWF Monday Night Raw taping.
1997 - Paul McCartney was knighted.
March 12th
1987 - Les Miserables opened on Broadway for the first time.
1988 - Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
1990 - The eternally-filled-with-wanderlust Raiders announced they were returning to Oakland from Los Angeles.
1991 - R.E.M.’s album Out of Time was released.
R.E.M. picked “Out of Time” for their album because when they were trying to figure out the title they ran… out of time.
R.E.M. went through a ton of options for the title of the album, but never landed on one they wanted.
Finally, everything was ready to go for the album except the title… and one of the band members suggested calling it Out of Time since they were out of time to choose.
1993 - Ace of Base’s song The Sign hit number one.
1994 - The most famous Loch Ness Monster photo in history turned out to be a hoax.
1996 - Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was suspended by the NBA for not coming out of the locker room for the national anthem.
2002 - The Shield premiered on FX.
2002 - The Undeclared series finale aired on FOX.
March 13th
1982 - William Shatner’s show T.J. Hooker premiered on ABC.
1986 - Microsoft had its initial public offering.
1987 - The first cassette single went on sale nationwide in the U.S.
1992 - My Cousin Vinny hit theaters.
1993 - The underrated CB4 hit theaters.
1993 - Snow’s classic Informer hit number one.
Informer was the sixth reggae song to become a number one Billboard hit — and the fourth of those by a white artist.
The five tracks officially classified as reggae songs to reach number one before Informer were: I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash… I Shot the Sheriff from Eric Clapton… The Tide Is High by Blondie… Red Red Wine by UB40… and Close to You by Maxi Priest.
Informer also kept Dr. Dre’s debut single, Nuthin’ But a G Thang, from reaching number one (it peaked at number two).
1998 - Bryce Drew of Valparaiso hit a famous March Madness buzzer beater.
1999 - Cher’s single Believe hit number one.
2002 - Celebrity Boxing premiered on FOX.
March 14th
1987 - Huey Lewis and the News’ single Jacob’s Ladder hit number one.
1990 - Heart’s single All I Want to Do Is Make Love to You was released.
All I Want to Do Is Make Love to You was originally recorded by Dobie Gray — but his version is way different than Heart’s.
Songwriter Mutt Lange wrote All I Want to Do Is Make Love for You for Don Henley. He turned it down, and it went to Dobie Gray (most famous for Drift Away).
Gray released his version in 1979, and it’s an upbeat, poppy love song he’s singing to a woman he loves.
When Heart took on the song, they changed the lyrics and tone dramatically. Theirs is a dramatic rock version is about a woman who picks up an attractive hitchhiker, spends the night with him at a hotel, and gets pregnant (then runs into him one day in the future).
Heart’s version was more commercially successful, becoming a gold-certified number two hit. (Gray’s version was never released as a single.)
1992 - Farm Aid V was held in Irving, Texas.
1992 - The Soviet newspaper Pravda shut down.
1995 - The Goo Goo Dolls’ album A Boy Named Goo and Collective Soul’s single December were released.
1996 - A Canadian Football League team drafted a dead player... for the second year in a row.
1998 - KP & Envyi’s one hit, Swing My Way, peaked at number six.
1998 - Will Smith’s single Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It hit number one.
1998 - Ray Charles made his first solo performance in 53 years on QVC of all places.
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
Fox is rebooting Baywatch — the TV show.
To promote Kung Fu Panda 4, Tenacious D released a full video of their cover of Britney Spears’s …Baby One More Time. What does that song have to do with the movie? I guess it’s a movie about hitting. And the video uses footage from the premiere. (Jack Black is the starring voice in the Kung Fu Panda movies.)
The house that provided the exterior shots for Roseanne is for sale. It’s located in Evansville, Ind., and is listed at $225,000.
San Neill says his then-10-year-old son had terrible gas at the Jurassic Park royal premiere in London while they were seated next to Princess Diana.
John Candy was hungover for the racquetball scene in Splash because, according to producer Brian Grazer, Candy “stayed out with Jack Nicholson until like four or five in the morning and then he went right to work.”
New Edition is going to be inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame.
Get Your Book-It Stickers Here
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Is Roald Dahl’s Matlida, published in 1988, one of the greatest children’s books ever or one of the most problematic?
Have a great week!
-Sam