7/14: What '80s one-hit wonder is an unlikely Motown cover?
Plus trivia on Air Jordans, Right Said Fred, Crayola, Revenge of the Nerds, and more
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
July 14th, 2023 • Issue 160
This week in the ‘80s and ‘90s
7/14
1985 - The final USFL game ever was played.
1989 - When Harry Met Sally… hit theaters.
The interludes where couples tell love stories in When Harry Met Sally… are real stories… but not told by the actual couples.
The love stories that elderly couples tell throughout When Harry Met Sally… are real stories that Rob Reiner collected during interviews. But he couldn’t trust the actual couples to tell their stories in a compelling way on firm — so the people telling the stories in the interludes are actors.
(One older amateur he did trust in the movie was his mother — she’s the person who says the “I’ll have what she’s having” line.)
1989 - License to Kill marked Timothy Dalton’s second and final appearance as James Bond.
1993 - Super Mario All-Stars for Super Nintendo was released in Japan.
1995 - Nine Months hit theaters.
1999 - The Blair Witch Project opened in limited released.
2000 - X-Men hit theaters.
7/15
1988 - Die Hard hit theaters.
1988 - A Fish Called Wanda hit theaters.
1989 - Simply Red’s single If You Don’t Know Me By Now hit number one.
1991 - Right Said Fred’s single I’m Too Sexy was released.
Right Said Fred’s I’m Too Sexy tied a U.K. record for most weeks at number two without reaching number one… equaling another novelty song.
I’m Too Sexy was a number one hit in the U.S.
But in the U.K., it only made it to number two, never able to pass Bryan Adams’s (Everything I Do) I Do It for You.
So I’m Too Sexy wound up spending six weeks at number two in the U.K., which tied a record… that was set by another novelty song.
That was 1977’s The Smurf Song by Father Abraham, a song that really feels like I can’t understand because I wasn’t alive in Europe in the ‘70s.
(Their shared #2 spot record was broken in 1994 by All-4-One’s I Swear.)
1992 - Bill Clinton received the presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention.
1994 - Hulk Hogan admitted to taking steroids during the WWF’s steroid trial.
1994 - True Lies and Angels in the Outfield hit theaters
1997 - Sarah McLaughlin’s album Surfacing was released.
1997 - Gianni Versace was shot.
1997 - Real World: Boston premiered on MTV.
1998 - There’s Something About Mary hit theaters.
7/16
1986 - Dollywood opened.
1991 - Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch’s single Good Vibrations was released.
1993 - Free Willy hit theaters.
Free Willy was the only movie in the Free Willy franchise to use a real killer whale, not an animatronic one.
Free Willy starred a killer whale named Keiko. (And, after the success of the movie, art imitated life and there was an outcry to free Keiko.)
Some scenes in Free Willy used an animatronic killer whale as a stand-in; the three subsequent films in the Free Willy franchise would use animatronic whales exclusively.
1993 - Hocus Pocus hit theaters.
1994 - Baseball Night in America premiered.
1995 - Amazon.com launched, selling books online.
1999 - Eyes Wide Shut and the Blair Witch Project hit theaters.
1999 - John F. Kennedy Jr. was killed in a plane crash and/or will be appearing in Dallas any day now.
7/17
1982 - Soft Cell’s one hit, Tainted Love, peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Soft Cell’s Tainted Love is a cover of an up-tempo Motown song from a female vocalist.
Tainted Love became popular as a haunting, dark, new wave synth song… but that wasn’t where the song’s journey began.
Tainted Love first came from a Motown singer named Gloria Jones in 1964. Though still a melancholy song, Jones’s version is up-tempo, bolstered by horns and harmonies.
Her version never became particularly popular, perhaps because of a tonal mismatch; Soft Cell’s felt much more appropriate.
1984 - The drinking age in the U.S. was changed from 18 to 21 nationwide.
1987 - Robocop hit theaters.
1991 - Color Me Badd’s single I Adore Mi Amor (the inspiration for the “thanks for subscribing” email you get from this newsletter) was released.
1992 - Honey, I Blew Up the Kid hit theaters.
1994 - Brazil won the men’s World Cup.
1996 - Multiplicity hit theaters.
1998 - The Mask of Zorro hit theaters.
1998 - The series finale of Family Matters aired.
1999 - Destiny’s Child’s single Bills, Bills, Bills hit number one.
7/18
1984 - Prince’s single Let’s Go Crazy/Erotic City was released.
1986 - Aliens hit theaters.
1988 - The Beach Boys single Kokomo was released.
1992 - Whitney Houston married Bobby Brown.
1994 - Hootie & the Blowfish released the single Hold My Hand.
1994 - Crayola introduced scented crayons.
Crayola had to change the scents of its scented crayons within a year of their release because parents worried kids would be tempted to eat them.
In July 1994, Crayola introduced crayons with scents like chocolate, blueberry, coconut, and cherry. But parents were worried kids might be tempted to eat them, so they complained en masse.
Crayola responded in two ways in November 1995. One, they said that was ridiculous: They had fewer than 10 reports of kids eating the crayons (which were non-toxic) and no injuries. But two, they changed the scents anyway.
They chose smells that were less tasty like lumber, leather, campfire, fresh air, and dirt.
1994 - Seal’s single Kiss from a Rose was released for the first time, in the U.K.
1995 - Selena’s album Dreaming of You was released posthumously.
1996 - The Los Angeles Lakers signed Shaquille O’Neal.
1998 - The Seattle Mariners held a “Turn Ahead the Clock” night.
7/19
1980 - The summer Olympics opened in Russia, with the U.S. boycotting.
1980 - Billy Joel’s single It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me hit number one.
It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me was Billy Joel’s first number one hit.
It took Billy Joel more than a decade to have a number one hit, but he finally got there with It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me — his diss track against both new wave music and music critics.
He’d have two more number one hits in his career, Tell Her About It in 1983 and We Didn’t Start the Fire in 1989.
1986 - Genesis’s single Invisible Touch hit number one.
1991 - Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey hit theaters.
1994 - Ceiling tiles collapsed at Seattle’s Kingdome.
1995 - Clueless hit theaters.
1995 - Road Rules premiered on MTV.
1996 - Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony in Atlanta.
1996 - Kazaam and Trainspotting hit theaters.
1996 - The series finale aired of Tales from the Crypt.
7/20
1984 - Vanessa Williams was asked to resign as Miss America after nude photos were published in Penthouse.
1984 - The NeverEnding Story hit theaters.
1984 - Revenge of the Nerds hit theaters.
A Revenge of the Nerds reboot in 2006 was shut down for good after two weeks of filming.
Some movies just aren’t meant to be rebooted. In 2006, a remake went into production starring Adam Brody (it was 2006, The O.C. was a big deal). But it had tons of issues and the studio shut it down for good after two weeks of filming.
1991 - EMF’s single Unbelievable hit number one.
1993 - DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince’s Boom Shake the Room was released.
1994 - The subversive and depressing series finale of Dinosaurs aired.
1994 - OJ Simpson offered a reward for the capture of the “real killers”.
1998 - Will Smith’s single Just the Two of Us was released.
1999 - The Y2K act went into effect.
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
Reese Witherspoon says she “didn’t have control” over the famous roller coaster sex scene in Fear, which “made me want to be an agent of change.”
New documentaries are in the works about Luther Vandross and the Notorious B.I.G.
Anthony Michael Hall, at age 55, just had his first child: A son named Michael Anthony Hall.
Recommendations of the week
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved
Check out the 66 best rock songs of the ‘90s. It’s a pretty good list that captures the many different eras of rock music throughout the decade.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you forgot
Here’s The A.V. Club’s list of the 30 best sketch comedy shows of all time. Many are from the ‘80s and ‘90s, including some obscure or otherwise forgotten shows of the era.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you never knew existed
The Air Jordan III is often considered the greatest Jordan of all time. Here’s the story of how Michael Jordan was on the verge of leaving Nike until a new designer came up with it.
Have a great week!
-Sam