8/25 - Which Seattle Grunge Icon Was Not Really From Seattle?
Plus Rump Shaker, SummerSlam, NSYNC, Friends, movie soundtracks, and more
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
August 25th, 2023 • Issue 166
This week in the ‘80s and ‘90s
August 25th
1979 - The Knack’s single My Sharona hit number one.
1986 - Paul Simon’s album Graceland was released.
1988 - Metallica’s album And Justice For All was released.
1989 - Little Monsters hit theaters (but in a very small release).
1991 - Linux was created.
1992 - Mary J. Blige’s single Real Love was released.
1992 - Wreckx-n-Effect’s single Rump Shaker was released.
Three of the 10 credited songwriters on Wreckx-n-Effect’s Rump Shaker are the members of the ‘80s group DeBarge.
The lyrics of Rump Shaker include: “I like the way you comb your hair, I like the stylish clothes you wear, it’s just the little things you do, that makes me wanna get with you.”
Those were inspired (and almost lifted word-for-word) from the lyrics of R&B group DeBarge’s 1982 single I Like It: “I like the way you comb your hair, and I like those stylish clothes you wear, it’s just the little things you do, that show how much you really care.”
As a result, the three members of DeBarge who wrote I Like It are among the many credited writers of Rump Shaker. (Meaning they still get paid for Rump Shaker.)
1994 - My So-Called Life premiered on ABC.
1998 - Lauryn Hill’s album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was released.
2000 - Bring It On hit theaters.
2001 - Aaliyah died in a plane crash.
August 26th
1994 - Natural Born Killers hit theaters.
1996 - 7th Heaven debuted on the WB.
1997 - Mariah Carey’s single Honey was released.
1997 - Creed’s debut album My Own Prison was released.
1999 - WWF Smackdown premiered.
Smackdown switched TV networks six times in two decades — while airing weekly the entire time.
WWF (now WWE) Smackdown has aired continuously — and weekly — since 1999. However, it’s changed networks repeatedly during that time.
It started on UPN in 1999… moved to The CW in 2006 when UPN merged with WB… moved to MyNetworkTV in 2008… went to the SyFy network on cable in 2010… moved to USA in 2016… then returned to network TV on Fox in 2019, where it still airs today.
That’s six networks in two decades, which, as far as I can tell, is a record.
2000 - Janet Jackson’s single Doesn’t Really Matter hit number one.
August 27th
1988 - George Michael’s single Monkey hit number one.
1990 - SummerSlam ‘90 featured the Ultimate Warrior defeating Rick Rude in the main event.
1990 - Garth Brooks’ second album, No Fences, was released.
1991 - Pearl Jam’s album Ten was released.
Though Pearl Jam is considered a Seattle band and part of the legendary Seattle grunge music scene… Eddie Vedder was from Illinois and lived in California before joining the band.
Eddie Vedder grew up in Illinois, then was a musician in San Diego when he heard a demo tape from two Seattle-area musicians, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament.
He wrote lyrics and recorded himself singing on their tracks, then sent them the results. They flew him to Seattle, he joined the band, and they were signed shortly after.
Two of the songs on Ten — Alive and Once — are ones from the back-and-forth demo tapes.
1992 - Martin premiered on FOX.
1992 - The Heights premiered on FOX.
1993 - Japan’s Rainbow Bridge was completed.
1994 - Boyz II Men’s single I’ll Make Love to You hit number one and would stay there through early December.
1996 - 112’s self-titled album was released.
August 28th
1989 - SummerSlam ‘89 aired live on pay-per-view.
The main event of SummerSlam 1989 featured actor Tommy “Tiny” Lister — best known as Deebo in Friday — since he was the bad guy in a Hulk Hogan movie.
In 1989, Hulk Hogan’s only movie about pro wrestling, No Holds Barred, came out in theaters. The bad guy in the movie was a wrestler named Zeus, played by Lister.
Though No Holds Barred was a flop, the WWF decided to bring in Lister to have actual matches with Hogan. Lister — as Zeus — appeared on WWF’s shows claiming he only lost to Hogan in the movie because it was “staged.” (Irony be damned. Also, note he came in playing the fictional character Zeus and not as the actor Tommy Lister.)
They had their first match at SummerSlam 1989 — though each had a tag team partner, likely because Lister wasn’t a trained wrestler and couldn’t pull off a full match.
Hogan and his partner, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, defeated Zeus and “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
Lister says he was paid $56,000 for the night.
1996 - Prince Charles and Princess Diana divorced.
1997 - Genesis’s first album in six years premiered live on a webcast.
1999 - Tal Bachman’s one hit, She’s So High, peaked at number 14.
August 29th
1984 - Prince’s single Let’s Go Crazy/Erotic City was released.
1987 - Los Lobos’ single La Bamba hit number one.
La Bamba was the last completely non-English song to hit #1 in the U.S.
Los Lobos’s version of La Bamba — which was entirely in Spanish — hit number one on this day in 1987 and stayed for three weeks.
Since then, no song exclusively in another language has hit number one. (The handful of other foreign language number ones since — like Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix), Despacito, and a few BTS songs — have all had some English.)
1989 - TurboGrafx 16 was released in North America.
1992 - SummerSlam ‘92 was recorded at Wembley Stadium in England.
1993 - Living Single premiered on FOX.
1994 - Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey’s cover of Endless Love was released.
1994 - Oasis’s debut album, Definitely Maybe, was released in the U.K.
1995 - Blues Traveler’s single Hook was released.
1996 - Isaac Hayes objected to Bob Dole using a parody of Soul Man that said “I’m a Dole man.”
1997 - A company called Kibble — that would soon be renamed Netflix — was founded.
August 30th
1980 - Christopher Cross’s single Sailing hit number one.
1982 - A 16-year-old claimed he invented email and attempted to copyright the word “email.”
The 16-year-old who falsely claimed to have invented email and copyrighted the word has since run for U.S. senate and claimed election fraud after he lost.
Then-16-year-old Shiva Ayyadurai built an email system for a college in New Jersey — an impressive feat. However, email had been around for decades prior… so his attempt to copyright the word “email” or the code for his software failed.
Still, in 2011, he wound up suing some publications that disputed his claim that he invented email.
Then, in 2018 and 2020, he ran for the Senate in Massachusetts as an Independent and Republican, respectively. He got 3.39% of the vote in 2018; he lost in the primary in 2020. As per Republican policy, he claimed election fraud took place that prevented him from winning.
He also was a big COVID disinformation guy in 2020.
And from 2014-2016, he was married to Fran Drescher.
1983 - Guion Bluford became the first Black astronaut.
1984 - The space shuttle Discovery launched.
1986 - Steve Winwood’s single Higher Love hit number one.
1994 - Usher’s self-titled debut album was released.
1996 - The Crow: City of Angels hit theaters.
1997 - Sister Hazel’s one hit, All For You, peaked at number 11.
1997 - The Houston Comets defeated the New York Liberty to win the first WNBA championship.
August 31st
1987 - Michael Jackson’s album Bad was released.
1990 - Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. became the first father-son pair to play on the same MLB team.
1991 - 3rd Bass’s one hit, Pop Goes the Weasel, peaked at number 29.
1991 - Metallica’s self-titled album (commonly referred to as the “Black Album”) hit number one.
Metallica’s “Black Album” features shorter songs than their previous albums because fans looked bored at their shows.
Metallica’s Kirk Hammett told Rolling Stone the band wrote shorter songs for their iconic fifth album because they’d be playing the nearly 10-minute title track from …And Justice for All at concerts and, “Everyone would have these long faces. And I’d think, damn, they’re not enjoying it as much as we are.”
1993 - Mariah Carey’s album Music Box was released.
1994 - Milk Money hit theaters.
1994 - 20 Fingers’ novelty song Short D* Man was released.
1999 - The Dixie Chicks album Fly was released.
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
A teaser trailer is out for Good Burger 2, which comes out “this fall” on Paramount+. There’s also a teaser trailer out for the Frasier reboot, which debuts October 12th on Paramount+ — it shows so little I almost didn’t link to it.
Amazon changed its mind about giving the A League of Their Own reboot a four-episode second and final season. They’ve now canceled the show completely. Sony, which produces the show, is going to try to find a new platform to take on the series.
‘NSYNC is rumored to be reuniting to release their first new song in more than 20 years. It’s for the boy band-themed Trolls movie, where Justin Timberlake is one of the stars.
Tony Hawk says he was fired as David Spade’s stunt double on Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol. (Spade played a skateboarder.) Why? Hawk was too tall (he’s 6’3, Spade is 5’7). He wound up being part of the skateboarding scene — but just as one of the anonymous boarders, not as David Spade.
Melissa Joan Hart says she was almost fired from Sabrina the Teenage Witch after doing a risqué photo shoot for Maxim magazine.
Lauryn Hill is going on tour in honor of the 25th anniversary of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. And she’s co-headlining the tour… with herself. She’s one of the headliners, the other headliner is The Fugees.
Liz Phair is going on tour for the 30th anniversary of her debut album, Exile in Guyville. She’ll play the entire album during the show.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 7th. They’ll be the 20th fictional characters to get a star.
Charles Martinet, who’s provided the voice of Mario for every video game since Super Mario 64, is retiring (or being forced out?). Nintendo says he’s “moving into the brand new role of Mario Ambassador.”
The minor league Brooklyn Cyclones hosted their annual contest last weekend where people imitate the Elaine dance from Seinfeld.
Slayer is selling a new branding iron with their logo. They say it’s for meat but all the die-hard Slayer fans out there know what it’s really for.
Recommendations of the week
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved
Atari is relaunching the Atari 2600 on November 17th (with preorders going on now) for $130. The machine looks like the old Atari but can play 2600 and 7800 games and has HDMI and USB-C ports.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you forgot
Here’s a list of the 50 best movie soundtrack albums from Uproxx. A ton of them are from the ‘80s and ‘90s, including #1 and six of the top 10.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you never knew existed
Here’s a raw and honest look at life as a young writer on the later years of Friends. Patty Lin, who wrote for the 7th season, shares her experience and discusses, among other things, how “the actors seemed unhappy to be chained to a tired old show.”
Have a great week!
-Sam