April 8: I Want It That Way, Pat Sajak's late night talk show
Y'all ready for this? Y'all ready for this? Y'all ready for this?
The Retro
by 11 Points
Modern perspectives on ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia
April 8th, 2022 • Issue 94
This week in ‘80s & ‘90s history
April 8th
27 years ago, on April 8th, 1995 - 2 Unlimited’s one hit, Get Ready for This, peaked at number 38.
2 Unlimited is one European dance pop group in the long line of European dance pop groups that just couldn’t quite stick the landing in the U.S.
While today marks the anniversary of 2 Unlimited’s ascent to the number 38 slot for their only U.S. hit, the milestone came more than three years after the song was released in Europe and became a hit there.
However, even though Americans weren’t falling over themselves for Belgium’s 2 Unlimited in the ‘90s — the group wasn’t, and still isn’t, anything close to a household name — 2 Unlimited still managed to burrow their way into the country’s collective consciousness.
To this day, the hook of Get Ready For This is a staple at sporting events, in movie montages, and everywhere in between.
Also on April 8th: David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear (1983)… Los Angeles passed Chicago as the second-biggest U.S. city (1984)… Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel, California (1986)… 18 Again hit theaters (1988)… Roxette’s single The Look hit number one (1989)… Mike Myers joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (1989)… Twin Peaks premiered on ABC (1990)… Arthur Ashe announced he had AIDS (1992)… Kurt Cobain was found dead, three days after committing suicide (1994)… the “More Cowbell” sketch aired on Saturday Night Live (2000)… Santana’s single Maria Maria hit number one (2000)
April 9th
24 years ago, on April 9th, 1998 - The 5,000th episode of The Price Is Right aired.
It’s odd that, based on the success of The Price Is Right — which hit 5,000 episodes on this day in 1998 and is now closing in on 10,000 — few other game shows ripped off a gigantic element of its success.
That is: Rather than casting contestants, plucking them from the audience.
The only other show that’s done the “anyone here could be a contestant” format is Let’s Make a Deal which, though not as continuously successful as TPIR and through a few stops and starts, is still chugging along today at around 6,000 episodes.
Instead, this seems like a standard case of shows overthinking the value of casting. In their quest for the ideal game show contestants — a personality that can generally be summed up as “teeth” — shows deny themselves the captivating it-could-happen-to-you element.
Those shows have to fight to fill an audience and rarely last. Meanwhile TPIR just keeps cranking along as one of the indefatigable daytime TV staples — and it’s hard to imagine it ever coming to an end.
Also on April 9th: The Deer Hunter won Best Picture at the 51st Oscars (1979)… Terms of Endearment won Best Picture at the 56th Oscars (1984)… Patrick Duffy’s return to Dallas was announced, even though his character was killed off (1986)… Billy Ocean’s single Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car hit number one (1988)… Dave of Sam & Dave was killed in a car accident (1988)… Billy Idol’s single Cradle of Love was released (1990)… Indecent Proposal hit theaters (1993)… The Sandlot hit theaters (1993)… R. Kelly’s single Bump n’ Grind hit number one (1994)… Soundgarden broke up (1997)… Never Been Kissed and Go both hit theaters (1999)… Tiger Woods won the Masters to hold all four golf major titles simultaneously (2001)
April 10th
30 years ago, on April 10th, 1992 - Sam Kinison was killed in a car accident.
Based on Sam Kinison’s stage persona — extreme comedic rage — there’s a somewhat common misconception his death was, like so many comedians, the result of losing a battle with his demons. It was not.
Kinison was killed on this day when a 17-year-old drunk driver swerved into his lane on the freeway. Kinison died from multiple injuries.
Sam Kinison is one of far too many comedians who died at a young age — though his story is either more tragic or less tragic (depending on how you look at it) because it wasn’t from drugs. Were it not for that drunk driver, Kinison could’ve been yelling at audiences for the past three decades.
Also on April 10th: The Secret of My Success hit theaters (1987)… Newsies and Ferngully: The Last Rainforest hit theaters (1992)… SWV’s single Weak was released (1993)… Monica’s single Don’t Take It Personal and Boyz II Men’s single Water Runs Dry were released (1995)… City of Angles and My Giant both hit theaters (1998)… TLC’s single No Scrubs hit number one (1999)
April 11th
41 years ago, on April 11th, 1981 - Hall and Oates’ single Kiss on My List hit number one.
I looked through a bunch of surveys on the “most misheard lyrics” assuming this Hall and Oates song would make it. After all, it’s a classic example; everyone initially thinks it’s “kiss is on my lips” rather than “list.”
Somehow, I couldn’t find it on any survey.
That’s madness because, unlike most of the misheard lyrics populating those surveys, this is a case where the mistake is more logical than reality.
For example, “revved up like a douche” makes no sense. Nor does “don’t go Jason waterfalls” or “hold me closer Tony Danza” or “sweet dreams are made of cheese.”
But “your kiss is on my lips” is a lyric far more aligned with our collective expectations than “your kiss is on my list.” Yes, “list” makes sense when you hear the following line “of the best things in life” and know the song. But in a vacuum, kisses are on lips, not lists.
I guess what I’m saying is, if some stuffed shirt research firm ever corners you in front of the Orange Julius at the mall and asks you to name a lyric you once misheard, give a better answer.
Also on April 11th: R.E.M.’s debut album Murmur was released (1983)… Gandhi won Best Picture at the 55th Oscars (1983)… Kellogg’s stopped giving factory tours due to suspicion of serial cereal spies (1986)… The Last Emperor won Best Picture at the 60th Oscars (1988)… Anaconda and Grosse Point Blank both his theaters (1997)… Savage Garden’s self-titled debut album was released (1997)… No Doubt’s album Return of Saturn was released (2000)… Joe Dirt, Kingdom Come, and Josie and the Pussycats hit theaters (2001)
April 12th
23 years ago, on April 12th, 1999 - The Backstreet Boys single I Want It That Way was released.
On my old website, I once tried to analyze the lyrics to I Want It That Way, the most popular and successful song (which is saying something) from the Backstreet Boys and one of the most iconic ‘90s songs from any artist.
In actuality, it’s a fool’s errand — because the song’s producers have outright admitted the song has no meaning. The songwriter, Max Martin, was Swedish and only beginning to learn English when he wrote the lyrics. He strung together a bunch of phrases that sounded like they belonged in a boy band ballad and just let it ride. Most notably:
Tell me why,
Ain’t nothing but a heartache.
Tell me why,
Ain’t nothing but a mistake.
Tell me why,
I never wanna hear you say,
I want it that way.In other words, projecting any meaning into the lyrics is like a Rorschach test, where you find out your inner maudlin romantic thoughts along the way.
I also learned that after the Backstreet Boys recorded the song, their giant management team also had them sing some sensical lyrics, you know, just in case.
Those went:
No goodbyes,
Ain’t nothing but a heartache.
No more lies,
Ain’t nothing but a mistake.
That is why,
I love it when I hear you say,
I want it that way.But the label never released the sensical version. Why? They were worried it would cause confusion in the marketplace.
Also on April 12th: Mad Max hit theaters (1979)… Girls Just Want to Have Fun hit theaters (1985)… 21 Jump Street premiered (1987)… Sonny Bono was elected mayor of Palm Springs, Calif. (1988)… Garth Brooks’ self-titled debut album was released (1989)… the children’s game show Fun House aired its series finale (1991)… Disneyland Paris aka Euro Disney opened (1992)… Hole’s album Live Through This was released (1994)… All-4-One’s self-titled debut album was released (1994)… Drew Barrymore flashed David Letterman during an interview (1995)… the L.A. Rams received permission to move to St. Louis (1995)… fear hit theaters when the movie Fear hit theaters (get it?!?!) as well as James and the Giant Peach and Jane Eyre (1996)… James and the Giant Peach hit theaters (1996)…
April 13th
32 years ago, on April 13th, 1990 - The Pat Sajak Show aired its series finale after less than one-and-a-half years.
The accepted mythology states that CBS didn’t get into the late night talk show game until David Letterman defected from NBC to compete with the Tonight Show after it scorned him.
That’s poetic, but not quite true.
CBS tried late night briefly with The Merv Griffin Show for a few years in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Then, they decided to try again in the late ‘80s.
The host they chose? Wheel of Fortune’s Pat Sajak.
Both CBS and Sajak had significant hopes for what the show could be. To do the show, Sajak left the daytime version of Wheel, keeping his job only on the nighttime syndicated show. CBS, meanwhile, spent a fortune building a soundstage, hiring a huge staff, and signing Sajak to a $3 million/year guaranteed two-year contract. They were all-in.
The show premiered in January of 1989 with the standard-est of talk show formats. It began with a monologue, then a comedy bit, celebrity interviews, musical performance, and a stand-up comedian.
The show survived for its first year but, by early 1990, as its ratings dropped precipitously, CBS started, as Sajak later put it, “auditioning replacements for me on the air.”
The Friday show each week had a guest host rather than Sajak; in fact, the series finale on this day in 1990 was on a Friday, so it was hosted by a guest. (The comedian Paul Rodriguez had the unenviable task.)
CBS temporarily got out of the late night talk show game after that, but never lost the urge to play in that sandbox — so when the Letterman opportunity arose, they game late night TV one more try.
Also on April 13th: Friday the 13th: Final Chapter (which was a lie) hit theaters (1984)… We Are the World hit number one on the Billboard charts (1985)… The Gods Must Be Crazy II and Crazy People both hit theaters on one crazy day (1990)… the Bingoboys one hit, How to Dance, peaked at number 25 (1991)… Crystal Pepsi hit test markets (1992)… Tiger Woods won his first major, the Masters, at age 21, the youngest golfer ever to do so (1997)… ECW aired it first-ever pay-per-view (1997)… Dolly the cloned sheep gave birth (1998)… Brandy’s single Almost Doesn’t Count was released (1999)… Metallica sued Napster for copyright infringement (2000)… Bridget Jones’s Diary hit theaters (2001)
April 14th
29 years ago, on April 14th, 1993 - A fan in gold shoes hit a near-full court shot to win $1 million at a Chicago Bulls game.
On this day in 1993, an office supply salesman named Don Calhoun was plucked from the crowd at a Chicago Bulls game — a promotions team member chose him because she liked his gold shoes — for a million-dollar opportunity.
He had to take a shot from three-quarters court (the opposite free throw line). If he made it? $1 million.
And Calhoun actually made it.
The Bulls, who were so dominant in 1993 they could watch the in-arena entertainment during time outs instead taking time for coaching or strategizing, went nuts — even Michael Jordan gave the guy a hug out of legitimate excitement.
Of course, no one actually expected a fan to make the shot — least of all the insurance company covering the prize.
In the days after, that insurance company tried to back out — saying Calhoun’s very brief past stint (about 10 games) on a junior college basketball team disqualified him. They received enough backlash to change their minds; Calhoun received $50,000-per-year for 20 years (so I guess that well dried up nearly a decade ago).
After the shot, Calhoun went on to become a very minor celebrity (going viral was different in 1993; I remember learning about him reading Sports Illustrated and don’t think I ever saw video of the shot until just now).
He made local talk show appearances and even briefly toured with the Harlem Globetrotters.
I’m not sure any teams would still offer million-dollar shots (that “win a million dollars” concept feels like it was of a different era); so this shot, then, remains one of the most memorable fan shot success stories ever.
I can’t find any evidence of a fan ever winning more from a sporting event contest to this day.
Also on April 14th: The Doobie Brothers’ single What a Fool Believes hit number one (1979)… Iron Maiden’s self-titled debut album was released (1980)… Kramer vs. Kramer won Best Picture at the 52nd Oscars (1980)… My Little Pony premiered (1984)… Say Anything hit theaters (1989)… Tom Petty’s first solo album was released (1989)… Tommy Page’s single I’ll Be Your Everything hit number one (1990)… Jury Duty and Stuart Saves His Family hit theaters (1995)… The Simpsons episode “22 Short Films About Springfield” premiered (1996)… Greg Norman famously blew a lead at the Masters (1996)… Tal Bachman’s single She’s So High was released (1999)… 28 Days, Keeping the Faith, and American Psycho hit theaters (2000)
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
A reboot of The Crow is set to go into production, starring the guy who played the clown in It. He’s gotta be thinking: I’m like a handsome dude, can’t I be in one movie without full white face paint?
The first still images were released from AMC’s reboot of Interview with a Vampire.
Richard Linklater says he never received his payment for directing Dazed and Confused.
Kirby became the first Nintendo character to win a Grammy on Sunday night.
The Royal Opera House in London will run an opera about Kurt Cobain’s last days this October.
Jim Carrey says the only was he’d make Ace Ventura 3 is if someone like Christopher Nolan wanted to direct it.
The video game developer SNK — behind such classic NES hits as Ikari Warriors and Baseball Stars — is now owned by the Saudi crown prince’s foundation. Womp womp.
Estelle Harris passed away on Saturday at age 93. She was George’s mother on Seinfeld and Mrs. Potato Head in Toy Story, among lots of other roles.
Throwbacks and recommendations
The CBS affiliate in Minneapolis was looking through archival footage about a 1970 teacher strike and randomly found a news report featuring a childhood Prince.
Rolling Stone named the top 25 Grammy performances ever, some of which are from the time frame of this newsletter.
You can mess around with two emulators of vintage Mac operating systems in your browser. If you used a Mac in the ‘90s this will really take you back.
Thanks for reading!
-Sam