Feb 11: Weird Al, Whitney Houston, Vince Carter Dunk Contest
Plus how the real "Ms. Jackson" reacted to Outkast's first top hit
The Retro by 11 Points
Modern perspectives on ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia
February 11th, 2022 • Issue 86
This week in nostalgic history
February 11th
39 years ago, on February 11th, 1983 - “Weird Al” Yankovic finished recording his self-titled debut LP.
Considering Weird Al recorded most of his debut album as an unsigned 22-year-old, it’s remarkable how his musical vision (and final musical form) is so well-realized.
The album is a mix of PG parodies of popular songs plus comedic originals that parody of musical styles rather than specific songs. Oh, and there’s accordion on every track. The only thing notably different than any future Weird Al album: No polka-style mash-up of several popular songs.
Weird Al found a record label to sign him, the album came out two months later, and, though widely dismissed by critics as the work of a novelty act, was certified gold. And more important, the album performed well enough for Weird Al to quit his day job and hustle back to the studio to record another album — which came out less than one year later.
Also on February 11th: Bonnie Tyler’s single Total Eclipse of the Heart was released (1983)… the Super Bowl Shuffle by the Chicago Bears was certified gold (1986)… Kenny “Sky” Walker won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest (1989)… Paula Abdul’s Straight Up became her first of six consecutive number one singles (1989)… Nelson Mandela was freed from prison after 27 years (1990)… Buster Douglas upset Mike Tyson (1990)… Another Bad Creation’s album Coolin’ at the Playground, Ya Know was released (1991)… Janet Reno was named the first female attorney general of the U.S. (1993)… Blank Check and My Girl 2 both hit theaters (1994)… Celine Dion’s song The Power of Love hit number one (1994)… Harold Minor won the NBA Slam Dunk content (1995)
February 12th
22 years ago, on February 12th, 2000 - Vince Carter won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
Vince Carter’s win in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest seemed, in the moment, like a major turning point for the contest. It was — just not the expected turn.
Through the ‘80s and even up to the mid ‘90s, the dunk contest oozed with prestige. The dunk contest was a major component of Michael Jordan’s early rise to super fame. The contest brought some of the NBA’s most iconic moments, from 5-foot-7 Spud Webb performing incredible dunks to Dee Brown pumping up his shoes then covering his eyes as he performed his contest-winning dunk.
But by the late ‘90s, the contest had grown stale. Most of its winners (outside of Jordan, Dominique Wilkens, and, in 1997, Kobe Bryant) flamed out in their actual NBA careers. And in 1998, the dunk contest was canceled.
When the NBA decided to bring it back in 2000, Vince Carter entered the field — and proceeded to do some spectacular, never-before-seen dunks. And since Carter was on pace to be a true superstar (again, unlike many of the other dunk contest winners), his performance in the dunk contest felt Jordanesque. A rising superstar accelerating his fame through a dunk contest performance for the ages.
The dunk contest seemed to be back. But that momentum ended with Vince Carter.
For much of the two decades since, the contest has featured virtual unknowns (excepting a Blake Griffin here or Dwight Howard there). There’s a lot of prop work and involving celebrities or mascots. There have been cool dunks, but it’s hard to think of an iconic one since 2000 when Vince Carter jumped so high on a dunk he put his full forearm into the basket.
Today, the Slam Dunk Contest still serves as the final event of the NBA’s signature All-Star Saturday Night but rarely feels like a true main event. And as we get further and further from 2000 and the biggest stars routinely stay away (LeBron famously refused to participate over and over), it makes another Vince Carter moment seem less and less likely.
Also on February 12th: Johnny Carson shocked the world when he shaved his beard (1985)… School Daze hit theaters (1988)… MC Hammer’s album Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em was released (1990)… Super Mario Bros. 3 was released in North America (1990)… Tiny Toon Adventures aired its series finale (1993)… Groundhog Day and Untamed Heart both hit theaters (1993)… Isaiah Rider won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest (1994)… The Winter Olympics opened in Lillehammer, Norway (1994)… Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream was stolen (1994)… Bill Clinton was acquitted by the U.S. Senate to avoid removal from office (1999)… Charles Schulz passed away (2000)
February 13th
28 years ago, on February 13th, 1994 - Temple coach John Chaney threatened to kill UMass coach John Calipari during a press conference.
Sports press conference are, in 99.9%+ of cases, ear-bleedingly boring. They are, by rule, a parades of clichés and question dodging by coaches and players, borne from a generic set of questions from reporters.
So when a sports press conference goes off the rails and produces a memorable moment or quote, it really stands out. It’s happened approximately 10 times in the past 40 years. Today is the anniversary of one of those times.
On this day in 1994, the growing rivalry between veteran Temple University coach John Chaney and young upstart UMass coach John Calipari boiled over. Chaney, angry at Calipari working and needling the refs throughout the close game (which Temple lost), barged into Calipari’s press conference and threatened to kill him.
(Calipari and Cheney eventually patched up their differences. Cheney passed away last year at age 89.)
While this press conference ranks below, perhaps, other famous press conferences like the Playoffs!? or Practice?! mainstays, it’s about as explosive as a mainstream sports press conference ever gets and, perhaps, the only press conference outside of the world of combat sports to feature a death threat.
Also on February 13th: The Winter Olympics opened in Lake Placid, New York (1980)… the New York Times published its longest sentence ever at 1,286 words (1981)… Marvin Gaye famously sang the National Anthem at the NBA All-Star Game (1983)… The Greatest American Hero aired its series finale (1986)… Mannequin and Over the Top both hit theaters (1987)… Michael Jackson bought the Neverland Ranch (1988)… the Winter Olympics opened in Calgary, Alberta, Canada — an Olympics in which Canada would not win a gold (1988)… Jose Canseco rammed his Porsche into his wife’s BMW (1992)… Double Dare aired its series finale (1993)… SNL aired the famous Chris Farley Show interview with Paul McCartney (1993)… Tupac’s album All Eyez on Me was released (1996)… the U.K. government set up counseling phone lines after boy band Take That announced their breakup (1996)… Rent opened off Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop (1996)… Shawn Michaels vacated the WWF championship because he “lost [his] smile” (1997)… The Wedding Singer hit theaters (1998)… Monica’s single Angel of Mine hit number one (1999)… the last original Peanuts comic strip ran in newspapers one day after Charles Schulz’s death (2000)
February 14th
37 years ago, on February 14th, 1985 - Whitney Houston’s self-titled debut album was released.
Whitney Houston’s debut album is a situation where everyone involved knew Whitney and her music had astronomical potential — in fact, it was so “can’t miss” they were willing to keep trying and trying until the public finally noticed. Because at first, there were quite a few misses.
It took two years to record the album, with Arista trotting out every producer with even a modicum of juice to put together worthwhile tracks.
Then then album came out on Valentine’s Day 1985 and it… did okay. It was 166th out of 200 albums after its debut week.
So the label started releasing single after single — but weirdly seemed to pick all the wrong songs from the album. (The first four singles were Hold Me, Thinking About You, You Give Good Love, and All at Once. If none of those singles except maybe You Give Good Love rings a bell, hang tight for the songs the record company wasn’t so into.)
After the barrage of singles and continued marketing push, the album finally climbed into the top 10 in the summer — but everyone involved still believed it could climb even higher.
The record label started releasing (what turned out to be) far more popular singles like How Will I Know and Saving All My Love for You. Those took off and both became number one hits.
The label lobbied the Grammys hard to get Whitney nominations for as many awards as possible. She wound up with four nominations (though she was excluded from Best New Artist on a controversial technicality). Whitney won one.
Greatest Love of All was featured in a Muhammad Ali movie called The Greatest and was (finally) released as a single.
And after all those shots on goal — the public finally agreed to go along for the ride. The album was number one for 14 non-consecutive weeks between March and August 1986 and became one of the best selling albums of all time.
The whole endeavor is a real testament to the times bureaucracies get behind strong creative visions and give them time and investments to succeed. (Another example: Seinfeld.) It also makes you wonder how many great pieces of pop culture art we’ve missed out on from executives pulling the plug too soon.
Also on February 14th: The Night of 100 Stars was taped at Radio City Music Hall (1982)… Wildcats hit theaters (1986)… Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer hit number one (1987)… Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie (1989)… the first GPS satellite went into orbit (1989)… Michael Jordan wore the jersey number 12 in a game (1990)… The Silence of the Lambs hit theaters (1991)… Boyz II Men’s debut album, Cooleyhighharmony, was released (1991)… Wayne’s World hit theaters (1992)… Tony Bennett’s Live by Request, a live concert where viewers picked the songs, aired on A&E (1996)… Vegas Vacation and Fools Rush In hit theaters (1997)… Usher’s song Nice and Slow hit number one (1998)… the final episode of the initial run of Family Guy aired on FOX (2002)
February 15th
31 years ago, on February 15th, 1991 - Nothing But Trouble hit theaters
Nothing But Trouble was the result of the comedy stars of the ‘80s growing weary of standard comedy plots and becoming powerful enough to push through alt comedies.
For those unfamiliar, Nothing But Trouble is a horror comedy with lite Rocky Horror vibes, except instead of exploring themes of sexuality and gender, it explores themes of prosthetic gross-out humor.
Are pulsating growths and pimples hilarious? Nothing But Trouble sure believed them to be.
The movie features a group of New York yuppies who commit a minor traffic violation in a backwoods New Jersey town. They’re sentenced to death via a diabolical roller coaster unless Chevy Chase marries the judge’s grotesque daughter. At one point in the movie, Digital Underground (with Tupac) shows up and has a cameo and performance. That’s almost weirder than the intentional weirdness of the film.
Nothing But Trouble was a flop in its time but has developed a minor cult following since (and, as negative as this write-up may be, I have fond memories of the movie).
If nothing else, it furthered a common movie trope, one that remains prevalent today (and transcends movies to real life): city folks’ deep-seated fear of the mysterious dangers lying just under the surface in off-the-beaten-path American towns.
Also on February 15th: Caligula hit theaters (maybe? if any showed it) (1980)… The Breakfast Club hit theaters (1985)… Whitney Houston’s single How Will I Know hit number one (1986)… King Ralph hit theaters (1991)… Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to life in prison (1992)… Dale Earnhardt won the Daytona 500 for the first time in 20 tries (1998)… The Simpsons episode Das Bus aired (1998)… Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire debuted on FOX (2000)… John Q, Crossroads, and Super Troopers all hit theaters (2002)… Russian judges cheated during Olympic figure skating (2002)
February 16th
26 years ago, on February 16th, 1996 - Muppet Treasure Island hit theaters.
Muppet Treasure Island was part of phase two of the Muppet movies (aka the phase after Jim Henson passed away). That era of Muppet movies retold classic stories, but with a Muppet twist. The Muppet Christmas Carol was first, in 1992, then this Muppetized version of Treasure Island came out in 1996.
The reception was not universally positive but majority positive. Sure, Muppet Treasure Island lacked some of the manic, unique energy of the original Muppet movie trilogy, but it was still funny and entertaining.
That being said… the Muppets couldn’t just turn into a permanent cover band.
Just a month after Treasure Island, the Muppets team made its most sincere effort in well over a decade to get back on TV. ABC put their new show, called Muppets Tonight, on TGIF — an effort to bolster the fading institution while concurrently reintroducing the Muppet show-within-a-show format to a new generation.
It didn’t really take. The show lasted just two seasons and 22 episodes.
After that, the Muppets team got out of the recreate-a-story movie mode and tried an original movie to, again, restore the glory of the Muppets. Unfortunately, 1999’s Muppets in Space would not do the trick.
So the Muppets laid low for a while until they finally got an even more powerful force on their side: Nostalgia from all the now grownups who were loved the Muppets as kids.
The Muppets movie in 2011 found the ideal blend of an original Muppets underdog story and nostalgia to become a major hit.
Still, though, the Muppets haven’t made it all the way back. A live action “adult” Muppet TV show in 2015 bombed and the 2014 movie Muppets Most Wanted was not very good. A Disney+ Muppet show in June 2020 lasted six episodes and it’s not clear if it will return.
Also on February 16th: Captain & Tennille’s single Do That to Me One More Time hit number one (1980)… Wham!’s single Careless Whisper hit number one (1985)… Magic Johnson’s jersey was retired by the Los Angeles Lakers (1992)… Tupac’s album Strictly for My [Good Buddies] was released (1993)… Happy Gilmore hit theaters (1996)… Real McCoy’s single One More Time was released (1997)
February 17th
21 years ago, on February 17th, 2001 - Outkast’s single Ms. Jackson hit number one.
Ms. Jackson, Outkast’s first number one single, is an underrated entry in the pantheon of “musical hits that are not-so-secretly about break ups with famous people.” Joining You Oughtta Know, You’re So Vain, Go Your Own Way, and Taylor Swift’s entire oeuvre, Andre 3000 wrote Ms. Jackson about his split with Erykah Badu — plus his future relationship with her and their child and his contentious relationship with her mother.
Erykah Badu eventually spoke about the song in a 2016 podcast interview — while wearing a foot-high top hat, because Erykah Badu is and always will be galaxies ahead of any of us fashion-wise — and said she has mixed feelings. Andre 3000’s verse and chorus were “sweet” and thoughtful and came off more like an apology than anything else. Big Boi’s two verses, however, were much angrier. (It seems Big Boi was standing in for Andre’s post-breakup id.)
However, one person who loved the song was Erykah Badu’s mom — “Ms. Jackson” herself. “How did my mama feel? Baby, she bought herself a Ms. Jackson license plate, she had the mug, she had the ink pen, she had the headband, everything. That’s who loved it.”
Also on February 17th: A Prairie Home Companion debuted (1979)… Flashdance hit theaters (1984)… Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure hit theaters (1989)… David Robinson recorded a rare quadruple-double (1994)… The Brady Bunch Movie and Heavyweights hit theaters (1995)… 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 (1996)… Jermaine Dupri’s single The Party Continues was released (1998)… Destiny’s Child’s self-titled debut album was released (1998)
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news.
Hulu has revived Futurama and ordered 20 new episodes.
Disney+ greenlit a new TV series based on the Goosebumps books. It won’t officially be a reboot of the ‘90s kids show but that’s basically what it is. And Disney+ is also making a Superfudge movie (which, again, is not officially a reboot of the ‘90s TV series).
CBS is rebooting Early Edition, but maybe not with a prescient newspaper this time around? Prescient Twitter account perhaps?
Paramount is working on several new Smurfs movies, with the first coming out in December 2024. And FOX bought the rights to Gumby to make new TV shows and NFTs.
China has restored the original ending of Fight Club after the whole world laughed at their edit (which replaced the explosions at the end with a title card that said the police foiled the plot and Tyler was institutionalized).
Steven Spielberg says he initially thought John Williams’ now-famous theme to Jaws was a joke. “I expected to hear something kind of weird and melodic … almost like outer space under the water. And what he played me instead [was] with two fingers on the lower keys.”
A new survey (unsurprisingly) named the ‘80s and ‘90s the best decades for TV. I mean, that’s literally why this newsletter exists.
Throwbacks and recommendations
An actor named John Posey was originally cast as Danny Tanner on Full House and shot the full pilot in the role. This video compares Posey’s Full House pilot scenes with the ones featuring Bob Saget.
Someone ported Wordle to Game Boy. You can even download it to play on your Game Boy (or Game Boy clone) if you know how to do all that.
In honor of the dramatic reboot of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which debuts on Sunday and is real, Will Smith and singers and dancers from all over the world performed the theme song of the original series.
Thanks for reading!
-Sam
Nothing but Trouble! What a movie!