Jan 13: U Can't Touch This, Depeche Mode, Sgt. Slaughter
Plus best grunge albums, Sports Illustrated football phone, Cool Runnings
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
January 13th, 2023 • Issue 134
This week in the ‘80s and ‘90s
January 13th
33 years ago, on January 13th, 1990, MC Hammer’s single U Can’t Touch This was released.
Rap became mainstream pop music in the U.S. in 1990. But who was the artist the finally pushed it into that zone?
Was it Vanilla Ice, with Ice Ice Baby hitting number one and serving as the definitive suburban rap anthem from coast to coast?
Was it one of the hip-hop artists who’d been fighting the uphill battle through the ‘80s — maybe Run-D.M.C., DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, or Salt-n-Pepa?
Or was it MC Hammer?
On this day in 1990, U Can’t Touch This was released. The song had a comfortably familiar melody (it was so familiar to Super Freak, in fact, Rick James successfully sued for songwriting credit).
The video featured Hammer doing all the trendy dances of the era — and all, of course, doing them all while wearing unforgettable baggy pants.
The song itself was a dance-rap-pop hybrid with easy-to-quote lyrics; “you can’t touch this” and “stop… hammer time” are enduring catchphrases to this day.
And while it’s impossible to say exactly which artist opened the final door for rap to become pop — MC Hammer has as good a claim as anyone.
1979 - The YMCA sued the Village People over their song, YMCA.
1986 - Johnny Cash performed his legendary Folsom County Jail show.
1992 - Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer pleaded guilty by insanity.
1994 - Tonya Harding’s goons were arrested for clubbing Nancy Kerrigan.
1995 - Higher Learning hit theaters.
1997 - White Town’s single Your Woman was released.
1999 - Michael Jordan retired for his second (of three) times.
2000 - Bill Gates stepped down as CEO of Microsoft.
2001 - ECW held its final show ever.
2002 - President W. Bush fainted after choking on a pretzel.
January 14th
1989 - Bobby Brown’s single My Prerogative hit number one.
1989 - Paul McCartney’s album Back in the USSR was released exclusively in Russia.
1990 - “Bart the Genius” kicked off the regular run of The Simpsons on FOX.
1991 - Cathy Dennis’s single Touch Me was released.
1992 - Vanessa Williams’s single Saved the Best for Last was released.
1993 - David Letterman announced he was leaving NBC for CBS.
1993 - “Marge vs. the Monorail” — often called one of the best Simpsons episodes ever — aired on FOX.
1994 - House Party 3 hit theaters.
January 15th
1981 - Hill Street Blues premiered on NBC.
1983 - Men at Work’s single Down Under hit number one.
1983 - President Reagan signed legislation to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday.
1987 - Moonstruck hit theaters.
1988 - Jimmy the Greek made infamous racist comments.
1989 - Big John Studd won the WWF’s second Royal Rumble.
1992 - Mega Man 4 was released.
1994 - Snoop Doggy Dogg’s single Gin and Juice was released.
1997 - Dennis Rodman kicked a cameraman.
1999 - Varsity Blues hit theaters.
2000 - Christina Aguilera’s single What a Girl Wants hit number one.
2001 - Wikipedia went live.
January 16th
33 years ago, on January 16th, 1990, Depeche Mode’s single Enjoy the Silence was released.
Depeche Mode feels like an underrated ‘80s band. For a time, they were huge. But if you were to ask someone to name the biggest music acts of the ‘80s, when would they think of Depeche Mode? After naming 20 others? 30 others? Never?
Enjoy the Silence came at Depeche Mode’s peak. It was off their most commercially-successful album, Violator, which was an international hit. It went triple platinum in the U.S. and led to a world tour that saw massive crowds totaling 1.2 million — including quick sellouts at major venues like Dodger Stadium.
So why isn’t Depeche Mode mentioned alongside the other giant artists of the ‘80s?
The best guess: Depeche Mode, like all the other groups in the new wave/synth genre, couldn’t get any traction after the ‘80s — so they’ve all kinda blended together into history. Depeche Mode’s next album, 1993’s Songs of Faith and Devotion, was followed by a break up and a hiatus. They never came close to their prior heights.
1984 - Paul and Linda McCartney were arrested in Barbados for cannabis.
1985 - Playboy announced the end of stapling centerfolds.
1988 - George Harrison’s single Got My Mind Set on You hit number one.
1991 - Operation: Desert Storm began.
1995 - Hercules and Star Trek: Voyager both premiered.
1995 - The UPN Network premiered.
1998 - Half Baked hit theaters.
1999 - Brandy’s single Have You Ever hit number one.
January 17th
1984 - The Supreme Court ruled it was legal to use your VCR to record TV shows.
1986 - Iron Eagle hit theaters.
1987 - Gregory Abbott’s single Shake You Down hit number one.
1988 - “The Fumble” cost the Cleveland Browns a trip to the Super Bowl.
1992 - A method to cheat to win ToppsGold baseball cards was revealed on Prodigy.
1994 - A 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit Northridge, California.
1997 - Beverly Hills Ninja hit theaters.
1998 - Savage Garden’s single Truly, Madly, Deeply hit number one.
1998 - Matt Drudge broke the Clinton-Lewinsky story.
1999 - Gary Anderson’s missed field goal cost the Minnesota Vikings a trip to the Super Bowl.
1999 - Shawn Mullins’s one hit, Lullaby, peaked at number seven.
January 18th
1986 - Dionne Warwick’s single That’s What Friends Are For hit number one.
1987 - Degrassi Junior High premiered.
1990 - Washington, D.C., mayor Marion Berry was arrested for smoking crack in a sting operation.
1991 - Eastern Airlines went out of business after 62 years.
1991 - Amy Grant’s single Baby, Baby was released.
1993 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day became official in all 50 states.
1995 - Yahoo.com was registered.
1996 - The Major League Baseball owners approved interleague play.
1996 - Lisa Marie Presley filed for divorce from Michael Jackson.
1998 - Ally McBeal beat Seinfeld to win the Golden Globe for Best TV Comedy.
January 19th
32 years ago, on January 19th, 1991, Sgt. Slaughter, playing an Iraqi sympathizer character, won the WWF title in a shocking upset at the Royal Rumble.
One of the stereotypical stigmas attached to pro wrestling is its sometimes lowest common denominator instincts and poor, poor taste. And though this might not be the pro wrestling moment done in the worst taste… it sure is up there.
Sgt. Slaughter, a wrestler whose gimmick was that of a former Marine, left the WWF in the mid ‘80s due to an argument over toy rights. (He personally negotiated his own deal with G.I. Joe — which made Vince McMahon unhappy.) The two made amends when Slaughter returned to WWF in 1990 with a Faustian bargain. Slaughter would get the main event run he’d always thought he deserved. But… in order to get there, his character would need to turn his back on the U.S. and became an Iraqi sympathizer.
The character change worked as intended. Slaughter quickly vaulted up the card to become the top heel in the WWF — considering the situation with Iraq at the time, there was no mystery why the crowds passionately hated him. And by early 1991, he was slated to fight for the WWF title against the champion, Ultimate Warrior, at January 1991’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
Just a few days before the Royal Rumble, the U.S. entered into the war in Iraq.
That wasn’t enough to stop Vince McMahon’s plans — it might have even emboldened them. Because despite (or because of) the real-life situation, Sgt. Slaughter won the championship from the Ultimate Warrior in a true shocker.
The logic? Hulk Hogan, reaching the tail end of his WWF prime, needed an opponent for WrestleMania VII in April 1991. Hulk was always framed as a true American hero. So what match could be better than Hogan, representing the U.S., fighting Iraqi sympathizer Slaughter with the championship on the line?
Well… it turned out that match wasn’t the draw McMahon predicted. The tasteless of the angle (among other factors, like fans growing weary of Hogan) did not move the needle like WWF predicted.
WWF had booked the massive L.A. Coliseum for WrestleMania, planning for a crowd possibly even hitting 100,000.
But ticket sales were so sluggish, the WWF announced they had to change venues because of security concerns over the Sgt. Slaughter/Iraq situation. They scaled way down to the L.A. Memorial Sports Arena — and drew about 15,000 or so fans.
Hogan defeated Slaughter and won the title. The WWF kept Slaughter’s Iraqi turncoat character going through the summer, then had him pull a mea culpa afterwards crying, “I want my country back.”
That was the end of Slaughter’s run as a main eventer. It wouldn’t be the end of controversial pro wrestling angles — those continued then and continue periodically today.
And 32 years later, WWF (now WWE) is finally ready to try running a 100k+ show in Los Angeles. This year’s WrestleMania will be held at Sofi Stadium… spread out across two nights with expected cumulative attendance topping 100,000.
Unless at the last second they decide, oh I don’t know, to have The Miz become a Russian sympathizer and face Roman Reigns and a “security concerns” bump them all the way down to Long Beach State basketball pyramid.
1980 - Michael Jackson’s single Rock with You hit number one.
1983 - A minor league hockey player was traded for a bus.
1985 - Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? peaked at number 13.
1988 - 48 Hours premiered on CBS.
1989 - Ronald Reagan pardoned George Steinbrenner for making illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon.
1990 - Tremors hit theaters.
1991 - “Deep Thoughts with Jack Handey” debuted on Saturday Night Live.
1991 - “Coffee Talk” debuted on Saturday Night Live.
1991 - Janet Jackson’s single Love Will Never Do (Without You) hit number one.
1992 - Ric Flair won the vacated WWF title at the Royal Rumble.
1993 - Snow’s album 12 Inches of Snow was released.
1993 - Fleetwood Mac reunited to play at Bill Clinton’s inauguration.
1993 - FOX expanded its prime-time lineup to seven days a week.
1996 - From Dusk Till Dawn hit theaters.
2000 - The WWF’s Times Square restaurant opened.
2000 - Michael Jordan joined the Washington Wizards as part owner.
2002 - The NFL’s Tuck Rule game helped kick off the New England Patriots’ decades of success.
5 ‘80s and ‘90s trivia facts
Paul McCartney wouldn’t let Weird Al do a parody of Live and Let Die… because it was going to be about meat.
Weird Al wanted to make a song called Chicken Pot Pie… so as a staunch vegetarian, Paul McCartney wouldn’t let him make it.
The first text message ever was sent on December 3rd, 1992.
A British engineer sent the text, which said, “Merry Christmas.”
The Chicago Bulls drafted Carl Lewis the same year they drafted Michael Jordan.
The Bulls used the 208th pick in the 1984 NBA Draft on Carl Lewis — even though he’d never played college basketball and was about to go to the Olympics. Lewis was also drafted by the Dallas Cowboys earlier that year.
Aladdin 2: The Return of Jafar was Disney’s first direct-to-video sequel… and it performed so well they started pumping out low-budget sequels for lots more movies.
When the sequel came out in 1994 it sold more than 4.6 VHS tapes in its first week and became one of the top 15 bestselling videos of all time (as of 1994). It took in a total of $150 million in profits and opened the flood gates for direct-to-video movies.
It’s illegal to own any debris from the Challenger explosion.
The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison.
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
Ke Huy Qyan’s lawyer is his Goonies co-star Jeff Cohen. (Translation: Chunk is Data’s lawyer.)
Titanic is coming back to movie theaters next month in 3D in honor of the 25th anniversary of it winning the Oscar. In case you want to devote another 3+ hours to a James Cameron movie right about now.
James Cameron debunked a rumor that O.J. Simpson was originally cast as The Terminator. He says someone at one of the studios behind the film pitched the idea and Cameron shot it down immediately.
And more from James Cameron. He says Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t want to do Titanic because he thought it was boring. Cameron had to “twist his arm” to take the part.
Atari just revealed a nice-looking retro console called Gamestation Plus.
The House Party reboot is out on HBO Max and the Night Court revival premieres on NBC on Tuesday.
Does this count as relevant for The Retro? The trailer is out for Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, which comes out in theaters in April.
Jordan Peele says he bought the prosthetic ear Corey Feldman wore in Stand By Me.
Recommendations of the week
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved
Check out a (short but interesting) oral history of Cool Runnings. Including how it debuted in Norway with the title Cold Buttocks.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you forgot
In 1990, with sagging subscription numbers, Sports Illustrated needed a way to entice people to sign up. The plan: Offer a football-shaped phone free with a subscription. And the plan worked to perfection, with SI seeing an influx of one million new subscribers over the course of the year — many of whom were primarily after the phone.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you never knew existed
Here’s a list of the 30 best grunge albums of all time. I’m filing it in the “pop culture you never knew existed” part of the newsletter because of a good 40% to 50% of the albums on the list.
Have a great week!
-Sam
Just FYI: I find the typo hilarious, but you said that Return of Jafar sold over 4.6 VHS tapes in its first week of release. Looks like you accidentally a word.
Five whole tapes! Haha.