Jan 8: Where's the Beef?, Letterman, Rapper's Delight
Plus the Elvis stamp vote, Lorena Bobbitt, Monday Night Raw debuts, and more
The Retro
by 11 Points
Modern perspectives on ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia
January 8, 2021 • Issue 29
This week in nostalgic history
January 8th
28 years ago, on January 8th, 1993 - The “skinny Elvis” postage stamp was released.
It’s entirely possible the most contentious U.S. election of 1992 wasn’t the presidential election, which Bill Clinton won handily (side note: it’s super weird to see the map where states like Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Missouri go full blue). No, the craziest election of 1992 might’ve come several months earlier, where the American public got to vote on which version of Elvis should be featured on the upcoming commemorative postage stamp: “skinny” Elvis or “fat” Elvis. (“Fat” Elvis, mind you, who was only shown from the neck up and maintained a jawline that would certainly land him in the “skinny” cohort of modern times.)
The vote, which lasted for just three weeks in April, drew more than 1.2 million mail-in ballots and, in the end, the younger, cheekbonier Elvis won. By the time the stamps were released on this day in 1993, demand was so high the USPS printed more than 500 million in the initial run.
I’m no philatelist — one of my great life’s failures, to be sure — but it appears that degree of market saturation ruined any potential long-term value of the Elvis stamps. You can get one of the unused 1993 Elvis stamps in mint condition for around $1.50 today, which seems… inexpensive, all things considered.
But the Postal Service wasn’t in it for the long-tail collectable value of the stamps — they were in it for the financial sugar rush of dumping as many of these as possible. The success also motivated them to sell 70 more “Legends of American Music” stamps through the ‘90s.
Also on January 8th: The NCAA announced its postseason tournament would feature 64 teams (1984)… Super Contra and Metal Gear were both released for NES (1988)… Sinead O’Connor’s single Nothing Compares 2 U was released (1990)… Eric Clapton’s single Tears in Heaven was released (1992)… President Bush threw up on the prime minister of Japan during a dinner in Tokyo (1992)… the first Leprechaun movie hit theaters, despite it being neither anytime near St. Patrick’s Day nor Halloween (1993)… WCW Thunder premiered (1998)… the Music City Miracle occurred in the NFL (2000)
January 9th
37 years ago, on January 9th, 1984 - Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?” commercial aired for the first time.
Back when we had little choice but to watch TV commercials — in the days before DVRs, ad-free streaming services, or even a quorum of channels between which to surf — commercial catchphrases were a true part of the shared cultural lexicon.
One of the most famous commercial catchphrases of all time was “Where’s the beef?” It came from this Wendy’s commercial, via an elderly actress named Clara Peller — the fact that I knew her name without looking it up speaks to either the popularity of the commercial — looking at competing fast food chains’ bun-heavy offerings and asking, “Where’s the beef?”
The catchphrase became so popular it may’ve even altered the course of U.S. history. Walter Mondale used it to so effectively mock his competitor in the Democratic primaries, Gary Hart, that Mondale rode the momentum to the presidential nomination. (Where he was then, promptly, crushed by Ronald Reagan in a landslide the likes of which we’ll never see again.)
The commercial catchphrase is a dying art today; sure, you’ll get your occasional (shudder) “Dilly, Dilly,” but, by and large, the commercials we watch are short clips before YouTube videos where some fresh-faced influencer type promises the world to us in a futile attempt not to get us to click “Skip ads” after five seconds.
Also on January 9th: TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes premiered (1984)… Van Halen’s album 1984 was released (1984)… The Pat Sajak Show premiered (1989)… Inside Edition premiered (1989)… Pete Rose was officially banned from the Baseball Hall of Fame (1991)… Richard Marx’s single Now and Forever was released (1994)… 3rd Rock from the Sun premiered (1996)… Antiques Roadshow premiered (1997)… Ghetto Cowboy, the one hit by Mo Thugs, peaked at number 15 (1999)… Malcolm in the Middle premiered (2000)
January 10th
27 years ago, on January 10th, 1994 - The Lorena Bobbitt trial began in Virginia.
The Lorena Bobbitt case was one of those ‘90s tabloid stories that found its way into the zeitgeist before there was an internet or social media to take the reins on that job. Lorena Bobbitt, after years of abuse by her husband, John Wayne Bobbitt, cut off his penis in the middle of the night, then threw it out of the window of her car. She wound up being found not guilty due to insanity.
The story, most likely, would’ve played out in quite a different manner in modern times. In the early ‘90s, all of the focus was on the hilarity of penis slicing. Today, there would be a more thoughtful examination into the abuse aspect of the story; much less about the comedy (?) of a sliced penis and more about the events leading up to it. Also, Law & Order: SVU would rip it from the headlines so fast that they might make the Earth spin backwards.
Also on January 10th: Dwight Clark of the 49ers made “The Catch” (1982)… Fraggle Rock premiered (1983)… Time Warner was formed (1990)… Gloria Estefan’s single Coming Out of the Dark was released (1991)… The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder premiered (1995)… The Sopranos premiered (1999)
January 11th
28 years ago, on January 11th, 1993 - Monday Night RAW premiered on the USA Network.
There have been millions of words written about the yin-yang genius and evil of Vince McMahon. One of the strongest entries on the “genius” side of the ledger, I would suggest, is his vision into the future and willingness to make massive shifts in his business to solidify its standing in that future. Basically, if McMahon was CEO of BlockBuster and not the WWE, BlockBuster would still be around today and be the market leader, probably having absorbed Netflix more than a decade ago. (Case in point, the WWE Network was one of the first major niche entries in the streaming world, giving it an entrenched market position as countless other streaming services have sprung up since.)
In the early ‘80s, with the rise of cable TV and general entertainment trend toward nationwide interest over regional interest, McMahon recognized that the days of pro wrestling geographic territories had become passe — so he took his wrestling promotion nationwide. It was controversial in the industry, in many cases it was predatory — but it also established the WWF as the big leagues and gave the company a foothold it is still yet to relinquish.
Monday Night RAW was, in many ways, the necessary next step up. Sure, Saturday morning syndicated TV wrestling was still a draw in 1993 and the WWF made great money from its pay-per-view events and touring shows. But TV rights money was on the verge of becoming a serious revenue stream — so McMahon decided to make a move toward prime time. Over time, RAW became live on a weekly basis and the WWF/E’s signature show, which is remains today — and those TV rights fees for live programming have ballooned beyond even what McMahon could’ve imagined.
Also on January 11th: The Pretenders’ self-titled debut album was released (1980)… John Elway orchestrated “The Drive” in the NFL playoffs against a team I can’t recall right now (1987)… the WB Network premiered (1995)… Jon Stewart took over as host of The Daily Show (1999)
January 12th
41 years ago, on January 12th, 1980 - Sugarhill Gang’s one hit, Rapper’s Delight, peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Rapper’s Delight is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a brilliant piece of music or a representative of the best of hip-hop. It’s meandering, the rhymes are elementary, and it has no discernible deeper message or point-of-view. But it still remains one of the most significant hip-hop songs of all time, as it, more than any other track up to that time, introduced hip-hop to the mainstream. It was the first rap song to get widespread radio play and the first to become a top 40 hit. Beyond that, it was also a top 40 hit in several other countries including Canada, France, Spain, Sweden, the U.K., and West (but, of course, not East) Germany.
It also helped create the template for how to escape when you’re at a bad dinner party.
Also on January 12th: Dynasty premiered (1981)… The O.J. trial began (1995)… Dunston Checks In, Bio-Dome, and Don’t Be a Menace [etc.] both hit theaters and the theaters said “no mas” (1996)… King of the Hill premiered (1997)… Britney Spears’ debut album Baby One More Time was released (1999)… Next Friday hit theaters, capturing roughly 0% of the magic of the first movie (2000)
January 13th
22 years ago, on January 13th, 1999 - Michael Jordan retired for the second time (of three).
I can only imagine how hard it is for an athlete to decide to retire (and stay retired) when they still have any amount of gas in the tank. It’s why so many athletes across all sports — literally, every sport — have reneged on their retirements. It’s also why Michael Jordan’s retirement in 1999 didn’t quite seem believable. While it was more believable than his retirement half-a-decade earlier to play baseball, it still didn’t feel like the world’s most competitive person was going to go out in his mid 30s.
And he didn’t. Michael Jordan un-retired just a few years later, but now to play on the Washington Wizards, where he’d become a part owner and front office executive. That comeback lasted two seasons — seasons that made it clear it was time for him to wrap things up — and he retired for the third and final time in 2003.
Although there’s a non-zero chance that Jordan, now in his late 50s, has totally ruled out trying to play again.
Also on January 13th: The YMCA sued the Village People over their song, YMCA (1979)… Johnny Cash performed his legendary Folsom County Jail show (1986)… MC Hammer’s single U Can’t Touch This was released (1990)… Tonya Harding’s goons were arrested for clubbing Nancy Kerrigan (1994)… Higher Learning hit theaters (1995)… White Town’s single Your Woman was released (1997)… Master P’s single Make Em Say Uhh was released (1998)… Michael Jordan retired for his second (of three) time (1999)… Bill Gates stepped down as CEO of Microsoft (2000)
January 14th
28 years ago, on January 14th, 1993 - David Letterman announced he was leaving NBC for CBS.
David Letterman was one of those few people who was born to be a talk show host (even if he seemed to dislike celebrities, talking to celebrities, interviewing celebrities, and possibly people as a whole). I don’t need to rehash the famous story here: Carson was retiring, Letterman was the heir apparent, NBC wanted to go a less acerbic direction and opted for Leno instead.
So Letterman took his talents to CBS, launching their competing late night program. In retrospect, it’s hard to imagine a time when there were only a few competing late night talk shows — these days, there are a ton of them, even if the audience size isn’t close to what it used to be.
I remember Letterman’s move to CBS pretty clearly, as I was just starting to really develop an interest in the late night shows and stand-up comedy (an interest that led me to L.A. where I eventually settled into my more natural destiny of typing nonsense). And I was fully Team Letterman. I watched his show as much as possible, talking my parents into letting me have an old eight-inch TV and rabbit ears in my room, and continued to ride with him until I went to college and stopped watching TV pretty much altogether. Except for old VHS tapes of The Simpsons, naturally.
Also on January 14th: Bobby Brown’s single My Prerogative hit number one (1989)… Paul McCartney’s album Back in the USSR was released exclusively in Russia (1989)… Bart the Genius kicked off the regular run of The Simpsons on FOX (1990)… America’s Funniest Home Videos premiered (1990)… Cathy Dennis’s single Touch Me was released (1991)… Vanessa Williams’s single Saved the Best for Last was released (1992)… Marge vs. the Monorail, often called one of the best Simpsons episodes ever, aired (1993)… House Party 3 hit theaters (1994)
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news.
Ralph Macchio says the original working title for The Karate Kid was East Meets West in West.
Burger King is replacing its totally ‘90s “blue circle” logo with… basically, its old logo from the ‘80s. It will take several years to roll out the change.
If you remember the Viennetta ice cream loaf from the ‘90s — and I know I sure do — Good Humor is bringing it back.
A Rubik’s Cube movie is in the works. Sounds riveting.
The Punky Brewster reboot will debut on Peacock on February 25th.
Miley Cyrus is doing an entire album of Metallica covers. Sure. One of which will be a duet with her and Elton John on Nothing Else Matters.
Before Microsoft decided to make the Xbox, they tried to acquire Nintendo — and got laughed out of the room.
Throwbacks and recommendations
The lead singer of Eve 6 has been on a postmodern Twitter tear, asking every celebrity on the platform if they like “the heart in the blender song.”
Here are “81 essential” rock albums that turn 40 this year. The list includes Hall & Oates’ Private Eyes and then 80 albums that aren’t as good as that one.
In honor of In the Air Tonight turning 40 this month, Rolling Stone compiled a list of nine videos that are “our favorite iterations of the immortal drum lick.”
The KLF hasn’t made their music available since 1992… but just put eight of their most famous songs, including 3AM Eternal, on Spotify and others.
Thanks for reading!
-Sam