May 19: Trivia on Indiana Jones, Tonight Show, Mad Max, The Shining
Plus the 100 best west coast hip-hop songs & video of MTV's debut
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
May 19th, 2023 • Issue 152
This week in the ‘80s and ‘90s
May 19th
1980 - The Apple III was introduced.
1986 - Peter Gabriel’s album So was released.
So was Peter Gabriel’s fifth album — but the first one that wasn’t self-titled.
Peter Gabriel’s first four albums were self-titled. His record label hated it and told him to pick something that was more marketable for this next album. Instead, as a passive-aggressive protest, he picked the least marketable thing he could think of, which was the word “So.”
Despite the marketability (or lack thereof) of the title, So was Peter Gabriel’s best-selling solo album, going five-times platinum in the U.S. and three-times platinum in the U.K. And, of course, holding the world record for inspiring over-the-head boombox scenes in ‘80s movies.
1989 - Road House hit theaters.
1990 - Nelson’s single Love and Affection was released.
1990 - Madonna’s single Vogue hit number one.
1991 - WCW aired its first SuperBrawl pay-per-view.
1992 - Amy Fisher shot Mary Jo Buttafuoco.
1992 - Dan Quayle criticized unwed mothers and Murphy Brown.
1992 - Billy Ray Cyrus’s debut album Some Gave All was released.
1994 - Jackie Kennedy Onassis passed away.
1994 - The series finale aired of L.A. Law.
1994 - The series finale aired of In Living Color.
1995 - Die Hard with a Vengeance and Forget Paris both hit theaters.
1996 - The series finale of Murder She Wrote aired.
1996 - The Sundance Channel debuted.
1996 - The “curtain call” happened, when four WWF wrestlers broke character to hug after a match as two were leaving the company.
1997 - Marv Albert was accused of biting a lady.
1997 - The Lost World: Jurassic Park hit theaters.
1998 - DMX’s debut album It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot was released.
1998 - Monica and Brandy’s single The Boy Is Mine was released.
1999 - Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace hit theaters.
2000 - Road Trip hit theaters.
2000 - Disney’s Dinosaur hit theaters.
2001 - The first Apple stores opened.
2001 - The series finale aired of Walker, Texas Ranger.
2002 - The series finale aired of The X-Files.
May 20th
1983 - The Police’s single Every Breath You Take was released.
Every Breath You Take by The Police is the most played song in radio history.
In 2019, the organization that handles license fees for radio play recognized Every Breath You Take as the most played song out of the 14 million+ songs in its catalog.
It surpassed the prior record holder, Mann and Weill’s You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.
1987 - Beverly Hills Cop II hit theaters.
1988 - Willow hit theaters.
1989 - The series finale aired of Small Wonder.
1989 - Paula Abdul’s single Forever Your Girl hit number one.
1989 - Gilda Radner passed away.
1989 - “Toonces the Driving Cat” debuted on Saturday Night Live.
1991 - Bonnie Raitt’s single Something to Talk About was released.
1991 - DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s single Summertime was released.
1993 - The series finale aired of Cheers.
1994 - Maverick hit theaters.
1995 - The series finale of the original Star Search aired.
1996 - The series finale aired of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
1997 - The series finale aired of Roseanne.
1997 - Meredith Brooks’ single Bitch was released.
2000 - The Portland Trailblazers debuted the Hack-a-Shaq technique.
2000 - Macy Gray’s only hit, I Try, peaked at number five.
May 21st
1980 - The Empire Strikes Back hit theaters.
1982 - Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior hit theaters.
Mel Gibson only has 38 lines of dialogue in the entire movie of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.
And six of them are related to him asking for gasoline.
1982 - Annie hit theaters.
1983 - David Bowie’s single Let’s Dance hit number one.
1985 - Marvin Gaye’s final album, Dream of a Lifetime, was released.
1988 - EU’s one hit, Da Butt, peaked at number 35.
1989 - The series finale aired of Miami Vice.
1990 - The series finale aired of Newhart.
1992 - The Real World premiered on MTV.
1992 - The series finale aired of MacGyver.
1994 - All-4-One’s single I Swear hit number one.
1995 - The season finale of The Simpsons ended on a cliffhanger of who shot Mr. Burns.
1996 - Metallica’s single Until It Sleeps was released.
1996 - Toni Braxton’s single You’re Makin’ Me High was released.
1997 - The series finale aired of Wings.
1998 - Microsoft and Sega announced they were working together on a video game system, which would turn out to be the Dreamcast.
1999 - Susan Lucci finally won a Daytime Emmy after 18 years of losses.
1999 - Notting Hill hit theaters.
May 22nd
1980 - “Puck Man” the video game was tested in Japan.
1985 - Rambo: First Blood Part II and Brewster’s Millions hit theaters.
1988 - The NBA had its famous Bird/Dominique duel.
1990 - North Yemen and South Yemen merged into just Yemen.
1990 - Windows 3.0 was released.
1990 - Madonna’s album I’m Breathless was released.
1992 - Encino Man hit theaters.
Two Encino Men cast members won Oscars for acting in 2023.
In a shocking coup for the movie Encino Man, more than 30 years after its release, two of its stars took down the most prestigious acting awards of the year.
Brendan Fraser won Best Actor for The Whale, and Ke Huy Quan won Best Supporting Actor for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
1992 - Johnny Carson hosted his final episode of The Tonight Show.
1993 - The series finale aired of Saved by the Bell.
1994 - The Toronto NBA franchise announced it would be called the Raptors and revealed its logo.
1995 - The series finales aired of The Critic and Blossom.
1995 - The Laverne & Shirley 20th anniversary reunion special aired.
1996 - The first Mission: Impossible film hit theaters.
1998 - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas hit theaters.
1999 - Fatboy Slim’s only hit, Praise You, peaked at number 36.
May 23rd
1980 - The Shining hit theaters.
In the original screenplay for The Shining, Jack didn’t say “Here’s Johnny!”
The original quote was “That’s all, folks!”
1984 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom hit theaters.
1991 - The famous/infamous Chinese restaurant episode of Seinfeld premiered.
1994 - The series finale aired of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
1994 - Pulp Fiction was named the best film at the Cannes Film Festival.
1995 - The series finale aired of Full House.
1995 - Luniz single I Got 5 on It was released.
1997 - The Lost World: Jurassic Park hit theaters.
1998 - Mariah Carey’s single My All, which I have zero memory of, hit number one.
1999 - WWF wrestler Owen Hart was killed during a pay-per-view event due to a stunt gone wrong.
1999 - The series finale aired of Sister, Sister.
2000 - Eminem’s third album, The Marshall Mathers LP, was released.
2002 - Netflix went public.
May 24th
1980 - Rock Lobster by the B-52s peaked at number 56 on the Billboard chart.
1984 - Vince McMahon Sr., father of WWF owner Vince McMahon, died of cancer.
1985 - A View to a Kill hit theaters.
1988 - John Moschitta set the world record for fast talking at 586 words per minute.
1989 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade hit theaters.
Before Steven Spielberg and George Lucas had the idea to have Indiana Jones go after the Holy Grail, he was going to fight a ghost in a haunted mansion during a hunt for the Fountain of Youth.
The directors resisted a quest for the Holy Grail at first, in particular because they were worried that Monty Python had already salted the earth when it came to movies about the Holy Grail. But ultimately, they decided it was the best direction to round out the trilogy and went with it in spite of their hesitations.
1991 - Thelma and Louise hit theaters.
1994 - Aaliyah’s debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number, was released.
1995 - Braveheart hit theaters.
1996 - Leslie Nielsen’s movie Spy Hard hit theaters.
1997 - Tim Allen was arrested for drunk driving.
1997 - Hanson’s single MMMBop hit number one.
1999 - The series finales aired of Mad About You and Melrose Place.
2000 - Mission: Impossible II hit theaters.
May 25th
1977 - Star Wars hit theaters.
1979 - Alien hit theaters.
1981 - A guy called Spider Dan scaled the Sears Tower.
1983 - Return of the Jedi hit theaters.
1985 - Wham! single Everything She Wants hit number one.
1986 - Hands Across America took place.
1988 - Crocodile Dundee II and Rambo III hit theaters.
1990 - The series finale aired of You Can’t Do That on Television.
1991 - Mariah Carey’s single I Don’t Wanna Cry hit number one.
1991 - LaTour’s one hit, People Are Still Having Sex, peaked at number 35.
1992 - Jay Leno debuted as new host of The Tonight Show.
Billy Crystal was Jay Leno’s first and last guest on The Tonight Show.
Billy Crystal was the lead guest on Jay Leno’s debut show in 1992 and the final guest in 2014.
Leno did have different musical guests though. His first musical guest in 1992 was Shanice; in 2014 it was Garth Brooks.
1993 - John Starks of the New York Knicks posterized Michael Jordan.
1994 - Beverly Hills Cop III hit theaters.
1996 - Brad Nowell of Sublime died from an overdose.
1999 - The series finale aired of Home Improvement.
2001 - The first blind climber reached the summit of Mount Everest.
2001 - Pearl Harbor hit theaters.
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
The Futurama reboot is set to premiere on July 24th on Hulu.
Pinball is booming in the U.S., both in arcades and homes. Machine sales have gone up 15 to 20% every year since 2008. The manufacturers say the boom is driven by nostalgia from people who played in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Arnold Schwarzenegger says the Twins sequel is dead. Arnold says after Ivan Reitman died in 2022, Ivan’s son Jason, “never liked the idea and put a hold on it.”
Wilmer Valderrama says after That ‘70s Show ended he swore he’d never do the Fez voice again, but he broke that vow for That ‘90s Show.
The actual bar from Cheers is up for auction, and George Wendt and John Ratzenberger visited it.
Recommendations of the week
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved
Rolling Stone ranked the 100 greatest west coast hip-hop songs of all time. It skews a little more modern than I would’ve hoped… but at least seven of the top 10 are from the ‘80s and ‘90s, including the top two and four of the top five.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you forgot
Here’s a list of 15 maligned ‘90s rock albums that deserve a second chance. It’s mostly lesser-known albums from well-known ‘90s rock groups.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you never knew existed
Someone put the first two hours ever of MTV (from August 1st, 1981) up on YouTube, commercials and all. It’s quite a time capsule.
Have a great week!
-Sam