Super Bowl Shuffle
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The Super Bowl Shuffle was a rap song recorded by members of the Chicago Bears football team prior to their appearance in Super Bowl XX.
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[edit] Overview
Known as Chicago Bears Shufflin' Crew, the performers included "Sweetness" Walter Payton, "Punky QB" Jim McMahon, and "Samurai" Mike Singletary. The music was composed by Bobby Daniels and Lloyd Barry, and the lyrics were written by Richard E. Meyer and Melvin Owens. Other participants included:
- Willie Gault
- Steve Fuller
- Mike Richardson
- Richard Dent
- Gary Fencik
- Otis Wilson
- William "Refrigerator" Perry
Riding the wave of football mania that gripped Chicago in 1985, the "Super Bowl Shuffle" reached #41 on the Billboard charts, #75 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, and earned a Grammy nomination for best Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance—Duo or Group, the first (and undoubtedly only ever) nomination for a sports team. (They lost to Prince and the Revolution's "Kiss".) Although some found the lyrics boastful, profits from the song and its accompanying video were given to charity, backing Payton's claim that the they "are not doing it because [they're] greedy, the Bears are doing it to feed the needy."
A female referee, played by Julia Kallish, Richard E. Meyer's wife, was also on hand for the radio and television edit of the song. She whistled and threw a penalty flag to censor the word "ass" in the lyrics.
[edit] Trivia
- Bears defensive end Dan Hampton declined involvement in the shuffle because he felt it was too cocky [1].
- Payton and McMahon were unable to attend the original filming of the song's music video, so they were spliced in later with help of a chroma key.
- During Steve Fuller's part of the song, he says "So bring on Atlanta, bring on Dallas, this is for Mike and Papa Bear Halas". The "Mike" he referred to was the Bears' current head coach, future hall of famer Mike Ditka. "Papa Bear Halas" refers to legendary Chicago coach George Halas, who coached the Bears for 40 seasons and passed away 2 years earlier. Fuller's verbal challenge to the Atlanta Falcons and the Dallas Cowboys refers to the two games he started for the injured Jim McMahon, leading the Bears to 36-0 and 44-0 shutout victories against those opponents, respectively.
- The music video for the song was filmed at the Park West, a venue in Lincoln Park, in Chicago.
[edit] Imitators
Other teams tried but were unable to repeat the Bears' success:
- In 1986, two teams tried to repeat the formula. The Los Angeles Raiders released "The Silver and Black Attack", based on "The Yellow and Black Attack" by Stryper. The San Francisco 49ers answered any questions about who they were with "We're the 49ers", a pop / R&B single. Neither team won a playoff game, though.
- In 1988, Cincinnati Bengals rookie Ickey Woods became famous for the "Ickey Shuffle". His team lost in Super Bowl XXIII, though.
- In November 1999, the confident Jacksonville Jaguars recorded their own version, "Uh Oh, The Jaguars Super Bowl Song". However, the Jaguars lost in the AFC Championship game.
- Cincinnati funk pioneer Bootsy Collins teamed up with the 2005 Cincinnati Bengals for a playoff song called "Fear Da Tiger", but they, too, fell short of the Super Bowl.
[edit] References in popular culture
- The Onion published an article on February 3, 1998 titled "'85 Chicago Bears Return to Studio" that claimed that they would reunite to record a new album that would be a bit "darker" and more thoughtful than the first.
- Saturday Night Live featured a comedy sketch that first aired on April 16, 2005 in which the Chicago Bears Shufflin' Crew struggle to duplicate the success of The Super Bowl Shuffle.
- Wonder Showzen featured a parody, "Takin' In Back", which featured deliberately jumbled and incoherent lyrics and liberal use of offensive pejoratives, in a video about reappropriation.
- Wildcats, a 1986 film about a high school football team, ended with a rap song similar to the Super Bowl Shuffle, shown as a music video during the closing credits. It was performed in-character by the actors who played the football team, and Goldie Hawn who played their coach.
[edit] External links
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