Yesterday I wrote about the need to dump the Super Bowl halftime show, something painfully obvious to anybody who has ever watched it.
While I did some research for the article I came upon a whole bunch of people that I had no idea played the Super Bowl halftime show, people who’s cultural relevance was a brief blip on musical history. Or worse.
For most of the first twenty-years or so, halftime shows consisted of either college marching bands or Up With People. It wasn’t until the late 1980’s (of course) that pop culture acts started to make their way into the halftime shows.
While you’ve almost certainly forgotten the halftime shows, some of these acts you have certainly forgotten about or, perhaps, never knew existed:
Elvis Presto: An Elvis impersonator headlined the Super Bowl XXIII halftime show. This really happened.
Warren Moon: Warren Moon was a great quarterback. The only time he was ever in the Super Bowl was in the halftime show with New Kids on the Block in Super Bowl XXV in a “Small World Tribute to 25 Years of the Super Bowl” which is a damning indictment of all of those Oilers and Vikings teams he played for. At least he has those five Grey Cup rings.
Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill: Yes. Figure skaters. In the Super Bowl halftime show. This is the show that finally killed themed halftime shows when 22 million people jumped to Fox to watch In Living Color.
Also, since I am of a certain age, I’m going to insert this.
Elijah Wood: Frodo Baggins, at the age of 12, performed in the finale of the show at Super Bowl XXVII headlined by Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, and The Judds.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: The late 90’s were a weird time and for reasons I still don’t entirely understand swing music came back and was modernized. Bid Bad Voodoo Daddy managed to parlay their 15 minutes of fame into this gig sharing the stage with Gloria Estefan and Stevie Wonder weeks after also playing the Orange Bowl halftime show.
LMFAO: Yes, this happened. On stage. With Madonna.
Bad Bunny: This was last year’s halftime show and not only do I not remember this happening, I never even knew that Bad Bunny existed until five days ago when he showed up at the Royal Rumble.
I’m not sure how we were ever live without such memorable moments. But I’m willing to find out.