Chicago Bears’ ‘Shuffle’ Bowls Over the Buyers; Pete Rose Steps Up to the Home Video Plate
In the showroom one afternoon at the recent electronics convention in Las Vegas, the Fisher electronics company attracted huge crowds at its ongoing demonstration of TVs and VCRs. No other display area matched it for crowd size.
The secret wasn’t the equipment. It was “The Super Bowl Shuffle,” the video of 10 Chicago Bears brashly and merrily rapping about themselves and their exploits to a funky beat. The crowds couldn’t get enough of the video, which was repeated constantly.
Home-video audiences are captivated by it too. They’re buying the 25-minute cassette, “Bears’ Super Bowl Shuffle” (MPI, $19.95), comprising the video and the making of the video, featuring interviews with the players. The stars include William (Refrigerator) Perry, Walter Payton and Jim McMahon.
Jaffer Ali, an MPI executive, reported that 220,000 videocassettes were shipped Dec. 23, mostly to the Chicago area: “I’d say 160,000-170,000 were sold in Chicago. About 50,000 were shipped to the rest of the country.” A spot check of video stores in the Chicago area confirms that it’s a huge seller there.
Dick Meyer, president of Red Label Records, originated the project, approaching his pal, Bears wide receiver Willie Gault, with the idea for a rap record, a video and a videocassette. Gault recruited nine other Bears. Half the players’ royalties and half the Red Label profits go to various Chicago charities.
The song, written by Meyer, was recorded in late November. The video was filmed Dec. 3, the day after the Bears’ only loss of the season--to the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. In addition to the 10 rapping Bears, 13 of their teammates were on the set. “The players weren’t depressed after the loss,” Meyer reported. “They had already won their divisional championship, so even then they knew they were going to the Super Bowl.”
Meyer disputed the accusation that “The Super Bowl Shuffle” is supremely arrogant: “It’s not a brag record. People who say that haven’t listened to it carefully. If you listen carefully, you’ll see it’s all in fun.”
He also refuted the reports that Bears coach Mike Ditka disapproved of the project: “There was no opposition from him. How could he be upset with something that’s partly for charity?”
Trying to explain the appeal of the “Shuffle,” Ali observed: “People think it’s funny to see these huge guys who are so mean on the field doing something that’s clever and cute. If you’re a Bears fan, it’s really appealing.”
How the Bears fare in the Super Bowl, Ali pointed out, is crucial to the future of the cassette: “If they win, it will sell through March. If they lose, sales will really slow down.”
Though Ali is pleased with the videocassette, by far the most popular his company has ever had, he knows it’s just faddish fun.
He concluded: “It’s video’s answer to the pet rock.”
NEW AND COMING MOVIES: “Rambo: First Blood Part II” (Thorn/EMI/HBO) is out this week. So is RCA/Columbia’s “St. Elmo’s Fire,” Paramount’s “Teen Wolf,” Thorn’s “Creator” and Warner’s “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.” All are $79.95. Next week’s major releases are the Tom Hanks comedy “The Man With One Red Shoe”; the Arnold Schwarzenegger adventure “Red Sonja”; “The Coca-Cola Kid,” starring Eric Roberts, and “My Science Project.”
Due next month: Week of Feb. 3--”Weird Science.” Week of Feb. 16--”Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,” “National Lampoon’s European Vacation” and “Volunteers.” Week of Feb. 23--”Silverado” and “The Return of the Jedi.”
OLD MOVIES: “They Got Me Covered” (1943), considered one of Bob Hope’s funnier comedies, though it’s one of his most obscure. It concerns spies in Washington in World War II (Embassy, $39.95), Feb. 12 release. . . . “This Property Is Condemned” (1966). Made by an all-star crew: director Sydney Pollack, stars Robert Redford and Natalie Wood; writer Francis Ford Coppola adapted the Tennessee Williams play. It’s about a tension-packed romance in the Depression-era South (Paramount, $59.95), Feb. 26. . . . “Ship of Fools” (1965). One of the most acclaimed films of that year, a drama with an all-star cast (Vivien Leigh, Lee Marvin, Simone Signoret) on a ship headed for Germany in the ‘30s (RCA/Columbia, $59.95).
ODDS ‘N’ ENDS: A study conducted for the General Cinema Corp., one of the largest theater chains in the country, offers good news for theater owners. It indicates that the negative effects of the VCR boom, which has been chipping away at theater attendance, shouldn’t be a long-term problem. But the study didn’t seem to take into account the effects of the rapid increase in the number of VCRs in American homes. Currently they’re in 30% of them, a figure that will escalate to half, experts predict, by the end of the decade. Maybe the news isn’t so hopeful for theater owners after all.
A Pete Rose instructional tape, “Baseball: The Pete Rose Way,” is in the on-deck circle. Rose was signed by Embassy to star in a cassette that will be available in April.
Video Marketing Newsletter, a trade publication, recently listed the 100 best-selling videocassettes sold to distributors and retailers in the history of this young industry:
1--”Beverly Hills Cop”
2--”Raiders of the Lost Ark”
3--”Jane Fonda’s Workout”
4--”Michael Jackson’s Thriller”
5--”Purple Rain”
6--”Star Trek III: The Search for Spock”
7--”Ghostbusters”
8--”The Empire Strikes Back”
9--”Flashdance”
10--”VCR Game Clue”
MUSIC: Can middle-of-the-road (MOR) music videocassettes be big sellers? Most industry experts don’t think so, but some companies are ignoring this opinion. Likely to be the most popular MOR cassette yet is “Frank Sinatra--Portrait of an Album” (MGM/UA, $39.95), shot in the studio while he was recording his “L.A. Is My Lady” album; it’s in the stores this week. This month Sony is releasing “Henry Mancini” ($19.95) and “Tony Bennett Sings” ($29.95), both from 1980. In mid-February “An Evening With Paul Anka” will be available (USA, $39.95).
Recent pop music releases: “Twisted Sister--Come Out and Play” (Atlantic, $19.98) and “Elvis--One Night With You” (Music Media, $19.95). Also “Neil Young in Berlin” (Vidamerica, $29.95), shot in 1982.
Coming pop releases: “Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers--Pack Up the Plantation” (MCA, $29.95), shot locally at the Wiltern Theatre; “The Dream Academy” (Warner Music, $12.98), a collection of four videos by the hot new British trio, Dream Academy, whose debut album is flashing up in the pop charts. Also, “Depeche Mode--The World We Live In” and “Live in Hamburg” (Warner Music, $29.98), featuring “People Are People” and “Can’t Get Enough,” both due on Feb. 18.
Charts
(compiled by Billboard magazine)
TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, SALES 1--”Beverly Hills Cop” (Paramount).
2--”Jane Fonda’s New Workout” (Karl-Lorimar).
3--”The Best of Belushi” (Warner Video).
4--”Pinocchio” (Disney)
5--”The Wizard of Oz” (MGM/UA).
6--”Jane Fonda’s Workout” (Karl-Lorimar).
7--”Gone With the Wind” (MGM/UA).
8--”Ghostbusters” (RCA/Columbia).
9--”Miami Vice” (MCA).
10--”Gremlins” (Warner Video).
TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, RENTALS 1--”Beverly Hills Cop” (Paramount).
2--”Gremlins” (Warner Video).
3--”Ghostbusters” (RCA/Columbia).
4--”Pale Rider” (Warner Video).
5--”A View to a Kill” (CBS-Fox).
6--”Fletch” (MCA).
7--”The Emerald Forest” (Embassy).
8--”Brewster’s Millions” (MCA).
9--”Code of Silence” (Thorn/EMI/HBO).
10--”The Breakfast Club” (MCA).
