80s Timeworn Twelves: 'The Superbowl Shuffle'

"The Super Bowl Shuffle" 
by The Chicago Bears Shufflin' Crew (1985)

Prior to their Superbowl victory in 1986, players from the Chicago Bears football team would record a rap single called "The Super Bowl Shuffle." It wasn't the players that came up with the idea though, it was a fan by the name of Richard Meyer. His idea was to write and produce a rap song for the Bears players and then choreograph a music video. Meyer was put in touch with wide receiver Willie Gault, who then spread the idea to other players. 21 players agreed to do the song and give a good portion of the profits to charity...that figure would turn out to be over $300,000! The song featured Bears star players like Walter Payton, Jim McMahon, William "The Refrigerator" Perry, and Mike Singletary rapping about themselves and their contribution to the team. The single was released after the Bears regular season, in which they won 15 out of 16 games. Many thought the song was arrogant, include Bears defensive end Dan Hampton who did not participate in the recording of the song. But the song proved to be true as the Bears would easily make it to Super Bowl XX and defeat the New England Patriots 55-10.

"Super Bowl Shuffle" would climb to #41 on the Billboard Top 100 chart and sell more than 500,000 copies. It would also be nominated for a Grammy award for Best R 'n B Record By A Duo or Group. Side A of the 12" single featured the radio version. Side B featured an "extended vocal mix" which added 40 seconds to the track, and then finally, an instrumental version.

Click below to watch the music video to "Superbowl Shuffle"

Art and record info provided by Discogs.Com and Wikipedia