The Chicago Bears didn't want to appear cocky.
They didn't want to jinx themselves.
They certainly didn't want to give their opponents a message board during their attempt to bring a Super Bowl championship to their hometown after the 1985 season.
As a large group of the team's players, known as the Chicago Bears Shufflin' Crew, said in the lyrics of one of the most incredible hits and music videos of the 1980s: “We're not here to start with no problem. We're just here to do.”Super Bowl Shuffle.'”
All these thoughts weighed on the minds of about 30 players who recorded “The Super Bowl Shuffle” four decades ago this month, weeks before the end of the NFL regular season.
“If we don't go to the Super Bowl, we'll be the biggest idiots in the world,” former Bears linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Famer. Mike Singletary says in “The Shuffle,” an NFL Films production presented by HBO Documentary Films. “We've got to win this, man.”
Singletary is one of several people sharing their thoughts and memories of their involvement in what has become a beloved relic in a 40-minute documentary premiering Tuesday at 9 pm PT on HBO and streaming on HBO Max. Director Jeff Cameron told The Times that “Shuffle” coming out during the show's 40th anniversary season was no coincidence. the Bears' only Super Bowl title.
“With the exception of some print media or some articles, no one has really described the entire process of creating, developing and producing 'The Super Bowl Shuffle,' which is so closely associated with this team,” Cameron said.
The song was the brainchild of Chicago businessman Dick Meyer, who founded Red Label Records last year. With the Bears off to a strong start to the 1985 season, Meyer thought a hip-hop record featuring many of the team's already beloved personalities might have some success in Chicago.
Many players agreed to participate after learning that a portion of the proceeds would go to the Chicago Community Foundation. “We're not doing this because we're greedy,” we're running back Walter Payton — sounded during his verse: “The bears do this to feed the needy.”
Other notable Bears players included Singletary, Gary Fenchik, Willie Gault, Otis Wilson, Steve FullerMike Richardson Richard Dent, William “Refrigerator” Perry And Jim McMahon.
Vocal parts were recorded on November 21, 1985. The Bears were 11-0 heading into the game. 44-0 rout of the Dallas Cowboys. They followed it up the following weekend with a 36-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
But their path to perfection came to an end on December 2, 1985. a disastrous 38-24 loss to the Dolphins. in Miami for Monday Night Football. It just so happened that the music video for “The Super Bowl Shuffle” was scheduled to be filmed the next morning in Chicago.
Suddenly Gault said in the documentary, “The guys don't want to make a video.”
The team's two biggest stars, Payton and McMahon, did not show up. They were added to the video after filming their parts the day after the workout.
“It was pretty bold of us to talk about going to the Super Bowl and winning it, you know?” McMahon said in the documentary. “We still have games to play and we just lost.”
Chicago Bears players Mike Singletary (left) and Gary Fencik take part in the filming of the music video for “The Super Bowl Shuffle” on December 3, 1985 at Park West in Chicago.
(Paul Nutkin/HBO/Getty Images)
But videotaping may have had unexpected benefits for the players who took part.
“If it weren't for 'The Shuffle,' they probably wouldn't have even met that day,” Cameron told The Times. “They probably won't see each other until Wednesday because they have Tuesday night off after Monday night and they go straight back to the film room or the practice field. They don't have the opportunity to just forget about the loss for a second, to be a group of guys who love playing with each other and just love each other.”
Behind-the-scenes footage provided to Cameron's team by Meyer's widow, Julia Meyer, shows the players laughing and joking as they try to learn a few dance moves and lip-sync their parts, all with varying degrees of success.
“We bonded in a way that we never could have bonded in any other way,” Singletary said in the documentary. “It was an interesting part of working together in a completely different field. There were guys who were understudies, teaching guys who were just starting out. We mixed in a way we'd never had the opportunity to do before. And it became a unifying moment that brought us together, forced us to refocus. 'This is what we said we were going to do, let's do it.'
The Bears didn't lose a single game on their way to victory. defeating the New England Patriots 46–10 in Super Bowl XX.. And “The Super Bowl Shuffle” was a success in its own right, and its popularity spread far beyond Chicago.
The single spent nine weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 41, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association. America (500,000 units transported). The music video, commercially released on VHS and Betamax, was certified platinum (one million copies sold).
The song was even nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, ultimately losing to Prince and the Revolution for “Kiss.”
“I think it was a perfect marriage of these characters from top to bottom … and the fact that outside of the Miami game, of course, they just kept winning,” Cameron said. “And it wasn't that close. I think it certainly helps propel this video along with the rise of MTV. It was the perfect storm of a pop culture phenomenon.”
