# 164: 1990: Music and (Almost No) Headlines

Submitted by djbc on Mon, 11/09/2015 - 6:39pm
Cover (front)

1990. A great year for Nelson Mandela, the Cincinnati Reds, UNLV Basketball, the Detroit Pistons, David Dinkins, and Germany. Not a great year if you were the Cleveland Browns, the Iron Lady (Margaret Thatcher), the Ohio State B*ckeyes, Marion Berry, or Milli Vanilli.

HEADLINES:
- David Dinkins is sworn in as the first Black mayor of New York City.
- Douglas Wilder of Virginia becomes the first African-American governor of any state.
- George V. Voinovich (R) is elected Governor of Ohio.
- Saddam Hussein orders Iraq to invade Kuwait, leading to the Gulf War.
- East and West Germany are re-unified. The Berlin Wall demolition officially begins.
- British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher resigns.
- Nelson Mandela is freed from prison after over 27 years in prison.
- Lech Walesa is elected President of Poland.
- The Hubble Space Telescope is launched.
- President Bush signs the Clean Air Act.
- The U.S. hits a major recession.
- OUT: "X" Rating; IN: "NC-17" Rating

SONG LIST:
"Back on the Block" - Quincy Jones, et al. (1991 Grammy Winner: Album of the Year for 1990)
"Ice Ice Baby" - Vanilla Ice (with the bass line plagiarised from Queen & David Bowie's collaboration "Under Pressure")
"Blame It On The Rain" - Milli Vanilli
"Hold On" - Wilson Phillips
"We Didn't Start the Fire" - Billy Joel
"Love Will Lead You Back" - Taylor Dayne
"Under the Gun" - Randy Newman
"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" - DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
"U Can't Touch This" - MC Hammer (with bass line borrowed from Rick James' "Superfreak")
"The John Dunbar Theme (from Dances with Wolves)" - John Barry (1991 Academy Award Winner - Best Picture of 1990, Best Director for Kevin Costner; Best Original Score for Barry)
"Everybody Dance Now" - C.C. and the Music Factory
"Unchained Melody" - The Righteous Brothers (recorded in 1965, but charted in 1990, thanks to the film "Ghost")
"Vogue" - Madonna

CHAMPIONS:
NCAA Tournament: (Men's) University of Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels (RIP Coach Tark); (Women's) Stanford
College Football (D-I): Colorado (Associated Press); Georgia Tech (Coaches Poll)
Heisman Trophy: Ty Detmer, Quarterback (Brigham Young University)
World Series: Cincinnati Reds
Super Bowl XXIV: San Francisco 49ers
NBA Finals: Detroit Pistons
Stanley Cup: Edmonton Oilers
Master's: Sir Nick Faldo
Memorial: Greg Norman
Wimbledon: Stefan Edberg (Men's), Martina Navritalova (Women's)
World Cup: A pre-Unified West Germany
Big Ten: (FOUR-WAY TIE) - Iowa (who won the Rose Bowl bid Tiebreaker), Illinois, Michigan, and Michigan State
"The Game": Michigan won 16-13 in Columbus (Sorry, B*ckeye fans; Herbstreit was the OSU backup QB)
Heavyweight Champion of the World: Columbus native and Linden McKinley graduate James "Buster" Douglas
Local High School Champions were: Westerville North (D-I Girls Soccer), Wehrle (D-IV Boys' Basketball), Pickerington (D-I Girls Basketball), and Upper Arlington (D-I Baseball)

SHOWBIZ AWARDS:
(Grammys) - for 1989
Album of the Year: "Nick of Time" - Bonnie Raitt
Song of the Year: "The Wind Beneath My Wings" (sung by Bette Midler)
Best New Artist: NOBODY (listen to the podcast, and you'll know why, plus know who the losers were)
Record of the Year: "The Wind Beneath My Wings" - Bette Midler
(Grammys) - for 1990
Album of the Year: "Back on the Block" - Quincy Jones
Song of the Year: "From a Distance" (sung by Bette Midler)
Record of the Year: "Another Day in Paradise" - Phil Collins
Best New Artist: Mariah Carey
(Emmys)
Drama Series: L.A. Law
Comedy Series: Murphy Brown
Soap Opera: Santa Barbara (first soap to win three consecutive Daytime Emmys for Drama Series)
Variety Series: In Living Color
Variety Special: Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th Anniversary Celebration
Animated Program: The Simpsons (the first of many wins)
(Oscars) - for 1989
Best Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
Best Director: Oliver Stone
(Oscars) - for 1990
Best Picture: Dances with Wolves
Best Director: Kevin Costner
(Razzies) - for 1989
Worst Picture: Star Trek V
Worst Director: William Shatner, Star Trek V
(Razzies) - for 1990
Worst Picture: (TIE) The Adventures of Ford Fairlane & Ghosts Can't Do It
Worst Director: John Derek, Ghosts Can't Do It
(Tonys) - for 1989-90
Best Musical: City of Angels
Best Play: Grapes of Wrath
Best Revival: Gypsy

LINKS:
1990 (InfoPlease): http://www.infoplease.com/year/1990.html
1990 (The People's History): http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1990.html
1990 (Mr. Pop Culture): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZYV_9sfc54
1990 (Time Capsule): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQtMtif0MCI