Super Bowl XXXI halftime show
{{Short description|Halftime show of the 1997 Super Bowl}}
{{Infobox halftime show
| SBNumeral = XXXI
| image = BluesBash.png
| date = January 26, 1997
| network = Fox
| location = New Orleans, Louisiana
| venue = Louisiana Superdome
| headliner = The Blues Brothers
| guest =
| sponsor = Oscar Mayer
| director =
| producer = Select Productions, Radio City, and House of Blues
| guests = James Brown and ZZ Top
| theme = Blues Brothers Bash
| Last = XXX
(1996)
| this = XXXI
(1997)
| next = XXXII
(1998)
}}
The Super Bowl XXXI halftime show took place on January 26, 1997 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The show was titled "Blues Brothers Bash" and featured actors Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman, and Jim Belushi as The Blues Brothers. The show highlighted blues music and also had performances by the rock band ZZ Top and singer James Brown.
Background and development
The show's producers were Select Productions, Radio City, and House of Blues.{{cite web |last1=Kirby |first1=Jacqueline |title=Power Ranking Every Super Bowl Halftime Show Ever |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/973238 |website=Bleacher Report |access-date=4 December 2020 |language=en |date=8 December 2011}}{{cite web |last1=Jensen |first1=Jeff |title=IBM SCORES A VIRTUAL SUPER BOWL SHUT-OUT: FEW SPONSORS PONY UP ONLINE TIE-INS TO GAME |url=https://adage.com/article/news/ibm-scores-a-virtual-super-bowl-shut-sponsors-pony-online-tie-ins-game/74457 |website=adage.com |access-date=4 December 2020 |language=en |date=20 January 1997}}
The show's sponsor was Oscar Mayer.
While practicing for the show, stuntwoman Laura "Dinky" Patterson, one of a 16-member professional bungee jumping team, jumped from the 152-foot high temporary show truss hung from the roof. She collided head-first with the concrete floor, killing her instantly.{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/bungee-hoist-failed-article-1.750593|title=Bungee Hoist Likely Failed|work=New York Daily News|access-date=June 26, 2017}} The New York Times reported on January 29, 1997 that Patterson had been working with bungee cords that were being handled by volunteers who had received little training. The bungee-jumping portion of the halftime show was removed. A title-graphic commemorating Patterson and acknowledging her death was displayed during the TV broadcast of the Super Bowl.{{cite news|last=Eskenazi|first=Gerald|title=Somber Moments at Halftime|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/27/sports/somber-moments-at-halftime.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 27, 1997|access-date=March 20, 2016}}
The inclusion of a segment featuring Fox News Channel personality Catherine Crier was seen as an attempt for Fox, broadcasting their first-ever Super Bowl, to give their news channel free publicity.{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Steve |title=THE SUPER BLITZ |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-01-29-9701290080-story.html |website=chicagotribune.com |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=4 December 2020 |date=29 January 1997}}
The show was intended to create hype for the then-upcoming film Blues Brothers 2000.{{cite web |last1=McDermott |first1=Maeve |title=The five most disastrous Super Bowl halftime shows, from Nipplegate to 'Indiana Jones' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2019/01/29/five-most-disastrous-super-bowl-halftime-shows-nipplegate-indiana-jones-black-eyed-peas/2702387002/ |website=USA TODAY |access-date=4 December 2020 |date=29 January 2019}}
Since the original Blues Brother John Belushi had died fifteen years prior, the remaining member Dan Aykroyd performed instead with Jim Belushi and John Goodman.{{cite web |last1=Catlin |first1=Roger |title=A HALFTIME OF BLUES AND ALL THAT JAZZ COBL |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1997-01-24-9701240802-story.html |website=courant.com |publisher=Hartford Courant |access-date=5 December 2020 |date=24 January 1997}}
Synopsis
The show began with a fictional Fox News bulletin presented by Catherine Crier, announcing that Aykroyd's Blues Brothers character Elwood J. Blues had escaped the Joliet State Prison.
The Blues Brothers then performed the songs "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" and "Soul Man".
James Brown, wearing a pink satin suit, then performed his songs "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine".{{cite magazine |last1=Hyman |first1=Dan |title=The 10 Best Super Bowl Halftime Shows |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-10-best-super-bowl-halftime-shows-10838/8-blues-brothers-james-brown-zz-top-super-bowl-xxxi-1997-226641/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=5 December 2020 |date=31 January 2013}}
ZZ Top then appeared, with their Eliminator car and people entering on motorcycles, and performed their songs "Tush" and "Legs".
All the performers ended the show by performing "Gimme Some Lovin'" together.
Reception
=Critical=
Steve Johnson of the Chicago Tribune heavily criticized the show, particularly The Blues Brothers, likening the inclusion of ZZ Top and James Brown to placing prime roast beef "between moldy white bread". He also argued that The Blues Brothers were only chosen to act as "a stealth ad for the House of Blues chain of musical malls."
Many outlets have retrospectively ranked the show poorly among Super Bowl halftime shows.{{cite magazine |last1=Sheffield |first1=Rob |title=Super Bowl Halftime Shows Ranked by Sheffield: From Worst to Best |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/super-bowl-halftime-shows-ranked-from-worst-to-best-14201/the-blues-brothers-1997-129981/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=5 December 2020 |date=17 January 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Schneck |first1=Anthony |title=The Biggest Super Bowl Halftime Shows, Ranked |url=https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/best-super-bowl-halftime-shows |website=Thrillist |access-date=5 December 2020 |date=3 February 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Nailen |first1=Dan |last2=Weinbender |first2=Nathan |title=The good, the bad and the wishful thinking: The best and worst in Super Bowl entertainment |url=https://www.inlander.com/spokane/the-good-the-bad-and-the-wishful-thinking-the-best-and-worst-in-super-bowl-entertainment/Content?oid=19011071 |website=Inlander |access-date=5 December 2020 |language=en |date=30 January 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Notte |first1=Jason |title=5 worst super bowl halftime shows ever |url=https://www.thestreet.com/lifestyle/sports/5-worst-super-bowl-halftime-shows-ever-12279744 |website=TheStreet |access-date=5 December 2020 |language=en-us |date=29 January 2014}}{{cite web |last1=Worthington |first1=Tyler |title=Worst Super Bowl Halftime Shows |url=https://www.lineups.com/articles/worst-super-bowl-halftime-shows/ |website=Sports Articles |access-date=5 December 2020 |date=16 June 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Moylan |first1=Brian |title=Every Super Bowl Halftime Show Since 1993, Ranked |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-super-bowl-halftime-shows-ranked.html |website=Vulture |access-date=8 February 2021 |language=en-us |date=8 February 2021}} In 2019, Maeve McDermott of USA Today ranked the show as the second-most "disastrous" Super Bowl halftime show. Also in 2019, Roy Trakin and Jem Aswad of Variety ranked as one of the six "least memorable" Super Bowl halftime shows.{{cite web |last1=Trakin |first1=Roy |last2=Aswad |first2=Jem |title=The Least-Memorable Super Bowl Halftime Performances in History |url=https://variety.com/2019/music/news/the-least-memorable-super-bowl-halftime-performances-in-history-1203124563/ |website=Variety |date=31 January 2019}}
Conversely, in 2013, Dan Hyman of Rolling Stone retrospectively ranked the show as the eighth-best Super Bowl halftime show. In 2020, Aaron Tallent of Athlon Sports ranked the show well, writing, "This performance epitomizes what a Super Bowl halftime show should be: big and fun, but not overdone and torturous to watch."{{cite web |last1=Tallent |first1=Aaron |title=Ranking Every Super Bowl Halftime Show |url=https://athlonsports.com/nfl/ranking-every-super-bowl-halftime-show |website=AthlonSports.com |access-date=5 December 2020 |language=en |date=4 February 2020}} In 2020, Daniel Tran of Yardbarker also ranked the performance well.{{cite web |last1=Tran |first1=Daniel |title=Ranking every Super Bowl halftime show |url=https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/ranking_every_super_bowl_halftime_show/s1__28222832 |website=Yardbarker |access-date=5 December 2020 |language=en |date=24 January 2020}}
=Commercial=
Upon release on February 6, 1998, Blues Brothers 2000 received mixed reviews and was a box-office bomb.
Setlist
- "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" (The Blues Brothers)
- "Soul Man" (The Blues Brothers)
- "I Got You (I Feel Good)" (James Brown)
- "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" (James Brown)
- "Tush" (ZZ Top)
- "Legs" (ZZ Top)
- "Gimme Some Lovin'" (The Blues Brothers, James Brown, ZZ Top)
Controversy
Some criticized the decision to have a faux news bulletin, which some may have mistaken as real. The segment was criticized as undermining the upstart Fox News Channel's journalistic integrity, as well as Crier's own.{{cite web |title=FOX'S CRIER DEFENDS ROLE IN SUPER BOWL 'REPORT' |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-02-14-9702140285-story.html |website=chicagotribune.com |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=4 December 2020 |date=14 February 1997}}{{cite web |title=SOME TV QUESTIONS ARE UNANSWERABLE |url=https://www.deseret.com/1997/2/7/19293791/some-tv-questions-are-unanswerable |website=Deseret News |access-date=4 December 2020 |language=en |date=7 February 1997}}{{cite web |last1=Kent |first1=Milton |title=Fox, both entertains and informs its first Super Bowl audience SUPER BOWL XXXI |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1997-01-27-1997027004-story.html |website=baltimoresun.com |access-date=4 December 2020 |date=27 January 1997}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Super Bowl halftime shows}}
{{The Blues Brothers}}
{{James Brown}}
{{ZZ Top}}
{{NFL on Fox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Super Bowl 031 halftime show}}
Category:1997 in American music
Category:1997 in American television
Category:January 1996 in the United States