Sunday Showcase March 1, 1987

Let's head back to March 1, 1987 for this Sunday Showcase review. It's going to be a brief one. 

I hope you didn't miss the Human Potential Expo '87 back then. I did and have never reached my potential. 

The Harlem Globetrotters were celebrating their 60th year playing/performing basketball. I didn't go to this event, but I did go to see Hüsker Dü on March 3rd. They played most of their Warehouse: Songs And Stories album in order that night. It was kind of both annoying and epic. Love and hate walking hand in hand inside the Cannery. I wanted to hear other material, but they were rocking so hard that I was enthralled by the end. I still vividly remember Grant Hart blowing the hair out of his eyes as he sang and played the drums, Bob Mould's spastic jerky presence with his flying V guitar, and Greg Norton's boundless energy and enthusiasm - plus it was cool that they played his b-side "Everytime" that night. I remember seeing Minnesota license plates in the lot and learned later that some of their parents were there for the show. Hüsker Dü were and still are one of my favorite groups ever and this is one night never to be forgotten.

What was going on in popular music in March 1987? I barely knew as my radio dial was tuned in almost exclusively to WRVU 91 Rock. The Georgia Satellites "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" was already well known in the area since it had been on an independent EP Keep The Faith which 91 Rock had played the heck out of in 1985/86 and it had also been played in clubs for years prior to the EP release. It was pretty gratifying to see the song become a nationwide hit.

One more event before we close this week's post. The WWF as WWE was know back then was consolidating its national influence with more shows coming to Nashville. King Kong Bundy had made quite the splash in the Jerry Jarrett Memphis promotion just a few years before and since that promotion used to have matches on Saturday nights at the Nashville Fairgrounds I'm sure Bundy was well known here. I would watch WWF's syndicated shows, but didn't care much for the cartoonish style that Vince McMahon Jr. pushed in those days. This event was just a few weeks before WrestleMania III which would see Hillbilly Jim and King Kong Bundy facing off against each other as part of a six man tag match (see video below). There are some now legendary wrestlers on this bill and I'm sure it would have been a fun night out..especially if King Kong Bundy whipped Hillbilly Jim. I wasn't a fan of the hillbilly gimmick. 

Finally a little bit of trivia: did you know Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü was a professional wrestling fan? He briefly even became a scriptwriter for WCW in 1999. Very cool. Hope to see you next Sunday when I look through another old Tennessean Sunday Showcase.