Da Bears and 'Super Bowl Shuffle': HBO doc revisits 'perfect storm' that became a phenomenon

The Chicago Bears didn’t privation to look cocky.

They didn’t privation to jinx themselves.

They surely didn’t privation to supply opponents with bulletin committee fodder during their effort to bring a Super Bowl title to their location metropolis aft the 1985 season.

As a ample radical of players from that squad — billed arsenic the Chicago Bears Shufflin’ Crew — said successful the lyrics to 1 of the astir improbable deed songs and euphony videos of the 1980s: “We’re not present to commencement nary trouble. We’re conscionable present to bash ‘The Super Bowl Shuffle.’”

All of those thoughts weighed connected the minds of the 30 oregon truthful players who recorded “The Super Bowl Shuffle” 4 decades agone this month, respective weeks earlier the NFL regular play adjacent ended.

“If we don’t spell to the Super Bowl, we’re gonna beryllium the biggest idiots ever,” erstwhile Bears linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Singletary says successful “The Shuffle,” an NFL Films accumulation presented by HBO Documentary Films. “We gotta triumph this thing, man.’”

Singletary is 1 of respective of radical who stock their thoughts and memories astir their information successful what has go a beloved relic during the 40-minute documentary that premieres Tuesday astatine 9 p.m. PST connected HBO and streaming connected HBO Max. Director Jeff Cameron told The Times that it’s nary coincidence that “The Shuffle” is dropping during the 40th day play of the Bears’ lone Super Bowl title.

“Outside of immoderate people media oregon immoderate articles, nary 1 had truly chronicled the full genesis, improvement and accumulation of ‘The Super Bowl Shuffle,’ which is truthful intertwined with that team,“ Cameron said.

The opus was the brainchild of Chicago businessman Dick Meyer, who had formed Red Label Records the erstwhile year. With the Bears disconnected to a beardown commencement to the 1985 season, Meyer thought a hip-hop grounds featuring galore of the already beloved personalities from that squad mightiness person immoderate occurrence successful Chicago.

Many players agreed to enactment aft learning that portion of the proceeds were going toward the Chicago Community Trust. “We’re not doin’ this due to the fact that we’re greedy,” moving backmost Walter Payton rapped during his verse, “the Bears are doin’ it to provender the needy.”

Other featured Bears players included Singletary, Gary Fencik, Willie Gault, Otis Wilson, Steve Fuller, Mike Richardson, Richard Dent, William “Refrigerator” Perry and Jim McMahon.

The vocal tracks were recorded connected Nov. 21, 1985. The Bears were 11-0 astatine the time, coming disconnected a 44-0 rout of the Dallas Cowboys. They continued to rotation the pursuing play with a 36-0 triumph against the Atlanta Falcons.

But their tally of perfection came to an extremity Dec. 2, 1985, with an disfigured 38-24 nonaccomplishment to the Dolphins successful Miami connected “Monday Night Football.” It conscionable truthful happened that the euphony video sprout for “The Super Bowl Shuffle” was scheduled for the adjacent greeting successful Chicago.

Suddenly, Gault said successful the documentary, “Guys don’t privation to bash the video.”

Two of the team’s biggest stars, Payton and McMahon, didn’t amusement up. They were added into the video aft shooting their parts 1 time aft practice.

“It was beauteous audacious of america to speech astir going to the Super Bowl, winning it, you know?” McMahon said successful the documentary. “We inactive got games to play, and we conscionable lost.”

Chicago Bears players Mike Singletary (left) and Gary Fencik instrumentality portion successful the filming of ‘The Super Bowl Shuffle’ euphony video Dec. 3, 1985, astatine the Park West successful Chicago.

(Paul Natkin / HBO / Getty Images)

But the video sprout whitethorn person had unexpected benefits for the players who participated.

“If not for ‘The Shuffle,’ they astir apt don’t adjacent get together” that day, Cameron told The Times. “They astir apt don’t spot each different until Wednesday due to the fact that they person Tuesdays disconnected aft Monday night, and they’re close backmost successful the movie country oregon the signifier field. They don’t decently get to conscionable hide astir the nonaccomplishment for a second, get unneurotic arsenic a radical of guys who similar playing with each different and conscionable who emotion each other.”

In behind-the-scenes footage provided to Cameron’s squad by Meyer’s widow, Julia Meyer, the players are seen laughing and joking astir arsenic they effort to larn a fewer creation moves and lip-sync their parts, each with varying degrees of success.

“We bonded successful a mode that we could ne'er person bonded successful immoderate different way,” Singletary said successful the documentary. “That was the amusive portion of moving unneurotic successful a wholly antithetic realm. There were guys that were backups teaching guys that were starters. We mixed successful a mode that we had ne'er had a accidental to bash before. And it became a rallying constituent that brought america together, got america refocused. ‘This is what we said we were gonna do, let’s spell get it done.’”

The Bears didn’t suffer different crippled connected their mode to defeating the New England Patriots 46-10 successful Super Bowl XX. And “The Super Bowl Shuffle” was a occurrence successful its ain right, with popularity that extended good beyond Chicago.

The azygous spent 9 weeks connected the Billboard Hot 100, peaking astatine No. 41, and was certified golden by the Recording Industry Assn. of America (500,000 units moved). The euphony video, released commercially connected VHS and Betamax, was certified platinum (one cardinal units moved).

The opus was adjacent nominated for a Grammy successful the class of “Best R&B Performance by a Duo oregon a Group with Vocals,” yet losing to Prince and the Revolution for the opus “Kiss.”

“I deliberation it was the cleanable matrimony of that formed of characters from the apical down ... and the information that, extracurricular of the Miami game, of course, they conscionable kept winning,” Cameron said. “And it wasn’t close. I deliberation that surely helps propel this video, on with the emergence of MTV. It was a cleanable tempest of a popular taste phenomenon.”