The Shuffle (2025) Movie Script
1
We are live from the
Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida.
Miami was one of those games
where you are in it, you feel,
this is not our night.
The interception.
Whatever could go wrong went
wrong that night.
Although ball was bouncing
off helmets and going for
touchdowns.
The Bears are in deep trouble
There were guys who were a
little frustrated.
They started to play a little bit.
Come on, man, do your job.
Got to get to the quarterback.
You've got to defend that guy.
It was one of those nights
where you couldn't imagine that
we would play that bad.
And those guys really took it to them.
We got our tails kicked that
night on national television.
Here in the article, the
Bears will not go undefeated.
Monday night game, no one
else is playing.
Went around the country and
around the world literally watching.
But, people don't know that we
were going to shoot the video
the next day of
"the Super Bowl Shuffle"."
We lose, and we got the video
shoot the next day saying that
throughout the rest of the
season, we are going to the
Super Bowl.
And we are going to win.
We are flying home from Miami.
And it is, like, what the heck
have we gotten ourselves into?
It is like a nightmare.
How do we get out of this?
We talked about going to the
Super Bowl and we got our ass
kicked on Monday Night Football.
The whole crew was there.
"The Super Bowl Shuffle" sign is
there.
Everything is laid out.
We got there, looked at each
Other.
We've got to go to the
Super Bowl.
We've got to go to the
Super Bowl.
If we don't go to the
Super Bowl, we are going to be
the biggest idiots ever.
We've got to win this thing,
man.
There it is.
In the windy city.
A bunch of football players, it
is known as
"the Super Bowl Shuffle"."
Okay, so here is the vocal.
We are the Bears shufflin'
crew
I'm Fred.
I was the engineer and mix
engineer of
"the Super Bowl Shuffle."
Uh-huh .
There is the uh-huh version.
"The Super Bowl Shuffle" went
viral in an age where there was
no viral existence like we know
it today.
And was played all around the
world.
It was a phenomenal entity as
well as being a good record.
It was an enjoyable record.
It was an entertaining record.
It was a record that resonated
with people.
People asked me, did I ever
dream about this?
No, you don't dream this stuff
up.
We're not here to start no
trouble
we're just here to do the
Super Bowl Shuffle
It just comes your way.
It was a unique moment in time.
Well, Dick Meyer was that she
created officer at the fragrance
manufacturers.
At that time, they were very
successful with Musk.
Created something called the
talking box which gave you a
little bit of background about
the fragrance itself.
So, on the back of a box, it was
not just what was in it but a
story behind it.
Kind of a romantic story.
He was getting ready to retire
in '85.
And he wanted to follow his
passion... which was music.
At the time that I met him,
he had a recording studio that
had just been built in his home.
He decided to form a record
label, Fred Labeled Records.
And we were doing videos.
Linda Clifford, he had a video
that they had done for hall
called "the heat in me" in the
summer of '85.
That is when Dick met
Willie Gault.
Well, Willie Gault was a
wide receiver.
That came with all the star
fever.
Willie Gault on the way to
the end zone for a touchdown.
Willie wanted to be in the
movies.
There was a lot of extra things
that Willie Gault did.
I think Willie was the only
player I ever saw as he was
going out to practice where you
are putting your helmet on, he
would look in the mirror, and he
would fix his hair.
I always wanted to try things
that I believe I could do.
I never wanted to sit when i'm
60 or 70 years old and say, I
wish I had tried this.
That is why they are good,
because they have free spirit,
and they have fun.
This whole thing is fun to them.
Baby, I like this kind of party.
As the season went on in
1985, and of the team stayed
undefeated, every player who had
something to do with that
started to do commercials or do
promotions.
So people saw us off the field,
you know.
They saw us without our helmets
on.
I talked to him in real life.
Fridge it was kind of the
focal point.
But everybody was really
becoming their own superstar.
Even lesser-known players are
in demand for handshakes and
autographs.
The greatest football team in
the history of this city.
They were stars.
It didn't go unnoticed by my
husband.
One day I will never forget, he
was in his dressing room.
He came out and goes, what do
you think of football players
doing a rap song and doing a
line dance?
I looked at him, and I remember
walking back into his dressing
room and saying, what happened
in there?
Where did you get this idea?
He said, "no, I think it would
be a really fun idea for Chicago
and their personalities on their
own.
I just think since rap is kind
of coming up, and it is really
catching on, and it is fun, it
would be kind of fun to
incorporate them."
So I met with them.
We had dinner.
At dinner, we talked about the
Bears.
And we talked about, he said,
well, you know, we should do a
video, a song with the Bears.
So Dick made a list of who he
wanted in his video pretty gave
it to Willie.
The dubious job of me to
convince these guys to do a rap
song.
It was the seventh week of
the season when in our Tuesday
production meeting, we were
informed by Dick that we had a
relationship with the Bears, and
we were going to do a record
with them.
Once he had an idea, Dick was
very well known for getting
things done right away.
Because he didn't want to lose
the moment.
We knew we were looking for
release at Christmas.
We all got very excited.
And began trying to figure out
what to do.
I knew that if anybody can
get it done, he could get it
done.
Ultimately felt within a
couple of days, we realized that
on the shelf, we had a product
that we had unreleased that
would be perfect to repurpose.
It was called
"the Kingfish shaffle."
It was about an old TV show
called "Amos and Andy."
King fish was one of the
characters.
We are the
the Kingfish shuffin' crew,
doing it for you, et cetera.
We got a 24 track tape without
any of the vocals, just with the
band track.
The entire record is based off
of that beat.
Using drum machine was kind of a
brand-new concept.
And it was funky.
It is a danceable fund record to
listen to.
Dick thought it was great.
He brought other people in.
And they spent long hours just
kind of making the words to the
music.
And then the music to the words.
The chorus lyrics are the
same, we are
the Kingfish shuffin' crew
became we are the Bears
shufflin' crew.
We had a foundation of the
shufflin' crew forests.
We are the Bears shufflin'
crew
shufflin' on down, doin' it
for you
we're so bad, we know we're
good
blowin' your mind like we knew
we would
Dick was used to doing
commercials.
I think he used the same process
with the song and the words.
Something catchy, something
people would remember.
We're not here to start no
trouble
we're just here to do the
Super Bowl Shuffle
There were games left to
play.
Here they are talking about, we
are going to the Super Bowl.
Uh-huh we are going to win
the thing in their games left to
play.
Uh-huh , uh-huh .
I know enough about sports
and sports, and momentum to
realize you are making a
superstitious chance.
That is why with the Shuffle,
Dick wanted other people to
invest.
He didn't want them to bet on
something that might perhaps not
happen.
We're not here to start no
trouble
we're just here to do the
Super Bowl Shuffle
You know, Chicago is a big
city.
It's always had its great
beauty.
It is absolutely in love with
the Chicago Bears here but it
has always had its problems.
And, this was an era, the idea
of using music to promote
something for charity, live aid,
we are the world.
He came in 1985.
With me are the world, 45 of
this nation's top recording
artists came together and made a
song in the hopes that it would
make a difference for starving
people throughout the world.
It was such a wonderful thing
to give back to the world that
Dick wanted to be part of that.
We wanted to really help
people in Chicago.
Without helping their neediest
families in Chicago would be
great.
Certainly when we say
something is for charity, you
can quite often get people to do
ridiculous things.
The first person I went to
his Walter Payton.
I knew if I could get Walter
involved that everyone else
would follow, because Walter was
basically our team.
And he said, this would be
great.
This would be great.
It was good with me.
Everyone would know that I get
the best that I good.
The next person I went to a
Jim McMahon.
Jim was crazy.
Jim did everything.
Jim didn't care.
He will do this record and
all the proceeds would go and do
a good thing for Chicago.
We thought that was a cool thing
to do.
Ii have those two guys.
And then, that guy that I was
most concerned about,
Mike Singletary.
The leader of the defense,
Samurai.
I went to Mike Singletary.
He looks at me with those big
eyes.
This is big, but if all the guys
are doing it, I will do it.
If it's good for the team,
and it's good us all.
And once Willie told me about
what it was for, what the money
would go towards, feeding the
hungry, then he knew that was
the body end.
Guys who outrightly said no
and wouldn't do it was Ben
Hampton and Steve have selected
Stephen Michael.
They were little bit more
conservative.
That was also when we beat
Dallas 44-0...
the Chicago Bears have
overwhelmed the cowboys and put
on one of the most impressive
displays that we have seen in a
long time.
And when Willie approached
me, I thought, hey, how bad can
it be?
The recording of the song was
way before the video, of course.
Each guy had to go to Myers at
his recording studio in his
basement to record their lines
on audio track.
So, Thursday of that week, all
the players show up.
Dick is totally prepared.
He had each one of their lyrics
ready for them.
We put them out in the studio on
a mic.
They would rather tell micro
site and seeing their part.
We got the lyrics and began
to look at them.
It was kind of, like, okay.
This is interesting.
I know I changed a few.
I wanted to change the punky qb.
I still don't know where that
came from.
I am the punky qb known as
mcmahan,"
I cut my hair because I had a
bad haircut.
None of my word that I
checked, I don't say Super Bowl.
I thought it was called
"the Shuffle"."
We're going to do
"the Shuffle" then ring your
bell
You started to realize, oh,
my gosh, some of the guys lyrics
were talking about a Super Bowl.
I just came to do
"the Super Bowl Shuffle"
The idea that you will have
anything that will be bulletin
board material, Super Bowl, are
you out of your mind?
I wasn't thinking about it
when we get the record part.
No one is really going to hear
it other than people in Chicago
could, probably, right?
Between Saturday and Sunday,
we mix that record and prepared
it for shipment to capitol
records for mastering.
The Bears shut out Dallas
last week.
They are working on the shutout
of the falcons.
We had the TV on while we
were mixing on Sunday.
Hello, like it's going to
happen.
Once we all recorded our
song, we set the schedule for
game number 13 to do the
video... which was on Tuesday
after a Monday night game,
because we have Tuesdays off.
What?
That was a part of the deal.
You said we are going to make a
record.
No one ever mentioned the word
video before.
There was always going to be
a music video, it was just gone
into parts.
It's like acting out
musicians seldom act on, play or
sing.
We use recording to sync up the
action and the soundtrack is
added in editing.
With the success of mtv and
the proliferation of music
videos, it wasn't enough just to
have a great song.
Now, you had to have visuals to
accompany this.
It has become real important.
It is become the marketing tune
in production and dolomite for
the album.
When we played Miami, and we
lose, and guys don't want to do
the video.
Man, I'm not doing that.
Forget that.
There was a lot of pressure on
me to go to each guy and say,
we've got to show up tomorrow.
I started that round on the
plane, guys wear, like, I don't
know.
It may be bad luck.
We shouldn't do this.
My heart is going, oh, my gosh,
I am in trouble.
So, I go to Mike Singletary and
say, look, we are committed.
We are doing a good thing here.
We are going to help these
families in Chicago.
We made a commitment to do
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" video.
We have to do it.
And he said, you are right.
We committed to it.
We said we were going to do it.
Hey, let's be men.
Suck it up, let's go.
We are committed.
We said we are going to do it.
Be there.
Cam brown 4, is there somebody on
camera 4?
I was in charge of the video
crew.
The director was Dave Thompson.
I started getting phone calls at
around midnight from crew
members.
I tried to reach out to the
production team to make sure
things were still on.
We really didn't get
confirmation of the taping of
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" was
going to happen until about 4:00
in the morning.
I didn't know it at at the time,
but the Bears were still in the
air flying back from Miami.
They didn't arrive until about
6:00... which is when our load
in began.
It took us about 4 hours or so
to get ready for 10:00 A.M.
Start.
10:00 A.M. came, and there were
no Bears.
10:30 came, there were no Bears.
11:00 came, there were no Bears.
The worry began to rise again
that may be the enthusiasm for
dancing and singing after their
first loss of the season just
wasn't going to happen.
Luckily around noon, the Bears
began to trickle in.
I don't think anybody was in
a really good mood.
Excited to volunteer.
How many hours of sleep did
you get last night?
Not many, maybe 4 or 5.
I like football playing
better, but this is something
that helps the needy out.
It's like 30 guys, ten or 25
or so wound up coming.
There were a number of
no-shows, none were more notable
than missing Jim McMahon and
Walter Payton.
It was pretty audacious of us
to talk about going to the
Super Bowl and winning it.
We've still got games to play,
and we just lost.
The rehearsal for words, now.
One thing to hear something
about the radio and then seeing
a bunch of guys on a video
screen.
Walter and I didn't go.
We told them, look, we are not
doing it.
That was a part of the deal.
We said, okay, we have to do
it without them.
All the team, we talked.
We said look, guys, what
happened yesterday was bad.
And we can't let it happen
again.
We have to do things and do it
as a team.
This is Mike Singletary talking.
We started with this, but commit
ourselves to doing it as a team.
Don't lose the game and then
come do a video.
Yeah, I'm "Samurai" Mike.
I stopped him cold.
Okay, I got it.
We are here, we are committed to
being here.
Let's be professional.
Let's get it done.
These are elite athletes.
They can move like nobodies
business.
But nobody had ever taught them
to move together.
One, two, three, we are the
Bears shufflin' crew.
One of the funniest parts of
the whole production was
watching Mike Singletary who
took the lead on this, trying to
get these guys to dance
together.
The first thing, a lot of
guys couldn't dance.
People always say going well,
you are at least a better dance
than Stephen Fuller.
He got hurt and is on crutches.
Steve, the crutches really don't
work.
You watch him come in all you
can do is one leg in and out and
in and out.
Turn.
Yeah, and then take a step.
Slide.
Leslie was probably one of
the worst dancers.
Okay, come on.
Come on.
One, two, three, we are the
Bears shufflin' crew.
He was awful.
Get down.
He is from Mississippi, man,
come on.
He ain't got no rhythm.
It takes a lot of rhythm.
Every course that starts, I
want to get a little more not a
backing.
There's no reason after the
first course you can start
moving and singing and working
out a little bit.
Steve was concerned that the
Bears would have no enthusiasm
for doing this.
Dick Meyer became the
cheerleader.
Struttin' our stuff for
everyone
we're not here to start no
trouble
we're just here to do the
Super Bowl Shuffle
Whenever they were dancing on
stage, Dick was dancing behind
the camera.
The fact that these guys
couldn't dance together actually
became a postproduction problem.
Because we had to create the
illusion that they had some
talent.
And that meant that we watch the
video and self, you seldom had a
take that was more than two
seconds long.
Uh-huh
That is as long as they can
keep their hands moving to the
left, and their hands moving to
the right.
Uh-huh
The decision was is made to
get as many wide shots in the
can as possible.
Because we had all the Bears
there at the beginning.
We weren't sure how long they
would stick around.
It took about two hours to get
all of that wide stuff.
And then a lot of them went
home.
And it was again working
one-on-one with the individual
performances.
Many of the Chicago Bears
where perfectionists, and some
of their work.
I'm Samurai Mike, I stop 'em
cold
part of the defense, big and
bold
Mike Singletary in particular
wanted to do it about 25 times.
Give me a chance, I'll rock
you good
nobody messin' in my
neighborhood
I didn't come here lookin' for
trouble
I just came to do the super
bowl Shuffle
Unfortunate, but you've got
to do it until you get it right.
I wouldn't want anything out
there with my name on it that
wasn't right.
Singletary was great.
Otis was great.
The one that was absolutely
astonishing was the French.
The fridge nailed that the first
time.
I can't dance, but I can throw
I can dance, you will see
the others, they all learn
from me
I didn't come here lookin' for
trouble
The person who had the most
trouble with the part was
probably Richard Dent.
Richard was just very quiet.
The only lyrics that we felt
that we had to censor was, I
like to knock guys out on their
ass.
Rather than use a tone, we
decided to put a whistle in.
I got a phone call.
I picked it up.
He's, like, I need you to come
to the park right now.
Because nobody else can fit into
the referee costume.
I said, I have to do what?
Who?
It took only maybe 17 takes to
point and blow a muscle.
I think was an example of a
bunch of professionals that
became professional in an area
that they probably weren't as
used to as they normally are.
And just that filming
session, we bonded in a way that
we could never have bonded in
any other way.
That was the fun part of
working together in a totally
different realm.
Right after that last word on
the chorus...
there were guys that were
backups teaching guys that were
starters.
We mixed in a way that we had
never had a chance to do before.
And it became a rallying point
that brought us together, got us
refocused.
This is what we said we were
going to do.
Let's go get it done.
We finished shooting at about
10:00 Tuesday night.
Doing the twenty-first days of
editing that we didn't know
whether Jim McMahon or
Walter Payton would actually
participate in
"the Super Bowl Shuffle."
You know, McMahon got his
nickname for a reason.
He was the punky qb.
He didn't like people telling
them what to do.
And he thought he could just not
show up.
And Dick found out where he was
and went to speak with him in
person.
Dick said, this is a group
effort.
You are a part of 18.
And you also signed a contract.
You said you were going to do
it, and you are happy to do it.
Now all of a sudden, you have
something else to do?
So Walter and I had to do our
parts in the racquetball court
after practice.
These are the tools of the
future.
And with a process called
Manning, they were still
dolomite added to the rest of
the Bears with knowing knowing the
difference.
Whatever screen it was behind
us, just did whatever the hell I
was doing.
It looked very awkward to just
pretend you are with a group of
people lip-synching to music.
You are a pit stop anyway and be
there.
Get this and the first take.
It's only going to get worse.
I motivate the cats, I like to
tease
I play so cool, I aim to
please
that's why you all got here on
the double
to catch me doin' the super
bowl Shuffle
The guys behind closed doors,
do it and put it on tape for
everybody else to St. Emma as
kind of unheard of.
Well, they call me sweetness
and I like to dance
runnin' the ball is like
makin' romance
we've had the goal since
training camp
to give Chicago a Super Bowl
champ
and we're not doin' this
because we're greedy
the Bears are doin' it to feed
the needy
we didn't come here to look
for trouble
we just came here to do
the Super Bowl Shuffle
What you see up there, not
really a happy camper.
"The Super Bowl Shuffle" kind
of crept up on everybody but I
think that we had heard that the
Bears had done something.
There is this rambling that this
video or something was going to
come out.
The Bears are gearing up for
the Super Bowl not in the
football field but in the
recording studio.
The music was played on the
radio in Chicago.
Literally, that weekend after
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" was
finished.
The first down kept it even.
In the second half, the Bears
have absolutely dominated.
When the instant it hit the
air, you could not hear it in
this town.
It was playing everywhere.
It was like a wildfire.
They couldn't get enough of it.
You can hear that song
anywhere you went.
We are the Bears shufflin'
crew
shufflin' on down, doin' it
for you
we're so bad, we know we're
good
blowin' your mind like we knew
we would
When the vhs videotape
copies, there were no DVDs
back then.
When the 45 rpm records came out
just before Christmas, they flew
off the shelves.
I'll never forget, I was
walking downtown.
And I had to go to Marshall
fields for something.
And they had television.
All over the lobby.
They were all playing
"the Super Bowl Shuffle"."
It was a big deal everywhere,
even if it was just to hate the
Bears.
Come and look at these idiots.
You have never seen anything
like this, honey.
You've got to see this.
Everybody is trying to rhyme.
It was funny.
I'm not here to feather his
ruffle
I just came here to do
the Super Bowl Shuffle
The Bears go home victorious.
Better the Bears data, the
more momentum it got.
And so you've got
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" playing
in stores, and people dancing to
it downtown.
And the season is not over.
The Bears with their own
theme song,
"the Super Bowl Shuffle."
This is on, guys.
We talked about this.
Now there was a song about it.
Coaches are going to let their
players listen to it before the
game.
Here is that team you are going
to play.
They are talking about going for
the Super Bowl.
That means they've got to beat
you.
I was thinking right then, I
better win.
We would look really is a
musical.
Once again...
he famously said go if you
back it up them it is not
bragging.
If you can't back it up, you are
to have to hang your head and
stay out of the public eye,
because you're not going to be
able to put your head down.
On third down.
That is the real fear, that
you do something like we do it,
and it becomes a parody, because
you lose, and you spend time and
energy and focus on something
that wasn't football related.
The match up for Super Bowl
Sunday set for two weeks from
today will be the powerful
Chicago Bears against the
New England patriots.
The Bears and patriots
together on mtv.
The Bears will battle the
patriots and a special edition
of the Friday night video fight,
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" versus
New England patriots.
No, not that I remember.
Now, I never saw the patriots
response to the video.
I've never seen this.
The Bears are going to get
married
New England is going to be
number one
New England the patriots
post
I think I was up for that
one
I'm sorry.
Rolling onto victory
I will put it this way, if we
are in a situation where we are
going to the Super Bowl, we
haven't done a video.
And another team had done the
video, I'm not going to make
another one and try and arrival
it.
I'm going to go out there and
beat the team.
Welcome to super Sunday.
The Bears as you know have been
america's football darling all
year per logic says they will be
doing "the Super Bowl Shuffle"
in Chicago tonight.
I remember watching the
Super Bowl.
And we just wanted to be quiet
in an area where if it didn't
work out and I lost, we could
cry in private.
They came opened up.
We had fumbles in the first
series.
They scored first.
But then I looked up at the
scoreboard, and it was pretty
much the first team to score,
won 19 out of 20 Super Bowl
spirit statistically,
defeated even though we hadn't given
up the first down.
But that changed pretty quickly.
Well, thank god, it did.
In terms of dominant sports
performance, there is
secretariat, and there is the
Kingfish Bears, and then there
is everybody else.
The honey Bears are hyping up
the crowd and the New England
Super Bowl Shuffle is just an
incredible sight.
It was amazing to actually
see it at the Super Bowl.
We had said that this is what
was going to happen.
And to see that come through, it
was unbelievable.
Will they be doing
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" in
Chicago tonight?
I'm sure they will.
I will be doing a little
shoveling myself.
It took some nuggets, but it
worked out pretty well.
Hundreds of thousands are
expected to welcome their team,
and victory that is more of a
waltz then a Shuffle.
This record found on being
number 41 on the pop billboard
charts.
That was amazing when we
found out we got a gold record.
We were up for a grammy.
We thought we would win.
We were cocky.
I'm excited about going up to
accept my grammy.
They said...
If it is a grammy, might as
well of the fridge.
Never seen a bunch of guys on
a project more enthusiastically
in my life.
I'm pretty excited about the way
it turned out.
There are many ways to
remember it.
It was funny.
He was smart.
He was 6'7", and could dance
beautifully.
And he was an innovator.
He was somebody who felt that
just because it is new and
hasn't been tried it before
doesn't mean that it won't
succeed.
What would've happened if it
and go your way?
It was a great risk to take.
But we had the skills on the
talent and the confidence.
I am really pleased that we took
the risk.
What started as
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" became
a championship drive.
We were very fortunate to
pull off something that may not
ever happen again.
A team that was crazy enough and
wild enough and different enough
to pull it off.
And so, the message is, every
now and then in life, there are
things that come along that is
unusual.
Never been done before.
That when those things happen,
man, take advantage of them.
Enjoy them.
Don't try to rationalize it.
Take it for what it is.
Reel it in, because it's only a
moment.
That is what
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" was.
We are live from the
Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida.
Miami was one of those games
where you are in it, you feel,
this is not our night.
The interception.
Whatever could go wrong went
wrong that night.
Although ball was bouncing
off helmets and going for
touchdowns.
The Bears are in deep trouble
There were guys who were a
little frustrated.
They started to play a little bit.
Come on, man, do your job.
Got to get to the quarterback.
You've got to defend that guy.
It was one of those nights
where you couldn't imagine that
we would play that bad.
And those guys really took it to them.
We got our tails kicked that
night on national television.
Here in the article, the
Bears will not go undefeated.
Monday night game, no one
else is playing.
Went around the country and
around the world literally watching.
But, people don't know that we
were going to shoot the video
the next day of
"the Super Bowl Shuffle"."
We lose, and we got the video
shoot the next day saying that
throughout the rest of the
season, we are going to the
Super Bowl.
And we are going to win.
We are flying home from Miami.
And it is, like, what the heck
have we gotten ourselves into?
It is like a nightmare.
How do we get out of this?
We talked about going to the
Super Bowl and we got our ass
kicked on Monday Night Football.
The whole crew was there.
"The Super Bowl Shuffle" sign is
there.
Everything is laid out.
We got there, looked at each
Other.
We've got to go to the
Super Bowl.
We've got to go to the
Super Bowl.
If we don't go to the
Super Bowl, we are going to be
the biggest idiots ever.
We've got to win this thing,
man.
There it is.
In the windy city.
A bunch of football players, it
is known as
"the Super Bowl Shuffle"."
Okay, so here is the vocal.
We are the Bears shufflin'
crew
I'm Fred.
I was the engineer and mix
engineer of
"the Super Bowl Shuffle."
Uh-huh .
There is the uh-huh version.
"The Super Bowl Shuffle" went
viral in an age where there was
no viral existence like we know
it today.
And was played all around the
world.
It was a phenomenal entity as
well as being a good record.
It was an enjoyable record.
It was an entertaining record.
It was a record that resonated
with people.
People asked me, did I ever
dream about this?
No, you don't dream this stuff
up.
We're not here to start no
trouble
we're just here to do the
Super Bowl Shuffle
It just comes your way.
It was a unique moment in time.
Well, Dick Meyer was that she
created officer at the fragrance
manufacturers.
At that time, they were very
successful with Musk.
Created something called the
talking box which gave you a
little bit of background about
the fragrance itself.
So, on the back of a box, it was
not just what was in it but a
story behind it.
Kind of a romantic story.
He was getting ready to retire
in '85.
And he wanted to follow his
passion... which was music.
At the time that I met him,
he had a recording studio that
had just been built in his home.
He decided to form a record
label, Fred Labeled Records.
And we were doing videos.
Linda Clifford, he had a video
that they had done for hall
called "the heat in me" in the
summer of '85.
That is when Dick met
Willie Gault.
Well, Willie Gault was a
wide receiver.
That came with all the star
fever.
Willie Gault on the way to
the end zone for a touchdown.
Willie wanted to be in the
movies.
There was a lot of extra things
that Willie Gault did.
I think Willie was the only
player I ever saw as he was
going out to practice where you
are putting your helmet on, he
would look in the mirror, and he
would fix his hair.
I always wanted to try things
that I believe I could do.
I never wanted to sit when i'm
60 or 70 years old and say, I
wish I had tried this.
That is why they are good,
because they have free spirit,
and they have fun.
This whole thing is fun to them.
Baby, I like this kind of party.
As the season went on in
1985, and of the team stayed
undefeated, every player who had
something to do with that
started to do commercials or do
promotions.
So people saw us off the field,
you know.
They saw us without our helmets
on.
I talked to him in real life.
Fridge it was kind of the
focal point.
But everybody was really
becoming their own superstar.
Even lesser-known players are
in demand for handshakes and
autographs.
The greatest football team in
the history of this city.
They were stars.
It didn't go unnoticed by my
husband.
One day I will never forget, he
was in his dressing room.
He came out and goes, what do
you think of football players
doing a rap song and doing a
line dance?
I looked at him, and I remember
walking back into his dressing
room and saying, what happened
in there?
Where did you get this idea?
He said, "no, I think it would
be a really fun idea for Chicago
and their personalities on their
own.
I just think since rap is kind
of coming up, and it is really
catching on, and it is fun, it
would be kind of fun to
incorporate them."
So I met with them.
We had dinner.
At dinner, we talked about the
Bears.
And we talked about, he said,
well, you know, we should do a
video, a song with the Bears.
So Dick made a list of who he
wanted in his video pretty gave
it to Willie.
The dubious job of me to
convince these guys to do a rap
song.
It was the seventh week of
the season when in our Tuesday
production meeting, we were
informed by Dick that we had a
relationship with the Bears, and
we were going to do a record
with them.
Once he had an idea, Dick was
very well known for getting
things done right away.
Because he didn't want to lose
the moment.
We knew we were looking for
release at Christmas.
We all got very excited.
And began trying to figure out
what to do.
I knew that if anybody can
get it done, he could get it
done.
Ultimately felt within a
couple of days, we realized that
on the shelf, we had a product
that we had unreleased that
would be perfect to repurpose.
It was called
"the Kingfish shaffle."
It was about an old TV show
called "Amos and Andy."
King fish was one of the
characters.
We are the
the Kingfish shuffin' crew,
doing it for you, et cetera.
We got a 24 track tape without
any of the vocals, just with the
band track.
The entire record is based off
of that beat.
Using drum machine was kind of a
brand-new concept.
And it was funky.
It is a danceable fund record to
listen to.
Dick thought it was great.
He brought other people in.
And they spent long hours just
kind of making the words to the
music.
And then the music to the words.
The chorus lyrics are the
same, we are
the Kingfish shuffin' crew
became we are the Bears
shufflin' crew.
We had a foundation of the
shufflin' crew forests.
We are the Bears shufflin'
crew
shufflin' on down, doin' it
for you
we're so bad, we know we're
good
blowin' your mind like we knew
we would
Dick was used to doing
commercials.
I think he used the same process
with the song and the words.
Something catchy, something
people would remember.
We're not here to start no
trouble
we're just here to do the
Super Bowl Shuffle
There were games left to
play.
Here they are talking about, we
are going to the Super Bowl.
Uh-huh we are going to win
the thing in their games left to
play.
Uh-huh , uh-huh .
I know enough about sports
and sports, and momentum to
realize you are making a
superstitious chance.
That is why with the Shuffle,
Dick wanted other people to
invest.
He didn't want them to bet on
something that might perhaps not
happen.
We're not here to start no
trouble
we're just here to do the
Super Bowl Shuffle
You know, Chicago is a big
city.
It's always had its great
beauty.
It is absolutely in love with
the Chicago Bears here but it
has always had its problems.
And, this was an era, the idea
of using music to promote
something for charity, live aid,
we are the world.
He came in 1985.
With me are the world, 45 of
this nation's top recording
artists came together and made a
song in the hopes that it would
make a difference for starving
people throughout the world.
It was such a wonderful thing
to give back to the world that
Dick wanted to be part of that.
We wanted to really help
people in Chicago.
Without helping their neediest
families in Chicago would be
great.
Certainly when we say
something is for charity, you
can quite often get people to do
ridiculous things.
The first person I went to
his Walter Payton.
I knew if I could get Walter
involved that everyone else
would follow, because Walter was
basically our team.
And he said, this would be
great.
This would be great.
It was good with me.
Everyone would know that I get
the best that I good.
The next person I went to a
Jim McMahon.
Jim was crazy.
Jim did everything.
Jim didn't care.
He will do this record and
all the proceeds would go and do
a good thing for Chicago.
We thought that was a cool thing
to do.
Ii have those two guys.
And then, that guy that I was
most concerned about,
Mike Singletary.
The leader of the defense,
Samurai.
I went to Mike Singletary.
He looks at me with those big
eyes.
This is big, but if all the guys
are doing it, I will do it.
If it's good for the team,
and it's good us all.
And once Willie told me about
what it was for, what the money
would go towards, feeding the
hungry, then he knew that was
the body end.
Guys who outrightly said no
and wouldn't do it was Ben
Hampton and Steve have selected
Stephen Michael.
They were little bit more
conservative.
That was also when we beat
Dallas 44-0...
the Chicago Bears have
overwhelmed the cowboys and put
on one of the most impressive
displays that we have seen in a
long time.
And when Willie approached
me, I thought, hey, how bad can
it be?
The recording of the song was
way before the video, of course.
Each guy had to go to Myers at
his recording studio in his
basement to record their lines
on audio track.
So, Thursday of that week, all
the players show up.
Dick is totally prepared.
He had each one of their lyrics
ready for them.
We put them out in the studio on
a mic.
They would rather tell micro
site and seeing their part.
We got the lyrics and began
to look at them.
It was kind of, like, okay.
This is interesting.
I know I changed a few.
I wanted to change the punky qb.
I still don't know where that
came from.
I am the punky qb known as
mcmahan,"
I cut my hair because I had a
bad haircut.
None of my word that I
checked, I don't say Super Bowl.
I thought it was called
"the Shuffle"."
We're going to do
"the Shuffle" then ring your
bell
You started to realize, oh,
my gosh, some of the guys lyrics
were talking about a Super Bowl.
I just came to do
"the Super Bowl Shuffle"
The idea that you will have
anything that will be bulletin
board material, Super Bowl, are
you out of your mind?
I wasn't thinking about it
when we get the record part.
No one is really going to hear
it other than people in Chicago
could, probably, right?
Between Saturday and Sunday,
we mix that record and prepared
it for shipment to capitol
records for mastering.
The Bears shut out Dallas
last week.
They are working on the shutout
of the falcons.
We had the TV on while we
were mixing on Sunday.
Hello, like it's going to
happen.
Once we all recorded our
song, we set the schedule for
game number 13 to do the
video... which was on Tuesday
after a Monday night game,
because we have Tuesdays off.
What?
That was a part of the deal.
You said we are going to make a
record.
No one ever mentioned the word
video before.
There was always going to be
a music video, it was just gone
into parts.
It's like acting out
musicians seldom act on, play or
sing.
We use recording to sync up the
action and the soundtrack is
added in editing.
With the success of mtv and
the proliferation of music
videos, it wasn't enough just to
have a great song.
Now, you had to have visuals to
accompany this.
It has become real important.
It is become the marketing tune
in production and dolomite for
the album.
When we played Miami, and we
lose, and guys don't want to do
the video.
Man, I'm not doing that.
Forget that.
There was a lot of pressure on
me to go to each guy and say,
we've got to show up tomorrow.
I started that round on the
plane, guys wear, like, I don't
know.
It may be bad luck.
We shouldn't do this.
My heart is going, oh, my gosh,
I am in trouble.
So, I go to Mike Singletary and
say, look, we are committed.
We are doing a good thing here.
We are going to help these
families in Chicago.
We made a commitment to do
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" video.
We have to do it.
And he said, you are right.
We committed to it.
We said we were going to do it.
Hey, let's be men.
Suck it up, let's go.
We are committed.
We said we are going to do it.
Be there.
Cam brown 4, is there somebody on
camera 4?
I was in charge of the video
crew.
The director was Dave Thompson.
I started getting phone calls at
around midnight from crew
members.
I tried to reach out to the
production team to make sure
things were still on.
We really didn't get
confirmation of the taping of
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" was
going to happen until about 4:00
in the morning.
I didn't know it at at the time,
but the Bears were still in the
air flying back from Miami.
They didn't arrive until about
6:00... which is when our load
in began.
It took us about 4 hours or so
to get ready for 10:00 A.M.
Start.
10:00 A.M. came, and there were
no Bears.
10:30 came, there were no Bears.
11:00 came, there were no Bears.
The worry began to rise again
that may be the enthusiasm for
dancing and singing after their
first loss of the season just
wasn't going to happen.
Luckily around noon, the Bears
began to trickle in.
I don't think anybody was in
a really good mood.
Excited to volunteer.
How many hours of sleep did
you get last night?
Not many, maybe 4 or 5.
I like football playing
better, but this is something
that helps the needy out.
It's like 30 guys, ten or 25
or so wound up coming.
There were a number of
no-shows, none were more notable
than missing Jim McMahon and
Walter Payton.
It was pretty audacious of us
to talk about going to the
Super Bowl and winning it.
We've still got games to play,
and we just lost.
The rehearsal for words, now.
One thing to hear something
about the radio and then seeing
a bunch of guys on a video
screen.
Walter and I didn't go.
We told them, look, we are not
doing it.
That was a part of the deal.
We said, okay, we have to do
it without them.
All the team, we talked.
We said look, guys, what
happened yesterday was bad.
And we can't let it happen
again.
We have to do things and do it
as a team.
This is Mike Singletary talking.
We started with this, but commit
ourselves to doing it as a team.
Don't lose the game and then
come do a video.
Yeah, I'm "Samurai" Mike.
I stopped him cold.
Okay, I got it.
We are here, we are committed to
being here.
Let's be professional.
Let's get it done.
These are elite athletes.
They can move like nobodies
business.
But nobody had ever taught them
to move together.
One, two, three, we are the
Bears shufflin' crew.
One of the funniest parts of
the whole production was
watching Mike Singletary who
took the lead on this, trying to
get these guys to dance
together.
The first thing, a lot of
guys couldn't dance.
People always say going well,
you are at least a better dance
than Stephen Fuller.
He got hurt and is on crutches.
Steve, the crutches really don't
work.
You watch him come in all you
can do is one leg in and out and
in and out.
Turn.
Yeah, and then take a step.
Slide.
Leslie was probably one of
the worst dancers.
Okay, come on.
Come on.
One, two, three, we are the
Bears shufflin' crew.
He was awful.
Get down.
He is from Mississippi, man,
come on.
He ain't got no rhythm.
It takes a lot of rhythm.
Every course that starts, I
want to get a little more not a
backing.
There's no reason after the
first course you can start
moving and singing and working
out a little bit.
Steve was concerned that the
Bears would have no enthusiasm
for doing this.
Dick Meyer became the
cheerleader.
Struttin' our stuff for
everyone
we're not here to start no
trouble
we're just here to do the
Super Bowl Shuffle
Whenever they were dancing on
stage, Dick was dancing behind
the camera.
The fact that these guys
couldn't dance together actually
became a postproduction problem.
Because we had to create the
illusion that they had some
talent.
And that meant that we watch the
video and self, you seldom had a
take that was more than two
seconds long.
Uh-huh
That is as long as they can
keep their hands moving to the
left, and their hands moving to
the right.
Uh-huh
The decision was is made to
get as many wide shots in the
can as possible.
Because we had all the Bears
there at the beginning.
We weren't sure how long they
would stick around.
It took about two hours to get
all of that wide stuff.
And then a lot of them went
home.
And it was again working
one-on-one with the individual
performances.
Many of the Chicago Bears
where perfectionists, and some
of their work.
I'm Samurai Mike, I stop 'em
cold
part of the defense, big and
bold
Mike Singletary in particular
wanted to do it about 25 times.
Give me a chance, I'll rock
you good
nobody messin' in my
neighborhood
I didn't come here lookin' for
trouble
I just came to do the super
bowl Shuffle
Unfortunate, but you've got
to do it until you get it right.
I wouldn't want anything out
there with my name on it that
wasn't right.
Singletary was great.
Otis was great.
The one that was absolutely
astonishing was the French.
The fridge nailed that the first
time.
I can't dance, but I can throw
I can dance, you will see
the others, they all learn
from me
I didn't come here lookin' for
trouble
The person who had the most
trouble with the part was
probably Richard Dent.
Richard was just very quiet.
The only lyrics that we felt
that we had to censor was, I
like to knock guys out on their
ass.
Rather than use a tone, we
decided to put a whistle in.
I got a phone call.
I picked it up.
He's, like, I need you to come
to the park right now.
Because nobody else can fit into
the referee costume.
I said, I have to do what?
Who?
It took only maybe 17 takes to
point and blow a muscle.
I think was an example of a
bunch of professionals that
became professional in an area
that they probably weren't as
used to as they normally are.
And just that filming
session, we bonded in a way that
we could never have bonded in
any other way.
That was the fun part of
working together in a totally
different realm.
Right after that last word on
the chorus...
there were guys that were
backups teaching guys that were
starters.
We mixed in a way that we had
never had a chance to do before.
And it became a rallying point
that brought us together, got us
refocused.
This is what we said we were
going to do.
Let's go get it done.
We finished shooting at about
10:00 Tuesday night.
Doing the twenty-first days of
editing that we didn't know
whether Jim McMahon or
Walter Payton would actually
participate in
"the Super Bowl Shuffle."
You know, McMahon got his
nickname for a reason.
He was the punky qb.
He didn't like people telling
them what to do.
And he thought he could just not
show up.
And Dick found out where he was
and went to speak with him in
person.
Dick said, this is a group
effort.
You are a part of 18.
And you also signed a contract.
You said you were going to do
it, and you are happy to do it.
Now all of a sudden, you have
something else to do?
So Walter and I had to do our
parts in the racquetball court
after practice.
These are the tools of the
future.
And with a process called
Manning, they were still
dolomite added to the rest of
the Bears with knowing knowing the
difference.
Whatever screen it was behind
us, just did whatever the hell I
was doing.
It looked very awkward to just
pretend you are with a group of
people lip-synching to music.
You are a pit stop anyway and be
there.
Get this and the first take.
It's only going to get worse.
I motivate the cats, I like to
tease
I play so cool, I aim to
please
that's why you all got here on
the double
to catch me doin' the super
bowl Shuffle
The guys behind closed doors,
do it and put it on tape for
everybody else to St. Emma as
kind of unheard of.
Well, they call me sweetness
and I like to dance
runnin' the ball is like
makin' romance
we've had the goal since
training camp
to give Chicago a Super Bowl
champ
and we're not doin' this
because we're greedy
the Bears are doin' it to feed
the needy
we didn't come here to look
for trouble
we just came here to do
the Super Bowl Shuffle
What you see up there, not
really a happy camper.
"The Super Bowl Shuffle" kind
of crept up on everybody but I
think that we had heard that the
Bears had done something.
There is this rambling that this
video or something was going to
come out.
The Bears are gearing up for
the Super Bowl not in the
football field but in the
recording studio.
The music was played on the
radio in Chicago.
Literally, that weekend after
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" was
finished.
The first down kept it even.
In the second half, the Bears
have absolutely dominated.
When the instant it hit the
air, you could not hear it in
this town.
It was playing everywhere.
It was like a wildfire.
They couldn't get enough of it.
You can hear that song
anywhere you went.
We are the Bears shufflin'
crew
shufflin' on down, doin' it
for you
we're so bad, we know we're
good
blowin' your mind like we knew
we would
When the vhs videotape
copies, there were no DVDs
back then.
When the 45 rpm records came out
just before Christmas, they flew
off the shelves.
I'll never forget, I was
walking downtown.
And I had to go to Marshall
fields for something.
And they had television.
All over the lobby.
They were all playing
"the Super Bowl Shuffle"."
It was a big deal everywhere,
even if it was just to hate the
Bears.
Come and look at these idiots.
You have never seen anything
like this, honey.
You've got to see this.
Everybody is trying to rhyme.
It was funny.
I'm not here to feather his
ruffle
I just came here to do
the Super Bowl Shuffle
The Bears go home victorious.
Better the Bears data, the
more momentum it got.
And so you've got
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" playing
in stores, and people dancing to
it downtown.
And the season is not over.
The Bears with their own
theme song,
"the Super Bowl Shuffle."
This is on, guys.
We talked about this.
Now there was a song about it.
Coaches are going to let their
players listen to it before the
game.
Here is that team you are going
to play.
They are talking about going for
the Super Bowl.
That means they've got to beat
you.
I was thinking right then, I
better win.
We would look really is a
musical.
Once again...
he famously said go if you
back it up them it is not
bragging.
If you can't back it up, you are
to have to hang your head and
stay out of the public eye,
because you're not going to be
able to put your head down.
On third down.
That is the real fear, that
you do something like we do it,
and it becomes a parody, because
you lose, and you spend time and
energy and focus on something
that wasn't football related.
The match up for Super Bowl
Sunday set for two weeks from
today will be the powerful
Chicago Bears against the
New England patriots.
The Bears and patriots
together on mtv.
The Bears will battle the
patriots and a special edition
of the Friday night video fight,
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" versus
New England patriots.
No, not that I remember.
Now, I never saw the patriots
response to the video.
I've never seen this.
The Bears are going to get
married
New England is going to be
number one
New England the patriots
post
I think I was up for that
one
I'm sorry.
Rolling onto victory
I will put it this way, if we
are in a situation where we are
going to the Super Bowl, we
haven't done a video.
And another team had done the
video, I'm not going to make
another one and try and arrival
it.
I'm going to go out there and
beat the team.
Welcome to super Sunday.
The Bears as you know have been
america's football darling all
year per logic says they will be
doing "the Super Bowl Shuffle"
in Chicago tonight.
I remember watching the
Super Bowl.
And we just wanted to be quiet
in an area where if it didn't
work out and I lost, we could
cry in private.
They came opened up.
We had fumbles in the first
series.
They scored first.
But then I looked up at the
scoreboard, and it was pretty
much the first team to score,
won 19 out of 20 Super Bowl
spirit statistically,
defeated even though we hadn't given
up the first down.
But that changed pretty quickly.
Well, thank god, it did.
In terms of dominant sports
performance, there is
secretariat, and there is the
Kingfish Bears, and then there
is everybody else.
The honey Bears are hyping up
the crowd and the New England
Super Bowl Shuffle is just an
incredible sight.
It was amazing to actually
see it at the Super Bowl.
We had said that this is what
was going to happen.
And to see that come through, it
was unbelievable.
Will they be doing
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" in
Chicago tonight?
I'm sure they will.
I will be doing a little
shoveling myself.
It took some nuggets, but it
worked out pretty well.
Hundreds of thousands are
expected to welcome their team,
and victory that is more of a
waltz then a Shuffle.
This record found on being
number 41 on the pop billboard
charts.
That was amazing when we
found out we got a gold record.
We were up for a grammy.
We thought we would win.
We were cocky.
I'm excited about going up to
accept my grammy.
They said...
If it is a grammy, might as
well of the fridge.
Never seen a bunch of guys on
a project more enthusiastically
in my life.
I'm pretty excited about the way
it turned out.
There are many ways to
remember it.
It was funny.
He was smart.
He was 6'7", and could dance
beautifully.
And he was an innovator.
He was somebody who felt that
just because it is new and
hasn't been tried it before
doesn't mean that it won't
succeed.
What would've happened if it
and go your way?
It was a great risk to take.
But we had the skills on the
talent and the confidence.
I am really pleased that we took
the risk.
What started as
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" became
a championship drive.
We were very fortunate to
pull off something that may not
ever happen again.
A team that was crazy enough and
wild enough and different enough
to pull it off.
And so, the message is, every
now and then in life, there are
things that come along that is
unusual.
Never been done before.
That when those things happen,
man, take advantage of them.
Enjoy them.
Don't try to rationalize it.
Take it for what it is.
Reel it in, because it's only a
moment.
That is what
"the Super Bowl Shuffle" was.