Rock N' Roll...

Let's get ready to rumble. In the mid-90s, one CD with cheerleaders flying across a bright orange cover took over gyms, arenas, aerobics classes and middle school dances across America. It was Jock Jams, and it came from the strangest partnership in music history: ESPN, a cable network terrified of anything that could embarrass its brand, and Tommy Boy Records, the New York hip-hop label behind De La Soul, Queen Latifah, Naughty by Nature, House of Pain and Coolio. This is the true story of how a rap label and a sports network made one of the best-selling compilation series of the 90s, changed the music you hear at every game, and then disappeared almost overnight. We start in 1977 at Comiskey Park, where White Sox organist Nancy Faust turned Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" into a stadium anthem. Then we head to a luxury box at Madison Square Garden, where Tommy Boy president Monica Lynch noticed the music over the speakers was doing half the work. With Garden organist and music director Ray Castoldi, she pitched an idea Tommy Boy's own sales director called "the worst idea." After the gold-selling Jock Rock tested the waters in 1994, Jock Jams Volume 1 hit stores in July 1995. Michael Buffer's "Let's get ready to rumble" opened the album, followed by 2 Unlimited's "Get Ready for This," Tag Team's "Whoomp! (There It Is)," C+C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat," Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two," Naughty by Nature's "Hip Hop Hooray" and the Village People's "YMCA." We dig into the fights behind the track list, the bands that said no, how the 69 Boyz' "Tootsee Roll" made it onto a family network's album, Martha Wash's fight for credit on "Everybody dance now," and why the biggest buyers turned out to be women, cheer squads and aerobics instructors. Volume 2 brought the Macarena (a cover, not the original) and Montell Jordan's "This Is How We Do It," and Volume 3 gave us "The Jock Jam" megamix. The series sold more than four million copies, and at its peak it brought in about 30 percent of Tommy Boy's income, despite having no street cred at all. Then it all fell apart. Napster made the songs free, Now That's What I Call Music! arrived in America and major labels stopped licensing their hits, and arenas couldn't find 15 new anthems a year. By 2001, the last Jock Jams album barely charted. But the songs never left. Go to an NBA, NHL or high school game today and you'll still hear the soundtrack Jock Jams built. Subscribe to Rock N' Roll True Stories for more documentaries about the music business, the strange partnerships behind hit records, and the stories bands don't usually tell. Podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rock-n-roll-true-stories-podcast/id1876614383 My second YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@rocknrolltruestories2 Have a video request or a topic you'd like to see us cover? Comment below or send in your idea: https://bit.ly/3stnXlN CONNECT ON SOCIAL TIKOK:https://www.tiktok.com/@rocknrolltruestory Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rnrtruestories/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RNRTrueStories Twitter: https://twitter.com/rocktruestories Blog: www.rockandrolltruestories.com #jockjams These videos are for entertainment purposes only. DISCLAIMER https://rockandrolltruestories.com/youtube-disclaimer/