The best and worst of Super Bowl halftimes past
The first Super Bowl halftime show in 1967 featured the University of Arizona and Grambling State marching bands and the Anaheim High School drill team and flag girls. The 50th halftime show, set for next Sunday, will feature Coldplay and Beyoncé.
The evolution from forgettable afterthought to pop culture behemoth happened slowly, with many highlights and disasters along the way. Super Bowl halftime shows have brought confusion to our faces, tears to our eyes and FCC investigations to the forefront.
WORST OF ALL TIME
7. The Who, Super Bowl XLIV (2010)
6. Janet Jackson, P. Diddy and Justin Timberlake, XXXVIII (2004)
5. Black Eyed Peas with Slash, XLV (2011)
4. The Blues Brothers, XXXI (1997)
3. Indiana Jones stage show, XXIX (1995): An epic mess, combining a promotion for a new Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland with Patti LaBelle missing her lip-syncs, and some of the worst choreographed fight scenes in stage history. Harrison Ford and Karen Allen wouldn’t come anywhere near this thing, so a fake Indiana and Marion Ravenwood were used.
2. Up With People Salutes Motown, XVI (1982): The Super Bowl in Pontiac, Mich., was just 30 miles away from the original home of Motown in Detroit. So how did they salute the legendary African American-owned record company? By assembling the whitest group of singers and dancers in music history.
1. Elvis Presto, Super Bowl XXIII (1989): Officially called “Be-Bop Bamboozled in 3D,” this show featured a horrible singing Elvis impersonator who incoherently tried to execute a card trick. Find the YouTube clip and watch Bob Costas’ deadpan introduction, which does little to hide his disdain for the atrocious stab at entertainment.
BEST OF ALL TIME
7. Rolling Stones, XL (2006)
6. Michael Jackson, XXVII (1993)
5. Aerosmith with NSYNC, Britney Spears and Nelly, XXXV (2001)
4. Diana Ross, XXX (1996)
3. Madonna, XLVI (2012): Madonna danced on the edges of self-parody with this crazy made-for-Twitter performance that included tightrope dancers, gladiator backup dancers and a fresh take on her older catalog. The best of the recent Super Bowl performances. (Sorry, Beyoncé, Katy Perry and Left Shark.)
2. Prince, XLI (2007): Prince offered an economical, hard-rocking set, with a mix of creative covers and crowd-pleasers from his back catalog. He should be the Super Bowl house band and play every year.
1. U2, XXXVI, (2002): With a high degree of difficulty — four guys from Ireland chosen to commemorate history’s largest terrorist attack on American soil — U2 set the perfect tone of remembrance, resilience and togetherness. The band ended with the Sept. 11 victims’ names on a big screen, while they performed “MLK” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Usually these shows are at best a fun distraction. This one was catharsis.
