It was 27 years ago today, in the final months of the 1980s, that the one of the defining shows of the 1990s, Seinfeld, premiered.
Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David launched the “show about nothing” though they”d been asked to put together a 90-minute TV special. A season pick-up at first seemed unlikely after the pilot airing, but NBC execs ended up finding the money to order more episodes by making one fewer Bob Hope special, and the show of course went on to become one of the most successful and beloved comedies in television history, giving us the Soup Nazi, the Festivus pole, George”s musical answering machine, and a showcase for a quartet of four core comedic talents.
Other notable July 5 happenings in pop culture history:
• 1954: The BBC broadcast its first daily television news program.
• 1954: Elvis Presley recorded his version of “That”s All Right.”
• 1968: Creedence Clearwater Revival released their self-titled debut album.
• 1969: At a free outdoor concert in London”s Hyde Park, the Rolling Stones performed the group”s first public concert in two years, introducing new guitarist Mick Taylor, and honoring former member Brian Jones, who had died two days before the concert.
• 1986: Billy Ocean”s “There”ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)” took the top spot on the Billboard 100.
• 1989: Weekend at Bernie”s opened in theaters.
• 1996: Eric Clapton released his single “Change the World.” It went on to earn three Grammy awards.
• 1999: From a Greenpeace boat on the River Thames, Eurythmics announced that they would reunite for a tour with concert-goers and album buyers encouraged to make donations to Greenpeace and Amnesty International.
• 2000: The first episode of the U.S. version of hit CBS reality show Big Brother aired.