The Weekly Wayback: Notable Pop-Culture Anniversaries for Feb. 1-7, 2025
Each week, the Weekly Wayback will take you back — often way back — to relive (or discover) the notable happenings in popular culture that first occurred during a given week in a certain year at least two decades ago.
Memorable movies, music, television, books, sports, radio, comics and more will be spotlighted. So hop in the Wayback Machine, and away we go!
The Weekly Wayback: Pop-Culture Anniversaries for Feb. 1-7, 2025
85 Years Ago (1940)
MOVIES
Pinocchio
This masterpiece that ranks as not only one of Walt Disney’s greatest feature-length animated productions but also one of the best animated movies ever made its premiere on Feb. 7, 1940, before opening in wide release on Feb. 23. Filled with iconic characters, including the titular wooden puppet desperate to become a real boy, Jiminy Cricket, Geppetto and Monstro the whale, Pinocchio won Oscars for its score and the beloved song “When You Wish Upon a Star.”
75 Years Ago (1950)
TELEVISION
What’s My Line?
This classic panel game show aired on CBS from Feb. 2, 1950-Sept. 3, 1967, then continued in a syndicated revival that ran from 1968-75. The original CBS version moderated by John Daly is likely the most remembered, with celebrity panelists like Dorothy Kilgallen, Arlene Francis, Steve Allen, Fred Allen and Bennett Cerf questioning everyday contestants to guess their occupation (with an occasional famous “mystery guest” thrown into the mix).
55 Years Ago (1970)
MOVIES
Patton
George C. Scott famously declined the Best Actor Oscar he was awarded for portraying legendary Gen. George S. Patton in this classic, Best Picture-winning war drama that had its premiere on Feb. 4, 1970, later opening in wide release on April 2. Karl Malden costarred as equally famous military leader Gen. Omar Bradley in the film, which won five other Oscars, including for its screenplay cowritten by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North.
MUSIC
Sweet Baby James
Singer-songwriter James Taylor released his second studio album on Feb. 1, 1970. The album itself was a hit, as were a couple of its tracks, “Fire and Rain” and “Country Road.” While the title song did not chart, it has remained a favorite among Taylor’s tunes (for both himself and audiences). Sweet Baby James earned two Grammy nods, including Album of the Year, while “Fire and Rain” was nominated for three Grammys, including Record and Song of the Year.
45 Years Ago (1980)
MOVIES
The Fog
This cult classic, a slasher/ghost story combo from director John Carpenter that he cowrote with Debra Hill and also composed the creepy music for, opened in limited release on Feb. 1, 1980, before expanding to more theaters the following week. Carpenter’s Halloween star, Jamie Lee Curtis, also led this more supernatural feature, along with Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, Hal Holbrook and Curtis’ mother, Psycho star Janet Leigh. John Houseman contributed his memorable presence and voice to the film’s fantastic opening, with his character telling a ghost story around a beach campfire and brilliantly setting The Fog‘s eerie ambiance.
TELEVISION
Mystery!
Although PBS still airs a Sunday night block of mystery programming under the Masterpiece Mystery umbrella (combining the Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery! brands), Mystery! was a long-running standalone program of its own that ran on the network for over 25 years starting on Feb. 5, 1980. With its famous animated opening featuring macabre original drawings by Edward Gorey, Mystery! offered plenty of British thrillers like Rumpole of the Bailey (which first aired on Feb. 12, 1980) introduced by notable hosts including Gene Shalit (1980), Vincent Price (1981-89) and Diana Rigg (1989-90).
MUSIC
“All Out of Love”
Soft rock group Air Supply released this tune, one of many of theirs that became staples at early ’80s junior high slow dances, on Feb. 7, 1980. “All Out of Love” was one of three hit singles off the group’s fifth album, Lost in Love, which came out that March, along with that album’s title track and “Every Woman in the World.” They all helped Air Supply finally find success outside Australia.
Sugarhill Gang
Influential rap group Sugarhill Gang released their self-titled debut album — considered the first hip-hop studio album — on Feb. 7, 1980. Its most memorable track was the classic “Rapper’s Delight,” which had been released as a single in September 1979 and became the first rap single to become a Top 40 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart (it reached No. 36).
25 Years Ago (2000)
TELEVISION
Oxygen Network
Launched on Feb. 1, 2000, with Oprah Winfrey among the stakeholders, and with an original focus on lifestyle and entertainment programming geared toward women, Oxygen has since become more focused on true-crime programming and crime dramas.
20 Years Ago (2005)
TELEVISION
American Dad!
Just as his Family Guy had, this animated comedy from Seth MacFarlane launched following a Super Bowl: The American Dad! pilot episode aired Feb. 6, 2005, following FOX’s coverage of Super Bowl XXXIX. Led by MacFarlane as the voices of both the titular dad, CIA agent Stan Smith, and Roger, an extraterrestrial whom Stan’s family is harboring, the series is in its 21st season with new episodes airing on TBS, the show’s home since 2014 following its Seasons 1-11 run on FOX.
Puppy Bowl
A Jack Russell terrier named Max was the MVP of Animal Planet’s first Puppy Bowl, which aired on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 6, 2005, with its action called by legendary sportscaster Harry Kalas. Kicking off a wave of counterprogramming against the big NFL game on other networks, the Puppy Bowl has remained the most enduring. It has grown from a relatively small and quiet, almost ambient, depiction of puppies romping on a football field into a major and highly anticipated Super Bowl-like event itself, complete with a halftime show and on-field sponsors.
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