June 27, 1992: Anthony Ray, a.k.a. Sir-Mix-a-Lot, hits Number 1 with "Baby Got Back." The Seattle-based DJ-turned-rapper wrote it after hearing a woman auditioning for one of his videos say he should pick her in spite of her being fat. Being a bit large himself, he said, "Your waist is 23 inches!" She said, "But my ass is 38 inches!" So he took the road less traveled, saying, "I don't like the straight-up-and-down, little boy look."
He was hardly the first guy to take that road. Spinal Tap did "Big Bottom" in 1984, Queen did "Fat Bottomed Girls" in 1978, and The Commodores did "Brick House" in 1977.
Hit songs about women's rear ends, not necessarily big ones, go back even further than that. In 1978, Peaches & Herb hit Number 5 with "Shake Your Groove Thing." In 1976, KC & The Sunshine Band hit Number 1 with "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty." In 1963, The Five Du-Tones had a minor hit with "Shake a Tail Feather." That song was recorded by several R&B acts, including Ike & Tina Turner. Ray Charles sang it in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.
Before that, Ray sang, "See that girl with the diamond ring? She knows how to shake that thing!" He sang it in "Mess Around," his 1st hit, in 1953. He sang the same line in "What'd I Say," in 1959. In the Fifties.
Sir Mix-a-Lot won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for the song. But he was a one-hit wonder: He only had 2 other hits, one reaching Number 70, one reaching Number 97. His acting career didn't go much better: His UPN show The Watcher only lasted 13 episodes in 1995, and, ever since, he's mostly done one-shots, playing himself.
Somebody once said, "Ever since Jennifer Lopez became famous, Sir Mix-a-Lot cries himself to sleep every night." If she didn’t knock him out of commission, surely, Kim Kardashian made his head explode.
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June 27, 1992 was a Saturday. These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-7 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees came back to win with 2 runs in the 7th, 2 in the 8th and 1 in the 9th, when Charlie Hayes singled Don Mattingly home. This made Tim Burke a winning pitcher in relief of Scott Kamieniecki. Danny Tartabull, Mike Stanley and Andy Stankiewicz hit home runs. Mattingly went 2-for-4 with a walk.
* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Bill Pecota doubled Dave Gallagher home with the winning run in the top of the 11th inning. This made John Franco the winning pitcher, in relief of Sid Fernandez. The earlier Met run came on a home run by Howard Johnson. Eddie Murray, then with the Mets, went 1-for-5.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Montreal Expos, 12-4 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Barry Bonds did not play.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-7 at Fenway Park in Boston. Herm Winningham singled Jack Clark home with the winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning. This made Danny Darwin a winning pitcher in relief of Roger Clemens. Robin Yount went 1-for-6. Paul Molitor went 2-for-6 with 2 RBIs.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Baltimore Orioles, 2-0 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Kevin Appier was pitching a 4-hit shutout, but needed Jeff Montgomery to get the last 2 outs, outpitching Mike Mussina. George Brett went 0-for-4. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-4 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 12-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers, 10-8 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 5-3 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Kevin Bass hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning. Tony Gwynn went 3-for-4.
* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland Athletics, 12-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. Both of the "Bash Brothers," the already-steroids-using José Canseco and the presumably not-yet-steroids-using Mark McGwire, hit solo home runs. Rickey Henderson went 0-for-3.
* And the California Angels beat the Seattle Mariners, 2-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Former Mariner Mark Langston outpitched Randy Johnson. The Mariners' run came on a solo homer by Ken Griffey Jr.
