Bears fans of a certain age know former middle linebacker Mike Singletary as “Samauri Mike.” Others have seen him in old game highlights, menacingly shouting, “We’re gonna be here all day” and “I like this kind of party.”
Very few, though, have seen him teach teammates how to line dance.
That’s what Singletary did during production of “The Super Bowl Shuffle,” the theme song of the 1985 Bears. For the 40th anniversary of that one-hit wonder, HBO and NFL Films partnered to produce the documentary “The Shuffle,” which gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at how the song and video came together, including Samauri’s schooling.
“He took the reins of leadership and the choreography of the music video,” said Jeff Cameron, a longtime NFL Films producer who directed “The Shuffle.” “Big, tough Singletary, and there he is teaching the guys how to line dance.”
The film is the first in a series of short documentaries (this one is 40 minutes) being produced by HBO and NFL Films. It debuts at 8 p.m. Tuesday on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max. “The Shuffle” takes fans back to 1985, from actual TV sets of the era to stylized elements such as a script from a dot-matrix printer.
“I wanted to bring back that experience of the ‘Shuffle’ sweeping the city and that sport at a very unique point in time that probably won’t ever exist again,” said Cameron, who also has produced “Receiver” and “Quarterback” for Netflix and “Hard Knocks” for HBO. “Just to capture that 12-week span between November and the Super Bowl in January.”
Bears fans from that time might recall that the players made the video the day after suffering their first loss of the season in Week 13 against the Dolphins on “Monday Night Football.” But to Cameron, a 36-year-old New Jersey native and USC film-school graduate, the revelation was shocking.
“I’ve always known about the ‘Shuffle,’ but I think like most people, I had assumed that they made it when they at least knew they were going [to the Super Bowl],” said Cameron, who joined NFL Films in 2011. “When I learned that Week 13 they recorded the video, I knew that was the hook. That just blew me away. I could not believe that.”
The footage from that day at the Park West came from someone Bears fans might not recall: Dick Meyer. He was an advertising executive behind the successful fragrance Musk who pivoted into music and video production, creating Red Label Records. He was the driving force behind “The Super Bowl Shuffle,” and Cameron connected with Meyer’s widow, Julia, to tell his story.
Cameron also interviewed a recording engineer and video production supervisor who were instrumental in regaling him about the day. But the highlight for Bears fans will be interviews with Singletary, Willie Gault, Jim McMahon and Gary Fencik, not to mention the game highlights from that season.
The production crew digitized those videos and cast them through the old TVs, creating an appealing anachronistic element. The crew found the sets on Facebook Marketplace and made sure they worked to avoid having to superimpose the videos. The staff also worked with a recording studio in Philadelphia that has 80s-era audio equipment to enhance the authenticity.
While the Bears “Shufflin’ Crew” saw their song reach No. 41 on the charts, their Super Bowl XX opponents, the Patriots, came out with their own video, though not until after they upset the Dolphins in the AFC Championship Game. It’s called “New England, The Patriots and We,” and like the Patriots themselves, it didn’t stand a chance.
“We couldn’t find a high-quality version of it. It’s on YouTube,” Cameron said. “When I saw that, I was like, that’s the end [of the film] right there. That’s the flip side of a coin. If the ‘Shuffle’ doesn’t work out, that’s what that becomes, kind of a parody and a punch line.”
But it worked out just fine. The Bears won 46-10, the video earned a Grammy nomination in 1987 and no team has replicated such bravado since.
“You watch press conferences now after games,” Cameron said, “if guys even appear a little bit confident about their next opponent, it’s bulletin-board material, it’s all over the morning shows.
“These guys made a music video. The whole thing is insane.”
Remote patrol
Ian Eagle, analyst J.J. Watt and reporter Evan Washburn will call the Steelers-Bears game at noon Sunday on CBS 2. Before the game, Bears safety Kevin Byard will appear live on “The NFL Today,” where he’ll be interview by Nate Burleson.
Former Bulls radio and TV voice Neil Funk will be enshrined in the team’s Ring of Honor on Saturday.