Football Rocks! Part 1
The NFL ends each football season with the most viewed music show of the year during halftime of the Super Bowl. Now, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is kicking off the football season with the Concert for Legends featuring music superstar Tim McGraw. ProFootballHOF.com is taking a look at the history of music and its relationship with the NFL in this special “Football Rocks” series.
Part 1 - Super Bowl Halftime History | Part 2 - Female Super Bowl Performers | Part 3 - Celebs Love Football | Part 4 - Aerosmith and Football | Part 5 - Tim McGraw's Passion for the Game | Inaugural Concert for Legends Recap
By: Jason Rentner (@Jay25R)
Super Bowl 50’s halftime show featured British rock band Coldplay. The show started off with a bang as fireworks exploded in the air and fans rushed by Coldplay’s lead singer Chris Martin to the stage as he sang one of their hit songs “Yellow” on the field. Martin quickly followed and made his way to the colorful stage, which featured bright flowers that covered the instruments and vibrant graphics on the ground, and performed more of the band’s hits. Coldplay also brought some Uptown Funk and girl power with the help from Bruno Mars and Beyoncé. They helped pay tribute to the past, present and future Super Bowl performances.
Super Bowl XLIX halftime show was the most watched halftime performance in television history. Grammy-nominated pop star Katy Perry attracted an audience of around 118.5 million viewers to watch her ride in on a giant animatronic lion and perform some of her hits with special guests Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliot.
Super Bowl halftime shows didn’t always have pop star flash and pyrotechnics. Like the popularity of the sport, the entertainment has evolved over the years.
The first few decades of Super Bowl halftime performances featured marching bands by both local high schools and universities coupled with a solo artist such as Al Hirt or Ella Fitzgerald. A few other early acts included the performing arts group Up With People and the Rockettes.
Over the years, the acts just kept getting bigger and more popular.
It wasn’t until Super Bowl XXVII when the NFL featured their first super star performer, Michael Jackson. The “King of pop” put on an unforgettable performance that electrified the nation.
The NFL continueds to make a spectacle of the halftime performances by featuring legendary artists and bands such as Aerosmith.
There is no longer a need for the league to search for halftime performers. Artists today are lining up to play during intermission of the the NFL’s championship game.
Here’s the full list of every Super Bowl performance:
Super Bowl I (Jan. 15, 1967) - University of Arizona Band, Grambling College Band, trumpeter Al Hirt
Super Bowl II (Jan. 14, 1968) - Coral Gables, Hialeah, Miami Carol City, Miami Palmetto, Miami Senior, Northwestern Senior, Southwest Miami Senior
Super Bowl III (Jan. 12, 1969) - Florida A&M; University Marching Band
Super Bowl IV (Jan. 11, 1970) - Southern University Band, Al Hirt, Marguerite Piazza, Lionel Hampton, Doc Severinson
Super Bowl V (Jan. 17, 1971) - Anita Bryant, Southeast Missouri State Band
Super Bowl VI (Jan. 16, 1972) - Ella Fitzgerald, Carol Channing, Al Hirt, U.S. Marine Corps Drill Team
Super Bowl VII (Jan. 14, 1973) - Andy Williams, University of Michigan Band, Woody Herman Band
Super Bowl VIII (Jan. 13, 1974) - University of Texas Band
Super Bowl IX (Jan. 12, 1975) - Mercer Ellington and Grambling State University Band
Super Bowl X (Jan. 18, 1976) - Up With People
Super Bowl XI (Jan. 9, 1977) - L.A. Unified All-City Band
Super Bowl XII (Jan. 15, 1978) - Tyler Apache Belles, Pete Fountain, Al Hirt
Super Bowl XIII (Jan. 21, 1979) - Jamaican folk singer Ken Hamilton and various Caribbean bands
Super Bowl XIV (Jan. 20, 1980) - Up With People, Grambling State University Marching Band
Super Bowl XV (Jan. 25, 1981) - Southern University Band, Helen O'Connell
Super Bowl XVI (Jan. 24, 1982) - Up With People
Super Bowl XVII (Jan. 30, 1983) - Los Angeles Super Drill Team
Super Bowl XVIII (Jan. 22, 1984) - University of Florida and Florida State University bands
Super Bowl XIX (Jan. 20, 1985) - U.S. Air Force Band: "Tops in Blue"
Super Bowl XX (Jan. 26, 1986) - Up With People
Super Bowl XXI (Jan. 25, 1987) - Grambling, George Burns, Mickey Rooney, Southern California high school drill teams and dancers
Super Bowl XXII (Jan. 31, 1988) - Chubby Checker, Rockettes
Super Bowl XXIII (Jan. 22, 1989) - South Florida-area dancers, Magician Elvis Presto
Super Bowl XXIV (Jan. 28, 1990) - Pete Fountain, Doug Kershaw, Irma Thomas
Super Bowl XXV (Jan. 27, 1991) - New Kids on the Block
Super Bowl XXVI (Jan. 26, 1992) - Gloria Estefan, Brian Boitano, Dorothy Hamil
Super Bowl XXVII (Jan. 31, 1993) - Michael Jackson (plus 3,500 local children)
Super Bowl XXVIII (Jan. 30, 1994) - Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, the Judds
Super Bowl XXIX (Jan. 29, 1995) - Tony Bennett, Patti LaBelle, Arturo Sandoval, the Miami Sound Machine
Super Bowl XXX (Jan. 28, 1996) - Diana Ross
Super Bowl XXXI (Jan. 26, 1997) - The Blues Brothers (Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman, James Belushi), James Brown, ZZ Top
Super Bowl XXXII (Jan. 25, 1998) - Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves, Temptations, Queen Latifah, Grambling University Marching Band
Super Bowl XXXIII (Jan. 31, 1999) - Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, dancer Savion Glover
Super Bowl XXXIV (Jan. 30, 2000) - Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton
Super Bowl XXXV, Jan. 28, 2001 - Aerosmith, N'SYNC, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Nelly
Super Bowl XXXVI (Feb. 3, 2002) - U2
Super Bowl XXXVII (Jan. 26, 2003) - Shania Twain, No Doubt, Sting
Super Bowl XXXVIII (Feb. 1, 2004) - Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, P. Diddy, Kid Rock, Nelly
Super Bowl XXXIX (Feb. 6, 2005) - Paul McCartney
Super Bowl XL (Feb. 5, 2006) - The Rolling Stones
Super Bowl XLI (Feb. 4, 2007) - Prince
Super Bowl XLII (Feb. 3, 2008) - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Super Bowl XLIII (Feb. 1, 2009) - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Super Bowl XLIV (Feb. 7, 2010) - The Who
Super Bowl XLV (Feb. 6, 2011) - Black Eyed Peas
Super Bowl XLVI (Feb. 5, 2012) - Madonna with Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., LMFAO, CeeLo Green
Super Bowl XLVII (Feb. 3, 2013) - Beyoncé, Destiny's Child
Super Bowl XLVIII (Feb. 2, 2014) - Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Super Bowl XLIX (Feb. 1, 2015) - Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz, Missy Elliott
Super Bowl 50 (Feb. 7, 2016) - Coldplay, Beyoncé, Bruno Mars
Here is an interactive graphic chronicling the Super Bowl halftime performances created by the Washington Post>>>
Football Rocks! Part 2
Women have played an important role in the growth of the Super Bowl. Their dazzling pregame, National Anthem and halftime performances have entertained the world.