Notable pop culture anniversaries of 2019, from Woodstock to 'The Sopranos' premiere and more
Bada bing! Happy 20th to Tony and the guys. Credit: Getty Images/Getty Images
In 2019, we'll be celebrating many significant pop culture anniversaries, from "The Brady Bunch" (50!) and "Friends" (25!) to "Rapper's Delight" (40!) and "We Didn't Start the Fire" (30!). Here's our annual, extremely subjective list of notable anniversaries designed, as always to make you say out loud, "I can't believe it's been that long!"
1969 (50th anniversary)
Concert-goers sit on the roof of a Volkswagen bus at the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in upstate Bethel, in mid-August, 1969. The three-day concert attracted hundreds of thousands of people, and became a landmark cultural event of the late '60s. Credit: AP
May 25 "Midnight Cowboy" — The first X-rated movie to win a best picture Oscar. Pretty darn sure it'll be the last one.
Aug. 15-17 Woodstock — So the babies born at the original festival can now be eligible to share AARP memberships with their parents?
July 14 "Easy Rider" — The indie movie that shook up Hollywood: Two hippie-types (Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda) hit the road on their choppers looking for America and get blown away by rednecks for their troubles.
Sept. 26 "The Brady Bunch" — After a half-century, one still wonders how a family of eight (and a housekeeper) got by with just one bathroom?
1979 (40th anniversary)
The Sugarhill Gang, in the late 1970s. Credit: Everett Collection
Jan. 26 "The Dukes of Hazzard" — Hard to believe, but 40 years ago, a show featuring a car emblazoned with the Confederate flag on its roof (and a horn that played "Dixie") became a huge hit,
June 15 "Rocky II" — The one where he becomes the champ, in case you've forgotten.
July 27 "The Amityville Horror" — The movie about the creepy LI house (and the year's No. 2 box-office success) that would launch a zillion sequels.
Sept. 16 The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper’s Delight" — What you heard was not a test, only the start of a musical revolution.
1989 (30th anniversary)
Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in "When Harry Met Sally." Credit: Columbia Pictures/ Everett Collection
June 30 "Do The Right Thing" — Spike Lee's movie about events on "the hottest day of summer" was made even more sizzling by those Public Enemy tracks played on Radio Raheem's boombox.
July 12 "When Harry Met Sally" — Still, the greatest movie scene ever filmed at Katz's Delicatessen on the Lower East Side.
Dec. 9 "We Didn't Start the Fire" — Billy Joel's final No. 1 single was the best history lesson ever recorded.
Dec. 17 "The Simpsons" — We're 30 years older. They haven't aged a day.
1994 (25th anniversary)
"Friends" in London. Clockwise from top left: Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox and Matthew Perry. Credit: Getty Images
April 5 Kurt Cobain commits suicide — Would he be toiling on the rock oldies circuit had he lived? Please, no.
June 17 OJ-mania begins with the white Bronco chase — An obsession that's only intensified.
June 24 "The Lion King" — But with the long-running Broadway show and an upcoming movie, it's never really gone away.
Sept. 22 "Friends" — A quarter-century later, they're still here for us.
1999 (20th anniversary)
Jan. 10 "The Sopranos" — The groundbreaking show that allowed HBO to brag, "It's not TV. It's HBO."
May 1 "SpongeBob Square Pants" — So sad that creator Stephen Hillenburg, who died earlier this year, won't be here to mark the landmark occasion.
Sept. 22 "The West Wing" — Is Jed Bartlet available for 2020?
Dec. 31 Y2K Madness peaked — This just in: Nothing happened.
2009 (10th anniversary)
Michael Jackson performs on Feb. 24, 1988, in Kansas City, Mo., during his 13-city U.S. tour. Credit: AP/Cliff Schiappa
April 9 "Parks and Recreation" — Treat. Yo. Self. to an anniversary present.
June 25 Michael Jackson dies — There's no way around it, his death still seems shocking.
Sept. 13 Kanye West interrupts Taylor Swift at the VMAs — Even President Barack Obama called him a "jackass" for his uncivil act.
Sept. 27 Khloe Kardashian marries NBA player Lamar Odom — How'd that work out?
Andy Edelstein, Newsday's entertainment editor, supervises coverage of TV, celebrities, movies and pop music. He has written three books on popular culture, including "The Brady Bunch Book."
