Today in Throwback History… Rick Astley!

Today marks a big moment in pop culture history… and certainly, in Throwback Nation history!

Rick Astley’s song “Never Gonna Give You Up” hit No. 1 in the U.S. on March 12, 1988, and it stayed there for two weeks.

It also topped the charts in 24 other countries around the world!

The song has endured – nearly 20 years after the song’s release, it became the subject of an Internet meme known as rickrolling. Misleading links redirect users to Astley’s music video. In 2008, YouTube even got in on it by rickrolling all of its featured videos on April 1 as an April Fools’ Day prank. Astley has played along with it, saying “I think it’s just one of those odd things where something gets picked up and people run with it.”

The music video has now hit 1.6 billion views on YouTube – so yes, that’s a lot of rickrolling!

Astley is still making music – he has released some new albums, he’s gone on tour with New Kids on the Block, he released an autobiography in 2024, and he’s a husband and father. Just last week, he posted a cover of Grammy winner Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” that immediately went viral, racking up more than 1 million views!

Happy Hit Song-aversary to Rick Astley!