50 Fun Facts About Run-DMC

In which New York City neighbourhood was Run-DMC formed?

All three members grew up there and named a Christmas song after it.

In which year was Run-DMC formed?

They signed with Profile Records and released their debut single that year.

Which member of Run-DMC handled the turntables?

Better known as Jam Master Jay, he shaped the sound of most of their records and was murdered in 2002.

Which promoter, elder brother of one member, managed Run-DMC and co-founded Def Jam?

He marketed the group as Run-D.M.C., a name the trio hated at first.

As a teenager, the future Run worked the turntables onstage for which older rapper?

He billed himself as 'DJ Run, Son of Kurtis Blow'.

With which record label did Run-DMC sign?

A common myth is that they were on Def Jam, but they only shared its management and producer.

What was the A-side of Run-DMC's debut single, released in late 1983?

Backed with 'Sucker M.C.s', it peaked at number 15 on the R&B chart.

Their 1984 debut album made Run-DMC the first hip-hop group to achieve what?

The follow-up then made them the first hip-hop group to go platinum.

Which 1984 single fused raw hip-hop with blazing electric guitar?

Its video was the first hip-hop clip broadcast on MTV.

Their 1985 album King of Rock made Run-DMC the first hip-hop group to do what?

It spent 56 weeks on the Billboard album chart.

Which 1986 album, their third, hit number three on the Billboard 200?

It was the first hip-hop record to go multi-platinum.

Who produced the group's third album alongside their manager?

He had just produced LL Cool J's debut album Radio.

With which rock band did Run-DMC record their crossover hit 'Walk This Way'?

It reached number four on the Hot 100 and revived the band's career.

Which duo wrote the original 1975 version of 'Walk This Way'?

It first appeared on the album Toys in the Attic.

What does Steven Tyler famously do in the 'Walk This Way' video?

The clip stages a musical duel between the two acts before uniting them.

What was the group's original plan for 'Walk This Way' before it became a full cover?

The producer and Jam Master Jay insisted on a complete version with the rock band's own members.

How much was the landmark Adidas endorsement deal that followed 'My Adidas'?

It was the first endorsement deal between a musical act and an athletic company.

At which venue did fans hold their Adidas aloft, clinching the shoe deal?

An Adidas executive was in the audience on 19 July 1986.

How did Run-DMC famously wear their Adidas sneakers?

DMC linked the style to jail, where inmates were not allowed laces.

What hat became part of Run-DMC's trademark look?

With Cazal glasses and leather jackets it defined a new street aesthetic.

Which 1985 film, a fictionalised account of their manager's rise, featured Run-DMC?

It also featured the Fat Boys, LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys.

At which 1985 benefit concert did Run-DMC perform?

They appeared shortly after 'Rock Box' was released.

Which magazine put Run-DMC on its cover, a first for a hip-hop act?

They were also the first to have videos on MTV and to be nominated for a Grammy.

Which Clarence Carter holiday song is sampled on 'Christmas in Hollis'?

The track also throws in an Acme siren and bits of Frosty the Snowman and Jingle Bells.

Which cause did the 1987 charity album carrying 'Christmas in Hollis' support?

Run-DMC first refused, then agreed once publicist Bill Adler suggested a Hollis theme.

Which band sued Run-DMC two decades on for sampling 'My Sharona' on 'It's Tricky'?

The case was settled out of court in 2005.

Which act joined Run-DMC on the 1987 Together Forever Tour?

Both acts were managed by Russell Simmons's Rush Management.

Which 1988 Run-DMC album swapped rap-rock for a grittier, more sample-heavy sound?

A crime-caper film of the same name flopped the same year.

Which Letterman sidekick appears in the 'King of Rock' video?

Better known as Larry 'Bud' Melman, he plays a museum guard.

Which 1990 Run-DMC album, widely seen as their worst, dabbled in new jack swing?

Its singles 'Pause' and 'The Ave' flopped and the group began to look outdated.

Which 1993 comeback album with Pete Rock and Q-Tip topped the R&B chart?

The title track was the group's last hit.

How many tracks on the 2001 album Crown Royal actually featured DMC?

Guests such as Kid Rock, Nas and Method Man filled the gaps, and critics blasted his absence.

Which group and which rapper were discovered by Jam Master Jay's label JMJ Records?

Onyx had a 1993 hit with 'Slam'.

What did Joseph Simmons become known as after ordination as a Pentecostal minister?

He later starred in the MTV reality show Run's House.

What did Darryl McDaniels discover about his own childhood as an adult?

He reunited with his birth mother in a VH1 documentary, My Adoption Journey.

Which Sarah McLachlan song did a despairing McDaniels credit with turning his life around?

He later recorded 'Cat's in the Cradle' with her.

What was DMC's rap nickname before he became DMC?

He signed his schoolwork DMcD, which shortened to DMC.

Which instrument did the three-year-old Jam Master Jay start on?

He also learned bass, guitar and drums before discovering the turntables at 13.

Where was Jam Master Jay shot dead in October 2002?

Fans left Adidas sneakers at a memorial outside the studio.

In which year were two men finally convicted of Jam Master Jay's murder?

They had been arrested in 2020; a third man, Jay Bryant, was charged separately.

Which Manhattan school for turntablists was founded in 2002 in Jam Master Jay's memory?

It was founded the same year he was killed.

In 2009 Run-DMC became only the second hip-hop act to enter which institution?

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five got there first, in 2007.

Which honour did the Recording Academy give Run-DMC in 2016?

They had been the first hip-hop act ever nominated for a Grammy, back in 1987.

Which King of Rock track was one of the first rap/dancehall hybrids?

The same album was the first rap record ever released on CD.

Which band's drum machine work by Larry Smith drove Run-DMC's debut album?

They used an Oberheim DMX, with Jam Master Jay's scratches mixed over a guitar riff.

Which four hit singles came from the group's 1986 album?

The Aerosmith collaboration was the biggest of the four.

Whose 1998 remix of 'It's Like That' hit number one across much of Europe?

It spent weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart, fifteen years after the original.

At which venue did Run-DMC give what they called their final performance in August 2023?

It was part of a Hip Hop 50 celebration concert.

Which Library of Congress honour did Raising Hell receive in 2018?

The registry recognises recordings deemed culturally, historically or aesthetically significant; the album was the first multi-platinum hip-hop record.

Where did Rolling Stone place Run-DMC on its 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time?

Three years later MTV named them the greatest hip-hop group of all time and VH1 the greatest hip-hop artist of all time.