In Popular Culture
The song, in particular its title, is referenced in the 1987 film Eddie Murphy Raw, as a common question that women ask their partners prior to breaking up.
The famous "LatelyBass" preset on the Yamaha TX81Z (used extensively on house and techno songs of the late 1980s and 1990s) was based on the bass tone of this song, and subsequently named after it as well.
Prince interpolated the song in performances of his top twenty hit "Partyman" during his 1990 Nude Tour.
The song was interpolated for a medley sung in the 1993 comedy Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, and was covered by the American soul/funk band Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings in 2002 for their debut album, Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.
"What Have You Done for Me Lately" ranked number three hundred and forty-one on Blender's list of The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born.
The song is featured in the 1989 made-for-television Disney film The Parent Trap III.
Read more about this topic: What Have You Done For Me Lately
Famous quotes containing the words popular culture, popular and/or culture:
“The lowest form of popular culture—lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people’s lives—has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Americans are being stuffed with garbage.”
—Carl Bernstein (b. 1944)
“The popular colleges of the United States are turning out more educated people with less originality and fewer geniuses than any other country.”
—Caroline Nichols Churchill (1833–?)
“He was one whose glory was an inner glory, one who placed culture above prosperity, fairness above profit, generosity above possessions, hospitality above comfort, courtesy above triumph, courage above safety, kindness above personal welfare, honor above success.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 1, ch. 1 (1962)