Chilling with Vanilla Ice

(CBS)  In "The Early Show"'s "Time Machine" series, we went back to the year 1990.

Blast to the Past, 1990, with "The Early Show"
Photos: Back to 1990
Remembering 1990
1990 Quiz
Artifacts of 1990
Cast of "Murphy Brown" Unites

And on the radio that year was Vanilla Ice. The rapper exploded onto the music scene with a tune that was red hot. You couldn't listen to the radio without hearing his hit song, "Ice Ice Baby."

And nearly 20 years later, the song still burns the airwaves.

But who is the man behind the hit?

Vanilla Ice's real name is Robert Van Winkle from Miami. He was just 16 years old when he wrote the hit. He said on "The Early Show" he came up with the idea for the song in just 15 minutes.

But how did Robert Van Winkle become Vanilla Ice?

Vanilla Ice said the name was a nickname at first.

"I used to break dance," he explained, "and I was the only white kid doing it, so my friends labeled me the vanilla kid. I told them, I said 'Stop doing that,' and you know, as friends at that age, they were like, 'Vanilla, Vanilla, Vanilla,' you know, they want to irritate you and it stuck on like any nickname and there it is."

Vanilla Ice's breakthrough album, "To the Extreme," was a chart-topper. It was also the first hip hop album to reach a more mainstream, white audience, and the first white rapper to hit number one on the Billboard Top 100 chart -- for 16 weeks.

However, as his star faded, Vanilla Ice's music got darker. The rapper fell into drugs and depression. He even attempted suicide.

Reflections on 1979

Vanilla Ice said, "We are who we are because of who we were."

He said he was told that by the late televangelist Tammy Faye and that was the "best therapy" of his life.

"I had a weekend that lasted a few years, but I'm here now and I'm happier than ever," he said. "I wouldn't trade my life with anybody today."
Vanilla Ice is now married and has two daughters.

However, Vanilla Ice said on "The Early Show" he still looks back on his success and says, "Wow."

"Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith remarked that many people still know every word to the song.

"It's amazing," he said. "I just got back from Africa, I went to Russia, and believe it or not, they don't speak English very well, but they know the words to that song."

He added his daughters know all the song's lyrics, too.