As I walked down the hall earlier today, a coworker grabbed me and asked "Who's Tony Orlando? and what song did he do?" I told her that he was best known for "Knock Three Times" and he was the leader of the group "Tony Orlando and Dawn." I explained that they had a variety show that everybody watched when I was a kid. In return I got a blank stare from my coworker. That's when hit me- she has no idea what the variety shows of the 70's were like. You remember the shows...seems that every cheesy duet in the 70's had one. Tony Orlando and Dawn was actually a trio- but the rest of them were duets- Sonny and Cher, The Captain and Tennille, Donny and Marie. They were all the same- a song and dance number to open the show- interupted by friendly banter between the hosts- usually consiting of one of the hosts making fun of the other (Cher teases Sonny about being short, Donny doesn't understand Marie's obsession with County music, Tennille teases the Captain about his baldness, etc.)- and then, after the appropriate amount of teasing and one of the hosts pretending to be REALLY UPSET- back to the song/dance number.
Next up, a couple of mildly funny (I'm being kind here), very family friendly (although they acted as if they were very edgy) skits. Gotta have another song/dance number- this time from a special guest (think we can get Bobby Goldsboro to sing about how that tree has grown? What? He's got his own variety show? What's Anne Murray up to? If we can get Ray Charles, we can tease him about being blind!). Next up- a couple more family friendly skits and of course then it's time to wrap it all up with another big song/dance number. Oh, did I forget to mention the costume changes? Sometimes several within one song. Hell, Cher would completely change her costume and hairstyle 3 times in the course of a 3 minute song! So that's the 70's variety show. Not sure exactly when they went out of style. And I'm sure I would not watch them today, even if they were on TV. But they were fun at the time- if for no other reason, than for a young boy to watch for Cher's inevitable wardrobe malfunction.
The Broadway musical Wicked has flown back into town, thrilling fans at the Overture Center now through June 9th.
I got a chance to see the production for the 2nd time last night, and once again was blown away. Even though I saw Wicked in 2010, I had...
Today we traveled back to 1975 for a Rendezvous with The Hudson Brothers. This song didn't make it to high on the charts, but Kitty enjoyed it. Her favorite brother was Brett. She also loved their television show. We've included a skit from...
I'm not sure why Pete Yorn decided to name his new music project after a European cave dwelling aquatic salamander, but if he stops by to play us some songs in Studio M, we'll have to ask him.
The Olms is a collaboration between Pete Yorn and...
Today's song was written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. It was inspired by the 1957 novel Doctor Zhivago. No one was inspired by the song this morning. It was rejected by almost all the listeners.
Today is World Goth Day, a day to celebrate the post-punk, anti-establishment, dark clothes-wearing subculture.
I'm pretty sure I was a Goth for at least for little while, for two reasons.
1) I almost hardly ever wear pastels.
2) I used to...
Hello to all from Nfusion. Another round of challenges has moved beyond us all. Congrats to those of us lucky enough to have survived to this point. Sad to see the others eliminated as they were all very creative and talented. Good Bye to our new friends...
This morning it seemed like just about everyone was in the mood for some Funky Cold Medina...except Kitty. This ridiculous song made it all the way to number 3 in 1989. Jonathan says any song that references advertising dogs from the 80's has got...
Madison's summer music festival season kicks off this weekend with Brat Fest at Willow Island, where there are more bands than you can shake a bratwurst at! Check out the Brat Fest website to plan your itinerary.
Next up is the Marquette...
The Broadway musical Wicked has flown back into town, thrilling fans at the Overture Center now through June 9th.
I got a chance to see the production for the 2nd time last night, and once again was blown away. Even though I saw Wicked in 2010, I had...
Today we traveled back to 1975 for a Rendezvous with The Hudson Brothers. This song didn't make it to high on the charts, but Kitty enjoyed it. Her favorite brother was Brett. She also loved their television show. We've included a skit from...
I'm not sure why Pete Yorn decided to name his new music project after a European cave dwelling aquatic salamander, but if he stops by to play us some songs in Studio M, we'll have to ask him.
The Olms is a collaboration between Pete Yorn and...
Today's song was written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. It was inspired by the 1957 novel Doctor Zhivago. No one was inspired by the song this morning. It was rejected by almost all the listeners.
Today is World Goth Day, a day to celebrate the post-punk, anti-establishment, dark clothes-wearing subculture.
I'm pretty sure I was a Goth for at least for little while, for two reasons.
1) I almost hardly ever wear pastels.
2) I used to...
Hello to all from Nfusion. Another round of challenges has moved beyond us all. Congrats to those of us lucky enough to have survived to this point. Sad to see the others eliminated as they were all very creative and talented. Good Bye to our new friends...
This morning it seemed like just about everyone was in the mood for some Funky Cold Medina...except Kitty. This ridiculous song made it all the way to number 3 in 1989. Jonathan says any song that references advertising dogs from the 80's has got...
Madison's summer music festival season kicks off this weekend with Brat Fest at Willow Island, where there are more bands than you can shake a bratwurst at! Check out the Brat Fest website to plan your itinerary.
Next up is the Marquette...
