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.
Happy birthday to the Cute Beatle, SIr Paul McCartney! He turns 71 today.
One of the rules for Beatles fans is that you must memorize tidbits of Beatle trivia to try and impress other Beatle fans. This is not that easy to do....as things like...
In 1968, Jeannie C. Riley topped both the pop and country charts with "Harper Valley PTA". She was the first female singer to accomplish that feat and it wasn't repeated until Dolly Parton did it in 1981 with the song "9 to 5". The song was...
This week we're doing story songs on the World's Worst iPod. We start with the story of Billy who really wanted to be a hero. He was a hero, but didn't live to see it and his girlfriend was pretty angry. The song was originally done by...
This week' s Gabby's Pick is another track from emerging artist ZZ Ward's debut album , called "365 Days."
In addition to all the radio airplay " Put The Gun Down" has received, you may also have heard her music on several television...
Apparently Oreo flavored Oreos are not sufficient.
Nabisco is continuing its trend of introducing special limited edition flavors for its Oreo cookies. Last year, the internet was all abuzz about candy corn Oreos, which supposedly didn't really...
One small detail I like about Bonnaroo ... the security people's shirts say "Safety" and "Here to help". They seem well-trained and they do the things security folk do ... but I like the emphasis on safety and that they're doing these things...
Happy birthday to the Cute Beatle, SIr Paul McCartney! He turns 71 today.
One of the rules for Beatles fans is that you must memorize tidbits of Beatle trivia to try and impress other Beatle fans. This is not that easy to do....as things like...
In 1968, Jeannie C. Riley topped both the pop and country charts with "Harper Valley PTA". She was the first female singer to accomplish that feat and it wasn't repeated until Dolly Parton did it in 1981 with the song "9 to 5". The song was...
This week we're doing story songs on the World's Worst iPod. We start with the story of Billy who really wanted to be a hero. He was a hero, but didn't live to see it and his girlfriend was pretty angry. The song was originally done by...
This week' s Gabby's Pick is another track from emerging artist ZZ Ward's debut album , called "365 Days."
In addition to all the radio airplay " Put The Gun Down" has received, you may also have heard her music on several television...
Apparently Oreo flavored Oreos are not sufficient.
Nabisco is continuing its trend of introducing special limited edition flavors for its Oreo cookies. Last year, the internet was all abuzz about candy corn Oreos, which supposedly didn't really...
One small detail I like about Bonnaroo ... the security people's shirts say "Safety" and "Here to help". They seem well-trained and they do the things security folk do ... but I like the emphasis on safety and that they're doing these things...
