"The colors are so bright and gay"? Uh-huh. Nothin' suggestive about the pink hat on that 'nanner, either, nosiree bob.Originally Posted by Dave (in MA)
"The colors are so bright and gay"? Uh-huh. Nothin' suggestive about the pink hat on that 'nanner, either, nosiree bob.
Frankie Randall's version of I Can See For Miles perfectly demonstrates the way to NOT sing a Pete Townshend composition. And though he's not really a "crooner", Tennessee Ernie Ford's rendition of Let It Be is also pretty stinky. He sings it as if it were a white gospel thing.
What was even worse were all the people who weren't even proper singers, actors and other celebrities who made records back then. Probably the most famous would be Shatner and perhaps Nimoy, but all kinds of people made records. I remember at the height of the popularity of Laverne And Shirley, Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall made an album, even though neither had any experience as singers. Then you had all the teen idols, everyone from Leif Garrett to Scott Baio, most of whom had never sung before they were handed record deals. Hell, you even had politicians recording patriotic songs. And lest we forget SSgt Barry Sadler's Ballad Of The Green Beret. Trust me, Donnie & Marie were just the tip of the iceberg.
Oh good heavens, because there was a contingency of county music fans in my family, ever Sunday afternoon was spent watching all the country themed ones. I remember Porter Wagoner, Pop Goes The Country, and of course, Hee-Haw. And yeah, I remember the Barbara Mandrell show, specificially the numbers she'd do with their sisters where the three of them would show off their instrument skills. If I remember correctly Barbara would typically play guitar or pedal steel, the one sister, I think, was a banjo player, and the third I'm for some reason remembering as a drummer. And they also had a puppet band that they'd use for comedy purposes, kinda like a Syd & Marty wannabe trip.
It's a toss up between Captain & Tennile, Barbara Mandrell (and her sisters), and Pink Lady.^ Good gawd that is funny
I was expecting you to say the killer was MTV. That'd make sense though.
Personally I think it was The Captain and Tennile that killed the American variety Show.
Actually, I think the era just kinda came to an end. You actually may have a point about the MTV thing. With the rise of cable TV, and hence more television viewing options, I think a lot of people suddenly realized, "Holy shit, there has to be something better than this on!". But for whatever reason, variety shows weren't "in" anymore, the old ones went off the air for whichever reasons, and nobody was green lighting new ones.
Oh, and does anyone remember the Krofft Super Show that aired on Saturday mornings in the late 70's? It was a toss up of musical numbers, comedy skits, and two or three tacky "cliffhanger" programs featuring "teenagers in peril" or whatever. The first year or two, they featured a fictitious rock group called Kaptain Kool And The Kongs (or something like that). Then someone had this bright idea to replace them with a real life rock group, which ended up being The Bay City Rollers. Yeah, great idea guys, now no one will laugh at the jokes, because they can't understand what the lads are saying with those thick Scottish accents!
> Black Sabbath - Paranoid (by German Cindy & Bert as Der Hund Von Baskerville)
Friggin LOL! I love how everyone is only slightly interested in what's going on, including the performers.
This may not be quite the right place for this, but let's face it - there's no wrong time for Manakin. I *NEED* to watch this a few times a year.
SNL did a contemporary parody of Pink Lady and Jeff with Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner as Pink Lady, that was funnier than anything the real show ever produced!
High Vibration Go On - R.I.P. Chris Squire
Yup, the *dumb blonde* sister was the drummer. Makes perfect sense doesn't it! (and i'm a drummer/percussionist)
"Wouldn't it be odd, if there really was a God, and he looked down on Earth and saw what we've done to her?" -- Adrian Belew ('Men In Helicopters')
Those costumes make my eyes hurt. Love the modular Moog though.
I may be alone on this, but I think recent Marie O. is hotter.
not Mandrell, as her show was a hit every year it was on. Like it or not, it made money. Pink Lady & Jeff was a disastor because not only were Pink Lady fish out of water, Jeff Altman was marginally funny at best. At this point in time he merely aped other TV personalities, as he did on another failed variety show, the very short lived Starland Vocal Band Show which also featured a young David Letterman.It's a toss up between Captain & Tennile, Barbara Mandrell (and her sisters), and Pink Lady.
This is probably the best answer as I can't remember too many variety shows from the '70s or early '80s that didn't suck in one way or the other, some just sucked a lot worse.
Compact Disk brought high fidelity to the masses and audiophiles will never forgive it for that
If you didn’t post that, I was going to.
Speaking of variety shows, you knew the networks started getting desperate when they thought Mel Tillis and Susan Anton would make a good combination:
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MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")
"Parece cosa de maligno. Los pianos no estallan por casualidad." --Gabriel Garcia Marquez
N.P.:“Listen to Me”-After the Fire/Laser Love
But what could be funnier than corporate-sponsored racism?
I remember VH-1 doing a "Where Are They Now" segment on Starland Vocal Band (who were, incidentally, name checked in last week's Simpsons episode). They talked briefly about the variety show, showing a clip of Letterman saying something, "Yes, that's the sound of TV sets all across America clicking over to another channel", as if to herald the show's cancellation and the end of SVB's 15 minutes. They then cuts to one of the ladies in the group, who says that she bumped in Paul Shaeffer once, and told him to tell Dave to "Don't worry, we don't put the variety show on our resumes either".
Yeah, but for my money, Mitsuyo and Keiko were a lot hotter than Laraine and Gilda.
That does it -- I'm scrapping my plans for the weekend; instead I'm going to score an eight-ball, get a couple cases of Lowenbrau, wash my hair with Body on Tap, then watch the entire "Shields and Yarnell" variety show collection, followed by the entire first (and only) season of "Toma". If I'm still awake after that -- Brady marathon.
Oh...my my....I got my Manakin fix for the year now. Thanks!!!
"The Bill of Rights says nothing about the freedom of hearing. This, of course, takes a lot of the fun out of the freedom of speech." - Pat Paulsen
My Art- http://www.facebook.com/williamallenrenfro -My Life
This is the best thread that's ever appeared on PE.
It’s just about to get better:
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MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")
"Parece cosa de maligno. Los pianos no estallan por casualidad." --Gabriel Garcia Marquez
N.P.:“Smile”-Dinosaur/Tales of the Storyman
There must be an international tribunal of taste that Marie Osmond must stand before to answer for this:
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
Somebody musta told Marie that doing that number would make her look like Sheena Easton (remember when everyone thought Morning Train was Marie).
I don't care what you say, Deidre Hall (Electra Woman) is one of the prettiest women to ever live.
Compact Disk brought high fidelity to the masses and audiophiles will never forgive it for that
I remember cringing during the Carol Burnet show when she would sing some popular number, but I loved the rest of the show. And nothing was better than Red Skelton...
Gnish-gnosh borble wiff, shlauuffin oople tirk.
I think a nationally-known political blogger might be reading this thread.
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/338537.php
There's such a fine line between clever and stupid.
Regretfully, it's only the audio, but this is a must to hear. Start at the 1:10 mark.
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