Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Olivia Newton-John

Variety shows are a lost art…

Adding a little schlock to my rock today by examining the lost art of variety shows…

Last week, I got on a serious Olivia Newton John kick. I bought a couple of her 70s era albums and learned a couple of her songs. I reminisced about the days when I adored Olivia in all her fluffy, sweet, squeaky clean glory. Or, at least she was that way until she sang songs like “Physical”, “Tied Up”, and “Soul Kiss”. Remembering an old song she sang about divorce called “Changes”, I took to YouTube to see if I could find it. The album it came from is very hard to find these days. I did end up finding Olivia’s old song. In fact, I found that she’d used it on a variety show she did back in the 70s. Check this out.

Here’s a video from 1976. Looks like Olivia tried to turn the song into a scripted scene from a variety show. This kind of makes me cringe and laugh at the same time.

Here’s another 1976 era video featuring Lee Majors… and Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman!

It’s been a very long time since I last saw an artist like Olivia Newton John host a variety show. Lynda Carter, herself a singer sometimes, also had a variety show back in the day. It’s pretty damn cringeworthy.

I actually remember when this originally aired in the early 80s.

The song Lynda is singing is called “You’re Moving Out Today”. It was written by Carole Bayer Sager, Bette Midler, and Bruce Roberts. It was a hit for Sager in 1977 and notable since though Sager has written a lot of songs, this one was the only one that she sang herself.

Here, she sings “Could It Be Magic” after telling her audience an entertaining anecdote about Mozart.

This is a song that was made famous by both Barry Manilow and Donna Summer, both of whom I’d rather hear sing it than Lynda Carter. But judging by the comments on YouTube, people were not tuning in to hear the lovely Lynda Carter sing “Could It Be Magic”. I think most of them were hormonally provoked.

While Lynda and Olivia had the odd musical special on primetime TV, there were other variety shows that were weekly affairs. Of course, I’m thinking about Donny and Marie Osmond, who had a very big hit with their show, Donny & Marie.

Here’s a clip of Donny and Marie Osmond introducing Roy Clark, who was on his own cornball variety show Hee Haw.

Roy Clark is kind of near and dear to my heart, since he was born in Meherrin, Virginia, a little town very close to where I went to college. The local hospital even had a plaque in the emergency room dedicated in his honor.

A little wholesome banjo picking on Hee Haw… I used to watch this show all the time when I was growing up. I’d watch it today, too.

And even imaginary television families got in on the variety show action. The stars of the 70s sitcom The Brady Bunch were guests on Donny & Marie. The episode was so popular that the powers that were at ABC decided to give them their own show. It was called The Brady Bunch Hour and it was truly a weird creation.

This show was based on a truly ridiculous premise. Apparently, Mike Brady gave up being an architect to get into show biz.

The Brady Bunch Hour didn’t last very long, but several big name stars were embarrassed on it, including Tina Turner, who at the time had just divorced ex husband Ike Turner.

I give her credit for being so game to entertain!

Sonny and Cher also had a great variety show back in the day. I actually love seeing old episodes of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. They were very entertaining.

A less country version of “Jackson” as interpreted by Sonny Bono and Cher.

And here Cher does a Stevie Wonder number with The Osmonds… This clip never fails to crack me up. I love how the electric keyboard comes down from nowhere and Donny pretends to play it.

Check out the dance moves on this lot… They’re pretty great, except at the end, when they finish off in a weird pose.

I love watching this shit. At the same time, I can’t imagine how this medium could be recreated for 2015. I doubt it would be very successful. These shows are so schlocky and corny. Oh well, I guess I could always go to Branson, Missouri for an evening of wholesome variety show fun.

February 4, 2015
My dad’s music…

Today’s post is about my dad’s music… because his music influenced my music…

Last week, I wrote about how I was in the market for funeral songs. At that time, my dad was on his death bed. He has since died and I’m left remembering him. The full impact of grief has not yet hit me. Intellectually, I know he’s gone and not coming back and yet I just saw him eight days ago. I haven’t had time to miss him yet, I guess. As I wrote in my last post, my dad was very much a music lover and he passed a lot of his passion on to me. We did not share the same musical tastes once I got old enough to determine what I liked and what I didn’t like. I do remember listening to some of his music in the car when I was very young.

My dad introduced me to the fluffy sweetness of Olivia Newton-John’s voice. He used to play her cassettes in the car and for some reason, I just adored her. She was pretty and had a great style, or so five year old me thought, anyway. In those days, Olivia was a country star.

I remember this song from Olivia Newton-John’s 1974 album, If You Love Me Let Me Know.

About a year ago, I went looking for Olivia’s deep cut “Mary Skeffington” and learned that it was also sung by Gerry Rafferty. As I listened to Gerry’s version, I ran into a British musician on YouTube who covered it. We’ve sort of become correspondents since then. I listen to his music and he listens to mine. And all because my dad exposed me to Olivia Newton-John back in the day.

I need to listen to more Gerry Rafferty… He’s done more than “Baker Street” and “Right Down The Line”.

The Carpenters were another musical act I shared with my dad. He loved Karen Carpenter’s clear vocals and Richard Carpenter’s virtuoso piano playing. I didn’t appreciate The Carpenters until I was a lot older. But my dad owned a couple of their albums and he’d play them on road trips.

“Sometimes” was written by Henry Mancini, Felice Mancini, and Bob Seger. The words came from a letter written to Henry Mancini by his daughter.

The song “Sometimes” seems very poignant to me right now. It’s about the importance of remembering loved ones while you still can and appreciating them for who they are.

“You” was another great sleeper hit on The Carpenters’ 1976 album, A Kind of Hush.

A lot of The Carpenters’ hits were kind of saccharine and overwrought. And yet, there was no denying their talent. My dad was a big fan and he passed his appreciation on to me, even as I can see why some people thought they were a bit too square to be hip.

My dad liked Jim Croce. He had a couple of Croce’s albums on 8-track that he’d play sometimes. While I never got as much into Croce as my dad did, I did find a few of his songs very beautiful.

One of my favorite Jim Croce songs is “I Got A Name”. There is something majestic and strong about this song that moves me every time.

This song always makes me laugh. I have a friend who changed the lyrics to something naughty and I think of the revised lyrics every time I hear this.

And… very strangely, my dad was also an ABBA fan. Well, he owned one of their albums, anyway. I don’t think he bought more than one. I guess he liked their sound, though he was not one to listen to music you could boogie to. The album my dad owned was their 1979 release, Voulez-Vous, which seems especially funny, since that album was known as their “disco” album. I used to listen to it all the time.

“As Good As New” was one of my favorite songs on Voulez-Vous. The lyrics were a little lame, but I loved the funky melody. I think my dad was more partial to songs like “I Have A Dream”.

Ahh… how inspiring!

“Kisses of Fire” was another favorite of mine, but it probably made my dad nervous. Most music with a strong beat did.

There were other albums, of course. I used to raid my parents’ music all the time. I liked listening to their copy of Herb Alpert’s Whipped Cream and Other Delights. I was also enchanted by the album cover, which featured a beautiful woman covered in what appeared to be whipped cream. I hope it was shaving cream, otherwise it would not be very pleasant for long…

“A Taste of Honey” was a favorite…

As I remember my dad, I realize that he had a lot to do with my love of music. I didn’t always like what he liked, but I liked enough of it. I hope wherever he is now, he’s got all the tunes he could ever wish for… and his voice back strong and clear.

July 14, 2014
New Music In Stores & Online: 9/2/08: NKOTB, Young Jeezy & More!!

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. The industry’s 4th quarter officially gets underway with a plethora (like that word?) of superstar releases to kick the month off. Here’s this week’s Hot List.

Young Jeezy: “The Recession”-

First off, Young Jeezy has two Platinum albums (three if you count his debut with Boyz N The Hood. This dude doesn’t have a proper website? Anyhow, I’ve made my disdain for “coke” rap pretty clear on this site, and they call this guy “The Snowman” for reasons that are not weather-related if you know what I mean. Not only do I find him morally repulsive, he’s also not particularly talented, with a voice slightly reminiscent of that of an old man on a respirator. However, folks seem to like the guy, he just scored a Top 10 hit with “Put On” (featuring a slumming Kanye West), and this album will most likely add to Jeezy’s stack of Platinum. What can ya do?

New Kids on the Block: “The Block”-

Theyyyyyy’re back! After a fourteen-year absence, Donnie, Danny, Jordan, Joe and Jon are back together and on record store shelves with their semi-self titled fifth studio album. Me and GG have already gone more in-depth with this album than any two people with penises should probably go, so you probably don’t need any more info regarding this record. However, in case you do, be aware that it would take a very special record to get me to add anything that features anything with Akon OR The Pussycat Dolls to my collection, so that should give you a reasonably good idea of my excitement for this album. For those of you serious music fans tsk-tsking, shut the hell up. I have Elvis Costello records too. Liking literate, well-constructed music and enjoying cheesy pop are not two mutually exclusive things.

Donnie Klang: “Just a Rolling Stone”-

This guy not having a proper website, I can understand. Having only watched about 1 1/2 episodes of Diddy’s “Making the Band 4”, I only know that Klang auditioned for the group that later became known as Day26. Somewhere along the line, Diddy separated him from the group and here we stand. Seems like Puff is trying to push Klang and Bad Boy’s answer to Justin Timberlake, and it’s hard to argue with “MTB4″‘s success, as both Day26 and girl group Danity Kane debuted at #1 on the charts with their albums. This one may be a sleeper. Although I think they should have changed the dude’s name first. Even saying the name “Donnie Klang” in my head makes me giggle a little.

Brian Wilson: “That Lucky Old Sun”-

Listening to some of the songs from this album on Brian Wilson’s site, it’s obvious that the guy still has the gift for melody (as well as some fantastic harmonies). After forty years and a great deal of mental issues, that’s pretty admirable. “Sun” is an autobiographical song cycle featuring frequent collaborator Van Dyke Parks. In addition to the typical pop tunes, there’s a spoken-word element mixed in. That makes me cringe a little bit, but the album has gotten some pretty good reviews, so it may all work out well after all.

Terrence Howard: “Shine Through It”:

Yep, Oscar winner Terrence Howard has followed in the footsteps of Bruce Willis and Scarlett Johansen and made a CD. While it certainly sounds interesting (it’s not the expected R&B or hip-hop derived record, instead sort of sounding like John Legend meets Esteban), I’m not exactly rushing to the record store to check it out. Chances are, if God gave you talent, it was probably only meant to be in one entertainment medium, but I guess the millions of actors-turned-musicians didn’t get the memo (or vice versa), huh?

Rounding up all the rest: now-generation classical performer Joshua Bell takes on Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”, Broadway legend Michael Feinstein takes on Frank Sinatra and Southside Johnny takes on Tom Waits, all on their new albums. An Olivia Newton-John charity concert makes its’ CD debut, featuring guest shots from Cliff Richard, Barry Gibb and Richard Marx. Sadly, there’s no John Travolta. Metal band Underoath releases a new record today,as do electronica/rock collagists UNKLE. A two-CD Chemical Brothers hits compilation arrives in stores, and for those of you who collect wax, the Coldplay and Radiohead catalogs make it onto vinyl for the first time.

Happy shopping!!

September 2, 2008