This week's Sunday Showcase comes from September 24, 1972 with a delightfully silly cover featuring William Conrad, star of CBS's Cannon, making a guest appearance as Captain Amazing on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In which ran on NBC. Conrad was an interesting guy. He was a fighter pilot in World War II. He was the radio voice of Marshall Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke. He narrated the Rocky and Bullwinkle show.
Narrator William Conrad is featured
The music people at WMAK 1300 dropped an ad with their new fall line-up. Coyote McCloud was looking good! He would be one of my favorite disc jockeys when he was on in the mornings for KX104 in the early 80's. Scott Shannon was their primetime deejay and I've read many comments waxing nostalgic over him. I was still a few years away from becoming an avid radio listener, but I love listening to old radio spots posted on YouTube.
Scott Shannon on WMAK
Some more Scott Shannon on WMAK
Tuesday nights in the Seventies was a great time to turn on ABC, which in this case was still channel 8 in the Nashville viewing area, and see an all new made for television movie. Moon Of The Wolf was premiering this week. I watched many of these growing up and I get excited just to hear the the Burt Bacharach tune "Niki" which was the music used in the theme.
ABC Movie of the Week intro
He's saying werewolf.
Fall television was in full swing and WSM TV 4 has a nice big ad, probably provided by the NBC network, showing what was going to be on that Sunday night. I remember being outside on Sunday afternoons when my mother would call for me just to let me know the The Wonderful World of Disney was coming on. I would sprint to the back door as quickly as possible. It would be time for a bath and bedtime but first the NBC Sunday Night Mystery Movie would begin. I remember the intro of the anthology show as I would act like I was walking toward the television set with my own flashlight.
Everywhere you look unrest...
Loved this theme
The 8th Annual Festival of Music was happening at the Grand Ole Opry House. This would have been held at the Ryman. Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer, Boots Randolph, and Jethro Burns are the big attractions with tickets available at Harvey's and 100 Oaks Mall.
Stanley Kubrick's movie version of A Clockwork Orange was coming to play Green Hills.
It's a stinky world because there's no law and order anymore
The Top 10 Records have Elvis on top with "Burning Love" which had replaced the Raspberries "Go All The Way." Sam Neely is a singer/songwriter who's overdue to be rediscovered so it's cool to see his biggest hit "Loving You Just Crossed My Mind" hit number 8 in Nashville. It got up to 29 on the national Billboard chart. He would later get the song "Long Road To Texas" in my favorite movie about pinball called Tilt.
Sam Neely
Raspberries going all the way on the Mike Douglas Show
it's not the 45 single, but here's Elvis doing "Burning Love" in Hawaii
It's another year for me and you another year with nothing to do
Except enjoy another Film Flashback to June 26, 1969 as we check out what was playing at the movies in Murfreesboro, TN. First up is a trip to the Marbro Drive-In which brings us Blue and Villa Rides. Terence Stamp is the star of Blue and even with his British accent slipping through on occasion he is excellent in a pretty boring movie about a young American raised by Mexican bandits who has to choose sides as they make murderous raids into border towns. Villa Rides has a script co-written by Sam Peckinpah and stars Yul Brynner and Robert Mitchum while also boasting the first appearance in the same film of Charles Bronson and his wife Jill Ireland. An American aviator trapped in Mexico helps Pancho Villa lead a revolution. I could not find a trailer for that film.
Blue trailer
A couple of superstars top the bill for the other 2 movies playing. Don Knotts stars in The Love God? which is playing downtown at the Princess Theatre. Knotts is hilarious as the put upon Abner Audubon Peacock who is the publisher of a bird watching magazine that is converted into a girlie mag. Late 60's style is on full display in this comedic romp.
Of course Don Knotts is The Love God
He might not be a Love God, but Elvis was the King. The Trouble With Girls (and how to get into it) is a delightful movie and it was starting at the Martin Theatre. This period piece set in the Twenties has Elvis in the role of Chautauqua manager Walter Hale. A Chautauqua was a traveling roadshow popular back then that offered up light entertainment mixed with educational lectures. I really enjoy this movie which features a performance of "Clean Up Your Own Backyard" along with a strong performance from Marlyn Mason. The supporting cast boasts Vincent Price and Anissa Jones among others.
All Elvis breaks loose in this week's film flashback to June 12, 1966 in Murfreesboro, TN. There are only 2 choices and I know which movie I'd want to see on this date. Paradise-Hawaiian Style is playing at the Princess while The Wizard of Mars (filmed in Ultra-Depth) plays the Starlite Drive-In Theatre.
Paradise-Hawaiian Style is a fairly inept attempt to replicate the success of Blue Hawaii from 1961. The scenery is wonderful and the songs aren't too bad, but the story is paper thin and Elvis is not only a bit overweight, but he basically phones it in for this film. Even with those glaring negatives I still like the movie as a disinterested Elvis is still Elvis. I grew up watching his films on local television reruns and even the worst of them have a place in my beloved childhood memories.
I have never seen The Wizard of Mars, unless maybe in passing on TV, so it's a mystery to me. David L. Hewitt directed this psychotronic movie and Hewitt was also known for his special effects work. The capsule summary of the movie says it is about 4 astronauts who end up stranded on Mars where they end up encountering the wizard played by John Carradine. The Martians are modeled on L. Frank Baum's Flatheads of Oz. The movie definitely received a huge push as you can see from the newspaper ad and the photo. The Starlite Drive-In which was located out on Shelbyville Highway 231 would not survive the year with the last listing for the drive-in coming in the September 30, 1966 DNJ for the movies Mudhoney plus Swamp Woman.
It was Emmy time with Johnny Carson hosting on May 20, 1973. CBS would win the most awards on the night taking 17, ABC gets 11, PBS with 6, and NBC bringing up the rear with just 5 awards. All In The Family and The Waltons are among the series that won an Emmy that night. You can find a complete list at Wikipedia.
I love this headline about ABC sportscasting legend Howard Cosell. I always enjoyed Howard's ponderous way behind the microphone, plus he was later the host of The Battle Of The Network Stars so I can never forget that.
Sound Seventy was bringing Jethro Tull to Municipal Auditorium on May 21 so if you were in the mood for some flute in your rock and roll that would be the place to be on Monday night. If you wanted your flute with a bit softer and less progressive bent you could skip this one and wait to see Lawrence Welk presented by WSIX-TV 8. There was bound to be some flute music to go with the champagne.
Hermitage Landing took out a full page ad in this Sunday Showcase. I would get to go there in the late Seventies and then catch the One For The Sun concert there in 1984.
KDA-FM & Woodland Sound Studio were presenting the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band live on the air that Sunday night. Years later my folks were looking for a new place to rent and we toured a house that had a small upstairs bedroom which featured a poster of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band left by the former tenants. We didn't move into this house, but that room with the poster still figures in my memories. I like to think all of our lives are filled with such ephemera, but perhaps not.
Once again The Villa features a band posing with a train. If there are any train buffs that recognize the train or know anything about Carnival let me know in the comments.
Boston band Orphan was coming to play a few days at Exit-In. The Showcase mentions they have country overtones and I'd have to agree.
If you were a businessman working downtown you could get your lunch at the world famous Red Lion Lounge. I think 6 hours of continuous Go-Go and exotic entertainment would be a bit much.
The Eagles were still at the small theater stage of their career, but wouldn't be for long. They were playing War Memorial Auditorium on June 3 with the always great Charlie Daniels opening for them. My opinion of The Eagles waxes and wanes, but it is interesting to me that there was a time when The Eagles were considered a cult band.
My opinion of Elvis Presley however never changes. He was and always will be the King of Rock and Roll for me. My mother was from North Mississippi just a few counties over from Tupelo and she moved to Memphis in the Fifties. Elvis was her favorite musical artist much to my father's consternation. Elvis was coming later in the summer to Municipal and the shows were already sold out.
All that's left for this week's Sunday Showcase review is the Top 10 Records list and its a fairly wide range of styles which was very typical in the Seventies. There's some soul, some country, some hard rock, country, and an ex-Beatle all showing up this week. "Frankenstein" would be my favorite of this bunch, but Canadian group Skylark featuring future mega producer David Foster and the amazing vocal talents of Donny Gerrard is pretty awesome too. I learned something watching the "Frankenstein" live video or perhaps I knew it once and forgot it, but the song's title comes from how it was edited down with different pieces of tape comprising the final version.
Skylark
Edgar Winter Group live version of Frankenstein
Next week I'm going through a 1976 Sunday Showcase so be sure to wear some Bicentennial themed clothes.
It was the day before Thanksgiving in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on November 22, 1972 and the excitement of turkey and gravy was in the air. What movies were playing in town on this date and what would be playing on Thanksgiving too? That's what I'm here for, even if I was actually living in Ripley, Mississippi at this time.
The Marbro Drive-In was either showing some super remastered director's cut or perhaps there was simply a typo in the newspaper advertisement as you can see Charlton Heston part the Red Sea in The Ten Commandments.
The Martin Theatre had Elvis On Tour tonight thru Saturday. I love the "in multiple-screen" note on the ad. The multiple-screen bit really caught on for a short while in the early 70's. It's Elvis so you know it's great.
Martin added a free movie on Thanksgiving day; the 1968 release With Six You Get Eggroll which starred Doris Day (in her last feature film) and Brian Keith. The movie is about two widowed people falling in love, getting married, and how their children react to it. It's one of those sorta with it comedies of the time.
What was interesting to me was finding some non-film related advertisements for a couple of department stores in Murfreesboro that would be....gasp....open for business on Thanksgiving Day in 1972. I only throw the "gasp" in there because it seems like I've been told all my life about how everything shut down on Thanksgiving and Christmas back in the golden age. I guess the decay and commercialism had taken hold by the early 70's or most likely there is no true golden age in the past. The stores were McCrory's and Clarks. And here are the ads.
One of my most popular posts was about Hardee's. 15 years later here is the remixed version with some extra photos, words in bold, and video content. Hardee's has gone through many changes since 2005, but have yet to revert back to the chain I once loved. Enjoy this blast of Soulfish Stew past mixed with a little new stuff.
ORIGINALLY POSTED DECEMBER 7, 2005
I may be a lone voice crying in the wilderness, but I'm sick of this whole big burger thing that's been sweeping the nation the last several years. And now Hardee's has announced some new big chicken sandwich to add to the onslaught of hugeness afflicting our times. I know I'm going against what the market demands, but how about a return to simpler times when Hardee's was just a regional chain that charbroiled their burgers. It's completely selfish of me, but that was when they were my favorite fast food chain.
When I was very little, they only had one restaurant in Murfreesboro and it was located at Mercury Plaza which boasted a Roses, Harveys, and a Cooper & Martin grocery store. This was all the way across town for us so a visit to Hardee's was a big treat. I loved the orange and brown decor. The smell of the burgers cooking over the open flames that would sometimes shoot up into the air like fireworks. Murfreesboro didn't have a Burger King in those days and unless you were grilling the burgers yourself Hardee's was the place to be. They had a catchy theme song sung by Mama Cass Elliot that urged people to "hurry on down" to Hardee's. And there was also the use of the tune "Hello Dolly" as "Hello Hardee's well hello Hardee's!"
They even had their own set of cartoon character mascots in order to keep up with McDonalds. The two that I can remember are Gilbert Giddyup, their good guy Ronald McDonald sort, and Speedy McGreedy who was a hamburger stealing misfit like the Hamburglar. I liked the Western motiff. It fit in well with cooking burgers over fire. I figured the McDonalds mascots wouldn't stand a chance if it came down to a cartoon brawl with the Hardee's bunch. Here's a humorously captioned video looking back at commercials featuring Speedy and Gilbert.
I also just plain liked the Hardee's burgers better. I usually would get a single hamburger, but sometimes I might get a Big Twin - the Hardee's version of a Big Mac. A McDonalds burger was bland in comparison to the smoky charbroiled goodness of Hardee's. The day I learned that a Hardee's was being built on my side of town was a very happy day.
It was built just off the corner of Broad and Lokey Street. It would be within walking distance during the times I lived in town. They had some land behind the restaurant for parking, outside dining, and even better; a playground which would contain the coolest thing I think I had ever seen. It was a robot that stood 3 stories tall with enclosed slides for arms. You had to climb into the robot which had a ladder running through the middle of it. The second level was where you could get into one of the slides. Since there were two slides you'd have to race your friends. When that got dull you could climb into the third level where you could jump around and cause the robot to shake. It turns out the robot had a name. It was dubbed Giganta. It wasn't exclusive to Hardee's, but I know there were other locations that used this playground equipment also. There's one in the Elvis movie Clambake! There's a really good view of it at 3:35, but there's also a shot from inside the robot before.
This link should take you to a story about the old days of Hardee's and a picture that many people mistakenly believe is the Murfreesboro Hardee's playground, but this Giganta was in Columbia, South Carolina. It does look almost identical. The playground is long gone and I believe the Hardee's property is no longer operating either.
There was also a swingset, a spiral slide shaped liked a rocket ship, and some other things. And the ground was covered in sand. Whenever I'd visit, I'd wolf my food down as quick as possible so I could hit the playground with a vengeance. At that point, it wouldn't have mattered if Hardee's food tasted like dirt since I was likely to end up inhaling plenty of sand before I left.
But there are other things in my memory besides the playground. My parents almost always worked at separate times when I was growing up. At this period my father worked a day shift and my mother worked nights. My father wasn't much on cooking so we'd usually stop off at a fast food place after he'd pick me up from the babysitter's house. Hardee's was very convenient so we went there at least twice a week; sometimes more.
Now my father hates the drive-thru. So we would always stop and go in and order our meals to go. When he figured out I could be trusted with the money and our order he would wait in the Ford Ranger while I went in and ordered. I always tried to go through the prettiest lady's line and soon I had made a friend of a young high school age girl. She was so cool she remembered what I'd order (we always got the same stuff every time) and when she saw me come in she would start ringing it up. I always got a plain burger so they'd have to cook it right then and if the place wasn't busy she'd have a conversation with me. I was only in the 5th grade, but I was smitten with her.
She wasn't there very long and I was sad when I didn't see her when I'd come in. Time passed and as is always the case; stuff happens. I recall a walk from Mitchell-Neilson Elementary School on a sunny spring day with my 6th grade class to have lunch at Hardee's. A car would crash through the dining area one morning, and while nobody was hurt, it did precipitate a dreadful remodeling job. I still liked to play on the playground even though I wouldn't have admitted it once junior high school began. I used to walk over from my house and just hang out there. By the time 9th grade started it was a good place to go and smuggle a smoke in the top of the robot.
The once mighty charbroiled burgers didn't taste as good to me. The quality of the food was declining. Wendy's and Gatti's Pizza were the place to eat in high school. The cartoon mascot characters were long gone. About the only time I'd visit was when I needed to use the restroom. The summer after high school graduation I decided to wear a red bandanna on my head and the Hardee's manager saw me enter the restroom. The next thing I knew somebody was banging on the door. I figured it was my friends so I told them to bug off loudly and profanely. I was a bit surprised to find the manager staring at me when I opened the door. He gave the bathroom a good going over and once he figured out I had only used the place for its purpose he sort of apologized and that was it.
I know I had not been a loyal consumer, but the Wendy's on Church Street was clean, the service was better, and the Flurry topped Hardee's watery milkshakes; but then Hardee's had to really break my heart by doing away with charbroiling. They started cooking their burgers just like McDonalds. The only food I would eat at Hardee's would be breakfast food. Like many of the places where I spent time as a kid, the playground would be removed. The robot dismantled. The rocket ship crashed.
I sometimes gave in to my sentimental feelings and tried the new items Hardee's would offer. But it was always terrible. I tried one of those big Angus burgers not too long ago. It tasted like congealed sawdust mixed with rubber. There's no way they can get me to "hurry on down" these days. The chain now serves as an unlikely metaphor of life to me now. Fun and innocence, corruption and dissolution, and now an over abundance and indulgence that can never satisfy. I need you Gilbert Giddyup.
