Sunday Showcase Review November 11, 1979

 This week's Sunday Showcase is from the November 11, 1979 Tennessean. Let's go!

Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my! Just tigers in this case. The world's largest Siberian tiger was coming to 100 Oaks Mall. There would also be some tiger cubs and you could get your photo made with them for a small fee. I feel bad for the poor caged tigers, but this was a common occurrence back in the 70's and through the early 80's.

Radio station WSIX 98 has 2 of these ads in the Showcase letting us know their ACCU-WEATHER was Nashville's most reliable weather forecast. 

I'll stick with Channel 4's weatherman Bill Hall who's showing off the new electronic Weather Bank system which will give accurate rainfall and temperature measurements from 12 area cities. I miss Bill Hall. I wish someone would rerun his outdoor show which ran in the 80's. 

The local November sweeps period sees ads from News Watch TV2 and WTVF Channel 5. You could see special stories on the "Film-Flam" season by Channel 2's Jim Gilchrist and Channel 5's Chris Clark shedding some light on the man in black Johnny Cash. 

There was a brief window in time that the Tennessee Theatre had stopped showing films and was putting on concerts instead. This lineup is great. The incorporation of the sign into the ad is awesome. It's a shame the building was torn down in the 80's. The Cumberland Apartments are now where this was located.

George Carlin got his own stand alone ad for his upcoming Tennessee Theatre appearance. 

George Carlin on time 1978

Church St. Plaza parking garage took out a full page ad. It seems strange to me that there would be a parking garage ad, but downtown Nashville was in a downturn and parking garages need customers. I like the little note at the end celebrating Nashville's 200th birthday.

Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers Band would play the Grand Ole Opry House on November 15th. I bet their pop inflected country with their great three-part harmonies packed the place. 

Trying to be a hero, winding up a zero

Billy Joel had become a music superstar by the end of the 70's and I'm sure this was a hot ticket. There had even been a full page ad in the previous week's Showcase. 

They were all impressed by your Halston dress

I found it interesting that a French film, Peppermint Soda, was playing at the Hickory Hollow Mall Cinemas. It's set in 1963 so boomers might find this nostalgic trip back into time pleasant.

Peppermint Soda trailer

The movie that I wanted to see (and would see on HBO soon after it played the theaters) was The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh starring Dr. J Julius Erving. I think I watched it every time it played on my television. I had the fish fever! It's an astrological disco sports extravaganza.

May the fish be with you.

The Eagles were playing at M.T.S.U.'s Murphy Center on the night this Sunday Showcase came out. There was no ad in the Showcase, but there had been one in the previous week's issue. I figured I'd share it since it has some connection to the next ad. I was just in 7th grade when the Eagles played so there's no way my parents would have let me go, but I do remember lots of middle school classmates wearing Long Run tour shirts after the concert. I was never a huge fan, but I do like lots of their songs.

November 4, 1979 ad

Joe Walsh's mustache rules

Blue Steel would be the opening act for the Eagles on November 8, 1979. Infinity Records was giving them a push by touting that they had played Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne. 

Blue Steel "No More Lonely Nights"

One of my favorite albums ever made had come out in October and was getting a nice push with this ad for Damn The Torpedoes which you could buy at your local Sound Shop. I lived within walking distance of the Sound Shop in Murfreesboro at this time and I would go there often mainly just browsing since I usually didn't have enough money to buy a full length album and I usually bought 45's at Port O'Call for some reason. 

watch her walk 

The Top 10 Records are full of tunes that I discussed in a previous Showcase review. The Eagles, "Still" by the Commodores, KC and the Sunshine Band, Styx, and Fleetwood Mac weren't in the Top 10 just 3 week prior. I really loved "Tusk" because it was so different than most top ten records. 

"Babe"

"Tusk"

Bob Marley and the Wailers would be coming to play Memorial Gym at Vanderbilt on December 8, 1979. Wow!!! I would have loved to have seen this show. Not at the time since I was just in 7th grade and really only knew that he had written "I Shot The Sheriff", but I would later become a huge fan of his music. They played a 16 song set according to Setlist. 

"Concrete Jungle" live at Santa Barbara 1979

Foreigner would be coming to Municipal Auditorium on November 20 with Ronnie Montrose's band Gamma opening. Foreigner were out touring for their Head Games album. The song "Head Games" reminds me of Jefferson Starship's "Jane" which came out at almost the same time. 

"Head Games"

You could see the awesome Jacksons at Municipal a few days later. This would have been an exciting show as Michael had just released Off The Wall on August 10, 1979. The latest Jacksons album had been Destiny which had come out in 1978. This show was bound to showcase some of the Off The Wall numbers. "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)" from the Jacksons Destiny album was a big favorite of mine too.

"shake your body down to the ground"

ZZ Top was coming back to Nashville on tour promoting their Degüello album. It's a killer record. I'm sure the fans who got to see them on November 25, 1979 got a good dose of blues rock. 

I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide live in Germany 1980

Bonus Stuff

Once upon a time a show came on the NBC network at lunchtime on Saturday called Hot Hero Sandwich. It featured SNL type comedy skits, musical guests including a great house band, and a psychologist interviewing celebrities. It ran for 10 episodes and won an Emmy. I guess the quality was too good or the cost was too high because it was not picked up for another season. Which is a shame. It was a great show. You can read more about the show at the Aeolus 13 Umbra blog. 

Finally here's a small article about Rock 106 reuniting the Beatles from the November 4, 1979 Sunday Showcase. I wish some enterprising person had taped this show and shared it. Perhaps someday. 

Sunday Showcase Review September 12-18, 1976 Special State Fair Edition

The nights are cooling off and crisp fall days are right around the corner which means Tennessee State Fair time. At least that's the way it was in 1976 in the pre-pandemic days. Before I review the Tennessean Sunday Showcase from September 12, 1976 let's look through a few of the ads from this Tennessee State Fair insert that came with the Sunday paper. This edition of the State Fair would break all previous records for attendance and revenue.

The Tennessee State Fair took place at the State Fairgrounds which makes sense. I often see people lamenting the loss of Opryland, but I don't think as many miss Fair Park which was located at the fairgrounds. Which is a shame as I always enjoyed going there with all of the carnival rides and the awesome wooden rollercoaster the Skyliner.

There were several food related ads in the insert like this one for Big Tex who had been selling pizza at the fair for 10 years.

The big musical attraction for the 1976 State Fair was ZZ Top. This was part of their World Wide Texas Tour where they brought lots of actual critters from Texas with them. 

Nick Gulas and NWA wrestling was a fixture at the Fairgrounds Arena and it would have been a thrill to have seen some matches while attending the fair. 

Up With People were very popular back in the Seventies and they are still going strong now. "Up, up with people, they're the best kind of folks to know."

Up With People from 1976

Insert Centerfold

Here's a coupon for a free game on the midway.

Here's another food ad for "The Most Tantalizing Flavor On The Midway!" which a pineapple whip.

If a pineapple whip isn't your thing how about a fiddlestick instead? You can enjoy your ice cream treat while the Tennessee Farm Band from Summertown tickles your eardrums.

That's it for the State Fair insert so let's check out the cover of the Sunday Showcase. Channel 2 news was getting some nice publicity here with an all new look promised. We usually watched the Channel 5 news in our house though sometimes we took in the hour long WSM news. 

Here's the color version for you.

Frank Sinatra was going to play M.T.S.U. on October 21st, but (spoiler alert) this concert never happened. Sinatra cancelled his planned Southern tour due to the flu with dates in Norfolk, Richmond, Atlanta, and Birmingham all falling to the wayside. Rumors would swirl around that the shows were cancelled due to poor ticket sales instead of the flu, but I would guess that the Chairman of the Board, Mr. Sinatra, would have had guaranteed money regardless of attendance. 8,000 people were projected to attend the gig in Murfreesboro, but they would have to settle for a refund and the local radio station WMTS broadcasting a two hour special of Sinatra's music.

The Spinners with super guests Brass Construction would play September 24th at Municipal Auditorium. If you didn't get your tickets through the mail you could get them at the box office, Fast Ed's, Music City One-Stop, and Haddox Pharmacy according to the September 24th Tennessean. 

Brass Construction on Soul Train

The Spinners were one of a kind

ZZ Top was coming to the State Fair so a full page ad was taken out in this week's Sunday Showcase. The World Wide Texas Tour had been a smash all across the USA. Note it says "Special Guests to be announced." Those special guests turned out to be The Band in their first ever Nashville appearance!

The Band live 7-20-1976

ZZ Top live 11-11-1976

The Bod Dylan Hard Rain concert was going to be broadcast by Channel 4 on Tuesday night. 

Shelter From The Storm

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had reunited briefly on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon the week before and everyone was still buzzing about it. 

I had to go and this was the closest place

Dolly Parton was a staple in my house when I grew up since my mother always watched the Porter Wagoner Show. Dolly had gone solo and would have her own variety show called Dolly beginning on September 13, 1976. It only ran for one season with 26 episodes aired.

Captain Kangaroo and Dolly

Dolly in downtown Nashville 1976

Now for my one of my favorite things to do with these reviews: look at what I would have possibly watched on Saturday. I was an only child and I probably did spend way too time with my eyes glued to the television, but it wasn't like it's how I spent all my time. I usually would watch several hours a day if I had the free time, but I generally would be outside if the weather was nice so this is just a list of what I possibly saw.

The day begins at 6:00 with the adorable Sally Field in the The Flying Nun. I was most likely asleep since there was nothing at 6:30 really to see. I wouldn't be too interested in the cartoons that aired at 7:00, but if I was up I suppose I'd turn on The Sylvester & Tweety Show.  It may just be me, but I always hoped Sylvester would eat that annoying bird. I would stay tuned to Channel 5 and watch The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour every week. I'd switch the dial at 8:30 to Channel 2 for the The Scooby Doo/Dynomutt Hour.

Dynomutt promo

The Krofft Supershow came on at 9:30 and I would watch parts of this show. I thought Kaptain Kool and the Kongs were lame, but I did like "Dr. Shrinker", "The Lost Saucer", and "Electra-Woman and Dynagirl." Land of the Lost would always get my full attention at 10:00AM even if it was the weird 3rd season where the father gets back, but Uncle Jack ends up in the land of the lost. I'd probably tune back into The Krofft Supershow. Sid and Marty Krofft were making bank back in the Seventies!

the land of dreams they are leading you to is Atlanta

Season 3 intro

11:00AM is loaded with choices ranging from the awesome Zoom, the once beloved Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, teen detectives The Kids From C.A.P.E.R., and a kids gameshow I had completely forgotten about Junior Almost Anything Goes. 

Junior Almost Anything Goes promo

It would be American Bandstand and then NBC's baseball game of the week for me or perhaps I'd look in on the 4 hours of tennis showing on PBS. Channel 17 WZTV had recently started airing and we may have been able to pick up their feed. I remember when we lived out on Manson Pike my father purchased a rather big used Zenith TV and I could watch a blurry Spiderman on it. I would want to see Return of the Giant Monsters, Roller Superstars (go LA T-Birds!), and wrestling if Channel 17 was coming in good, but most likely my parents would switch over to Hee Haw at 6:00PM. Emergency! was a childhood favorite, but comic books trumped everything for me so I'd be watching Wonder Woman at 7:00. It would have been a rerun of one of the first 3 episodes as October  was when the next first run episode ran according to IMDB. I do know I liked Wonder Woman best when it was set in World War II. 

Lynda Carter rules

My parents would next watch The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the The Bob Newhart Show. I don't know if I stuck around to see the 2nd annual Rock Music Awards or if either of my parents kept the television tuned to Channel 5, but I hope they did. I probably went to bed around 10:00PM, but if I managed to stay awake I might have tuned into Saturday Night Live without understanding much of the humor or more likely I would have watched the local Nick Gulas promoted championship wrestling show.

The Rock Music Awards were wacky

Time to wrap up this post with a look at the Top 10 Records in Nashville from the past week. Wild Cherry had gained the top spot with "Play That Funky Music" which would end being the 5th most popular Billboard hit of 1976. The 2nd most popular tune of the year, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", had dropped to number 4 and had been in the top 10 for 9 weeks. Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots novelty song "Disco Duck" comes on the local chart for the first time at number 5 with a bullet. My favorites from this chart would be The Bee Gees and Heart. 

flapping my arms I began to cluck

Kiki Dee is cool and Elton was mega

lay down the boogie

what you doin' on your back

Heart - Magic Man live

That's all for now. I'll be back next week, but remember, there is a limited shelf life to these posts as I plan on stopping these full Sunday Showcase reviews at the end of the year. I'll keep on blogging, but a little over a year's worth of these should be plenty.

Sunday Showcase May 31, 1981

Lawrence Welk, Donald Duck, and Andrea McArdle dressed as Dorothy walk into a bar...

...and you get the cover of this week's Sunday Showcase review. I had a big crush on Andrea McArdle when I was few years younger after seeing her on the Tony Awards or something. I don't understand why a television movie from 1978 is getting such a push in 1981, but seeing her wearing ruby slippers is cool. I did watch Rainbow when it aired the first time as I also adored Judy Garland when I was a child. 

Andrea McArdle sings Stormy Weather

April Wine were coming to play the Tennessee Theater on June 16. They are not mentioned in the ad, but Franke and the Knockouts were the opening act. "Just Between You And Me" was a bit smash for April Wine at this time and "Sweetheart" was a top ten hit for Franke and the Knockouts too in the spring of 1981. I like April Wine's hard rock material and I love that they (like their fellow Canadians Rush) shot a music video at the now gone Le Studio.

April Wine "I Like To Rock" shot at Le Studio

"Just Between You And Me" live in 1982

Franke and the Knockouts on American Bandstand

Tunesmith Jesse Winchester would play the Tennessee Theater a few days after April Wine. He was out promoting his Talk Memphis album so I'll include "Say What" which made it into the Top 40 in June of 1981. 

"Say What"

Last week's Sunday Showcase review ended with ZZ Top's 1976 World Wide Texas Tour and here they are back again in 1981 along with Loverboy. I think they left the wild animals in Texas this time.  ZZ Top were touring after releasing the Devo inspired album El Loco. You think I'm joking, but the use of synthesizers on the record, in particular on "Groovy Little Hippie Pad" was inspired by Gibbons seeing a soundcheck by Devo. I couldn't find any good 1981 live footage, but I did find a good version of "Groovy Little Hippie Pad" from 1982 and you really can hear the Devo coming through which is fascinating.  Loverboy would be headliners the next time they played Nashville. 

"Groovy Little Hippie Pad" live in 1982

There was a big new attraction at Opryland opening. The Grizzly River Rampage with its rough and tumble white water rafting was all set with Grizzly Adams himself,  Dan Haggerty, coming to town for the occasion. I've probably written this before and I'll write it again, but I have never set foot inside Opry Malls and never will. I despise those money hungry jerks at Gaylord that leveled one of the happiest places on the planet. I rode the Grizzly River Rampage often over the years and loved getting wet if the weather was really hot and humid. I would have loved to have gotten season passes for my family of 5, but it wasn't to be. 

Rock 106 was the best hard rock FM station in Nashville until the station was sold and the format was changed to easy listening junk. There was a legacy left however with the Homegrown compilation album. I've got it in my collection. 

8th grade had just ended for me or perhaps it was still going for a week or so as I remember watching the Thurman Francis Junior High tumbling team do a routine set to the Stars on 45 "Medley" during the last week of school. "Morning Train" had been a favorite of my girlfriend Lisa that spring. I bought the Styx album after finding $40 on the ground. I also bought Pony tennis shoes and went to a carnival on that windfall. Kim Carnes's "Bette Davis Eyes" was a monster that year. 

I've heard it all before

Sheena

I'm a jet fueled genius

her hair is Harlow gold

Even though it wasn't in the Sunday Showcase here is some bonus Rush from Le Studio. 

"Tom Sawyer" from Le Studio

"Limelight" from Le Studio