Sunday Showcase April 15, 1979

Happy Easter 2020 or as happy as you can make it during this pandemic. I'm going back to one of my favorite Sunday Showcase years again. This week's issue is from the April 15, 1979 Sunday Tennessean. Kevin Dobson is in between Kojak and Knots Landing (he joined that show's cast in 1982) so he's making television movies.  ABC News is doing a story about men in siege due to liberated women. It's all so Seventies out there!

Tom Jones would be coming to the Municipal Auditorium in the next month. Tickets seem expensive to me, but I don't think I was in the right demographic for Mr. Jones. I am very confused as to why WSM was promoting the show. Sure, Tom had cut "Green, Green Grass of Home" way back in 1967, but he wouldn't put out an actual country record until 1982. During this period Tom was cutting disco numbers like everybody else in the music industry. He was one of my father's favorite singers. Opener Freddie Roman was a stand up comedian. It was standard practice for pop singers to have comedians open for them. 

Tom Jones "Shadow Dancing" his way into our hearts

Coming much sooner to Municipal was The Black Expo Concert on April 20. Sound Seventy and WVOL are presenting this big concert. Trivia time: WVOL 1470 AM The Mighty 147 was the first media company to hire Oprah Winfrey as a broadcaster when she was still in high school. Since it is 1979 most of these artists were also trying their luck with disco which was fine with me. Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers were the lone exception with their band leader and guitarist Chuck Brown credited with inventing "Go-Go" music. I would have enjoyed this concert.

Howard Kenney save some for the children 1978

Tyrone Davis tells us you know what to do in 1979

Betty Wright circa 1979

Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers were bustin' loose!!!

The night before the 20th you could check out Cheap Trick with their opening act TKO at War Memorial Auditorium. My friend the Xman got to see this concert. He said that TKO was brilliant and it's a shame they never made it big, but Cheap Trick was next level and awe inspiring as the Heaven Tonight/Budokan era Cheap Trick was untouchable. I bet they were. One of the first records I ever bought that wasn't birthday or Christmas money related was Live At Budokan. I still remember walking up to Jackson Heights Plaza to the Sound Shop and grabbing it off the rack. I consider "Surrender" to be the greatest rock song ever composed.

Rock N'Roll Again

got my Kiss record out

Cheap Trick Rockpalast 1979

If you watched the Rockpalast concert all the way through you actually saw the Kiss record that the parents got out, but we're on to the Top 10 Records of Nashville for the week preceding April 2, 1979. There's some major disco hits on this chart with the Bee Gees, Gloria Gaynor, and Amii Stewart with some dance floor fillers. Frank Mills hits with "Music Box Dancer" and local Nashville TV station WNGE 2 started playing it before it became a hit. It's very interesting that he says melody hasn't been very popular lately due to disco. Blondie's discofied "Heart of Glass" is on the Nashville chart for its second week. I went crazy for Blondie after seeing them perform on the Mike Douglas Show and "Heart Of Glass" was a huge favorite of mine. I would get the album Parallel Lines for my birthday later that year. The Doobie Brothers hit massively with "What A Fool Believes" which is the gold plated standard for Yacht Rock. I'm going to include a funny NSFW video of how that song came about too. I recommend the whole Yacht Rock series if you want a good laugh. I watch every 6 months or so. Let's throw in Kenny Loggins's version of the tune also. 

Frank Mills on WNGE News 2 program 1979

once had love and it was a gas

muster a smile for his nostalgic tale

Yacht Rock episode 1

Kenny's version was release first!

Old soul stars, Tom Jones, Blondie, plus The Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart were all going disco so The Beach Boys joined in with an almost 11 minute disco version of "Here Comes The Night" on their L.A. (Light Album) release in 1979. They would be coming to play M.T.S.U's Murphy Center on April 24th. 

Here Comes The Night disco short version

The concert got major coverage in the May 3, 1979 Murfreesboro Press so since I love The Beach Boys (except for their foray into disco which was mildly interesting at best) I am including this as a bonus. All of those photos are by Mike West.

Back to our regularly scheduled Sunday Showcase clippings. If you couldn't be at The Beach Boys concert on April 24th you could dress up like the early 1960's and attend filming of concert scenes in Coal Miner's Daughter at Municipal Auditorium on April 24 and 25th.

Look quick and see some of the shots inside Municipal and other Nashville spots

The Great Escape had its grand opening sale going on at 1925 Broadway. My 6th grade peers that were lucky enough to visit the store that spring would come back to Murfreesboro and regale me with stories of all of the comic books for sale. I wouldn't get to visit there until 1985, but made up for lost time afterwards. I was there shopping on the last day that location was open. Of course, once the pandemic quarantine is over you should be able to visit their Charlotte Pike location, Murfreesboro, and Bowling Green, Kentucky stores again.

Now for the oddity that was NBC's version of the After School Special with Reading, Writing, and Reefer. I think ABC's fictionalized ones were better. Strangely enough you can see all of this special on YouTube. So check out Brian getting high. Note: I clipped this this before I found the clip. 

Are you high right now? Yeah, a little.

Finally we bring this Sunday Showcase review to a close with this contest ad where you could win a 2 bedroom luxury apartment at Nashboro Village courtesy of KDF. When I would go up to Nashville via Murfreesboro Road as a kid and young adult I would always remember seeing the Nashboro Village sign (I really liked the letter font used) and wonder what it was like over there. I finally went to an apartment there once in the 90's and it was very nice then. I wonder if it still is. I hope the person who won the contest enjoyed their time there. Perhaps they are still there.

Bonus Cheap Trick material: the Xman just sent me additional info from that night back in 1979.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget Cheap Trick playing “Heaven Tonight “live. It was mesmerizing.

BTW- we arrived at War Memorial about 4 in the afternoon and just walked in. When we came into the hall, Cheap Trick was doing sound check, which we sat in the back and watched. Robin waved at us at one point. Then, Rick jumps off the stage and starts walking towards us. I remember it was really weird because he had a huge piece of red licorice that he was eating. He approached us with his hands out like he was about to choke us, then walked down and introduced himself and we shook hands. Then George Harrell, who was with us, asked him if he had a guitar pick. He put one in his mouth and spit it right to him!

They finally asked us to leave, and we came back that night. Had great seats as I recall. Something like second or third row.

When Giant Easter Bunnies Ruled The Earth

I was looking through old newspapers when I came across this ad instructing parents to "bring the kids to see our giant bunny" and I was intrigued and frightened by the thought of a ten foot tall Lucky Bunny handing out eggs to children at Jackson Heights Plaza back in 1969. Normal human sized bunnies were scary enough to me when I was a child and sorta still freak me out. I couldn't imagine the terror a ten foot tall one could inspire.

Then I thought back to last Christmas when I shared all of the old Christmas Eve advertisements and since that was a popular post I figured I would do an Easter one this time. I wanted to go from 1969 to 1979, but that was too much. It was kinda like thinking I would eat the whole chocolate bunny and then only could get down to its waist. So we begin with just this one 1969 blurb and then go through 1975 and if you stick around to the end you'll get a glimpse of the Lucky Bunny from when giant Easter bunnies ruled the earth.

1969 Lucky Bunny is coming to Jackson Heights Plaza

1970 Holloway's would use this imagery for multiple years.

1971 Clarks was my favorite store

 Hoppy The Bunny would be at Clarks...I don't think Hoppy was ten feet tall.

1971 Roses was where smart bunnies shop and save. 

Note: local Bozo The Clown was appearing there on Saturday before Easter.

1972 you know you need smoked ham.

1972 Frank's IGA was our store since we could walk to it.

1972 I still remember Gibson's funky vibe.

1973 Colorful foods from Dixie Foods

1973 Fred's was cool when it was on the square

1973 Mercury Plaza always put on big promotions

Note: the Rutherford County Square Dancers would be on hand

1973 Super D using W. C. Fields's image 

1973 Big K Easter Sale

1974 Kent's wants you to hop in & save!

1974 Get your fuel at Ole Taylor's Candy Kitchen

1974 Pigg & Parsons and all the Dacron polyester money can buy.

1974 Rays Pet Shop with chicks and bunnies!

1975 JCPenney always had a pre-Easter clearance.

1975 Jerry's with an affordable Easter Dinner.

1975 Swan-Son at Mercury Plaza.

Now, for the moment you've been waiting for: the reveal of the ten foot tall Lucky Bunny from Easter week in 1969 that terrorized Jackson Heights Plaza Shopping Center shoppers.

Well....that's a bit of a letdown unless you happened to be some of those lucky shoppers back then that got lucky eggs with prize winning numbers inside. Finally, one more ad from another store long gone and one I dearly miss.

1975

Soulfish Stew will not be closed tomorrow. A Sunday Showcase review will be going up per regular schedule.....I do them weeks before they post per schedule. 

Film Flashback April 10, 1969

The film flashback for this week takes us to April 10, 1969 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Our first stop is at the Martin Theatre which is showing the movie Charly. It stars Cliff Robertson and Claire Bloom. It's based on the novel Flowers For Algernon about an intellectually disabled man who undergoes an experiment to become a genius. I guess it's kind of like when Goober grew a beard and became smart on The Andy Griffith Show. I couldn't find an official trailer for the movie and I have never seen it. I have, however, seen the soundtrack album in bargain bins and thrift stores for decades. Ravi Shankar is featured on it so I'll post the title theme for you.

The Princess Theatre has The Beatles Yellow Submarine. It's a trippy cartoon journey to Pepperland which needs to be saved from the Blue Meanies. The Beatles do not do the voices, but they do make an actual appearance at the very end. It's a must if you are a Beatles fan.

The Marbro Drive-In has a couple of good films on this night. Bedazzled is a smashing comedy featuring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Stanley Donen directed this glimpse into why selling your soul to the devil for seven wishes isn't all it's cracked up to be. 

The Sweet Ride features a young Jacqueline Bisset. The tagline for the movie was The Cycles...The Surf...And The Swingers That Make It All Go! Surfing, aging tennis pro, a young starlet, and bikers make this one a real treat. I especially like Bob Denver as Choo-Choo Burns. 

That's it for this week. We'll be jumping ahead to 1985 on next Friday. Hope to see you there.

Sunday Showcase April 2, 1972

How could I resist a Sunday Showcase with The Brady Bunch on the cover. This was probably the peak original run Brady's since the show still had a couple of seasons left to go. It was and always will be one of my favorite television shows ever made. There's no story on them inside, but the cover alone will do. 

This Sunday Showcase April 2, 1972 review is brought to us by Fotomat's everywhere. I'm afraid the special offer is expired. 

This commercial is from 1976...let's pretend it's 1972

Neil Diamond was set to play his first concert ever in Nashville a few weeks later on April 16th. The talented songwriter had become a big time performer too and was well on his way to becoming the mega-star we know today. I am curious though as to why the advertisement for him seems to have a photo of Lou Reed instead of Neil. I've added a photo of Lou circa 1972 for comparison and even though Lou wasn't about to play Nashville until decades later I'm adding a tune from him too. 

  

This is Neil Diamond - he's great

This is Lou Reed - he's vicious

The Villa is once again promoting "Bandito Nite" which makes me wonder whether you are supposed to dress up like a "bandito" or whether you are supposed to come stick up the place. 

Eddy Dee and The Blues Express are the highlighted act fresh from a stint playing the Playboy Club in Chicago. More questions....why did so many musical acts pose in front of trains? I think I will have to have a separate blog post about this mystery. Eddy "Dee" Dempley was a fairly well known blues singer back in the day and he also played a mean saxophone too. 

Eddy Dee rocks!

The King was coming, but not to Nashville. If you wanted to see Elvis Presley on April 8th you'd have to journey east on I-40 and see him in Knoxville at the Stokely Center. You can get the whole rundown of this performance right here. 

Bootleg of some of this Knoxville show

If you head back to Nashville the morning after Elvis you can enjoy an evening of rock with Lee Michaels along with openers Osibisa and Jo Jo Gunne. Lee Michaels is one of those artists that was popular enough to play Municipal, yet I can't think of any of his songs (and then I stand corrected later). My friend DD Blank likes him. I guess I can begin to acquaint myself better with Lee Michaels by posting a tune from him.

Ok - I did know this tune...I just always forget it's by Lee Michaels - he's cool

Every Sunday Showcase also included a handy capsule guide to all of the sports that would be on TV that week. Sports were not as omnipresent as they are now (well, at least until this pandemic), but they still took up a good chunk of the time especially on the weekend. I would have been most interested about the NBA and ABA basketball, the pro wrestling, and Wide World of Sports since there was no baseball on yet. 

A little bit of Dr. J operating

The Top 10 Records are a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll with Donny Osmond and the Osmonds taking two of the spots. America sits atop the list with their best Neil Young homage. I love Joe Tex's funky soul. The most interesting tune in the Top 10 for me is Giorgio Moroder's "Son Of My Father" which only made it up to 46 on the Billboard charts. 

Joe Tex on Soul Train (a Saturday morning viewing staple for me then)

felt good to be out of the rain

Moroder!

Thus ends another Sunday Showcase review. The Lord willing, the creek don't rise, and the virus don't get me I'll have another one of these up next week for some other year from the 60's, 70's, 80's, and maybe one day a 90's one too. 

Film Flashback April 3, 1980

It was a Thursday night in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on April 3, 1980. New movies usually started on Friday so it would be your last chance to see Scavenger Hunt or the offerings at the Marbro Drive In. We'll begin at Cinema One this week. Scavenger Hunt is mildly amusing with Richard Benjamin, Ruth Gordon, and Scatman Crothers featured among many stars of the time. It's in the spirit of It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World. It's directed by Michael Schulz who also directed one of my favorite comedies of the Seventies Car Wash. 

The Marbro Drive In has what is billed as 3 BIG HITS, but I think that's just advertising hyperbole in this case. Toga Party was originally titled Pelvis when it was first released in 1977, but it was rebadged in an attempt to ride in the coattails of National Lampoon's Animal House's success. It's about a guy moving to New York to make it in the music business. I haven't seen it, but the few reviews I've found say it is terrible and the scenes I saw in the Schlockmeisters review on YouTube seem to go out of their way to be offensive. Watch at your own risk as it definitely NSFW, but, really, it's perfect drive in fodder. Note: there is no actual toga party in the film according to Schlockmeisters.

The Young Graduates released in 1971 looks like it could be fun to see. It's one of many late 60's and early 70's movies about the youth culture of the time. A young girl has a fling with a married teacher, get's pregnant, and then goes on a road trip to Big Sur. It was billed with the tagline "A Report Card On The Love Generation." 

Kidnapped Coed was originally titled Date With A Kidnapper. The Coed in the title ends up helping her kidnapper in a fairly standard film trope, but Leslie Rivers and Jack Canon play their roles very well in this B movie thriller. It's worth a watch sometime.

What's left to see in Murfreesboro on this night in the past? The Martin Twin offers up a country music success story and a summer camp comedy which turned out to be much deeper than to be expected. 

Sissy Spacek won a Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter. Spacek does her own singing in the film. It's a straight biographical film which shows Loretta's life from her humble beginnings in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to her rise to become a country music superstar. The movie is good and I did see it in the theater, but I'm a much bigger fan of Tammy Wynette and Tanya Tucker. There is a concert scene in the movie shot at Municipal Auditorium which I will cover in a Sunday Showcase review in a couple of weeks.

Little Darlings is the other movie on offer at the Martin on this evening. I doubt this movie could be made today as the main plot is two fifteen year girls betting who would lose their virginity first while at summer camp. Tatum O'Neal plays the rich girl Ferris while Kristy McNichol plays Angel who just  happens to be a poor girl from the other side of the tracks. Hey a stuck up rich girl and a lower class tomboy....that sounds like Blair and Jo from The Facts Of Life. 

What was marketed with an emphasis on sex and comedy the film is actually not exploitative. There is nuance in the story with quite a bit of drama. The character Ferris lies about a counselor and almost ruins his career, while Angel pairs off with Randy, played by Matt Dillon, and this experience leaves her in an emotionally uneasy state. Kristy McNichol is incredible as Angel. This is a film I wanted to see at the theater, but it was R rated so I had to wait until it came on cable. Even then I had to watch it on my black and white TV in my room with the sound down low. The movie is not available in the US on DVD or Blu-ray probably due to music licensing issues. You can stream it on Amazon for a couple of bucks at this time. I should watch it again. I couldn't find a trailer, but here's Siskel and Ebert's review of it....they both say no to it and I've added a nice Held Over ad from the next week.