Oh yeah, I remember that one...

Everyone can probably rattle off at least a few of the tv shows that were big in the disco years. ‘Happy Days’, ‘Charlie’s Angels’, ‘Three’s Company’, ‘Laverne & Shirley’, MASH…we all know’em and love’em, but here are a few shows that ended up rated in the top 25 (some even in the top 10), that you may have forgotten about.

1976-77 Season
‘The Tony Randall Show’. Remember him from ‘The Odd Couple’? In this comedy he played a judge in Philadelphia. I'm drawin' a blank on this one…

‘What’s Happening’. This one I know from reruns. Sassy black women crack me up, so Shirley the waitress and Dee the sister were favorites. Of course, everybody liked Rerun.
‘Baretta’ (top 10 show). This one may be fresher in your memory because of the big scandal with Robert Blake a few years back. He plays a tough guy cop in this show. My bedtime was 9:00, so I could watch this, but not ‘Charlie’s Angels’, which followed it. I’m still bitter.

1977-78
‘Project UFO’. I don’t remember this one even though I’m a big Sci-Fi fan. It was about a couple of Air Force investigators who investigated UFO sightings, which sounds pretty awesome! Of course, I was mainly subject to whatever shows Mother and Daddy wanted to watch…like ‘Baretta’…argh…

‘Barnaby Jones’. Good ‘ole Jed Clampett’s follow up. The whole family liked this detective show. The lady in the pic look familiar? That's Lee Meriwether, who was (one of) the actresses to play Catwoman in the 'Batman' tv series.

‘Family’. This was one of those serious family dramas that tried to make you cry every week. Not a favorite, but I thought Kristy McNichol was the deal.

1978-79
‘Angie’. If you remember Donna Pescow, consider yourself a scholar of disco years tv! (Trivia: Her first movie role was in ‘Saturday Night Fever’.) I think sassy white women are almost as fun as black ones.

‘The Ropers’. I thought ‘Three’s Company’ was great, but was never really a big fan of the Ropers on that show so I wasn’t very interested in this spin-off. Sadsack Stanley kinda grates on the nerves.

‘Vega$’. A detective show set in…somewhere I can’t remember. Saw it a few times (again, past my bedtime). I remember he parked his sports car in his living room, which may not have been practical...but was totally cool!

1979-80
‘That’s Incredible’ (top 10…actually #3 for the year). This was a fun show that featured people doing crazy/dangerous/stupid stunts. Guess this would be considered one of the precursors to today’s reality tv. We’ve come a long way…nah!

Flo (top 10). I really liked ‘Alice’ and, like everyone else, Flo was my favorite on the show. My little sister and I yelled ‘kiss my grits’ at each other with some regularity for awhile there…we were edgy like that. I don’t remember watching this spin-off, but ‘Alice’ was never quite as good without Flo.

'House Calls'. We watched this hospital-based comedy off and on. Not my thing.

The JCC

The president during the disco years was, of course, Jimmy Carter. Not too long ago I visited the Jimmy Carter Center here in Atlanta. I’d only been once before, about 20 years ago when I first moved here and had forgotten how well done the museum and gardens are.

Some highlights:
- The presidential highlights film. Gives and excellent overview of Carter’s presidency. Lots of neat 70s footage.
- The replica of the oval office. It’s got kind of a 70s vibe. I dug it.
- Jimmy Carter’s Nobel peace prize. It has a surprisingly raw look to it. You can tell it’s handmade. There’s also an original painting that goes with it. It’s cool that Willie Nelson went to Oslo and performed ‘Georgia On My Mind’ during the celebratory concert.
- Presidential controversy tidbits. I learned interesting things about Carter’s work with the Egypt/Israel peace negotiations during his presidency, which seems to be his proudest accomplishment. They have copies of Carter’s notes from the meetings on display. Also learned more about the controversy of the Panama Canal treaty, which Carter pushed through, that allowed Panama to take over ownership of the canal. There are also interesting displays about the energy crisis (sad that we’re still facing the same issues today) and women’s rights.
- Campaign material from the 1976 race. My grandparents took my cousin and me to Plains, GA when I was a kid just to see Jimmy Carter come out of church during the election. I got Lillian Carter’s autograph at a campaign station. Brought back nice memories.

If you’re in Atlanta, it’s worth a visit. Only takes a couple of hours. They were about to close down the museum for a re-design when I was there, so you might want to check the website before heading out: www.cartercenter.org

Let's disco, y'all!

Some of the top pop/rock songs of the disco years…

1976

‘Play that Funky Music’ by Wild Cherry. What word did people use to describe something funky, before 'funky'? I'd put it in the same category as 'boogie'.


‘Tonight’s the Night’ by Rod Stewart. Rod Stewart’s music was never really my thing. Obviously, I was in the minority.

'50 Ways to Leave Your Lover’ by Paul Simon. Two of my cousins and I actually made up a dance to this song. Yeah, I know, sad, sad, sad.

1977

‘Dancing Queen’ by Abba. Abba’s a group that, at the time, I thought ‘ehh’, but now I totally dig their stuff. If they'd only agree to tour one more time...

‘You Light Up My Life’ by Debby Boone. Even I was too cool for this song, but I can still sing every word...not that anyone's ever asked...

‘Sir Duke’ by Stevie Wonder. I defy you to not start bobbing your head after hearing the first few notes of this song!

1978

‘Last Dance’ by Donna Summer. No doubt she was the queen of disco. Should I confess how many times I 'discoed' in my room...by myself...to her songs? Probably not.

‘Stayin’ Alive’ by the Bee Gees. If Donna was the queen, these guys were totally the kings.

‘Shadow Dancing’ by Andy Gibb. Lesser brother to the Bee Gees, but he was the one in ‘Tiger Beat’ every month.

1979

‘Y.M.C.A.’ by the Village People. If you can believe it, this was the first ‘big boy’ album my grandparents bought me. I don't think they quite got it... ; )

‘My Sharona’ by The Knack. One of those songs that after you heard it on the radio you couldn’t get it out of your head the rest of the day. Not a good thing...

'Le Freak' by Chic. Ahhh, freak out!