Saturday, August 12, 2006

Salute To Nashville 1977

This week's episode is a repeat one...Salute to Nashville from the year this webmaster was born, 1977...oops I think I just gave my age away.

Anyway, here's three wunnerful ladies here to introduce the Maestro and to get tonight's show started.

However, my local PBS station WGTE was still in pledge mode so I had to watch the show on the Bowling Green affliate WBGU.

It all started with gang transforming the Hollywood Palace, where the show and the 1976-77 season was taped, into a country farm singing "Take Me Home Country Roads", made famous by John Denver and made into West Virginia's "unofficial" state song. There were also terrific instrumentals by the band with "Gentle On My Mind" and "Wabash Cannonball". Tom Netherton had a terrific solo number with "Make The World Go Away" and Anacani, with help from the boys in the band, did a nice rendition of "Release Me".

And here's our country gal Ava Barber, who also hosted the show's wraparounds, singing one of her smash hits "Waiting At The End Of Your Run", notice that guitarists Richard Maloof and Neil Levang are looking really fly....country style!

Gail, Sandi & Mary Lou....the same ladies who opened the show above, did a really attractive number made famous by Roy Acuff titled "Oh Lonesome Me" and there's the Semonski Sisters, minus older sister Diane, singing "Sugartime". There was also one of my favorite numbers of the show, "Bonaparte's Retreat" sung by Tanya with Arthur Duncan dancing in the middle of the song....that was nice indeed!

Ken Delo was "Walkin' The Floor" over everyone, Dick Dale sang a little "Oh Shenandoah" and what country show wouldn't be complete without a square dance....only this time, it had a disco beat!

Now that's totally 70s! Let's see Donny & Marie top that!

It was a fun show, originally aired on April 30, 1977. The show served as Tanya Falan's swan song....she left after nine glorious years on the show plus it would be the last Welk show taped at the ABC facilites for two years....they would tape at CBS Television City from 1977 to 1979.

See you all next week....and don't forget to stay cool!


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