Sitcom Theme Music, The Series: Episode 2
When I was a kid Saturday was the day for television. My mornings were jam-packed like a bowl of Cookie Crisp and Vanilla Crunch with such treats as Scooby-Doo Mysteries, The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, Clue Club and countless other cartoons no doubt pitched as "The Hardy Boys but with a chase-sequence song." My evenings were crammed with such classics as Emergency!, S.W.A.T. The Carol Burnett Show and, of course, the one-two punch that was Love Boat and Fantasy Island. My afternoons--well, I just hope to God I went outside or at least got off the couch to pee.
So in honor of that very special day from what is increasingly appearing to be a clinically special childhood, we announce the premiere of our very own Saturday TV series, Sitcom Theme Music. Yes, every Saturday I'll focus on a single 70's or 80's television opening credit song and sequence, if only because I'm not qualified or socially concerned enough to impart anything of actual value or wisdom. So prepare yourself some Lipton Giggle Noodle, pour yourself a glass of Funny Face Goofy Grape, remove the spider eggs from your Bubble Yum and get ready to go back to a time when dynamite was not only an explosve but also a magazine.
MP3: Love, American Style Theme Song
VIDEO: Love, American Style Opening Credits
The year was 1969. The counterculture revolution was in full swing, millions protested the Vietnam War and "free love" was the mantra of the time. And it was at that very moment in our nation's history when ABC, believing to have its finger on the pulse of society, introduced a show whose very name celebrated patriotism and romance. A show whose very lyrics ("And on a star spangled night my love, (My love come to me)/ You can rest your head on my shoulder/ Out by the dawn's early light, my love/ I will defend your right to try") seemed to be the national anthem remixed by Starland Vocal Band. A show whose very logo forever entwined the ideas of the heart and the American flag, as if to say "There is only one true love under God, and it sure as hell ain't what those freak-ass Italians are practicing over in Swarthyland." The fact that Love, American Style proved a success clearly says something about the remarkable resilience of traditional American values. The fact that Love, American Style sucked and yet still was a hit says something even more about what in fact Americans traditionally do value.
Unlike the typical sitcom--which features a regular cast of characters in a particular setting going about their lives--Love, American Style was an hour-long comedic anthology with different casts in varying settings focusing solely on the topic of romance. In short, the series was nothing but an endless parade of guest stars, the thought process being that if the audience didn't particularly care for what Nancy Walker brought to the complex notion of love they need only wait a week to see what Jim Nabor's formidable acting chops could shine on the subject. Each week the opening credits would show which B-level celebrity was about to make whoopie with what jury member from a decade-old Perry Mason, all to the lilting voices of the Cowsills, best known for making the title track to Hair sound like it was actually about fighting the frizzies.
Perhaps the most famous episode of the series--in that it's the only one people who do not list Love, American Style on their CV can remember--was "Love and the Happy Days," which served as the pilot episode for Happy Days. It is that very episode's opening credit sequence we feature here today. Keen eyes will note that many of the actors starring in this very pilot went on to steadier paychecks in the resulting series, including Ron Howard, Marion Ross and--much to Anson Williams' complete shock--Anson Williams. Keener eyes will also note that an actor plays the seldom-seen older brother of Richie Cunningham, Chuck, who was eventually written out of Happy Days with a muffled off-screen gunshot during the epsiode in which Fonzie's cousin tries to break the world record for catching quarters balanced on his elbow.
So sit back, turn on the credits and recall a time when love was "truer than the red, white and blue" and the phrase "America--Love it or leave it" was referring specifically to courtship.
Previously on Sitcom Theme Music:
The Pilot Episode: The Brady Brides, Angie, Alice and Joanie Loves Chachi
Note: Music and video clips made possible by Sitcoms Online unless otherwise mentioned.
So in honor of that very special day from what is increasingly appearing to be a clinically special childhood, we announce the premiere of our very own Saturday TV series, Sitcom Theme Music. Yes, every Saturday I'll focus on a single 70's or 80's television opening credit song and sequence, if only because I'm not qualified or socially concerned enough to impart anything of actual value or wisdom. So prepare yourself some Lipton Giggle Noodle, pour yourself a glass of Funny Face Goofy Grape, remove the spider eggs from your Bubble Yum and get ready to go back to a time when dynamite was not only an explosve but also a magazine.
MP3: Love, American Style Theme Song
VIDEO: Love, American Style Opening Credits
The year was 1969. The counterculture revolution was in full swing, millions protested the Vietnam War and "free love" was the mantra of the time. And it was at that very moment in our nation's history when ABC, believing to have its finger on the pulse of society, introduced a show whose very name celebrated patriotism and romance. A show whose very lyrics ("And on a star spangled night my love, (My love come to me)/ You can rest your head on my shoulder/ Out by the dawn's early light, my love/ I will defend your right to try") seemed to be the national anthem remixed by Starland Vocal Band. A show whose very logo forever entwined the ideas of the heart and the American flag, as if to say "There is only one true love under God, and it sure as hell ain't what those freak-ass Italians are practicing over in Swarthyland." The fact that Love, American Style proved a success clearly says something about the remarkable resilience of traditional American values. The fact that Love, American Style sucked and yet still was a hit says something even more about what in fact Americans traditionally do value.
Unlike the typical sitcom--which features a regular cast of characters in a particular setting going about their lives--Love, American Style was an hour-long comedic anthology with different casts in varying settings focusing solely on the topic of romance. In short, the series was nothing but an endless parade of guest stars, the thought process being that if the audience didn't particularly care for what Nancy Walker brought to the complex notion of love they need only wait a week to see what Jim Nabor's formidable acting chops could shine on the subject. Each week the opening credits would show which B-level celebrity was about to make whoopie with what jury member from a decade-old Perry Mason, all to the lilting voices of the Cowsills, best known for making the title track to Hair sound like it was actually about fighting the frizzies.
Perhaps the most famous episode of the series--in that it's the only one people who do not list Love, American Style on their CV can remember--was "Love and the Happy Days," which served as the pilot episode for Happy Days. It is that very episode's opening credit sequence we feature here today. Keen eyes will note that many of the actors starring in this very pilot went on to steadier paychecks in the resulting series, including Ron Howard, Marion Ross and--much to Anson Williams' complete shock--Anson Williams. Keener eyes will also note that an actor plays the seldom-seen older brother of Richie Cunningham, Chuck, who was eventually written out of Happy Days with a muffled off-screen gunshot during the epsiode in which Fonzie's cousin tries to break the world record for catching quarters balanced on his elbow.
So sit back, turn on the credits and recall a time when love was "truer than the red, white and blue" and the phrase "America--Love it or leave it" was referring specifically to courtship.
Previously on Sitcom Theme Music:
The Pilot Episode: The Brady Brides, Angie, Alice and Joanie Loves Chachi
Note: Music and video clips made possible by Sitcoms Online unless otherwise mentioned.
posted by Francesco Marciuliano at 9:52 AM
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4 Comments:
Sure you smug cartooning bastard. Mock Anson Williams, one of the most underappreciated and talented actors of our time. You try smiling while that vacant-eyed Opie and creepy Henry Winkler steal all the good lines.
Ces I was surprised to see a quarter naked Sally in the Sunday funnies....and by the way, I actually did create a Sims family of the Forths, but they are lost...my computer had crashed a week or two ago..I even took pictures of them when they found Kitty in the basement. Me addicted to your strip? No.
The weird thing is, I remember watching that show as a (pretty young) kid, but I have no recollection of the Happy Days pilot episode.
Didn't the show also have a few actors who appeared on a regular basis, to fill in the gaps between the guest stars?
I remember watching part Love American Style was I was really little, just because I liked the song. (hides head in embarassment)
Might I suggest One Day at a Time for a future segment? The song is rockin' (and it's stuck in my head now), Mackenzie Phillips dances in fancified bell bottoms, it's the only TV show to take place in Indianapolis, there's Schneider blow drying a hammer... The only problem with the version on Sitcoms Online is that it's some early one and one of the featured actors I don't remember at all. Let's just say she's no Glenn Scarpelli.
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