My Life As A Late 70s Child

Everything that I liked in three short years

By Celeste

April 30, 2007

The first three years of my life were fun times. Being born in the late 1970s I was raised on a lot of stuff that even my own parents didn't quite get. Even though I wasn't quite old enough to get a lot of the stuff that was going on at that era I was exposed to a lot of it growing up and I must say it was fun to be exposed to that kind of stuff that other kids could only dream of so here's my list of TV, movies, and music that I was exposed to in the first three years of my life. Enjoy.

Television

Cartoons

Josie and the Pussycats is just one of the many cartoons that I enjoyed as a small child in the late 1970s

Okay let's start with the most obvious thing that needs to be talked aobut. Saturday morning television from about 1976, when I was born, to 1979 was some of the best that was on there. There was Josie and the Pussycats, Tarzan: Lord of the Jungle, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, Whatever Turns You On and its spin-off You Can't Do That On Television, King Kong, The Godzilla Power Hour, The New Scooby Doo Show, Ritchie Rich, just to name a few.

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids went on well into the 1980s with lessons about caring about others, peer pressure, divorce, teen pregnancy and motherhood.

Hey, Hey, Hey!
It's Fat Albert
and I'm gonna
sing a song for you,
and I'm gonna show
you a thing or 2.

We'll have a good time
just me and all the gang
learning from each other
while we do our thang

Na, na, na
gonna have a good time
Hey, Hey, Hey!
Na, na, na
gonna have a good time
Hey, Hey, Hey!

[spoken]
This is Bill Cosby
stay tuned for laughter
and fun and you might
learn something before it's done.
Hey, Hey, Hey!

Na, na, na
gonna have a good time
Hey, Hey, Hey!
Na, na, na
gonna have a good time
Hey, Hey, Hey!
Na, na, na
gonna have a good time
Hey, Hey, Hey!

Godzooky calls upon Godzilla to help out he and his young friend

Godzilla comes to the rescue.

The Godzilla Power Hour consisted of two shows that starred the 30 storey tall fire lizzard and his mischief making nephew Godzooky. I don't remember too much about this because in 1978 I was only 2 and it's possible that I would watch anything that happened to be on TV at the time.

The You Can't Do That On Television Opening Sequence.

The Cast of Whatever Turns You On.

I didn't know too much about WTYO until I was about 12 but when I was 2 it was something that I probably didn't watch until I was older and could understand it. I do remember watching You Can't Do That On Television quite religiously.

This debuted about 6 months before I was born.

The World's Greatest Super Friends

Prime Time TV Shows

Welcome Back Kotter is a TV sit-com based loosely on the life of Gabriel Kaplan who plays Mr Kotter on the show.

Theme Song

Welcome back
your dreams were your ticket out.
Welcome back
to that same old place that you laughed about.
Wellthe names have all changed since you hung around
but those dreams have remained and they're turned around.
Who'd have thought they'd lead you (Who'd have thought they'd lead you?)
Here where they need you (Here where they need you.)

Yeah we tease him a lot cause we got him on the spot
welcome back.
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

What's Happening!! Stars Bill Berry as a teenaged kid who lives in the inner city.

Maude is the sit-com brain child of Norman Lear. It tells the story of Maude played by Bea Arthur who is Edith Bunker's opinionated and loud mouthed cousin.

Theme

Lady Godiva was a freedom rider
she didn't care if the whole world looked
Joan of Arc with the lord to guide her
she's a sister who really cooked.

Isadora was the first bra burner
and you're glad that she showed up.
And when the country was falling apart
Betsy Ross sewed it up
And then there's Maude (6 xs)

And then there's that old compromisin
Enterprisin anything but tranquilizin
Right on Maude.

The M*A*S*H* 4077 Unit. From L-R: Larry Linville, Loretta Swit, Alan Alda, McLean Stevenson, Wayne Rogers, Gary Burgoff, William Christopher, and Jamie Farr.

Red Foxx stars as Fred G Sanford in Sanford and Son.

The Jeffersons stars Sherman Helmsey as George Jefferson the opinionated and loud mouthed husband of Louise "Weezy" Jefferson. Sherman's character George is the "black version" of Archie Bunker portrayed by Carroll O'Connor.

Theme Song

Well, we're movin on up (movin on up)
to the east side (movin on up.)
To a deluxe aparment in the sky
We're movin on up (movin on up)
to the east side. (movin on up)
We finally got a piece of the pie.

Fish don't burn in the kitchen
beans don't burn on the grill
it took a whole lot trying
just to get up that hill.

Now we're up in the big leagues
getting our turn at bat.
As long as we live it's you and me baby
there ain't nothing wrong with that

Hooray we're movin on up (movin on up)
to the east side (movin on up)
to a deluxe apartment in the sky.
We're movin on up (movin on up)
to the east side (movin on up)
We finally got a piece of the pie.

All In The Family started the Norman Lear production company with social issues that were way ahead of the time. Caroll O'Connor plays Archie Bunker and sexist and racist old kook who has an opinion about everything. No social issue is left untouched. Jean Stapleton plays Archie's lovable, yet dim-witted, wife Edith Bunker. Rounding out the cast is Bob Reiner who plays Michael Stivic Archie's son-in-law and Sally Struthers who plays Archie's daughter Gloria.

Theme Song

Boy the way Glen Miller played
songs that made the Hit Parade
Guys like us we had it made.
Those were the days.
And you knew who you were then
Girls were girls and men were men
Mr we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again
Didn't need no welfare state
Everybody pulls his weight
Gee our old Lasalle ran great
Those were the days.

Good Times stars Jimmie J.J. Walker as Junior Evans the lovable, yet dimwitted, son of James Evans, portrayed by John Amos, and Florida Evans, portrayed by Esther Rolle. This sit-com portrays life in an inner city neighborhood that is rittled with gun crime, and an overwhelming sense that thugs rule and families don't matter.

Theme Song

Good times
any time you meet a payment
Good times
any time you need a friend
Good times
any time you're out from under

Not getting hassled, not getting hussled
keeping your head above water
making a wave when you can

Temporary lay offs
Good times
Easy credit rip-offs
Good times
Scratching and surviving
Good times

Ain't we lucky we got em
Good times

The cast of WKRP In Cincinnati are from L-R: Richard Sanders, Gordon Jump, Frank Bonner, Jan Smithers, Loni Anderson, Gary Sandy, Howard Hessman, and Tim Reid. This show tells the story of a struggling radio station whose station manager is nervous and uptight because his mother owns the studio. To attract a new crowd the station's manager changes the format to rock and roll.

Theme Song

Baby if you've ever wondered
wondered whatever became of me
I'm living on the air in Cincinnati
Cincinnati WKRP
Got kind of tired of packing and unpacking
Town to town up and down the dial
Maybe you and me were never meant to be
But baby think of me once in a while
I'm at WKRP In Cincinnati.

Soap tells the story of two sisters Jessica Tate and Marry Campbell who marry two different men.

Theme

This is the story of two sisters
Jessica Tate and Marry Campbell.
These are the Tates
and these are the campbells
and this is Soap.
[Insert either Chester and Burt starting to fight or the ceiling falling down on the family.]

The cast of Barney Miller from L-R: Max Gail, Barbara Berrie, Gregory Siera, Jack Soo, Hal Linden, Ron Glass, and Abe Vigoda. This show tells the story of the misadventures of a NYC police Presinct.

Movies

Not much in the way of movies were around that were made for little kids but here are some of my favourites from before my time and after my time.

Peter Frampton, Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb star in Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I can't even begin to wonder what the hell George Harrison was smoking when he thought of this?

In 1977 the Star Wars Trillogy began to show up in theatres and I wasn't old enough to appreciate it. I assume that it was George Lucas geneous at work.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is another one of those movies that you either like or you hate.

Grease is the word or rather it was at that particular time.

American Graffiti is movie that stars Harrison Ford and Ron Howard.

Music

The late 70s was the time of movies soundtracks for movies that have swears in them every 10 seconds or full-length LPs (Long Plays). Yes people there were long play records before there were CDs and MP3 players.

Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles. My mother says that it's her favourite album

Flowers by the Rolling Stones. The song Ruby Tuesday is on this record and it's an album that I like very much.

Before the untimely demise of their lead singer Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott AC/DC released Highway To Hell much to the horror of their record company and still to the horror of their record company.

The Bee Gees are the ones who brought us the sound track for Saturday Night Fever a raunchy John Travolta flick which has swears in it every 10 seconds.

So all of this comes from the first 3 years of my life. Next time I will expose things that happened during the formative years of my life.