#mac davis

[hellyeahgeorgekennedy]

George Kennedy and Mac Davis on the set of the TV movie What Price Victory (1988)

[simply-ivanka]

REPOST

[nerds-yearbook]

On December 12, 1978 The Mac Davis Special: Christmas Odyssey 2010 aired. By the year 2010, religious celebrations were outlawed and Christmas had become known as "Commerce Day". An evil businessman learned what Christmas used to be like and mean. ("The Mac Davis Special: A Christmas Odyssey 2010" TV Event)

[retro70s80sandmore]

People Weekly May 26, 1980: Mac Davis

[gifs-of-puppets]

The Muppet Show (1976-1981)

[koolandgang]

[movies-to-add-to-your-tbw]

Title: Where the Red Fern Grows

Rating: PG

Director: Lyman Dayton, Sam Pillsbury

Cast: Joseph Ashton, Dave Matthews, Renee Faia, Mac Davis, Kris Kristofferson, Ned Beatty, Dabney Coleman, Gary Anson, Orvel Baldridge, Andrew Dickison, Stuart Dickison, Lindsey Labadie, Eric Starkey, Dave Lowry

Release year: 2003

Genres: drama

Blurb: Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with Old Dan and Little Ann.

[hit-song-showdown]

Year-End Poll #23: 1972

[Image description: a collage of photos of the 10 musicians and musical groups featured in this poll. In order from left to right, top to bottom: Roberta Flack, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Don McLean, Harry Nilsson, Sammy Davis Jr., Joe Tex, Bill Withers, Mac Davis, Melanie, Wayne Newton. End description]

More information about this blog here

Choose your favorite song from 1972

1. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack

2. Alone Again (Naturally) by Gilbert O'Sullivan

3. American Pie by Don McLean

4. Without You by Harry Nilsson

5. The Candy Man by Sammy Davis Jr.

6. I Gotcha by Joe Tex

7. Lean on Me by Bill Withers

8. Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me by Mac Davis

9. Brand New Key by Melanie

10. Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast by Wayne Newton

Voting ended onMay 8, 2023

I mentioned in a previous poll how fast culture changed in the 1970s, and that doesn't feel like an exaggeration. This was the final year of the draft and more American troops were being taken out of Vietnam. As American troops were coming home, The Today Show aired a "while you were away" segment to go over how the culture has shifted while they were overseas. Most, if not all, of this segment was a joke, but it shows that even at the time people were aware that something was changing and it was changing fast. To paraphrase historian Rick Perlstein, they left a country where The Sound of Music was the most popular movie, and they came home to a country where the most popular movie was Last Tango in Paris.

To get back to the music, it feels wrong not to shine the spotlight on Don McLean's American Pie. For one, I probably could have used the lyrics as the blurb for one of the 60's polls and saved myself a lot of time. The lyrics themselves show this changing cultural shift as well, reflecting on how aimless this new generation felt. It's hard not to put a 2020s lens on everything. But looking back at a time that was rife with political scandals and politicians not seeming to care about the rising bodycounts affecting their citizens, I'd be lying if I said the sentiment doesn't hit home. "A generation lost in space" indeed.

However, in addition to the longest song on this poll, I also want to highlight one of the shorter ones. Specifically, Joe Tex's I Gotcha. Funk music is going to continue to grow in popularity this decade, even though the full extent of that cultural movement won't always be seen on the top of the charts. But the reason I wanted to highlight this song specifically is to use it as a prelude to what's coming next. If you listen to the song, pay attention to the chorus when the rest of the instruments drop out to put more emphasis on the percussion and how Joe Tex's rhythmic vocals play against the beat.

And for my third highlight, if the artist behind the tenth song sounds familiar, that's because the song was by Mr. Las Vegas himself. Or, if any Fallout fans follow this blog (and judging by the results on some of the 50's-60's polls, I know you're here), Mr. New Vegas. Speaking of gamers, Pong debuted this year as well.

I've rewritten this section multiple times, because I don't want to gloss over a specific moment in history, but it also feels jarring to bring it up in a poll with mostly unpolitical songs. After spending a few polls talking about how the war affected the American psyche, it feels important to reinforce that the people of Vietnam didn't have to be soldiers or reporters to see the war before their eyes instead of on a television set. 1972 also marks the year of the Christmas Bombings, one of the most horrific 12-day stretches in an already horrific war. Even though I don't go over every historic moment in these descriptions, it felt wrong not to bring this up. Even as this event would result in the general population's mistrust towards Nixon and the government growing even more rapidly, it wouldn't be enough.

Nixon no longer had to worry about reelection and it felt like the entire country was holding its breath before something major happened.