Once again it is time to suckle at the teat of 60's genius, as your Saturday Scopitone returns with a doozy.
Donna Theodore was a staple of shows like Johnny Carson and something called B.J. and The Bear which was not, we were disappointed to find, a gay porn. She was one of those singer/actress things that were ALL THE RAGE back in the day, long before autotune and airbrushing allowed fat southern girls with no talent to be famous.
Donna's most famous song was 'Femininity,' which chronicled the hatred and discrimination she faced because she was SO DAMN BEAUTIFUL. She really was a looker, and was quite the fruitfly as well, apparently, since in this clip she spends all her time surrounded by gay guys in pastels.
It's hoedown at the OGay Corral, and EVERYONE is invited. Except for any black people.
Yes, that's right, it's time for your Saturday Scopitone, and this week is a doozy.
'For You' comes to us - through the glittery haze of time - from a pair of class acts by the names of Freddie Bell and Roberta Linn. Freddie, as part of early rock band Freddie Bell and the Bellboys (see what they did there) was actually the inspiration for Elvis to record his smash 'Hounddog,' after Mr. Presley saw the group play it in one of their shows. They never really got far in their home country, but outside the US they had a few hits. Roberta, on the other hand, is the self-proclaimed "BEST FRIEND A SONG EVER HAD," according to her website, and I think we can all agree that this statement - even just in and of itself - is AMAZING. Other than that we really can't tell you much about her though, since she doesn't have a Wikipedia page and we can't be bothered to do any actual research.
The two united on a number of tracks, but the real highlight (citation needed) of their career was this baby right here. It's all about cowboys giving it to each other or something.
It's once again that time, ScopiSubjects. This week's installment of our namesake post is a doozy, too, so get your Dramamine out because it's going to be a Technicolor orgy of PURE CLASS up in here in a second.
First some boring history bullcrap: Jody Miller was a kind of mid-table country singer back in the 1960's and 1970's, with a few top ten country hits and a couple mainstream top 40 singles. At the beginning of her mediocre journey through semi-fame, though, things were looking up when she released 'Queen Of The House,' an "answer record" to Roger Miller's smash 'King Of The Road.' The song made it to number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and remains Miss Miller's signature tune.
Now the interesting stuff: Jody's version of 'House' gave us far more than just a track for aging drag queens in the south to mouth along to in between bourbon shots. The tune also spawned Jody's first Scopitone, an ABSOLUTE GEM of a clip. It really has just about everything you'd want in a video - dancing milkmen, girls in bikinis frying things, and an AquaNet budget more than the GDP of most developed nations.
For this Saturday Scopitone posting, we've chosen a video that illustrates exactly why the format was absolutely brilliant in a way that will not, and can not, ever be replicated.
This clip is a mind-blowing masterpiece of incongruity. It features the "title characters" Mother Nature (who apparently is just a whore in a bonnet) and Father Time (her pimp?), a giant globe, some hastily-constructed backdrops, and some go-go dancers seizing wildly in time to what is apparently a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SONG than the one playing.
In short, it's a delight from start to finish, and everyone involved in this production should be very, very proud.
That's right ScopiSubjects, we're bringing back the feature where it all started (the feature that, coincidentally, gave us our name) with one of our favorite Scopitones.
Yes. Yes we're excited too.
Scopitones were the first real music videos, back in the 60's, but were produced on special film that could only be played in jukebox-like video machines that were set up in bars and bowling alleys and the like all over the world. Because that made them super practical.
Anyhoodle, the boxes were generally located in drinking establishments, so the videos were allowed to be racier than just about any other media at the time. Scopitones were wildly popular for a brief time (we think it was a week in January of '67) and almost all the biggest artists of the day recorded at least one. Eventually the format died out, but not before we were left with a treasure trove of ACTUAL MUSICAL GEMS, like this subtle and understated classic - maybe our favorite Scopitone of all time.
It has all the things you'd expect from a mid-century adult-themed pop video - sex, overt racism, overtly racist sex, and a giant spiderweb made of boating rope because, why not?
This particular Scopitone holds a special place in our heart, because it foretold nearly every music video device we take for granted, like the liberal use of boobs, the co-opting of religious imagery, and singing in a birdcage with some wings and shit stuck to you. So basically everything Miley has ever done.
Feast your eyes on Joi Lansing, as she gets caught in a 'Web Of Love'
Scopitone Saturday started out posting, well, a Scopitone every Saturday. We stopped that when we got bored of it, but fear not, campy kitsch fans, we'll still throw one up every so often. Today, for instance. In honor of Valentine's Day, here is a delightfully sexy number from ScopiSat fave Joi Lansing and a host of closeted homosexual dancers. It was the 60's after all.
For all of you trapped in your own web of love, or those still looking for your spider (ew), Happy Valentine's Day from Scopisat.
