Back in the early 1980s, variety shows were still sort of popular. Donny & Marie Osmond had been very successful with their show, Donny & Marie, which featured musical guests and lots of squeaky clean skits and sketches. I never watched their show when it was on prime time. What I did watch was Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters. Every Saturday night at 8:00, right after Hee Haw, I'd tune in for their country flavored variety show. Afterwards, I'd watch The Love Boat and Fantasy Island.
Barbara Mandrell and her sisters wore snazzy-- okay tacky-- polyester outfits that were similar, but different. They sang popular hits of the day and danced...
They had cornball musical numbers...
Toward the end of each episode, they'd show how musically talented they were by playing songs on many different instruments. I hear Barbara can play about a dozen different instruments besides being a singer.
They even had Donny Osmond on their show.
And they performed with the Kroft Family Puppets or something like that. They were basically redneck puppets. At the end of each show, they sang a gospel number...
It was good clean fun. We had no reality TV, so we had to settle for cheesy variety shows.
They had cornball musical numbers...
Toward the end of each episode, they'd show how musically talented they were by playing songs on many different instruments. I hear Barbara can play about a dozen different instruments besides being a singer.
They even had Donny Osmond on their show.
And they performed with the Kroft Family Puppets or something like that. They were basically redneck puppets. At the end of each show, they sang a gospel number...
It was good clean fun. We had no reality TV, so we had to settle for cheesy variety shows.
