After School TV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0JX6eeciWs
In junior high and senior high school, the after school viewing grew up from Barney Bean, Daniel Boone, and Gilligan to the variety talk show of Mike Douglas, not the tough Michael Douglas, Kirk's son. Also the four o'clock movie interested us before supper. The Birds did not scare as much in color as when I watched it on a Saturday night on our black and white TV at six years old. Seemed more real in black and white.
We also watched game shows like, The Match Game. I had a minor crush on Richard Dawson. I still think it's the accent. The show felt sexy and grown up, as the adults pushed innuendos. Also gave us a great feel for fashion.
But Mike Douglas, he got the guests. I sat in the audience of his show twice. Richard Conrad, Frankie Valey, John Davidson (John Edwards' clone), the Sassoon couple and David Brenner, I saw live. They performed their talent and then talked to Mike.
Mike, I believe, started in Cleveland in the 1960's. He moved some time to Philadelphia. As often as I watched it, I was surprised to catch this clip the other night on You-tube of Southside Johnny. I thought I had never heard of them. Maybe in 1977 I was doing some life thing, like any reason to drive anywhere, being sixteen and all.
David introduced me to the Jukes. I already loved Bruce Springsteen at the time (Baby We Were Born to Run), but David being David liked the less popular band from Asbury Park, New Jersey. Maybe because John's last name is Lyon. An involved prank with a college friend set the stage for Johnny to be David's cousin. "My cousin came to Erie to play a gig with his band." A girl at Edinboro College that David and his friend hung around with, loved the Asbury Jukes. I think John brushed past her at a concert and Denny played up on David being his cousin. She almost believed those two. So the story goes. I hadn't met David, yet.
This girl rode the bus to Mercer to see the Jukes in concert at Youngstown State University. We all three went. I listened to WSRD, the Wizard as they highlighted their songs the day before the concert.
The band showed up on All My Children, and the movie, Adventures in Babysitting. I got to say one thing about John Lyon, he has had staying power. Now he still plays with the Jukes, but he has another band, Poor Fools, doing more folksy songs.
As he told Mike Douglas in this clip, being part of the band, you have to be crazy. One of the first things my future father-in-law said to me as David and I got more serious, "You don't have to be crazy to join this organization, but it sure helps." I do think they are related.