Freddy Fender, ‘Wasted Days And Wasted Nights’ ad via Cash Box, July 26, 1975
Heading back to the summer of 1975, we have an ad for Freddy Fender’s “Wasted Days And Wasted Nights.” The song was co-written by Fender and originally recorded and released in 1959. The 1974 re-recorded version was a follow-up to the hit “Before The Next Teardrop Falls” and it reached #8 on the US Hot 100 IN ’75. Let’s spin it!
FREDDY FENDER, ‘WASTED DAYS AND WASTED NIGHTS’ (1974)
**A classic post from the Bionic Disco vault. The following originally appeared December 11, 2017**
Las Vegas – Sahara Superstars (‘Billboard’ magazine, November 04, 1972).
Here’s a rather splendid November 1972 ad for the Sahara hotel in Las Vegas promoting the Congo Showroom’s superstar headliners. Let’s see, we’ve got Johnny Carson, Frank Gorshin, Jack Benny, Sonny & Cher, Johnny Mathis, Rowan & Martin, and Buddy Hackett.
I’ll take two tickets for each engagement! And I have to wonder what Carson’s stage show consisted of. Did he perform skits and do magic tricks? Maybe a little song and dance? Or was it a taping of The Tonight Show from the Sahara? I’ve no idea but my imagination runs wild.
Today’s assortment of vintage commercials ran in the early-to-mid 1970s. First in line, we have Erin Gray in a spot for Prell Shampoo. Following that, it’s the fantastic Pub Lounge on Continental Airlines (with Pong tables!), Purina Cat Chow, and Visine.
PRELL SHAMPOO COMMERCIAL (ERIN GRAY, MID-1970S)
Prell shampoo commercial featuring actors Erin Gray (‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,’ ‘Silver Spoons’) and Charles Frank (‘Young Maverick,’ ‘All My Children’). Spot aired in the early-to-mid 1970s.
Johnny Cash, along with Carl Perkins and The Tennessee Three, created music for the motion picture Little Fauss And Big Halsy and the soundtrack was released on Columbia Records in November of 1970.
One of the standout tracks on the LP is the studio version of “Wanted Man” penned by Bob Dylan. You can find a live version of the tune on 1969’s smash Johnny Cash At San Quentin. Let’s spin the soundtrack cut below.
We’ve reached 1979 and the end of the decade. Don’t worry, there’s many more seventies commercials to come, but they’ll be sprinkled out in a more random fashion for a while. This year-by-year thing takes five weeks every time I commit to it.
From 1979, enjoy spots for Ideal’s Maniac tabletop electronic game, the AMC Spirit, Post Alpha-Bits cereal, and the movie Running starring Michael Douglas.
MANIAC VIDEO GAME COMMERCIAL (1979)
Ideal Maniac electronic video game commercial aired November 1979.
’80 AMC SPIRIT CAR COMMERCIAL (1979)
1980 model American Motors Corporation Spirit commercial featuring a comparison to Chevy Chevette. Beginning & end narrator likely Karl Weber. Spot aired November 1979.
ALPHA-BITS CEREAL ‘PRIVATE EYE’ COMMERCIAL (1979)
Post Alpha-Bits cereal commercial featuring Alphabet Al the Private Eye, a magician, his assistant, and a rabbit. Spot aired in 1979.
‘RUNNING’ MOVIE TRAILER (MICHAEL DOUGLAS, 1979)
TV trailer for the movie ‘Running’ starring Michael Douglas and Susan Anspach. Beginning & end narration likely by John Erwin. Spot aired November 1979.
“Authenticated and approved by the Smithsonian Institution.”
These are right up my authenticated alley scene. Daily 70s Ad #356: Tonka Dioramas originally appeared in the January, 1975 issue of Boy’s Life magazine.
