Thursday, October 15, 2015

Forgotten TV: The Nashville Palace (1980)

The success of the feature film "Urban Cowboy" prompted NBC to go country in the early 80's.

We've previously discussed Barbara Mandrell & the Mandrell Sisters, Sid & Marty Krofft's last entry for NBC, which lasted a couple of years before health issues prompted Barbara Mandrell to end the series.

Somewhere along the way, the network also got in touch with Hee Haw co-executive producer John Aylesworth about returning to network television. Aylesworth's last network projects in the 70's, particularly a Saturday morning variety show starring the Harlem Globetrotters, didn't last very long, and, well, neither did The Nashville Palace.

IMDB's data indicates only 2 episodes aired. Hee Haw co-host Roy Clark pulled double duty, as he emceed Palace, with Aylesworth as the announcer, which he likewise did on Hee Haw for all those years.

Following is a montage of clips focusing on Dukes of Hazzard co-star Catherine Bach, making her singing debut on the show. Someone must've convinced her that if her TV cousins, John Schneider & Tom Wopat, could sing, so can she. Judge for yourself. I believe the song is called "California Cowgirl".




The clip was supplied by a Dukes fan channel on YouTube. And, yes, Clark does the voice over intro when Bach comes out for her production number. Mickey Gilley, who also appeared in the episode, saw his career skyrocket thanks to "Urban Cowboy", but was last seen doing an infomercial for Time-Life with Lorianne Crook (ex-Crook & Chase) a while back.

No rating. Never saw the show, because if it aired when I think it did (Saturday nights, as a fill-in for Mandrell), I didn't see it because I was away from the house.

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