Marvin Hamlisch -- Theme from "Good Morning America"

 

Good afternoon, America! I know that the national holiday is not here but in the States but what the heck? It's time for another special holiday edition of Reminiscings of Youth along the lines of what I provided on Canada Day.

This was obviously several years before my time when Dave Garroway introduced the very first episode of NBC's venerable morning news show "Today" back on January 14th 1952, the first of its kind not only in the USA but in the world. For whatever oddball reason, I did have an affinity for morning shows whether it be the old "Canada AM" here or the kids' show "Rocketship 7" on the Buffalo ABC affiliate. Maybe it was the fact that there was a certain freshness behind the sharing of news or fun so early in the morning.

In 1975, I heard that there was going to be a new morning show on the ABC network in November called "Good Morning America", and it was going to be a breaking of the mold that had been set by the "Today" show over twenty years prior. For one thing, it was going to be headed up by actors David Hartman and Nancy Dussault. Actors are going to be doing breakfast news?! That was weird to say the least, especially since I had already known Hartman on at least one prime-time drama "The Bold Ones". Dussault was someone that I had seen on a commercial and then would gain even bigger fame starring with Ted Knight on the sitcom "Too Close for Comfort" a few years later.

Regardless, I remember practically begging my mother to wake me up early so that I could catch this "Good Morning America" right from the opening credits. It took a few tries but I finally did it, and it certainly was different. I guess I saw it with the same level of expectation and excitement that viewers had (well, those who had TV sets back then) when Garroway introduced "Today". I don't think I had ever seen a news set which resembled a well-to-do living room and kitchen from "Good Housekeeping". The approach was quite light: Steve Bell provided the news on the half-hour for a few minutes, a happy weather person came on, and then Hartman and Dussault brought in the celebrities and consumer interest folks for some light chatter. "Good Morning America" was also the show where I first heard about this weird upcoming film called "Star Wars" thanks to entertainment reporter Rona Barrett which included the TIE fighter attack scene.

It was all so very welcoming and that included the theme song by the late great Marvin Hamlisch who's already represented here on KKP via his composition of "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon in another ROY article. As of this writing, it is the only morning news show theme that I still remember after 48 years since I'm not even sure whether "Today" or the CBS equivalent had theme songs at the time. Regardless, I heard different variations on the "Good Morning America" theme throughout the broadcast including a Dixieland jazz version and a flute-driven take as the show went into commercial. I do enjoy the version above although I don't think it's the one that greeted me on those mornings decades ago; it's got that pleasant AOR feeling.

I no longer watch "Good Morning America" but of course the personnel has changed and the suburban living room set is long gone. However, I am hoping that everyone enjoys the show's golden anniversary in a couple of years. As I mentioned above, the show began near the end of 1975 so who were the winners for the Japan Record Awards back then?

Grand Prize: Akira Fuse -- Cyclamen no Kaori （シクラメンのかほり）

Best Performance: Hiroshi Itsuki -- Chikumagawa (千曲川)

Best New Artist: Takashi Hosokawa -- Kokoro Nokori（心のこり）