Welcome to the official Barry Williams' blog
My friends call me Barry. From time to time I also hear the name Greg. Yeah, as in Greg Brady. The Brady Bunch represents a fun time in my life. But it’s only part of the story. There’s more to say and that’s what The Greg Brady Project is all about - a place to say it. So, I’ve invited some friends to join me and share their perspectives on the Brady’s, the 70’s and just about everything else. Now, I’m inviting you…
American culture is often 20 years nostalgic, and one of the better examples of this is the 1990s and 2000s television sitcom That 70s Show. Many of the themes and characters of That 70s Show are reminiscent mostly of Happy Days (both shows takes place in Wisconsin, both shows were set 20 years prior, both shows were about the experiences of adolescents, and both shows had “bad boy” characters move in with the respectable family (the Happy Days episode was called “Fonzie Moves In” and That 70s Show was called “Hyde Moves In”) to name a few examples). The adventures of Eric Forman were much the same adventures of Ritchie Cunningham.
However, The Brady Bunch, the real 70s show, was given its proper respect with a few episodes. In the episode “Red Sees Red” the character Kitty dreams that her family stars in The Forman Bunch Variety Hour in a fun parody of The Brady Bunch Hour. In the episode “The Keg,” Brady star Eve Plumb starred as Jackie’s mother Pam Burkhart in a role that would eventually go to Brooke Shields the next few years.
IT’S ALL IN THE SONG
No other industry in recent memory has undergone as many changes as this business of Music. Despite its flaws, though, – its ups and downs – those of us who’ve managed to survive its fickle nature; very few would trade it for any other profession.
For most of my decades-long career I’ve mainly been regarded as a Record Company’s pigeonhole-enigma. That predilection does have its positive side, though, garnering for me, a diverse and international following.
Unlike many others, I’ve had very few world-renown records, but the ones I have had are well remembered: The “In” Crowd, Loving Arms and the unforgettable, Drift Away, which many people think I wrote. But that credit belongs to Mentor Williams – brother of the composer, Paul Williams. Now, thanks to the Internet, much of the music that Mentorand I – and other producers – have recorded: nineteen albums and CDs all told – is being heard and appreciated for the first time.Most people are interested in how “Drift Away” came about – it’s a long story, so I won’t go into it here. I’ll just say that I was a staff-writer, along with Mentor and Paul at A&M’s Publishing Company, Almo/Irving, when the song was created. It has been a career song for me, and it resulted in a spectacular comeback in 2002, when I was asked to record it with the rap artist, Uncle Kracker. Although, hesitant to do so at the time, I’m glad to say that the new version has helped to sustain my career, in that, I’ve gained a younger and totally new audience.
To you, Barry, I offer my very best wishes for the success of your new Blog, and here’s hoping that the Brady Bunch’s popularity from all those years of airing follow you in all your future endeavors.
-Dobie
Dobie Gray reached number 5 on the Billboard charts with “Drift Away” in March of 1973. Thirty years later, the song returned to the top ten when Dobie re-recorded it with Uncle Kracker. Barry recorded his own cover of “Drift Away” for the album “The Return of Johnny Bravo”, and also performed the song in his recent off Broadway show “Growing Up 70s.”
Make sure to catch the 6th Annual TV Land Awards tonight at 9pm/ET. The list of stars on board for this year’s show is bigger than ever. Robin Williams, Justin Timberlake and Steve Carell will all be there along with a ton of HUGE names from classic TV. Barry will be there, of course, but as you can see in this Access Hollywood red carpet preview, he’s keeping his cards close to the vest.
TV Land Awards, Celtics vs. Lakers, Tiger at the U.S. Open. If you need me, I’ll be on the couch.
Lou Schumacher Animal Rentals was the animal supplier for the show. I worked for Lou in the early seventies as did a few trainers. Tiger belonged to Lou and was trained mainly by Karl Lewis, a renowned animal trainer (”Babe,” “Call of the Wild,” “White Dog” and more too numerous to mention). Myself and another trainer Bill Vergis got the call to do the goat show. We found a goat through contacts, and brought her home to my house and started the training. I do remember they called her Raquel in the episode we did.
Training was easier than we thought as she learned quickly and worked to rewards and a “Buzzer.” We train animals to the sound of the buzzer and when they respond to it, they are rewarded with food. When we got to set we noticed that the goat had a lot of inside work. This did not create a problem. But never seeing the set, she was reluctant to “pay attention” to what she was supposed to do. Robert Reed was the director and gave us plenty of time to rehearse with “Raquel”. Sometimes you will have problems with animals as they have never been in a movie or on TV. We did several rehearsals and everything started to go just fine until we started the closet scenes. She did not want to be in that closet. Barry was very patient and so was the crew. In a scene where Florence Henderson is showing a group the house, Greg has to hide the mascot. Hence this is the closet scene. Raquel also wore a mascot blanket type prop with the other school’s name on it.
One of us just had a flaming shot (Hint: it wasn’t me).
One of the most surreal scenes I have witnessed took place in a biker bar on a cold December morning in 1993. The mere fact that I was there at all was odd enough, given that I’ve never frequented bars nor have I ever been enthralled by the staccato belch of a roaring Harley. A goofy, suburban milquetoast, I was a fish out of water amongst a grizzled, tattooed set that would have been a casting director’s dream if extras were needed for a dramatic recreation of the Rolling Stones at Altamont. They were all drinking and smoking and looked as though they had been doing so for hours. I was an open target for ridicule, but the leather and bandanna-clad crowd left me alone. It was obvious that I had invaded their territory for one geeky reason: Susan Olsen.
Back on its regular day, here are the latest Greg Brady Project links:
I didn’t know it was that complicated, but someone posting on the instructions website eHow thought it was necessary to tell you how to be a Brady Bunch fan.
Former “View” co-host/Oprah correspondent Lisa Ling used to pretend to be Marsha Brady.
Bob Hunt recently blogged about the passing of “Andy Griffith Show” composer Earle Hagen. A few days later it was announced that Alexander Courage, composer of the “Star Trek” theme, has died as well.
CNN Money has done some math on the Brady family’s finances.
And Danny Bonaduce is stepping back in the ring. This time, it’s on Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling, coming to TV this fall.
Send your Brady/Pop Culture links to eric.greenberg@thegregbradyproject.com.
David Cook and David Archuleta fans unite. If there’s one thing we can all come together over, it’s the Original Idols Live, featuring our very own Barry Williams and friends. They’ll be back on the road tearing up the WOKY Retro Stage this Saturday at “A Taste of Summer” in Waukesha, WI. The show is scheduled for 9pm when Barry will share the stage with Ian Mitchell (Bay City Rollers), The Cowsills, and Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods.
You can also catch Barry on the Retro Stage at noon on Saturday in “The Greg Brady Experience.” Should be a great time. Hope you can make it out.
No, for real. Someone get the Hill Valley Preservation Society on the horn! Lightning may not strike twice, but apparently fire does. As you may have already read, one of the big casualties in this weekend’s Universal Studios blaze was Courthouse Square, a key location in the “Back to the Future” trilogy. First things first. Nobody was seriously injured, so I’m not being completely insensitive whining about losing a set from a movie. That being said, I would argue something like this could be considered, let’s say, a “pop culture tragedy.” Nowhere near as bad as a real tragedy, but still troublesome to anyone who’s a fan of the series or a supporter of time travel in general. The thing is though, if you dig a little deeper, you’ll actually find that within this ”tragedy,” is a “pop culture miracle.”
Check out the prime table my friend Laurie landed at Big Daddy’s Diner in New York.
Earle Hagen (left) and Frank DeVol
Some time ago I stumbled upon a cheap DVD that featured a pair of Andy Griffith Show episodes. Upon giving it a spin, I soon discovered why the disc was destined for the clearance bin. In an apparent attempt to avoid a potentially thorny copyright dispute, the fly-by-night distributor had actually replaced the theme music. Andy and Opie still carried their poles as they walked along the fishin’ hole, but instead of being accompanied by the familiar and beloved whistling theme song, they sauntered to a goofy overdub of some generic tune that wasn’t worthy of a PowerPoint presentation. As the episode began, I was too distracted by this outrage to even process what Barney was telling Andy. Somehow, without a proper introduction to Mayberry, it just wasn’t the same.
Such is the power of a well-written TV theme, and such was the talent of Earle Hagen, who died on Monday night at the age of 88. Hagen was the prolific film and TV composer whose quest for a simple Andy Griffith Show intro (”something you could whistle”) inspired one of the most memorable tunes in all of pop culture. He was also responsible for the brash, big-band theme from The Dick Van Dyke Show, and if you’re not thinking about Rob Petrie and his ottoman right now, you’re probably not familiar with that one. In addition, he scored and wrote themes for many other classic TV shows, including I Spy, That Girl, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., Make Room For Daddy, and The Mod Squad.
Loading ...
