Since it appears the nation has somehow regressed to the violence of 1970, I felt it was a good time to post about something fun.
I was reminded* a few weeks ago about a long-forgotten TV show. In the snowy winter of January 1970, ABC premiered the Saturday morning TV show Get It Together. From January 3 to September 5, 1970, this short-lived musical variety show graced our TVs every Saturday morning at 12 pm after network cartoons.
The most outstanding thing about this show was that it featured Cass Elliot as co-host and, to a lesser extent, Texas DJ Sam Riddle. Cass Elliot was everyone’s favorite hippie Earth mother. I still don’t know why Sam Riddle was there or who he is.
There were several spinoffs from American Bandstand in the counterculture years. Recognizing the buying potential of the youth segment, Dick Clark developed several series to promote bands and reach the Stridex set. Where the Action Is was a West Coast-centric afternoon musical variety show from 1965 to 1967 featuring house band Paul Revere and the Raiders. After cancellation, it was reimaged as Happening ’68 and later as It’s Happening in 1969, airing in the timeslot after American Bandstand. In one last attempt, the show was revamped as Get It Together in 1970.
I have a few vague memories of this program. Aside from featuring “Mama” Cass Elliot as a co-host, the show did nothing remarkable. The guests were either safe Top 40 pop singers or TV heartthrobs with forgettable songs, looking to cash in on the “tween” market. The edgiest guest was pre-Aqualung Jethro Tull.
Get It Together lasted 20 episodes before cancellation, with Cass Elliot appearing in 11 of them. I don’t remember any other Dick Clark spinoff from American Bandstand after that time. One reason for the low ratings was the glut of music variety shows by 1970. Most of these artists were performing on other prime-time variety shows during the week, so seeing the same guests at noon on Saturday wasn’t much of an attraction. Too, the guests were not hip and groovy; they were rather bland. The once socially conscious sunshine pop was degenerating into bubblegum music. And we were growing up.
This is usually where I insert some hilarious personal story, but, for the life of me, I can’t think of one. Yes, I loved Cass Elliot, but this show didn’t excite me. Like my demographic, I had other things to do at noon on Saturday. For me, it was going into town with my mother. At thirteen, I had an allowance burning a hole in my pocket. New trendy fashions at the Sears Lemon Frog Shop caught my eye. New LP albums, 45 rpm records and the latest awful Dark Shadows novelization beckoned at Kmart and Woolco. Mark Lindsey and his ponytail were exciting in 1967. By 1970, most young men were awash in a sea of long hair, so male ponytails were passé. This program was not interesting.
Get It Together faded into history in the fall of 1970. There is little archival material left from the show, aside from a very poor-quality episode on YouTube. A trade publication ad from the Cass Elliott estate is available on Lost Media Wiki. I have a two-page spread in my archives from the July 1970 issue of 16 Magazine. But even the PR genius of Gloria Stavers couldn’t whip up interest in this show. Though it had good intentions, Get It Together never took off and is now forever in the Forgotten TV Shows dust bin.
*Hat tip to Ann Moses, former editor of Tiger Beat Magazine, for jogging my memory. Sadly, I was unable to find her 1970 Tiger Beat article. Like the promo in competitor 16 Magazine, the show just didn’t garner interest among the target demographic.
