Being snowbound for much of January 77 with a new turntable of my own but a limited supply of 45s led to checking out flipsides to add variety to the playlist. My sister had purchased the Marilyn McCoo/Billy Davis Jr. duet “You Don’t Have to Be a Star (to Be in My Show)” sometime before Christmas, so it got the B-side treatment one frigid afternoon. What I heard was spectacular:
Catchy, groovy, funky—“We’ve Got to Get It On Again” had so much going for it, I probably wondered if it shouldn’t be a single. I’d be interested in knowing who was doing the session work. Marilyn’s mostly relegated to backup this time, but she blends so well with Billy.
A few months later, a song I liked maybe more than I should have, “Slow Dancin’ Don’t Turn Me On,” made AT40 and reached #20. I hadn’t previously been familiar with Don and Dick Addrisi, but I’m half-wondering now: did I take a second look at “We’ve Got to Get It On Again” and notice who had songwriting credit? I’m leaning toward yes.
Regardless, it wasn’t until just a few years ago (yes, from listening to rebroadcasts) that I realized the Addrisis had recorded and hit with their own version. I like it. It’s a little slower and way more melancholy than the cover, but the harmonies, while subtle, are still pretty sweet. It’s #26 on this show, one position shy of its peak.
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It’s usually fun to dig around the ‘Net to learn a little more as I prepare these posts, especially when it’s an act I don’t know much about. That was particularly true this week, as I got to connect the Addrisis in more and more tangential ways to various snippets of my past. Here are a few:
–Don and Dick’s greatest claim to fame is writing “Never My Love.” Love the Association’s take, much less enamored of Blue Swede’s 74 cover. In between, the Fifth Dimension (Marilyn and Billy with their second appearance today—perhaps that isn’t an accident) had a live version reach #12 in 71.
–The Addrisis also wrote and performed the theme to the early 70s sitcom Nanny and the Professor. That’s one I remember watching a few times, no doubt because it initially showed between The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family (though I couldn’t tell you the least thing about any episode). The show’s intro maybe sounds a tiny bit familiar, particularly the ending. Hearing it now, it’s a nifty little piece, a tune deserving of more than one minute in length.
–Nanny was played by British actress Juliet Mills, older sister of the star of Disney’s The Parent Trap. I really liked that movie, developing a bit of a crush on Hayley after seeing it on TV when I was 10 or 11; it didn’t dawn on me at the time that she was 18 years older than I…
–Speaking of Disney: Nanny’s youngest charge was played by Kim Richards, who a few years later would have a lead role in Escape to Witch Mountain. I enjoyed seeing it in a theater shortly after it came out (I’m guessing I wouldn’t be impressed with the special effects were I to watch it again, though). Richards has more recently been seen (but not by me) on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
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That’s enough tunneling into rabbit holes today. Dick Addrisi is still living, in his late 70s; Don died of cancer back in 84.
The Music of My Life 