These old mail-order record clubs offered super-cheap music to the masses – on vinyl, l8-track tapes, cassettes, and, finally, CDs. But there was a catch.
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For decades after their introduction in 1963, Easy-Bake Ovens showed up on wish lists for Santa and for birthdays, and millions of them were sold.
Despite a slow start, by the mid-’80s, REO Speedwagon’s hit singles ‘Keep On Loving You’ and ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’ had topped the charts, and they were known across the globe. Here’s the story.
Merlin, the ‘electronic wizard,’ was a red telephone-shaped toy used buttons, lights and sound effects to let kids play a variety of simple games, and was one of the earliest gaming consoles.
Considering it spawned two revival series, a movie, books and comic books, it’s hard to believe that the original Battlestar Galactica TV series had such a humble beginning.
Judging by audience response to PBS new children’s show, Zoom may turn into the kind if household word television hasn’t heard since the halcyon days of Uncle Milty.
Vintage book clubs have been around since before the Depression – and while the titles have changed, the concept behind the membership isthe same. Here’s a look back!
Take tic-tac-toe, toss in nine celebrities, stir in some questions and add fabulous prizes. What do you get? The original Hollywood Squares game show!
While television hardly needed another cop series, ‘Starsky and Hutch’ was one of the better reasons to turn on a TV back in the ’70s. Here’s why.
In Hawaii in the ’70s, Waikiki was more than a beach. It’s a vibrant, exciting, cosmopolitan resort city on Oahu, only a few miles from bustling downtown Honolulu.
Here Come The Brides was an hour-long comedy/Western TV series set in Seattle in the 1870s about a family of loggers who brought in 100 women as potential brides. The show launched Bobby Sherman and David Soul as teen idols.
Look back to the ’70s and ’80s at vintage Sea World San Diego, when Shamu the Killer Whale was the ocean-themed amusement park’s star attraction.
Many critics were surprised that the ‘Emergency!’ TV show was a success. One factor for sure: actors Randy Mantooth and Kevin Tighe, who played paramedics John Gage and Roy DeSoto, made indelible impressions on viewers.
In one of the stranger television concepts in history, Sally Field played the title role of The Flying Nun – the 90-pound Sister Bertrille, who could use her starched cornette to take to the skies if the wind was just right.
Reel-to-reel tape recorders hit the commercial market in the 1940s — and their evolution was boosted by the financial support of none other than Bing Crosby, who saw great potential in the technology.
Remember Vintage Wacky Packages (also called Wacky Packs for awhile) that were popular when Gen Xers were kids? Here’s a look back at some of the best of these wild and crazy collectible stickers from way back!
It’s like going to the movies. Only better. With Fisher-Price Movie Viewer toys, kids could run short films all by themselves, just by turning a handle. In slow motion, speeded up or backwards.
Thousands of kids loved these custom-made Vintage Me Books from the ’70s, including titles like My Friendly Giraffe, My Birthday Land Adventure, My Special Christmas & My Jungle Holiday.
Since 1952, Mad Magazine has poked fun at everything from Superman to Yoda, M*A*S*H to hippies. But it’s about more than humor – it’s big business, too.
We have heard Mathis’ voice for years – but who’s the man behind that rich, smooth sound? Find out more about this extraordinarily talented singer here, and see Johnny Mathis as he lived in his Hollywood home back in the 1970s.
Wonder Horses and other horse ride-on toys made kids’ dreams come true! There were different styles & sizes for all ages of children – and for decades, they were among the most popular requests made of Santa. Here’s a look!
Bald, Tootsie Pop-snacking Kojak was the king of the police procedural on TV, from 1973 through 1978. Here’s a look back!
‘All in the Family’ was a huge hit TV show that aired on CBS from 1971 to 1979, and was number 1 in the Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976. Find out about the series here, and see the famous opening credits, too!
Based on the famous books, The Hardy Boys-Nancy Drew Mysteries TV series debuted in 1977, starring Parker Stevenson & Shaun Cassidy as the brothers Frank & Joe, and Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy.
No longer do superheroes zip through the air. They’re complex, abnormal, alienated and schizoid. They are the heroes of today’s college campuses, the new escape mechanisms for 10-year-olds, and the grist for social psychologists a generation from now.
Back in the seventies, you weren’t considered ‘in’ in some circles if you didn’t have a Pet Rock – the perfect pet. Here, look back at a few of the most popular ‘breeds,’ and find out the history of this silliness.
Take a look back at vintage Knott’s Berry Farm – the California amusement park known as a Disneyland alternative, but one that boasted its very own ghost town.
CHiPS, a light-hearted one-hour action-adventure series, follows the exploits of a pair of young California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers on the busy Los Angeles freeways, and their encounters with the infinite variety of people who drive there.
Debuting in 1976, the classic TV series Charlie’s Angels was widely popular with viewers, eventually becoming a cult classic favorite and spawning feature films and reboots.
About H. R. Pufnstuf, the completely wacky vintage kids’ TV show – plus the opening credits & lyrics
There were only 17 episodes made of H. R. Pufnstuf, but the kitschy kiddie TV show earned its cult status through reruns that aired through the ’70s and into the ’80s. Here’s a look back!
Remember vintage Disney book/record combos you could get through a mail-order club? Each set included a vinyl record with the story so kids could read along.
What was the Partridge Family TV series about? In an eggshell: Five siblings made the big-time playing rock ‘n’ roll music, and, led by their mom, toured the country. Squabbles, catchy tunes and hijinks ensued.
The Waltons was a story of a large family living in Virginia during the Great Depression. The classic TV show originally aired from 1972 through 1981. Find out what the cast thought of the program here.
Before ‘Murphy Brown’ actress Candice Bergen was a star in her own right, she was best known as the daughter of the famous ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, and, later, as a popular model. Here’s a look back.
Check out some classic hit songs that all have a common theme: a lot of us have misheard the lyrics, so we’re singing them wrong – sometimes hilariously so.
The ’70s TV classic ‘Match Game’ redefined the modern game show. It went against convention, appealed to a younger, hipper audience and ushered in a new era of television.
In the ’60s and ’70s, these vintage ads for stylish vintage Foster Grants sunglasses featured many of the most popular stars of the era – from Raquel Welch to Mia Farrow, Peter Sellers to Robert Goulet.
The Love Boat sailed from ABC into American homes for nine seasons, from 1977 until 1986. The hour-long dramedy/sitcom was a favorite of viewers and critics alike – so come remember it here!
On TV, the I Dream of Jeannie bottle was magical – from the pretty painted outside to the plush, jeweled interior. Find out about the wizardry that made it work!
Check out these vintage Tiger Beat magazines to see who teens were screaming about and obsessing over back in the seventies – decades before there were Kardashians and BTS.
Let’s look back at the popular sitcom The Facts of Life – meet the actresses, hear that catchy theme song one more time, and get the lyrics for the hit show’s opening credits!
After launching their career in the ’60s, in the early ’70s, Sonny and Cher turned to television, and to everyone’s surprise, they were a huge hit – leading to adventures both good and bad.
Back in the seventies, the vintage soap operas ‘Another World’ & ‘Days of Our Lives’ escaped the short half-hour program format, and were the first to hit the airwaves in one hour blocks.
When Jimi Hendrix died in 1970, the world was shocked that such a young star could have blazed so brightly, but then burned out so fast. Here’s a look back.
At just 27 years old and still at the start at what could have been a long career, singer Janis Joplin was found dead at home, and the music world mourned for years.
‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ was Steven Spielberg’s $18 million extravaganza about UFOs. and aliens who come to earth in them. Take a trip back!
Cheap store-bought vintage Halloween costumes like these were all the rage in the ’70s. But how did the finished product compare to their TV show inspiration? We took a look, and the results were nothing short of scary.
In 1973, The Mamas & The Papas singer Michelle Phillips took on a new role – that of the lead actress in the movie Dillinger. Here’s what she said at the time.
Old Halloween songs never die – they just reappear on the chart every decade or so. Such is the case with Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett’s million-seller, ‘Monster Mash.’
Vintage View-Master reels offered a trip into another dimension – ‘with stereo color pictures so real, you’ll feel you are actually part of the scene!’ Take a look!
In 1975, Steven Spielberg’s movie Jaws single-handedly drove more Americans away from beaches and into theaters than any other force of nature ever could have.
Sesame Street started in 1969 as a daily TV show for preschoolers, featuring a street filled with puppets and humans who told stories, sang and danced.
