The Donna Summer Special (1980)

On January 27, 1980, ABC broadcast "The Donna Summer Special" with special guest star Robert Guillaume and a special appearance by daughter Mimi Summer. It's a hour-long variety show that includes, studio performances, sketches, and live performances from the Hollywood Bowl. Pulse-pounding music, comedy, fireworks and fun!

I might have watched it in 1980, but it was broadcast past my bedtime on a school night so who knows? Thanks to the miracle of technology, I can enjoy it now:

Song performances:

• Dim All the Lights
• Fairy Tale High (duet with Mimi)
• On the Radio
• Hot Stuff
• Sketch medley with Robert Guillaume: Once Upon a Time/The Man I Love/Midnight at the Oasis/The Way You Do the Things You Do/Bridge Over Troubled Water
• Medley: The Man I Love/I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)/Some of these Days
• Sunset People
• Bad Girls
• Starting Over Again
• Last Dance

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Olivia (1978)

Last night, I received the following text message:

Ever see the Olivia Newton-John TV Special with Abba and Andy Gibb? I don't remember ever seeing it but I just watched the ever loving crap out of it on YT.

And now you can watch the ever loving crap out of it, too. And you should:

This is the original feed, not what actually aired. More information about this clip is available over at the YouTube site. Other than the sweet tunes and gorgeous Olivia, what strikes me is that this is filmed one-take with a live orchestra and the medley lasts almost 19 minutes. Impressive. Sure, there's some clunkers (the most obvious is at 12:10), but it's more entertaining than any lip-synching performance.

The best I can determine, the Olivia special was aired Wednesday, May 17, 1978 on ABC. Here's the running order for this medley:

• If You Love Me (Let Me Know)
• Dancing Queen
• Fernando
• I Just Want To Be Your Everything
• Have You Never Been Mellow
• Please Mr. Please
• Take A Chance On Me
• (Love Is) Thicker Than Water
• Shadow Dancing
• Hopelessly Devoted To You
• If You Love Me (Let Me Know)
• Thank You For The Music

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H/T to Herc over at Herc's Hideaway for hipping me to this video and to YouTube user ArgoWho for uploading and sharing this clip. Many thanks.