Watch 1970s Animations of Songs by Joni Mitchell, Jim Croce & The Kinks, Aired on The Sonny & Cher Show
Watch 1970's Animations of Songs by Joni Mitchell, Jim Croce & The Kinks, Aired on The Sonny & Cher Show
The Sonny and Cher Show aired in the years right before I was born. Not only do I have no memory of it, of course, but I donât believe Iâve ever seen an entire episode, either in re-runs or on the internet. Nevertheless, I immediately recognized the style of the showâs animator, English artist John David Wilson, when I encountered these music videos Wilson made for the singing comedy duoâs variety hour. Though a much less famous name, Wilsonâs work seems to have animated the 70s in the way that R. Crumbâs illustrated the 60s. The opening sequences to iconic productions Grease and The Carol Burnett Show are Wilsonâs, as are animations for Laugh In and cheesy Saturday morning kidsâ show The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show (best known now, perhaps, because of Hudson brother progeny Kate Hudson). Though Wilsonâs career stretches back to the 50sâwith work on Mr. Magoo, Peter Pan, and Lady and the Trampâand into the 90s, with FernGully: The Last Rainforest, he seems to belong to the decade of âI Got You Babeâ more so than any other.
Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell
Drawn âin a simplistic, funky-looking styleâ and with goofy sound effects added (probably by the Sonny and Cher producers), Wilsonâs animated films for Joni Mitchellâs âBig Yellow Taxiâ (top), Jim Croceâs âBad, Bad Leroy Brownâ (above), and The Kinks âDemon Alcoholâ (below, sung by Wayne Carpenter) enhance songs already rich with narrative. This, the blog Media Funhouse points out, was by design: âWilson was wise to concentrate on the âstory songsâ of the time, in order to create repeating characters and have the viewer âconnectâ with the piece in a very short span of time.â In most cases, Sonny and Cherâs vocals were dubbed over the original tracks, but in many of the animations that surfaced on VHS in the eighties and now appear on Youtube, the original songs have been restored, as in the two above. If you grew up with the show, youâve surely seen at least a couple of these early music videos, a form Wilson is widely credited with pioneering. Beginning in the second season, Wilsonâs company, Fine Arts Films, produced a total of fourteen animated shorts for the show.
Demon Alcohol - Kinks
The story-songs above of environmental degradation, tough street characters, and the depths of addiction seem so very characteristic of the period, though Wilson certainly animated more lighthearted pop fare, such as Melanieâs âBrand New Keyâ (sung here by Cher). For more of Wilsonâs animated music videos, see Dangerous Minds or Media Funhouse, and for the full range of Wilsonâs long career in animation, check out the website of the production company he founded, Fine Arts Films.