The Dukes of Hazzard was just one of many 80s tv shows that were based on movies. It was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, also created by Gy Waldron, who took many concepts and characters from his original creation.

Our heroes are two all-American cutie-pie cousins named Bo and Luke Duke. Sometimes, their cousin Daisy Duke gets in on their adventures. These two fellas hightail around Hazzard County (Georgia) stirring up trouble in their muscle car, which is a customized 1969 Dodge Charger christened the General Lee.

The Duke boys’ main objective is to thwart the county commissioner, Boss Hogg and his half-witted cohort, the country sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. They get a lot of help from their wise old Uncle Jesse, who’s not a big fan of the law.

80s TV Shows

In the 80s, TV shows were just like everything else — a new fad every year. Only the cream of the crop rose to the top and stayed there for the entire decade. Sadly, The Dukes of Hazzard sunk to the bottom of the barrel long before the 80s ended. But when the show was at its peak, it was crazy popular. I remember watching it religiously for at least an entire year. I had a tee shirt that declared “I *heart* Bo” and in third grade, I proudly toted my Dukes of Hazzard lunchbox to school every day. Oh yes, I was a little fangirl. But unfortunately, it turned out that Bo really wasn’t my type and the following school year, I left my lunchbox behind and found some other 80s TV character to worship.

The Dukes of Hazzard Backstory

Our two 80s TV hunks were on probation for transporting moonshine and got in trouble with the law. Rather than see his nephews go to jail, Uncle Jesse struck a deal with county officials — he promised to stop making moonshine in exchange for the Duke brothers’ freedom. One of the conditions of the agreement stated that the Bo and Luke couldn’t carry firearms, which is why they use combound bows, often tipped with dynamite, which gave them more fire power than any gun. Also, they couldn’t leave the country.

Meanwhile the shady, corrupt, and squat little Boss Hogg had his black crusty heart set on apprehending the boys and tossing them in the can, mostly because the Duke family had a penchant for screwing up the Boss’s crooked scams.

This sets the stage for plenty of hilarious hi-jinks as Boss Hogg and his cohorts practically chase their own tails trying to catch the Duke boys (and the rest of the Duke family for that matter) at anything illegal. Plus, Boss Hogg was always trying to take away Uncle Jesse’s farm. Taxes! Taxes! It’s one sham after another in Hazzard County, y’all.

Bad for Business

You know, the arrogance of big business was playing heavy handed even back in the 80s. Although the show was always a  top-rated 80s TV series, the bigwigs decided to shortchange the actors. I guess they didn’t know back then that the actors make the show! In 1982 before they filmed the fifth season, John Schneider (Bo) and Tom Wopat (Luke) walked off the set in a contract dispute over salaries and merchandising royalties. Instead of eating some delicious humble pie, the show claimed that Bo and Luke had gone off to join NASCAR. But lookie here! We’ve got two lookalikes, Bo and Luke’s long-lost cousins…

It was an utter failure. Fans cried “foul!” and before the season ended, our adorable good ole’ boys were back. Unfortunately, the entire debacle caused the show to lose its zest. We have a phrase for what happened: Dukes went and jumped the shark. And I mean totally jumped the shark. Fans couldn’t forgive, so the show faded away a couple of years later.

Theme Song

Waylon Jennings wrote and performed the mighty memorable theme song from The Dukes of Hazzard, which was called “The Good Ol’ Boys.” Credited as “The Balladeer,” Mr. Jennings also narrated the show.

Dude, that brings back some memories.

Trivia

• Daisy Dukes are short-shorts, usually jean cut-offs, and they are named after the one and only (YES I went there, the remake movie SUCKED) Daisy Duke, played by Catherine Bach who sported the shorts in most of her appearances on the show.

• If you go to buy the theme song, prepare to be disappointed. The one available for purchase is not the same one that was used in the show’s opening credits. The lyrics are different and most notably, the YEE HAWWW is missing from the end. And that, my friends, is just plain lame.

“The music has magic.
You know you can catch it.
If you let the songs take control,
the sound starts to glisten,
the more that you listen,
and slowly it turns into gold.”

Solid Gold 80s TV

80s TV would have been nothing without the weekly top ten music countdown that was Solid Gold. Few other 80s TV shows captured the essence of the 80s the way Solid Gold did, featuring hit 80s music, hot Solid Gold dancers, performances from the biggest artists of the decade, and some of the most popular 80s music videos.

The show started out as a one-time special in 1980, with a countdown of the top 40 songs from 1979. It was such a huge hit that a regular, weekly show launched, featuring a countdown of the top ten hits of each week. Most songs were played in clips as the famous and totally sexy Solid Gold dancers performed awesome choreographed routines. Each week, special guests came to perform their hit songs and all the biggest 80s stars stood on the Solid Gold stage during the course of the show’s run.

There were also Solid Gold specials throughout the year, which gave credence to older pop hits but followed the show’s regular format. An annual special honored the show’s humble beginnings with a yearly top 40 countdown. Unfortunately, Solid Gold came a end in 1988, which was the show’s final season.

Solid Gold Dancers

There were plenty of other 80s TV shows that mimicked Solid Gold – other countdown shows and programs that featured popular artists performing their latest hits – but none could rival the show’s truly golden offering: the Solid Gold dancers.

Their routines were complex and their outfits were risqué. They were total 80s icons, with big hair, leotards, and sometimes leg warmers. They danced to the hits and to the artists’ performances. They even danced in the show’s opening and closing segments. Every little girl (including me) wanted to grow up to be a Solid Gold dancer, but none had the chance since the show went off the air before the decade was over (and before we were all grown up).

Ironically, the Solid Gold dancers gave their final performance together, not on Solid Gold, but in the 1988 motion picture, Scrooged, which was filmed before the show had officially been canceled.

Solid Gold Hosts and Solid Gold Theme Song

According to Wikipedia:

At the start of Solid Gold’s first season (1980), Michael Miller was chosen by Dionne Warwick to be the show’s Musical Director – a role he continued on with for the entire run of the series. Michael also composed the Solid Gold theme song, along with Academy Award-winning lyricist, Dean Pitchford, who wrote the theme’s words.

Dionne Warwick and Marty Cohen hosted most of the first season, setting the stage for a revolving door of Solid Gold hosts. During the 1982-1983 season, hosting duties were transferred to Marilyn McCoo (of the Fifth Dimension) and Andy Gibb. McCoo hosted the following season solo. Other hosts that appeared included Rick Dees, Arsenio Hall, and Nina Blackwood, who later went on to become an MTV veejay.

Lip Syncing on 80s TV Shows

Live performances were unheard of on Solid Gold. Other 80s TV shows may have offered a venue for performing a song live, but Solid Gold wanted audiences to hear the hits just as they sounded on the radio. So, artists lip synced their performances – all artists except one. Stevie Nicks refused to lip sync and instead did her two Solid Gold performances (Stand Back and Nightbird) live. She even brought in her own dancers.

NOTE: One commentator stopped by to say that he was the musical director for Solid Gold and wanted to clarify that about half of the performances were, in fact, live. Scroll down to view the comment.

Mad Love for 80s TV Shows

If we were counting down the top ten shows of the 80s – or the top 40 80s TV shows for that matter – Solid Gold would totally be number one. The music. The dancers. The hosts and the videos! The theme song and the special guests. We loved all of it back then and we totally still do. Long live 80s TV!