1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 36

   When I was researching yesterday's article, I noticed that a novelty song had reached it's peak at the same time Fleetwood Mac's Rumours debuted. The song was called 'Up Your Nose With A Rubber Hose.' 


     Sung by Gabe Kaplan, the comedic song was based on a series of insult's from Kaplan's iconic 1970s series Welcome Back, Kotter. Well, what a better time than now to focus some attention on that classic ABC series.

     In the early 70s, Gabe Kaplan made a name for himself as a comedian. He appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson several times and recorded a couple of comedy albums. On the records, Kaplan would talk a lot about his wild high school days in Brooklyn. It were those segments that took the comedian to the next level.

      Kaplan was given a TV-show called Welcome Back. Inspired by his childhood recounts in his stand-up routines, Kaplan starred as Mr. Kotter, a high school teacher who returns to his alma mater. There, he's given a group of remedial students known as the Sweathogs. Kotter was a founding member of the 'gang' and as punishment for making the vice principal's life hell, Kotter is made to teach the next generation of misfits.

      The Sweathogs are made up mostly of 4 main students. There's the short Jewish kid with the annoying voice Horshack. UP next is the black basketball star Freddie 'Boom Boom' Washington. Then we've the Puerto Rican Jew, Epstein, and finally Italian heart-throb, Vinnie Barbarino. 

       Barbarino was played by the talented John Travolta. By 1977, when the show hit it's apex in popularity and ratings, Travolta was becoming a household name and a much sought after film star. We'll talk more about him before the end of this year...

      But right now, let's look at February, 1977. The show is starting to finish up it's second year and it's consistently staying in the top 15 of highest rated shows. DC published a comic book based on the show that ran for 2 years. Trading cards, stickers, posters, novels, and a set of action figures hit store shelves by Christmas of this year. But perhaps Kotter's most popular piece of merchandising involved music.

      No, I am NOT talking about Up Your Nose With A Rubber Hose. I'm taling about the show's theme song 'Welcome Back,' which was a huge success. Written and performed by John Sebastian, formerly of the Lovin' Spoonfuls, the song dominated airwaves in the mid-to-late 70s. Reaching #1 for a week in '76, the song even did quite well internationally and on country music charts.

      However, by the end of 1978, the furor over Welcome Back, Kotter was coming to an end. Travolta left the show at the beginning of the fourth season and with the other actors aging out, newer but very unpopular characters were brought in to save the show. But the damage was already done and in the Spring of 1979, ABC cancelled the series.

   Looking back at Kotter, I'm not sure why I liked it. As a kid, I thought the show was great and I used to watch it all the time. I'm sure it inspired in some way to become a teacher and now a chef instructor. But about 2 years ago, some channel started airing reruns and I thought it was awful.

      Every show was the same. Kaplan begins the show when he tells a long-winded story about a family member to his wife played by Marcia Strassman. Then after the punchline, the theme song (which I LOVE) plays, then the Sweathogs come to class, except Epstein who is always late and has a made-up note from his mother. Then Horshack goes 'Oooo... OOOOOO!' in hopes of Kotter's attention. Then Barbarino plays dumb about something. Boom Boom tells a pretty girl 'Hi there!' The principal insults Kotter and his Sweathogs. Kotter presents a moral to the gang and they get all thankful and start talkin' jive. Then Kotter is back telling his wife another dumb joke. End scene. Repeat weekly as needed. 

      Welcome Back Kotter was formulaic sitcom TV at it's very best or worst depending on how you look at it. It's a style that dominated the 60s and 70s and in some ways in continues today especially with reality television. As a kid, this sort of repetition probably made it more understandable and fun to watch. But as I got older, it became more tedious. 

       I think that's why sometimes a fond memory of something gets tarnish. You return to something you loved as a kid but thanks to age, wisdom, or experience- it's just not the same any more. Not every fond thing I loved as a kid is something I hate now. In fact, there are some things I hated when I was little that I am a huge fan of now. 

      The old saying is 'you can't go back home again.' In the case of Welcome Back, Kotter; the experts are right.