Echo Valley: The Original Bubblegum Music Podcast

EV118 (S5E18) Waldo P. Emerson Jones

Can an obscure Archies song tell us all we need to know to fill an hour with great bubblegum music? Kid Bubblegum seems to think so, but Professor Bubblegum has his doubts. Along the way, we get a dramatic reading of a Kaptain Kool and the Kongs comic book, rediscover the Hudson Brothers and their friend Chucky Margolis, learn that Paul Simon wrote a classic proto-bubblegum hit, search fruitlessly for a Jimmy Page-bubblegum connection, and, unexpectedly, the whole hour becomes about Rick Springfield for some reason. Enjoy plenty of great bubblegum pop from The Archies, The Rubettes, Shadows of Knight, Rock Hudson and Bea Arthur, Simon and Garfunkel, Picketywitch, Johnny Farnum, Vince Guaraldi, Status Quo, Neil Christian, and Everybody Was in the French Resistence...Now!

EV117 (S5E17) Clap Your Hands and Stamp Your Feet

Who is Sajid Khan and why did the Monkees' record company give him his own bubblegum album? A dramatic reading from a Banana Splits comic book! Dutch singer Bonnie St. Claire moves into town! Plus plenty of great bubblegum music from The Rubettes, The Pipkins, The Short Circus, The McCoys, Sally Field, Polka Dot (Ron Albanese), The Muppets, The Cattanooga Cats, 1910 Fruitgum Company, Boss Blues, Andy and David Williams, and New Dream!

EV116 (S5E16) Karen Valentine Beauty Secrets

A groovy opening medley from the long lost Brady Bunch Hour variety show! The bubblegum sensibilities of Katrina and the Waves! A dramatic reading of a 1970 Karen Valentine interview! Plenty of great bubblegum pop music from The Hudson Brothers, Bobby Sherman, The Wombles, Tony Burrows, The Sweet, The Kasenetz-Katz Super Circus, Judy Thomas, The Monkees, The Hot Wheels, The Sufaris, Johnny Whitaker, Boyce and Hart, and Brian Hyland!

EV115 (S5E15) Mission Magic

Rick Springfield stars in a spin-off of the Brady Kids cartoon! A dramatic reading of a Brady Bunch adventure novel with authentic Brady background music! How did Annette Funicello get her name? Who is Roobarb?! Plenty of bubblegum pop music from The Cattanooga Cats, Rick Springfield, The Archies, The Rich Kids, The Brady Kids (featuring a Barry Williams solo), Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, The Cowsills, Bobby Sherman, The New Christy Minstrels, The Banana Splits, Banaroo, The Hardy Boys, The Rubettes, and Bob B. Sox and the Blue Jeans!

EV114 (S5E14) Bubblegum Dreams

Professor Bubblegum dozes off and dreams of a wonderful world where bubblegum pop music dominates hit radio! His reverie includes great bubblegum music by The Music Explosion, Boyce and Hart, The Buckinghams, The Banana Splits, The Partridge Family, Mac and Katie Kissoon, The Fun and Games, Capt. Groovy and his Bubblegum Army, Crazy Elephant, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Andy Kim, The Bugaloos, Josie & the Pussycats, The Harlem Globetrotters, The Pipkins, The Brady Bunch, The Monkees, The Hot Wheels, The Archies and Danny Bonaduce!

 

EV113 (S5E13) The Beagles

We learn about The Beagles, the first made-for-TV bubblegum band! Are episodes of this 1966 cartoon series gone forever? Does David Cassidy feel like he is a manufactured piece of merchandise?! We read a groovy vintage interview with Every Mother's Son, the group that loves you! Spotlight on Manfred Mann! Plenty of great bubblegum pop music by The Archies, Tommy Roe, Bobby Sherman, The Beatles, The Cowsills, The Cuff Links, the Crystals, Partridge Family, The Raspberry Pirates, The Love Affair, Micky Dolenz and Wilson Pickett!

EV112 (S5E12) Jingle Jangle

The Archies' Jingle Jangle enters the Bubblegum Hall of Fame! A brief sentimental shout out to the sweet but  tragic life of Buffy from Family Affair! We discover the gummy side to the band Paper Lace! A dramatic reading from an Emergency TV comic book! A strange german "schlager" take on a John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John Grease duet! Plenty of great bubblegum pop music from The Ohio Express, 1910 Fruitgum Company, Bobby Sherman, The Archies, Paper Lace, Annette Funicello, Dieter Hallervorden and Helga Feddersen, Banana Splits, Capt. Groovy and His Bubblegum Army, Wahonka, Beano, Johnny Whitaker, Middle of the Road, The Bubble Gum Machine, and The Harlem Globetrotters!

EV111 (S5E11) Bubblegum Circus

The bubblegum circus has come to Echo Valley! Clowns, carnivals and funny monkeys! A focus on Electric Company's Short Circus! We visit TV's Super Circus from 1950! A dramatic reading from a Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp comic book! Learn about Jackie Lee! Plenty of bubblegum pop music from Andy Kim, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm and the Bedrock Rockers, The Hardy Boys, Jack Wild, Kermit the Frog, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Brian Hyland, Soulful Dynamics, Cattanooga Cats, Rumpelstilskin Kartoon, Normand Gelinas, and The Avengers!

EV110 (S5E10) The Hardy Boys

We focus on the animated Hardy Boys' Saturday morning bubblegum band! Did you know that Frank Hardy was a member of The Grass Roots? Political bubblegum with Boyce and Hart and The Brady Bunch's Eve Plumb. A dramatic reading from a Hardy Boys comic book! Plenty of great bubblegum pop with The Archies, Ohio Express, The Fun and Games, The Strangeloves, 1910 Fruitgum Company, The Love Generation, Teresa Brewer, Alan Blakely, Soulful Dynamics, and The Grass Roots.

EV109 (S5E9) Tony Orlando

A look at the bubblegum world of Tony Orlando! Paul Revere and the Raiders first record! The Archies' Ron Dante helps launch the career of teen supergroup wannabe, Silvermoon! A dramatic reading from For Teens Only magazine, 1968! A rare record from Rare Breed! Plenty of great bubblegum pop music from The Harlem Globetrotters, Tony Orlando and Dawn, The Silvermoon, Wind, Andy and David Williams, Boyce and Hart, The Music Explosion, The Archies, Bobby Sherman, Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, 1910 Fruitgum Company, The Ohio Express, and Joey and the Continentals!

EV108 (S5E8) Josie and the Pussycats

Songs from three different versions of Josie and the Pussycats! Spotlight on The Sugar Bears! A dramatic reading from a Ding Dong School book! New bubblegum from The Monkees!Two different bands, two different song titles, same Ron Dante, same song? Plenty of great bubblegum pop music from Giorgio, 1910 Fruitgum Company, Salt Water Taffy, The Cuff Links, Two Dollar Question, The Wombles, Union Express, Miss Francis, Kenny O'Dell, Hollywood Players, Tammy and the Lords of Misrule, and St. Christopher's Gregorian Chant!

EV107 (S5E7) The Cattanooga Cats

Spotlight on the cartoon bubblegum group, The Cattanooga Cats! Lee Majors sings of Steve Austin's love for Jaime Summers! A dramatic reading of a Bionic Woman comic book! The secret origin of Do Wah Diddy! A groovy Ron Dante song you've never heard before! Plenty of great bubblegum pop music from Boyce and Hart, Giorgio, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Ron Albanese, Phil Harris, The Cowsills, Jeffreys, Rock Candy Mountain (Joey Levine), Bill Amesbury and Manfred Mann!

EV106 (S5E6) A Very Merry Cherry Cherry Christmas

Mrs. Professor Bubblegum declares this the best Echo Valley Christmas Special ever! Barbie and Ken celebrate a Barbie Christmas! Santa Claus Conquers the Martians!, A big gift box full of bubblegum music from David Cassidy, The Archies, 1910 Fruitgum Company, Neil Diamond, Bobby Sherman, Sally Field, Ricky Segall, Banaroo, Chris and Peter Allen, Johnnie and the High Keys, The Rocky Fellers, The Rockfield Chorale, Roy Winters, Ronny and the Daytonas, Linn Sheldon and Showaddywaddy!

EV105 (S5E5) The Danny Bonaduce Album

Hear the fabled Danny Bonaduce album! Danny Bonaduce played Danny Partridge on The Partridge Family. He could not sing. So, true to the philosophy of bubblegum pop, he got his own solo album! We explore this album of strange gum and discover its links to The Brady Bunch, The Kids from Fame, Barbra Streisand, disco and even The Door's Jim Morrison! Of course, the history of rock and roll always comes back to bubblegum. We also get some bubblegum music from the Rock 'n' Roll Dubble Bubble Trading Card Co., David Cassidy, and Bruce Roberts (whoever that is).

EV104 (S5E4) Partridge Family Rarities

Kid Bubblegum searches through the archives for true Partridge Family Rarities, like the fabled unreleased demos, music from the animated Partridge Family 2200, and, rarest of all, the legendary Danny Bonaduce solo album! Does it even exist? What will Kid Bubblegum find?! The secret origin of Daddy Dewdrop's Chick-a-Boom! A dramatic reading from a Bugaloos comic book! Is there such a thing as Beatles' bubblegum?! And plenty of great and gummy tunes by The Archies, Carole King, Sha Na Na, The Bugaloos, Apache Dropout, Bruce Roberts, and Peter's Pipers!

EV103 (S5E3) I Want Candy

Gum that's "Too Big Uh Eat" from Rodney Allen Rippy! A recycling comic book hero! Learn about Sonny Curtis, of whom you have never heard! A Double Bubble from The Cryan Shames! Plenty of pop music candy from The Strangeloves, Stan Freberg, Donna Lynn, Andy and David Williams, The Brady Bunch Kids, Ohio Express, 1910 Fruitgum Company, Sammy Davis, Jr.,The Cattanooga Cats, Barry Gibb, Tommy James and the Shondells, The Chords, and Tony Christie!

EV102 (S5E2) It's a Groove to Be Free

Spider-man sings and sounds like The Archies! A dramatic reading from a terrifying Partridge Family novel! A reminder of the greatness that is David Hasselhoff! A bubblegum song from 1904?! Lots of great bubblegum pop from Boyce and Hart, Shawn, Lancelot Link and the Evolution Revolution, The Ohio Express, Robin McNamara, The Angels, Tommy Roe, The Five Americans, The Teens, Carnival Connection, Bob Roberts, The Fortunes, Ron Dante as The Amazing Spider-man, The Chan Clan, Spare Change and David Antrell!

EV101 (S5E1) Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy

A new season and a new attitude! We celebrate the return of The Monkees! Learn what makes The Cowsills angry! Giorgio in Italian! Plenty of great bubblegum music from The Hardy Boys, Beano, The Archies, The Ohio Express, Robin McNamara, Josie and the Pussycats, Bobby Sherman, Jamie Kaye, Morocco, The Robert E. Lee Brigade, and The Gentle Touch!

EV100 The History of Bubblegum Music

The evolution of the bubblegum pop sound from the Platinum Age (1904-1950) to the Atomic Age (1950-1966) to the Golden Age (1966-1970)! A scholarly definition of bubblegum music! Bubblegum is the basic sound of rock'n' roll – minus the rage, fear, and violence, wrote legendary rock critic Lester Bangs, and we follow the growth of that basic sound through almost 150 bubblegum songs from Bob Roberts' "The Woodchuck Song" in 1904 to The Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You" in 1970 and everything in between!

EV99 (S4E19) Best of Season 4

We look back over Season 4! A countdown of the Top 10 most played bubblegum songs from the season! We celebrate the most interesting and entertaining moments! How did we survive a season of Echo Valley without Kid Bubblegum?!