Helen Reddy's TV days
18 Jan 2013
As Helen Reddy packed up her Sydney home to jet off on a new tour, including two exclusive concerts just for Probus members, she sat down with us to talk about starting her pop career in the 70s, relaunching it in her 70s, and everything in between.
In this first instalment of a six-part series about Reddy, the 'Queen of 70s pop' talks about the impact of television on her early fame.
Helen Reddy’s passion is singing but television also contributed to her fame.
Even before she left Australia to find fame in the United States, she had her own show called Helen Reddy Sings and was appearing regularly on Channel 9.
Her timely appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which came at a time when she really needed it, helped build her US profile.
Helen herself realised the power of the box way back when she was trying to get airplay for her anthem I Am Woman. As she said on the ABC’s Talking Heads program in 2007: “So many program directors and DJs said, ‘I'm not playing that song!’ So, what I did was, I went on 19 different television shows singing I Am Woman. And women started calling up radio stations and requesting the song. So, through television, we forced airplay on radio.”
Helen’s list of television appearances, as a singer, an actor, a guest and a host, is long. While she admits she enjoyed her forays into acting, it was appearing on and hosting variety shows, very popular in the 1970s and 1980s, that she really enjoyed.
“It’s not like today where any amateur can get up and sing something. These were professionally put together shows with choreography and costumes and stars who really could sing,” she recalls. “They were great days in television.”
In 1973, riding high on the success of several Top 10 hits, Helen was given her own show. Demonstrating the size of her profile at this time, it was called The Helen Reddy Show, and was credited with launching the careers of several artists, including The Pointer Sisters.
See Helen Reddy live in concert
Helen Reddy will be playing two exclusive concerts just for Probus members, as well as hosting members in her home, as part of a Probus 'Christmas in July' tour to Norfolk Island. Contact Trade Travel for a full itinerary or to book your spot.
W: www.tradetravel.com
E: [email protected]
T: 1800 645 103 (toll free within Australia) or 0800 443 044 (toll free within NZ)
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