Sometimes, I miss my childhood so much I could cry. This song is one of those times.
The Free to Be You and Me show was hosted by Marlo Thomas and featured everybody from Rosie Greer to Dustin Hoffman to Roberta Flack. The show, the songbook, the music, the memes---Free To Be You and Me was everywhere in the mid-70s. You couldn't escape it, even in school, where you had to watch it on film projectors. It was the rare stuff that felt teachy but not preachy. Also kind of edgy.
The show actually talked about gender (William Wants A Doll and Boy Meets Girl.) In 1974. Really. I remember being shocked that grown-ups would talk to us that frankly. Did the show break ground at the time, or did it just feel that way?
Michael Jackson, meanwhile, told us it was ok if we weren't pretty, that we didn't have to change at all (When I Grow Up.) Didn't stop me from wanting blonde hair until I was in high school.
The opening theme is so cool. Is this merry-go-round in Central Park, or maybe Golden Gate Park?
