American Bandstand 1970 – Make Me Smile, Chicago

Airdate: May 23, 1970 Chicago’s very first top 40 hit, “Make Me Smile”, is at #17 today and will peak at #9 in 2 weeks. The song is just the first part of the group’s 13- minute, 7-part musical suite “Ballet For A Girl In Buchanon” that was cut out for radio airplay. Founding member and songwriter James Pankow had no idea their record company was going to release this as a single and was shocked when he first heard it in his car in Los Angeles on Boss Radio, 93 KHJ. Smiling on the dancefloor today: Famous Hooks (0:48), Frank Vanderpuil (1:02), Andy Soto & Buggy (Teresa) Escoto (1:19), Steven Rice (2:30) and Theodosia Dayton (2:44). For 60’s & 70’s TV nerds (like me), if you saw the movie “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”, this commercial, with Susan Dey, was shown while the hippy girls at Spahn ranch were watching an episode of “Happening”. (Paul Revere and the Raiders sang “Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon”. That episode of “Happening” first aired on March 29, 1969) I don’t know if the commercial was actually playing back in ‘69, but it was definitely shown during this episode of Bandstand in 1970. “The Partridge Family” will premiere in 4 months on Sept. 25 on ABC.