08Dec1968 "Aquarius / Hair / The Flesh Failures (Let the Sun Shine In)" - West Coast Cast of "Hair"

Viewers are treated to the West Coast Cast of the rock musical "Hair" performing three songs from their production: "Aquarius," "Hair" and "The Flesh Failures (Let the Sun Shine In)." This cast from Los Angeles included Gerome Ragni, James Rado and Jennifer Warren (now known as Jennifer Warnes). From The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour broadcast of December 8, 1968 on CBS-TV. An abbreviated version of the episode (with guests Bob Newhart, Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, the West Coast Cast of the rock musical "Hair," and Paul Hampton) is available here:    • 08Dec1968 Bob Newhart, First Edition, Cast...   From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical" is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado and music by Galt MacDermot. The work reflects the creators' observations of the hippie counterculture and sexual revolution of the late 1960s, and several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War movement. The musical's profanity, its depiction of the use of illegal drugs, its treatment of sexuality, its irreverence for the American flag, and its nude scene caused controversy. The work broke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of "rock musical", using a racially integrated cast, and inviting the audience onstage for a "Be-In" finale. "Hair" tells the story of the "tribe," a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the "Age of Aquarius" living a bohemian life in New York City and fighting against conscription into the Vietnam War. Claude, his friend Berger, their roommate Sheila and their friends struggle to balance their young lives, loves and the sexual revolution with their rebellion against the war and their conservative parents and society. Ultimately, Claude must decide whether to resist the draft, as his friends have done, or serve in Vietnam, compromising his pacifist principles and risking his life. After an off-Broadway debut on October 17, 1967, at Joseph Papp's Public Theater, and a run at the Cheetah nightclub from December 1967 through January 1968, the show opened on Broadway in April 1968 and ran for 1,750 performances. Simultaneous productions in cities across the United States and Europe followed shortly thereafter, including a London production that ran for 1,997 performances. Since then, productions have been staged around the world, spawning dozens of recordings, including the 3 million-selling original Broadway cast recording. Some of the songs became Top 10 hits, and a feature film adaptation was released in 1979. A Broadway revival opened in 2009, earning strong reviews and winning the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Revival of a Musical. In 2008, Richard Zoglin wrote in Time magazine that "Today 'Hair' seems, if anything, more daring than ever." History Actors James Rado and Gerome Ragni began writing Hair together in late 1964. The main characters were autobiographical, with Rado's Claude a pensive romantic and Ragni's Berger an extrovert. Their close relationship, including its volatility, was reflected in the musical. Rado said, "We were great friends. It was a passionate kind of relationship that we directed into creativity, into writing, into creating this piece. We put the drama between us on stage." Rado described the inspiration for Hair as "a combination of some characters we met in the streets, people we knew and our own imaginations. We knew this group of kids in the East Village who were dropping out and dodging the draft, and there were also lots of articles in the press about how kids were being kicked out of school for growing their hair long." He recalled, "There was so much excitement in the streets and the parks and the hippie areas, and we thought if we could transmit this excitement to the stage it would be wonderful. ... We hung out with them and went to their Be-Ins [and] let our hair grow." Many cast members (Shelley Plimpton in particular) were recruited off the street. Rado said, "It was very important historically, and if we hadn't written it, there'd not be any examples. You could read about it and see film clips, but you'd never experience it. We thought, 'This is happening in the streets', and we wanted to bring it to the stage." According to Rado's obituary in The New York Times, the title was inspired by "a painting of a tuft of hair by the Pop artist Jim Dine. Its title was Hair." For those interested in watching more full episodes of Smothers Brothers variety shows (from 1967 to 1989), they are available here:    / @randolphstevens6664   and here:    / @jeffgilbert3892   and here:    / @ericcarroll3195   and here:    / @betagemslostmedia607   and here:    / @tapeholeannex   and here:    / @arkybee   and here:    / @analogoddities