Bottom Line:
Overall, this was a fun trip down memory lane. Barbara Mandrell & the Mandrell Sisters was a show I watched faithfully. Each and every week you could count on lots of laughs and there was always an overabundance of talent sharing the stage. If you love good, clean fun and great music then you will enjoy having this DVD in your collection.
Barbara Mandrell & The Mandrell Sisters was a musical variety show that first came on the air in November of 1980. The show starred Barbara Mandrell and her sisters Louise and Irlene. Along with a couple of guest artists per episode you could count on some fun skits guaranteed for many laughs. The sisters are all very talented and were equally at ease doing comedy routines, playing a variety of instruments or kicking up their heels in complicated dance numbers. It seemed like the episodes were edited out a little bit for this project because there was only one episode showcasing the instrumental talents. And another episode came in with the girls talking about the dance number that they had just performed, but we didn't get to see it. But overall it is a great representation of what the show was. It had a very successful run until Barbara's hectic schedule forced them to cancel it in June of 1982.
From the two year run of the show, there are 6 shows represented in this two DVD set. It is a bittersweet journey into the music world to see performances by Johnny & June Carter Cash, Bob Hope, Ray Charles and Marty Robbins. Other performers are Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers and Glen Campbell. Each episode has a healthy dose of sibling rivalry. The girls play off of each other and it is somewhat corny humor compared to what is considered entertainment today – but it is still funny. No bad language or disrespect required for the laughs. One of my favorite parts of the shows was the segments where the sisters would do a dance routine and show off their skills on the different instruments. For this DVD release, they opted to concentrate mainly on the skits and singing and edited out the dancing and instrumentals as well as all but a small sample of the Kroft Puppet segments. One of the greatest things about this show was the fact that they combined the singing, skits and various artists into a very intimate type of setting and the watching audience was very much included into the whole thing. The shows would always end with the Mandrell Sisters and their guests all sharing the stage for a medley of Gospel numbers.
Track List:
Disc One:
Air Date 11/18/80
- "Lady" John Schneider
- "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" Barbara Mandrell
- "9 to 5" Dolly Parton
- Gospel Medley – Dolly Parton, John Schneider, and the Mandrells
Air Date 11/29/80
- "Three Times A Lady" Kenny Rogers
- Patsy Cline Medley – Barbara and Louise Mandrell
- "The Best of Strangers" Barbara Mandrell
- "I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again" Kenny Rogers
Air Date 2/27/82
- "Old Time Feeling" Johnny & June Carter Cash
- "O Susannah" June Carter Cash and Barbara Mandrell
- "I Walk the Line" Johnny Cash
- Gospel Medley – Johnny & June Carter Cash and the Mandrells
Disc Two:
Air Date 1/3/81
- "Buttons and Bows" Bob Hope & Barbara Mandrell
- Instrumental Medley – The Mandrells
- "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed" Barbara Mandrell
- Medley – Marty Robbins
Air Date 2/21/81
- "Old Flame" Alabama
- "Bonaparte's Retreat" Glen Campbell and Barbara Mandrell
- "Standing Room Only" Barbara Mandrell
- Gospel Medley – Alabama, Glen Campbell and the Mandrells
Air Date 1/23/82
- "You Don't Know Me" Ray Charles
- Medley – Norm Hamlet, Merle Travis, Gordon Terry, Joe Maphis and Barbara Mandrell
- Gospel Medley – Ray Charles, Sylvia & the Mandrells
