Always Friends + original ZOOM season 1 (1972) theme and address songs, including lyrics

________________________________

page originally published on 23 January 2017; latest edit: 25 September 2022

_________________________________

1973 Playgrounds (LP)-original cast of ZOOM, Good Fortune Enterprises GFE 90001973-always-friends-l-dreifus-playgrounds-orig-cast-of-zoom-playground-records-pl-2002

1975-always-friends-jeri-dreifus-playgrounds-orig-cast-of-zoom-mooncrest-uk-moon-431976-always-friends-uk-miami-mia-407

Always Friends (Jeri Dreifuss) — from the 1973 LP Playgrounds, Good Fortune Enterprises ‎GFE 9000; recorded by members of the original ZOOM cast, and produced by Rupert Holmes; ZOOM was an educational TV show produced by WGBH-TV in Boston and aired on PBS

Disagreement as to songwriting credit for “Always Friends”1973-playgrounds-original-cast-of-zoom-insert-2

  • L. Dreifus — (with one “s”) on the 1973 (US) single Playgrounds PL-2002, featuring A-side “This Old Man”
  • Jeri Dreifuss
    • A copyright date of 29 November 1973 (Good Fortune Enterprises, Ltd.) and the songwriter credit “Jeri Dreifuss” are given in an entry on page 2613 of the section of the Catalog of Copyright Entries covering current and renewal registrations of music for the period July-December 1973.
    • on the B-side label of the 1975 single (UK) Mooncrest MOON 43, featuring A-side “This Old Man”
    • on the B-side label of the 1976 single (UK) Miami MIA 407, featuring A-side “This Old Man”

Questions:
Who is Jeri Dreifuss? Jeri Dreifuss is the writer of the words and music of this song, according to the copyright entry linked to above, and the B-side labels of the 1975 and 1976 UK singles shown and listed above. So why is the songwriter given as “L. Dreifus” on the 1973 US single Playgrounds PL-2002? Jeri Dreifuss may be a pseudonym of Liza Dreifuss, and “L. Dreifus” might reflect a misspelling, or an alternate spelling, of the surname of the latter.

Who is Liza Dreifuss? According to the Wikipedia page on Rupert Holmes, producer of the Playgrounds album, “In 1969, Holmes married childhood friend Elizabeth “Liza” Wood Dreifuss, an attorney.”

Who are the vocalists on the recording? Original ZOOM cast members Nina Lillie (lead) and Kenny Pires (harmony) are the vocalists.*

video published by Morrisman Smith, on 12 June 2012

.

Always Friends (Jeri Dreifuss) — lyric transcribed by doc (Jim Radcliff), 22 Jan 2017

We didn’t want to say goodbye
To each other, so we tried
In our hearts to find a way
That we wouldn’t have to close the door
On each other — We were sure
In our hearts that we should stay

We really do belong a team
And we had the simple dream
That we wouldn’t have to break apart
And so, even as the music ends
We remain just like the start
Always friends

I never want to say goodbye
To a friend — I don’t know why
Other people think it’s fine
To say “Guess we’ll call it all a day”
No, we won’t let that be us
There’s so much of you that’s mine

So, seems like we were meant to be
And I guess the world can see
Nothing can be done to change this heart
And so, even as the music ends
We remain just like the start
Always friends

_________________

(below) 1973 LP Playgrounds, Good Fortune Enterprises ‎GFE 9000; recorded by members of the original ZOOM cast, and produced by Rupert Holmes

full album, posted on 9 October 2016, by Phil John

.

tracklist:

side 1
Playground In My Mind – 0:00
Rock Island Line – 2:07
When The Saints Go Marching In – 4:45
Simon Says – 6:42
This Old Man – 9:15
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – 11:24
So Long At The Fair – 13:45
The Laughing Song – 16:45

side 2
You Can Be A Band – 19:21
Bingo – 22:10
Ig-Pay Atin-Lay – 24:39
Funky Mac Donald [sic] – 27:37
Always Friends – 30:34
I’ve Been Working On The Railroad – 33:17
If We Only Had Love / What The World Needs Now – 35:10

__________________

Zoom cast_season 1 (1972)_1

(above) original season 1 (1972) cast members, counter-clockwise from bottom left: Kenny Pires, Joe Shrand, Tracy Tannebring, Nancy Tates, Jon Reuning, Nina Lillie, Tommy White

As mentioned above, ZOOM was an educational TV series produced by WGBH-TV in Boston and aired on PBS. The Wikipedia page on the series, the Season 1 (1972) page at ZOOM Wiki, and a page at the Paley Center for Media, each indicate that the season 1 premiere aired on 9 January 1972. The Paley Center identifies the time and day of the broadcast of the premiere episode as 10 p.m. on Sunday night, which seems to be the correct day but the wrong time. An advertisement for the premiere, reproduced here, indicates that it will be broadcast “Tonight 7PM” on channel 2 (WGBH-TV 2, Boston).

Come On and Zoom (Newton Wayland)

ZOOM intro/theme song, season 1 (1972)

.

(below) lower quality, but with longer drum roll intro

.

Come On and Zoom (Newton Wayland) season 1 version — lyric transcribed by doc (Jim Radcliff) on 23 January 2017; minor edit on 6 August 2017

Come on and zoom, zoom, zoom-a zoom
You gotta zoom, zoom, zoom-a zoom
Everybody’s doin’ it, everybody’s movin’ it
Everybody’s havin’ a ball, yeah!

So won’t you zoom, zoom, zoom-a zoom?
Come on and zoom-a zoom-a zoom-a zoom

I’m Joe
I’m Nina
I’m Kenny
My name’s Tracy
I’m Tommy
I’m Nancy
I’m Jon

Who are you?
What do you do?
How are you?
Let’s hear from you!
We need you!

We’re gonna zoom, zoom zoom-a zoom
Come on and zoom-a zoom-a zoom-a zoom
Come on, give it a try
We’re gonna show you just why
We’re gonna teach you to fly high!

Come on and zoom!
Come on and zoom zoom!
(Repeat last two lines)

  • 8 July 2020 — See my new page ZOOM lyrics for the words to some other ZOOM songs from the original series (1972-1978).

(below) ZOOM season 1 pilot intro, according to the provider

I came across this video featuring an alternate Season 1 (1972) intro in February 2019. The provider says that it’s the pilot intro. The Season 1 (1972) page at ZOOM Wiki, which lists the broadcast dates of each first season episode, says: “The pilot episode [was] taped in 1971 and it aired on WGBH several times in September,” while the first episode listed, Episode 0001, is dated 9 January 1972. This suggests that the pilot was aired months before the premiere.

Parts of this version seem vaguely familiar, so maybe I saw it in September 1971 when the pilot was aired multiple times. Some pairs of lines are sung in reverse order, compared to the series version, in this one. Also, some of the lines spoken during the part where the original ZOOMers introduce themselves are slightly different here than in the later version.

________________

Send it to ZOOM (m. Newton Wayland) – The song is titled “Address Song – Send It To Zoom!” on the 1974 album Come On and ZOOM. I’m going with the simplified title “Send it to ZOOM,” here, and elsewhere on the site. In the versions of this song featured in seasons 1 and 2 of the show, the title phrase appears only once, in line four. However, the version on the 1974 Come On and ZOOM album has an extension added to the address section coda in which all sing “Send it to ZOOM!” This ending was subsequently included in other ZOOM address and SASE songs that feature the same address section coda.

The video provider suggests that the number served as the “ending” of season 1 episodes. My imperfect memory doesn’t recall that this rap only and always appeared at the end of an episode during the first season, but that may have been the case. However, the YouTube channel 70’s Zoomfan 01 has posted a video titled “Zoom Season 1 Closing 1972,” which I’ve included here further below (under the title “ZOOM cast names clapping game”), that doesn’t include this number.

The words, transcribed by me (doc), can be found below the video. Imagine the reaction of parents to hearing a song that encouraged their children to get out of bed “in the middle of the night” to write a letter to a TV show about an idea they’d just dreamed up. At least they weren’t instructed to drop the envelope into the mailbox down the street at 2 A.M. The number was also performed by cast 1 of season 2 (see under Seasons 2-6 intros and closings at the bottom of the page).

.

Send it to ZOOM — lyric transcribed by doc (Jim Radcliff) on 27 July 2017; latest edit: 27 September 2017**

Kenny:
Say you wake up in the middle of the night
You got an idea that’s outta sight

Tommy:
So you jump out of bed, look around your room
You gotta write it down and send it to ZOOM

Tracy:
Or say you’ve just seen something on this show
Or someone cool you just gotta know

Nina:
Write it all down, don’t make a mess
And don’t forget your name and address

Joe:
Include a stamp so we can drop you a card
Then dip your note in a bucket of lard

Nancy:
Joe doesn’t know what he’s talking about
You put it in an envelope, without a doubt

Jon:
Then take your typewriter, pencil, or pen
And if you make a mistake you gotta do it again

All:
Write ZOOM Z-double-O-M
Box 3-5-0
Boston MASS 02134

__________________________

ZOOM cast names clapping game and “Come On and ZOOM” reprise (closing) — The video provider, YouTube channel 70’s Zoomfan 01, suggests that the clapping game number is part of the closing. However, while it’s true that in the video the number is followed by an abbreviated reprise of the theme song, “Come On and ZOOM,” that marked the closing of each show, it’s not clear to me that the number and the reprise of the theme song were originally connected in any episode. Note that the kids are wearing striped shirts in the clapping number and light blue shirts in the “Come On and ZOOM” reprise.

“ZOOM cast names clapping game” words transcribed by doc, 6 September 2020

There’s a
ZOOM cast
such as
Joe
Jon
Kenny
Nancy
Nina
Tommy
Tracy
Z-O-O-M
ZOOM!

.

See also two versions of “The Cat Came Back” from ZOOM season 1 (1972) episodes in the Songbook page The Cat Came Back, or in the page ZOOM seasons 1-3 (1972-1974) casts: The Cat Came Back and various folk songs.

I don’t recall whether there was patter or song about including a S.A.S.E in letters sent to ZOOM in season 1. S.A.S.E promo bits and songs may have been introduced in a later season.

Although the video provider dates the following compilation 1998, ZOOM Wiki says that the video Best of the 70s was released on 12 June 1997, and Wikipedia says, “In 1997, WGBH released the video and book set Best of the 70s and Zoomers Revisited — Where Are They Now?”

___________________

* Nina is certainly singing lead, with Kenny on harmony, but I don’t know if any of the others are singing on the track, because I haven’t found any vocalist credits among the images of the album cover (front and back), inserts (posters?), labels, and booklet displayed at this page on the Playgrounds album at Discogs.com.

** While relistening in late October 2017 to the ZOOM address song, I found that in the second line sung by Nancy she seems to sing “a envelope” instead of the grammatically correct “an envelope.” However, I eventually decided to leave the spelling as is for two reasons: 1.) I might be mishearing the words, and 2.) It’s difficult to believe that had she sung “a envelope” that WGBH would have let that fly uncorrected in every episode of the first season.

______________________

ZOOM links:

series creator:

series music department:

original/season 1 cast members:

articles:

ZOOM albums and singles, 1973-1978:

  • 1973
    • Playgrounds, Good Fortune Enterprises ‎GFE 9000
      • vocals are by the season 1 cast members
  • 1973-1976 This Old Man/Always Friends singles
  • 1974
  • 1977
    • ZOOM Tunes, Rounder Records ‎8005
      • dated 1978 at some sites
      • “ZOOMers” listed on the album cover are primarily cast members of season 4 (1974-75). Many of the songs were performed as either production numbers or regular features in ZOOM episodes of that season.

new 2020 ZOOM stuff:

  • ZOOM into Action, WGBH (YouTube)
    • Introduction by Pablo Velez Jr. (1999), with playlist of videos featuring former ZOOM cast members
    • Instruction, teaching, demonstration videos
    • Play of the Week
      • Riddles by Donna Moore – performed by 70s ZOOM members Joe Shrand, Tommy White, Nina Lillie, Tracy Tannebring and Donna Moore
    • ZOOM Chat
  • ZOOM reunions on The Dr. Joe Show @ Facebook, a podcast featuring Dr. Joe Shrand with assistant Mark Stiles and guests
    • 4 March 2020 — “I’m Joe” – ZOOM reunion featuring season 1 (1972) cast members Tommy, Tracy, Kenny, and Joe
    • 28 May 2020 —  “Dr. Joe with David Kamp and the Zoom Family” — guests: David Kamp, author of the book Sunny Days, and ZOOM season 2 (1972-1973) cast members Bernadette Yao and Leon Mobley
    • 25 June 2020 (link changed 9/29/2021) — “A Zoom Zoom Reunion!” — Dr. Joe’s guests: season 1 (1972) cast members Nancy, Kenny, Tommy, season 3 (1973-1974) cast member Donna Moore, and series creator Christopher Sarson; co-host Thomas McCoy
  • ZOOM reunions on The Dr. Joe Show @ YouTube
    • 4 March 2020 — The Story of “Zoom” — same as the “I’m Joe” episode at the Facebook page, featuring season 1 (1972) cast members Tommy, Tracy, Kenny, and Joe
    • 1 June 2020 – “The Social Impact of 70s Children’s TV with David Kamp and the Cast of Zoom”  — a portion of the 28 May 2020 episode at the Facebook page — guests: David Kamp, author of the book Sunny Days, and ZOOM season 2 (1972-1973) cast members Bernadette Yao and Leon Mobley

ZOOM pages:

ZOOM posts:

________________________

Seasons 2-6 intros and closings

season 2 (1972-1973), cast 1 of 3: Kenny Pires, Nancy Tates, Tracy Tannebring, Ann Messer, David Alberico, Jay Schertzer, Maura Mullaney

intro

.

closing (incomplete), featuring the song “Send it to ZOOM,” performed by the full cast in this order: Nancy Tates, Ann Messer, Kenny Pires, Maura Mullaney, David Alberico, Tracy Tannebring, Jay Schertzer — The line in the original version that goes “Joe doesn’t know what he’s talking about” has been changed here to “David doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

Bernadette Yao

(below) season 2, cast 2 of 3: Ann Messer, David Alberico, Jay Schertzer, Maura Mullaney, Bernadette Yao, Leon Mobley, Luiz Gonzales

intro

.

(below) closing — featuring the song which I call “Send it to Zoom #2”

Send it to ZOOM #2 (at least partly written by Newton Wayland) – This song is titled “Address Song # 1” on the 1977 ZOOM Tunes album. However, I’ve decided to call it “Send it to ZOOM #2,” here, and elsewhere on the site. I believe the song was introduced by the second cast of season 2, in the closing shown in this video.

.

(below) season 2, cast 3 of 3: Bernadette Yao, Leon Mobley, Luiz Gonzales, Danny McGrath, Edith Mooers, Lori Boskin, Neal Johnson

intro

(above, left) season 3, cast 1 of 2, (right) cast 2 of 2

(below) season 3 (1973-1974) cast 2 of 2: Donna Moore, Mike Dean, Timmy Pruce, Hector Dorta, Rose Clarkow, Shawna “Shawn” Miranda, Danny Malloy

intro

.

closing

.

(above) ZOOM season 4 (1974-1975) cast, left to right – Norman Christian, Carmen Hernandez, Andrae Neilsan, Tracey Dunlap, Tommy Schultz, Harvey Reed, Tishy Flaherty, Cate Wadsworth, David “Red” O’Brien, David Sales

intro (incomplete)

closing

(above) season 5 (1976) cast: (clockwise, from top left) Jennifer Gold, Nell Cox, Arcadio Gonzales, Karen Wing, Ron Richmond, Levell Gethers, Chris Blackwell

intro

closing

.

(below) season 6 (1977-1978) cast: Amy Clark, John Lathan, Carolyn Malcolm, Nicholas Butterworth, Shona de Nile, Chee Kim, Susan Wolf

opening: “Come on and ZOOM” intro, preceded by funding acknowledgements

.

closing

.

closing, final episode

music:

  • “Good-Time Neighborhood Band” (Paul Colwell, Ralph Colwell, Herb Allen), a featured song in the Up With People musical revues of the mid-1970s
  • incidental music
  • “Come on and Zoom”
Advertisement

14 Comments (+add yours?)

  1. musicdoc1
    May 14, 2020 @ 16:18:02

    Friends (Buzzy Linhart, Mark “Moogy” Klingman) – performed by the season 4 (1974-1975) ZOOM cast, appearing in this order: Cate Wadsworth, Andrae Neilsan, Tommy Schultz, David Sales, Tracey Dunlap, Tishy Flaherty, Carmen Hernandez, Norman Christian, David “Red” O’Brien, Harvey Reed

    Like

    Reply

  2. Trackback: ZOOM into Action links and ZOOM reunion on Dr. Joe Show | Songbook

  3. Paul Chomiak
    Jun 20, 2020 @ 20:14:19

    Thought you might like to see this.. The 1972 cast of Season 1 reunited on the radio, but filmed.. Check it out.. https://www.facebook.com/TheDrJoeShow/videos/808382193015423

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. musicdoc1
    Jul 05, 2020 @ 13:57:44

    See my new ZOOM page index and gallery (link fixed 9/23/2020), published on July 4th. The index includes previously published pages focused on the original ZOOM series (1972-1978), plus four additional pages, three of which were published on 4 July, the fourth being a republishing of a May 2020 post.

    Like

    Reply

    • musicdoc1
      Sep 23, 2020 @ 16:20:41

      I changed the URL of the ZOOM page index and gallery a few days ago, and failed to update some of the links to it and its child pages on the site. Finally noticed a few unupdated (and therefore dead) links to various ZOOM pages today, and I think I’ve fixed all of them now. Sorry for any inconvenience, folks.

      Like

      Reply

  5. musicdoc1
    Oct 08, 2020 @ 09:46:01

    Like

    Reply

  6. Anonymous
    Dec 17, 2021 @ 16:15:50

    My favorite Zoomers:
    1.Donna Moore
    2.Lori Boskin
    3.Edith Mooers
    4.Carmen Hernandez
    5.Cate Wadsworth
    6.Amy Clark
    7.Shawn Miranda Reed
    8.Neal Johnson
    9.Luiz Gonzales
    10.Kenny Pires

    Like

    Reply

  7. pbwp14
    Jul 27, 2022 @ 17:09:01

    Someone uploaded the black and white cast 1 photos from Playgrounds with the image reversed, making it look like they are playing instruments left handed. I fixed this at Discogs.

    Thanks for the site, fun and informative.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Why do my tag searches fail?

%d bloggers like this: