I’ve been rewatching one of my favorite sitcoms from the late ’70s, Taxi. I read that the creators of Taxi had been working on The Mary Tyler Moore Show until its conclusion in 1977. That probably explains why I love both shows so much!
Anyway, this tune is what you hear during the opening titles of Taxi.
Fun Fact: The song, “Angela,” was initially intended for some transition music in an early episode called “Blind Date,” featuring a character named Angela. The song “Touchdown,” which is the title track of Bob James’ album, was supposed to be the opening credits tune. However, the producers swapped “Touchdown” for “Angela” right before the first episode aired, and none were the wiser.
Bob James was an incredible keyboardist and arranger. He collaborated with many artists, including Patti Austin, Chet Baker, Maynard Ferguson, Michael Franks, Quincy Jones, Grover Washington Jr., and George Benson.
Another Fun Fact: Bob James was discovered by Quincy Jones when his band entered the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival, judged by Henry Mancini and Quincy Jones. To Bob’s surprise, his band won, leading to a contract with Mercury Records. He released his first album, Bold Conceptions, a free jazz exploration, in 1963.
The song we’re listening to today is from his 1978 album Touchdown. The entire album is fantastic if you enjoy keyboard-heavy, smooth, funky fusion jazz.
Album Cover: The cover features a football and is titled Touchdown. This is a subtle joke because this was Bob’s 6th album, and a touchdown is worth 6 points in football. His previous album was called Heads and featured a five-cent coin, celebrating it as his 5th album.
Notable Musicians on the Album:
- Bob James – All the kinds of keyboards 🙂
- Steve Gadd – Drums (all tracks except “Angela”)
- Idris Muhammad – Drums (only on “Angela”)
- Eric Gale – Electric Guitar (solo on “Angela”)
- Ron Carter – Upright Bass (tracks 3-5)
- Gary King – Bass (tracks 1-2 including “Angela”)
- Ralph MacDonald – Percussion (tracks 1-4 including “Angela”)
I hope you enjoy this groovy tune!
Oh, and I know you didn’t ask, but my favorite Taxi episode is “Alex Falls Off The Wagon” from season 5. I believe you can watch it for free (with ads) on Pluto here! Christopher Lloyd and Judd Hirsch are hysterical!
Song: “Angela (Theme from Taxi)”
Artist: Bob James
Album: Touchdown
Year: 1978
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My name is Michael Sanchez and I’m an avid record collector and obscure song searcher. My goal is to post (hopefully) one song a day that’s been on my stereo/turntable frequently. If you don’t like the song… too bad 🙂 You can just wait for the next one. All the info I find is from wikipedia/youtube/interviews/news articles/personal stories I’ve heard/random googling. Sorry if there are any mistakes.
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