Theme song from Valley of the Dolls and I Say A Little Prayer are songs which speak to an individual woman and to all women. The songs speak to all individuals and to all people who collectively struggle with life and finding their identity in this paradoxical world. Also a questioning of our humanity for each other and for something beyond us all.
“Ashley St. Ives: You’re a groovy boy. I’d like to strap you on sometime.”
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
The theme song from Valley of The Dolls had a profound meaning for me as a young woman growing up in the underground music scene of Los Angeles. At that time things like records were not easy to find. Before technology came to make getting things fast there was a time when waiting to see if you could find it was a thrill.
Will I find that old record at a thrift store or will I see that forgotten film on late night TV?
Valley Of The Dolls is a novel by American writer Jacqueline Susann, published in 1966 and the film came out 1967. A quid pro quo for the 1960s.
I read the book, viewed the film, when I could, and found the Scepter 45 vinyl at a thrift store. I engaged it as part of who I was struggling to become as a woman in a male dominate punk rock scene. I played it on a few of my broadcasts ~ Flipside Fanzine KFJC Radio 1984.
Connecting up with the mythos of the film/ book and theme song made my struggle in the world of rock & roll and journalism seem strangely important. I identified strongly with all of the female characters from Jacqueline Susann’s book. Where else was I too find women role models in the world I was part of? It was my continuity with the struggle of women reaching out to me from the 1960s. An echo of a women’s revolution which I feel is taken for granted in our modern times.
RIP Patty Duke.
You must be logged in to post a comment.