matthew rutledge

What I am about to show you is brilliant, in and of itself. It manages to make Philadelphia seem like one gigantic fire hydrant set loose, this weird combination of hip, informed, dramatic and coy at the same time.

However, this is just the song KYW-TV used for their Direct Connection promo spots, which aired from 1979-1980. The background images are the same ones used during the actual commercials, but the footage of the commercials themselves have been taken off of Youtube. So I snagged this for myself, in case it were to be removed like the promos themselves.  I am keeping it for cultural exposure if nothing else.

Imagine the following mixed with news reporters stating such directly connected, cocaine-fueled promises as: “I’m your direct connection – to the I-TEAM.” Or: “I’m your direct connection … to the grapevine.” (The best line of all.)

This may be one of the only TV promo jingles that would have been considered hip and par for the course in a 1979 dance club. It has the pulsing Moroder-esque beat that never gets old, with only occasional interludes of strings, interrupted by a whimsical “Whoo!”