Barbara Mandrell & the Mandrell Sisters debuted on November 18, 1980 and ran until June 26, 1982. Each hour long episode was filmed on location at the Sunset Gower studios in Hollywood, CA.

The original network to bring the public such talent was NBC on Saturday nights. There were 32 episodes made and more would have followed had 18 hr days not taken it's toll on the sisters physically (Barbara was hospitalized for physical exhaustion during the show's ratings peak) the series drew in an estimated 42 million viewer, worldwide, every week.

Barbara, Louise & Irlene were the regulars, but they had a "soft" bunch of guys that were on every week too. Truck Shackley and the Texas Critters were a band of the most unlikely bunch to ever hit a Hollywood sound stage. They were puppets and the characters were loosely based on real life musicians. One character noveled after Willie Nelson had a severe crush on Louise. Watching Louise brush off a lovesick puppet was quite a laugh (Kermit & Miss Piggy look out).

Truck Shackley and the Texas Critters:

developed by Kroft Productions (the same guys who gave us Puff n Stuff and all those fab 70's kid shows)

Truck Shackley - Band leader        

The show was built around the Mandrell's musical talents. One segment on the show was a group of songs that had something in common and could spotlight instruments, as you can guess, being played by one of the girls. Following the instruments was a Vegas style dance routine. Pretty impressive considering the girls said they never did any dancing until the show. Every show ended with a gospel number, being sung with the help of the celebrity guests of that week. Guest ranged from Dolly Parton to Bob Hope to Andy Gibb.

The show was cancelled in 1982. Barbara and Louise had pushed themselves to the limit and had to stop. The Nashville Network picked up the series in rerun years later. Since only 32 shows were made, it doesn't take long to aire them on a weekly basis, therefore the series is not currently being run.

Information gathered from an independent survey shows the public is ready for a Reunion Special of the old series. If you would like to give your opinion on such an idea go to the Survey page and let the pen roll er ah ...let the keys type away.

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