Recorded History: The Original "Zoom"

Long before “zooming” meant talking to people on computer screens like The Jetsons crossed with The Brady Bunch, “Zoom” was about interaction of a different sort.

When PBS was still finding itself and shows like Sesame Street, The Electric Company and The French Chef with Julia Child were just getting on their feet (while other shows like The Great American Dream Machine and Hollywood Television Theater were allowing new and veteran talents to experiment), Boston public station WGBH introduced a show for, by and starring kids.

The producers rotated the cast out every six months. There were probably several reasons—to keep the show fresh, to allow for diversity, to give lots of kids a chance to be on the show, to keep the age level stable, etc. It most likely eliminated divas, instant stars and diva parents. However, it didn’t take long for viewers like us to become attached to cast members. My friends and I were partial to the lovely Nina,

I sent in several creative things including a play and lyrics to “The Cat Came Back,” a song they performed regularly. Each time a postcard would be sent with a photo and some lyrics or other material from the show, as kind of a thanks for trying. Lots of local shows had drawing contests and letter writing, but this was national and it was pretty exciting, even if your work was not selected. Plus it was a very entertaining mix of music, sketches (some not so good but funny because of it) and magazine-style segments. The kids were carefully chosen not to be overly perfect and instead be very natural.

Practically every show issued a cast album in those days. Zoom came up with two, plus an early “unofficial” one. The first was called “Playgrounds,” featured the first cast from the show, now replaced. This was an attempt to market a “Playground” club through TV mail order featuring them and hopefully keep their fame going.

The boxed set contained a poster, sticker and booklet. The back of the booklet offered forms to order more albums and to join the club with friends. The album is actually quite good and musically more elaborate than the subsequent two “official” Zoom LPs. The song “Rock Island Line” is not included on the other two albums even though it was performed on the TV show. There are a few new songs, folk tunes and groovy pop songs like “What the World Needs Now.” This group of kids could call themselves the original cast of Zoom because they were, even though they no longer were.

The next album was technically the first album, if you want to count only the ones with the Zoom logo and theme song. This one has all the most familiar tunes from within the program, including the one called “Send it to Zoom” with the zip code that we all memorized. The complete Alice in Wonderland “Mad Tea Party” musical sketch is even squeezed on to the disc.

The last Zoom album is great because it has songs that the most ardent Zoom fans will recognize, like “I Am a City Child’ (“I live on the tiptop floor…”) Also included are “Everybody Rejoice” from The Wiz and The Beatles’ “Octopus Garden,” which the Muppets also performed for Sesame Street. There was a Zoom “Best of the 70s” DVD, by the way that covers all the seasons and casts of the ‘70s versions. It’s now out of print.

Today there’s a new kind of “zoom.” It’s not a TV show, but it’s still interactive. Of course, today almost all kids have the option of making their own television channel, and get their creative ideas on a “TV show” of their own making. Still, there is something delightfully entertaining and charming about this series, and the albums capture a very special era of educational children’s records that combined eclectic musical styles—which is usually a good idea. Variety is a musical gift to the young.