The sounds of Mrs. America

Mrs. America, which is at present showing in the Fox Life channel, is a mini-series that should not be missed. The list of actors in the cast is more than enough to bring in hordes of viewers. Truth to tell, should the Emmys and the Golden Globes decide to continue giving out awards, you can bet that those performers and the show’s creators will be harvesting a lot of trophies.

Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly, the housewife who led the fight against the passing of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA); Margo Martindale as Bella Abzug, the first female elected representative in the U.S. of A.; Rose Byrne as Gloria Steinem, the feminist founder of Ms. Magazine; Tracey Ullman as Betty Friedan, author of the book The Feminine Mystique; Uzo Aduba as Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress; and many others.

As you can tell from those names, Mrs. America is a historical drama. The characters are people who figured prominently in the battle over the ratification of the ERA. The act would have given equal rights to everybody regardless of race or gender. It was first proposed in 1923 but was still pending in the US Congress by 1971. Then just when it looked like it was finally going to be passed, the moral majority acquired a crusading figure in Schlafly, who fought against the ERA and won.

The ‘70s were heady times. Mrs. America captures the era with astounding accuracy. It was sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll laced with flower power. That was when equal rights and feminism first became bywords. There was also open marriage, free love, reproductive rights, sit-ins, etc. and other terms that have suddenly mushroomed everywhere and which everybody was willing to try on for size.

I do not remember if anybody out here was aware of Schlafly but I know that girls then worried about their activist boyfriends. They wore aviator eyeglasses like Steinem and passed around copies of The Feminine Mystique. They ditched make-up, went bra-less and rejoiced over being able to refer to themselves as Ms. instead of Miss or the husband-dependent Mrs.

Written by Dahvi Waller, who also did Mad Men, Mrs. America brings to life a slice of America with the ERA as its fulcrum. This is such a fascinating tale made more vivid by the use of popular recordings. I admit I was bent on watching Mrs. America because of Blanchett and company but what glued me to the show was the music. Tell me how can you resist something with A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy playing on the credits.

The tune is based on the opening movement of Ludwig Von Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony in C Minor. This is one of the most important and most popular classical works of all time. Everybody is familiar with that booming intro. It was turned into a disco instrumental by Murphy and the Big Apple Band. It became a No. 1 hit and was later used in the soundtrack of the John Travolta movie Saturday Night Fever.

A Fifth of Beethoven is as ‘70s as anybody can get but the soundtrack of Mrs. America offers a lot more. Every episode goes through iconic recordings from ages past, that it is a veritable learning process about the music that shaped what we are listening to nowadays. And I must say, all put to effective use, too.

Because she dismisses things with Que Sera Sera, Schlafly gets Doris Day singing Whatever Will Be Will Be (Que Sera Sera). There are two songs by Anita Bryant, In My Little Corner of the World and Battle Hymn of the Republic. Remember her? Now 80 years old, she was a singer and an anti-gay rights activist. I checked out her pictures and she had the perfect Mrs. America look.

I also love hearing those euphoric tunes that were so popular back then. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head by BJ Thomas, Make Your Own Kind of Music by Cass Elliot, Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again by The Fortunes, I Want to Take You Higher by Sly and the Family Stone, I’ll Take You There by the Staple Singers, and so many more.

Watch Mrs. America. Enjoy the superb performances, perfect production, add to your history knowledge and fall in love again with great music.