Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
I have been a fan of WKRP ever since I was a kid in the 1980s, watching reruns of episodes my parents recorded on VHS... and they recorded a lot. I have gone through all the episodes I have at my disposal, using the SoundHound music identification app on my phone and cross-referencing from the list posted on the Shout Factory website, and I have come up with these two lists of artists and songs I believe are both present and absent from the WKRP Complete Series on DVD:
SONGS (LIKELY) PRESERVED (in no particular order):
Kenny Loggins – This Is It (from Venus Rising)
Boston – Don’t Look Back
Chic – Le Freak (from Dr. Fever and Mr. Tide)
The O’Jays – Money (from The Contest Nobody Could Win)
Derek and the Dominos – Layla (from the end of Johnny Comes Back) – This is perhaps one of the most important ones to have kept intact, because it accompanies the triumphant return of Johnny Fever to the station after a brief storyline-based hiatus.
Detective – ALL the songs from “Hoodlum Rock”
Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley (from The Doctor’s Daughter)
The Doors – Light My Fire (from A Fish Story, after Johnny frustrates the policeman by getting FASTER while drunk)
The Rolling Stones – Start Me Up
Foreigner – Hot Blooded (from A Date with Jennifer), when Les dresses up for a date with Jennifer...A MUST HAVE!!!
-- Urgency (from the end of An Explosive Affair Pt.1)
Bob Seger – Old Time Rock and Roll (from part two of the pilot when Johnny remarks “I’ve killed a lot of old people in my time”.)
Bill Haley and His Comets – Rock Around the Clock (from The Doctor’s Daughter, when Johnny receives a letter from his daughter)
Janis Joplin – Mercedes Benz (from Hold-Up)
Bob Dylan – Like A Rolling Stone (from Hold-Up)
Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers – Why Do Fools Fall In Love (from The Doctor’s Daughter)
Buddy Holly – Peggy Sue? (sung by Johnny towards the end of The Baby...which would be odd, since it is not the original recording, but an actor singing it...and slightly off-key at that ;-)
Wilson Pickett – Land of a Thousand Dances (from the start of Dr. Fever and Mr. Tide)
Greg Kihn Band – song near the beginning of An Explosive Affair Pt.1
Tubes – Talk To You Later (from An Explosive Affair Pt.1)
Bob Marley – unknown song from An Explosive Affair Pt.1
Kool and the Gang – Celebration (from the first half of An Explosive Affair Pt.2)
Carl Carlton – She’s A Bad Mamma Jamma (from the last half of An Explosive Affair Pt.2)
Elvis Presley – Jailhouse Rock (from Bailey’s Show)
Boston – Don’t Look Back (from Bailey’s Show)
Joe Cocker – Fun Time (from Turkeys Away)
Van Morrison – Into the Mystic (from Johnny Comes Back)
The Kinks – A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy (from the start of I Want to Keep My Baby)
Toto – Hold the Line (From the first half of I Want To Keep My Baby); this is an important one, because the fact that the record is left skipping on air for several minutes before Johnny realises is particularly funny!
Elvis Presley – Return to Sender (From the first half of I Want To Keep My Baby); another important one, because of another hilarious record malfunction!)
Randy Newman – Lover`s Prayer (from the end of I Want To Keep My Baby)
James Taylor - Your Smiling Face (from the end of I Want To Keep My Baby)...with all four of these songs intact, we have one of the funniest, as well as one of the more socially-relevant, episodes of WKRP intact!
The Coasters – short clip of a song from the second half of A Commercial Break
Blondie – Heart of Glass (from the second half of A Commercial Break)...Blondie credited their success with Heart of Glass to its having been featured in this episode, and donated a gold record of the single to hang on the set of WKRP as a result...no surprise they signed over the licensing rights!)
Donald Byrd – Flight-Time (from Who Is Gordon Simms)...good mood music for the serious discussion that takes place during it.
Chuck Mangione – Last Dance (from Who Is Gordon Simms)...more mood music, essential to the buildup to the revelation that comes later in the episode.
Jerry Lee Lewis – Don’t Let Go (from Sparky)
The Durocs – Lie To Me (from A Family Affair)
Joan Baez – The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (from A Family Affair) ... Unfortunately, the song immediately preceding it in the same scene (“I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy) does not appear to be on the Shout Factory list, so I suspect some creative editing was required to edit out this song while retaining the one by Joan Baez.
Elton John – Tiny Dancer (from the end of The Americanization of Ivan)...an essential part of the episode, without doubt.
The Pretenders – unknown song (from the start of In Concert)
The Rolling Stones – Sympathy for the Devil (from the beginning of In Concert)
The Sir Douglas Quintet – Texas Rock and Roll (from I Am Woman)
SONGS (LIKELY) EDITED OUT (in no particular order):
Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough (from the final scene of Baby, If You Ever Wondered), when the staff celebrate and discuss their rise from 16th place to 14th place (in an 18 station market :-P ), and where Carlson and the staff congratulate Andy for the success, and he resists this accolade (because he initially saw it as a failure compared to his
previous track record with improving stations).
The Eagles – The Long Run (from the end of The Doctor’s Daughter), which is heard during the reading of the letter, and when Andy runs in and shouts with joy that Johnny is actually playing a hit, and while the end credits are running.
The Kinks – You Really Got Me (from Frog Story), a short clip in the middle of Les’ “diagnosis” of Johnny’s ailment.
Della Reese – unknown song from the end scene of Venus and the Man; only a few credits are shown during this end scene, and there is not much relevant dialogue, so missing this scene wouldn’t be a big loss...unless they are forced to include it because the credits are an absolute requirement.
James Brown – Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag (from The Consultant), from an important scene when the spy sent by Mother Carlson walks in on Venus holding up Johnny with a knife...one of the funniest scenes in the episode, so there may be a bit of a loss not having this scene.
The Beatles – Come Together (from Jennifer and Johnny’s Charity), where Johnny asks for a donation from Les.
Ernie Watts – unknown song from the first 5 minutes of The Creation of Venus, which could cause the entire setup of the episode’s plotline to be lost...but to be fair and honest, I DO NOT KNOW FOR SURE
Pink Floyd – Dogs (from Turkeys Away), featured prominently at the beginning of Turkey’s Away, where Carlson walks in on Johnny and they have one of the funniest exchanges in the whole show! This could be perhaps THE greatest miss from
the DVD collection (if it indeed ends up being missing.) It would be a shame, because this was rated by TV guide years ago as one of the Funniest Hundred Television Episodes in History.
Beach Boys – Surfin’ USA (from the start and the end of Goodbye, Johnny)
Hoyt Axton – This country star played an actual role in an episode, and a song of his was performed several times during it, but he is nowhere to be found on the list of artists...I do hope the episode makes it intact onto the DVD collection!
Gene Watson – Should I Come Home (Or Should I Go Crazy) (from A Family Affair), which runs for almost three minutes in the scene where Venus and Andy’s sister get up and dance, and are accosted by a racist guy (whom Venus and Any proceed to punch out)...The problem is that the injuries they receive are featured in the next and final scene, and are the reason for
the big laugh at the end of the episode, so I would hope at least that the visual scene remains intact but with voice overs.
Bill Evans – Remembering the Rain (from In Concert)...not necessary, but a shame it’s missing because it shows that WKRP (like most real radio stations) switched to more somber programming in light of real-world tragic events...ah, well.
Bonnie Raitt – Runaway (Live) (from Dirty Pictures Pt.1); not necessary to the plot, but Les does come in while it’s playing and ask Johnny to relinquish the board for a breaking news item...which turns out to be irrelevant, with Johnny they lighting Les’ news page on fire as he’s reading from it...hope most of the scene remains intact.
Sly & the Family Stone – The Same Thing (Makes You Laugh, Makes You Cry) (from Venus Rising), when “Max” the computerized DJ is revealed.
The Flying Lizards – Money (from Venus Rising)
I hope this list helps people decide whether or not to buy the complete series...I personally am going to, and I would encourage all readers to buy it as well. Shout Factory has been doing an excellent job over the years of preserving and making available some of the best shows in the history of television that otherwise would never have been made commercially available. I, for one, think that a hundred dollars for the almost complete set of one of the greatest sitcoms of the past half-century is more than fair, even if one or two key moments end up being left out.
Go Shout!
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From the manufacturer
WKRP in Cincinnati: The Complete Series
We’re Spinnin’ The Hits And Bringin’ The Laughter!
Pairing an impeccable ensemble cast with hilarious wit and popular tunes, WKRP In Cincinnati celebrated four amazing seasons, making it the quintessential situation comedy for any music lover! Join everyone's favorite radio DJs — the rockin' Dr. Johnny Fever (Howard Hesseman) and the soulful Venus Flytrap (Tim Reid) — as they weave through the inner-office antics of the crazy WKRP staff including the station's steady program director Andy (Gary Sandy), indecisive manager Carlson (Gordon Jump), smarmy advertising executive Herb (Frank Bonner), quirky news man Les Nessman (Richard Sanders), shy ingénue Bailey (Jan Smithers) and, of course, the station's lovely receptionist, Jennifer (Loni Anderson). So sit back and enjoy the sound of uproarious laughter as you watch all 90 episodes of this iconic series!
Top reviews from other countries
Tellis Coolong
I'm living on the air in Cincinnati...
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It hasn't been edited, remastered or messed with.
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If you live elsewhere check that your player will allow playback. I live in Region 4 (Australia) and found one of my DVD players wouldn't accept them.
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