Superbowl Sunday means the end of the football season, which means it’s time for boys and girls to get busy with other games!

 

Shelley Fabares was born Michele Ann Marie Fabares on 19 January 1944 in Santa Monica, California. Her aunt was actress Nanette Fabray. She became a child actor at age three, debuting on television at age ten in an episode of Letter To Loretta. She met Annette Funicello in church when she was twelve years old and the two became lifelong friends. Her first role in a regular series was daughter Mary Stone in the Donna Reed Show. That show helped launch her career in pop music, and did the same thing for her co-star, Paul Petersen, who played her brother Jeff. Her biggest hit is an oldies classic from April 1962, Johnny Angel. She co-starred in three movies with Elvis, Girl Happy, Spinout, and Clambake. She worked on many television projects throughout the 1970’s, including the role of Joy Piccolo in the made-for-TV football movie Brian’s Song, Francine Webster on One Day At A Time, and Christine Armstrong Fox on Coach. She also did the voice of Superman’s mother in the animated series.

Shelley married record producer Lou Adler in June 1964, shortly after he supervised the making of this record with her. They separated in 1966, but did not get divorced until 1980. In 1984, she married actor Mike Farrell, just after he’d finished working on M*A*S*H as Captain B. J. Hunnicutt, and became stepmother to his children, Erin and Michael. She became a survivor of hepatitis after a liver transplant operation in October 2000.

 

Here’s Football Season’s Over by Shelley Fabares on Colpix 721 from 1963:

 

This song was written and produced by David Gates, who later became the leader of the soft-pop band, Bread. Neither side of this single charted, but it’s attracted the attention of record collectors. A clean copy of it sells for around $60 today. It’s just another of the many rare records you’ll hear on MusicMaster Oldies, when the game’s not on, of course!