Route 66 (TV Series) Goodnight Sweet Blues (1961) User Reviews

Synopsis and Spoilers- Goodnight, Sweet Blues

[rodamer · 10/10 · 2 November 2006]

Each episode of Route 66 was such a gem. This one was no exception. Buzz and Todd are driving down the road when a car almost cuts them off. Angered, they follow the car and go to confront the driver when the car suddenly stops. Ready to be angered with the driver, they are surprised to find that the driver is an elderly African-American woman, who seems to be either having a heart attack or is very ill. They help her to her home and get aid. They find that she doesn't have long to live. Her one final wish is that the band that she used to be a singer for should somehow be brought back together for 'one more gig'... just for her. Buzz and Todd travel about, knowing that they don't have much time, doing whatever they can to bring the band together.

One of the nicest parts of this episode is that Ethel Waters actually sings the song Goodnight Sweet Blues.

Wow

[rfm7 · 10/10 · 23 April 2011]

Jazz and blues fans take note: Ethel Waters, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, and more! This episode saw Waters nominated for an Emmy, the first African American woman to be so nominated. She's not a bad actor, either, in this somewhat artificial vehicle for her and the band. The premise of her on her death bed with Tod and Buz searching for her former band members is, admittedly, a little hokey, but it doesn't get in the way of the music or of the emotion in this tear-jerker episode. Great music, great historical piece. Pieces of it are available on YouTube, but to see the full episode probably requires the Season 2 disk 1 DVD. Season 2 of this under-rated program has some other gems, so it's worth getting.

A Real Standout Episode in a Great TV Series

[AudioFileZ · 10/10 · 5 January 2012]

Route 66 is a show the likes of which simply can't be reproduced today. A post-war coming of age adventure for two young men traveling the United States meeting the most interesting people in some of the most scenic places. Route 66 was a marvelous idea, but the realization could hardly be better as the show was never afraid to tackle some of the foibles of the human condition head-on. This episode is no slacker as Todd and Buzz meet Jennie, an aging blues singer who has long since had to quit singing the blues and is now living them with a progressive heart condition that is nearing it's logical end. She has a last request which is to get the six musicians she started with back together so she can have a peaceful exit. Against seemingly insurmountable odds, Todd and Buzz find five of the group and a sixth which is the, now, grown-up son of the one member who has already passed on.

The great Ethel Waters guest stars in "Goodnight, Sweet Blues", an early episode from the second season of Route 66. Ms. Waters is 100% naturally excellent in portraying a singer who was one of the greats now precariously close to exiting this world. Her last wish is to, once more, have that great band of her youth playing for her in her room. A real highlight is her restrained vocal in one last tune.

Route 66 is, generally, always a good view no matter the episode and this one is simply one of the best! Bravo, don't miss it!

10/6/61: "Good Night Sweet Blues"

[schappe1 · 28 April 2015]

Suddenly the boys are in Pittsburgh, or rather leaving it after a disappointing stay there, (we don't know why but stay tuned). Suddenly a car veers at them from the other lane. They barely avoid it. An Angry Buz gets out to yell at the driver, who proves to be an old black lady having a heart attack. She's played by Ethel Waters.

I then realized that I was now about to watch the most famous and best remembered episode of Route 66. It's just wasn't remembered by me. I might have seen it as a kid but don't recall seeing it when the series was rebroadcast on Nick-at- Nite. When I bought some episodes from an internet collector some years later, this was not among them. But my friend who considers this the best TV series ever also considers this the best episode ever, so I was glad to get the chance to finally see it. (The IMDb agrees with him, listing it as the most popular episode.) Having just watched it, I can see why everybody likes it, although my favorite remains "The Mudnest", which is coming up in four more episodes.

The set-up is reminiscent of the first season's "Most Vanquished, Most Victorious", where Todd's Aunt wanted him to find her daughter before she died. And like that one, (and the show itself), the journey means as much if not more than the result. Ethel wants her old band back to play for her once more time before she dies. She's saved up plenty of money and the boys agree to search for them and try to get them back as soon as possible. This is the only Route 66 episode I know of that doesn't take place in one general location. The boys wind up as far away as New York and San Francisco, (although it was probably all filmed in Pittsburgh), to convince the old band members to reunite in Pittsburgh for their old singer. One of them is dead: his son, who has a reputation as a neighborhood tough guy, remembers the kindnesses the old lady gave him as a child and agrees to go. Another is in prison and Buz has to get him some leave, complete with a prison guard who poses as his "manager". Another lost his career and almost his life in a bottle. He hocked his trumpet and is afraid to get it back because he lacks the confidence that he could still play it. But even he reluctantly shows up.

They wind up playing with Ethel, who sings a couple of classics with them but slips away while they were playing, (but she blinks when she's supposed to be dead!) They finish the number they were playing, (at Tod's emotional urging). It's like a New Orleans funeral, using the music to remember the joy the deceased brought. This segment should have gone on longer than it did. Instead they break away from it as her daughter goes sadly outside and the camera zooms in on a church steeple. This probably should have been at least a two -parter. With all the individual stories, there's so much more to it than "Fly Away Home", the series' one two- parter so far, which probably should have been a single episode

Just before that final shot, there are some scenes of some members of the band playing and adults and children in the neighborhood dancing to it that bring out the importance of music in people's lives, especially economically disadvantaged people. I've often observed that innovation in society tends to come from the bottom of the economic scale because those people have to innovate to survive and find joy in life. It's true in music. It's true in cooking, (it's where the recipes come from). It's true in sports and other forms of entertainment. The joy produced by these innovations is really an act of defiance against the circumstances these people find themselves in: "You aren't going to prevent me from being happy."

This comes through strongly in this episode which was an innovation in itself in 1961, a time when black people and black neighborhoods were unrepresented on TV, even in the crime shows. This episode probably employed more black actors than any TV episode had to this time. And most of the members of the fictional "Memphis Naturals" band are legitimate jazz legends, including Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge and Joe Jones. Here is an excellent article on them and this show: http://mleddy.blogspot.com/2013/06/jazz-on-route-66.html

When the episode is over and the credits roll, we hear again Nelson Riddle's classic theme for this show- and remember that it had its roots in the music these men played.

One more thought: I love episodes that you'd be unlikely to see on any other show. How many other shows could have done this episode, with no crime, not bad guys, etc.? Maybe Dr. Kildare, Lou Grant…not many others. They wouldn't have done it better.

Very Good

[obigger · 10/10 · 11 May 2015]

I never was a fan of Route 66. I was seven or eight years old at the time. I was too young to understand why two grown men would drive together in a sports car without jobs or purpose. Early one morning, I happen to view the above episode on Decades. Was I surprise to see a full cast of black folks being normal people, people with hopes and dreams, people not shootings or killings. In addition, white men that came to the aid of an old sick black woman without asking for a dime. This was in the early sixties a time where whites and blacks did not mix. Yes, the story is set in Pittsburg. Even Pittsburg had its racism. With the unrest in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray, it was great for Decades to remind us that the dreams of Martin L King is still important today as it was then. As an Afro-American, I wish all people of every race, creed, and color would open there eyes and embrace the character of a person than ones color. The Route 66 episode shows that skin color is blind. The person is important. I pray this idea, as the episode is replay or remade hundreds of times. It is a lesion we must learn. If not, than life has no meaning. Thank you Decades!

Thanks Lord Now My Joy Is Complete

[frank4122 · 10/10 · 15 August 2019]

As a jazz aficionado and fan of Route 66, this episode was heaven. It all starts when Buz and Tod are cut off by none other than Ethel Waters herself, known to her fans as Sweet Mama Stringbean. The jazz is only heating up from here. Tod and Buz are sent on a mission that includes finding Basie's drummer Jo Jones, 'Little Jazz' Roy Eldridge, and the father of tenor sax, Coleman Hawkins as a last wish for the dying jazz singer. Can the corvette duo assemble a jazz sextet from 30 years ago? Also, can King Loomis (Juano Hernandez) still play the trombone at all? With the great story line, great acting, and great jazz, it's no wonder this is the highest rated episode of a great series.

This Could Be The Best Of Route 66

[edrybaaudio · 9/10 · 12 January 2020]

This story is one of the many that make "Route 66" some of the best TV ever made... especially if you are, or ever were, a musician. Unlike what seems to be most of the stories in this series, written by Stirling Silliphant, this one was written by Will Lorin and Leonard Freeman. It's Freeman's story, but the script was impeccably crafted by both gentlemen I just mentioned.

I won't go into much of the story here, since you can read about in the other reviews. But if you have a musical past (or present), this one will really grab you. Vocalist Jenny (played by the great Ethel Waters) manages to get the six men of "The Memphis Naturals" back together for one last performance of their First-Class Dixieland Jazz, through the kindness of Tod and Buz. Every one of these six men were amazing actors in this show, who made the viewer BELIEVE they really were the members of the defunct Dixie band depicted here. I don't know which of them were ever musicians (with the possible exception of the percussionist - it's obvious that he played), but they certainly LOOKED like a real band in the music segments.

Juano Hernandez did an expert job as "King" Loomis, a man who hadn't touched his trombone in years. However, he DID show up at the last minute with his instrument... and that's a story in itself. But sadly, he wouldn't even take it out of its case. Jenny passed away of her heart ailment before he finally did, but by then it was too late for her to hear all six players together. That sounds like a heartbreaking ending, but the sheer joy of the Dixieland music goes a long way toward soothing the hurt of Jenny's death as she sang with the band for the first (and last) time in the 20+ years since this band had played together.

The cast here, with the exception of the late Martin Milner, and George Maharis, as well as a pair of minor characters, and as you may have read in the other reviews, was ALL African-American. That is an astonishing thing for a series show made to first air in 1961! I wonder how many CBS Affiliates in the South refused to run this one the very first time the Network aired it?

As a professional musician (you can see my page on IMDB - search for Ed Ryba), I highly recommend this installment of one of the most gutsy series made in its day, 1960 - 1964.

A highlight of the series, with one annoying lapse

[imdb-10976-36149 · 9/10 · 7 June 2020]

Other reviews have rightly commented that this episode, with its unapologetic and genuine sentiment, was remarkable for its time. And good on the producers for featuring so many world-class musicians.

My gripe is that, as with almost all portrayals of live music, the musicians are miming to a prerecorded track. Even if you don't follow the fingering, this is obvious because Jo Jones, the great drummer, is cast here as playing trumpet, while the equally fine trumpeter Roy Eldridge is shown on the drums! Why?

Cutting Edge TV for its Time

[dougdoepke · 8 February 2017]

I suspect an episode like this is largely a matter of taste, mainly because of its highlighting jazz music. Nonetheless, the cast, except for Tod and Buzz, is all Black, very unusual for TV of the time. Heading up the players is singer-actress Ethel Waters. Her grin has to be one of the most infectious on record and is showcased. Then too, the number of extreme close-ups may be greater here than any other entry. I suspect wanting to emphasize character over storyline is the reason why. Heading up the dramatic part is ace performer Juano Hernandez. His magnificent turn in 1950's racial drama Intruder In The Dust must be seen to be appreciated. Still, we get a hint of that here.

The plot is slender, but entertaining, as Buzz and Tod try to assemble a jazz sextet from 20- years earlier for a dying Waters who sang with them. The boys' mission takes them far and wide as the sextet has scattered in the meantime. Thus we get threads from six different lives, a colorful panorama. Fortunately, the sentimental side is managed without getting too sticky. Anyway, the series continues to show its cutting edge with this different type entry.

The Divine Ethel

[lor_ · 18 February 2024]

The big heart and warm smile of Ethel Waters makes this a classic TV segment, departing from the Route 66 format to bring to life a very familiar story: namely "let's bring the band back together".

It's a fine showcase for her acting (plus a bit of singing, of course), heavy on nostalgia but well worth it. The greatness of her "The Member of the Wedding" performance is echoed here.

The traveling around to round up the old gentlemen, plus Bill Gunn as the son of the late banjo player, is a bit much, but both jazz buff Maharis and eager to please Milner get a chance to share in old-fashioned sentiment, without the usual "in your face" dramatics of Silliphant and a local milieu. The authenticity of the dixieland jazz and ethnic extras is there to see.