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You done good, young lady. Now it’s time to soar You done good, young lady. Now it’s time to soar. 🎓#classof2022
Happy #NationalCollegeDecisionDay! Laylah is off Happy #NationalCollegeDecisionDay! 

Laylah is officially registered at St. John’s University and will begin her freshman year in August as a Public Relations Major. I’m so proud of her hard work and dedication—proud of the young woman that she has become.
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Danyelle Little, the NEW Director of Marketing and Communications at @rungforwomen . Been sitting on this for a while—now it’s officially official. 🙌🏾
Happy 28th birthday to the best son a mom could ev Happy 28th birthday to the best son a mom could ever have. Kind. Supportive. Talented. Creative. Caring. Smart. Courageous. The list goes on and on. You’ve overcome so much in the past year, and I know that God’s plan for you is working. I love you more than words can say. ❤️❤️❤️
And it’s official. Signed, sealed, delivered. Cl And it’s official. Signed, sealed, delivered. Class of 2026! 🙌🏾@stjohnsu #acceptedstudentday
Look for me in the Spring/Summer edition of St. Lo Look for me in the Spring/Summer edition of St. Louis Family Magazine—page 10 to be exact! I’m honored to be able to share a glimpse into my life as an author, Social Media Manager, and most importantly, a mom! 💕
And we have Book #2! My new novel, 'A Wedding On C And we have Book #2! My new novel, 'A Wedding On Clermont Lane', is now available! It's the sequel to my first novel 'Christmas On Clermont Lane', and if you loved the first one, just wait until you read the sequel.

That makes it two novels in five months, and I must say that while I missed my original deadline in February, I am so excited to have this one finished. The support you all showed me during the first release made me warm and fuzzy and so many of you reached out and asked when the next one would be. Well, here you go!

You can purchase 'A Wedding On Clermont Lane' on Amazon Prime, available in paperback for $10.99 and $7.99 for the eBook/Kindle edition. If you'd like a signed copy, a limited amount of copies are available. Hit the link in my bio.

I cannot wait for you to read this one and let me know your thoughts. Jasmine and The Robinson Family are back---and this time, it's for keeps!
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80's baby, Boob Tube, Fashion · May 30, 2019

TBT: Do You Remember the TV Series Rags to Riches?


Rags to Riches was a musical series that had just two seasons on NBC in the 80's, but had a profound effect on this pre-teen black girl living in Phoenix.

Picture it: 1987 in Phoenix, Arizona. A 12 year old girl (me) is on the hunt to find something on TV that resembles her teen life. She wants to see people on prime-time television that look like her outside of The Cosby Show or A Different World. Something fresh, something different, and something that was created for the MTV generation BET Video Soul inspired palette that currently had her attention.

Enter Rags to Riches.

What first began as 2-hour pilot movie featuring a rich bachelor who needed to clean up his image and six orphans whom he “rents” to make him more PR-friendly, turned into an one series hour-long weekly series on NBC.  It gave me my first glimpse at a sangin’ sister by the name of Tisha Campbell, who played Marva, and it was what I had been looking for.

Rags to Riches was a musical series that had just two seasons on NBC in the 80's, but had a profound effect on this pre-teen black girl living in Phoenix.

Rags to Riches was a smooth, well-appointed series that featured musical numbers centering around Nick Foley (Joseph Bologna), the Frozen Food King, his butler, and his new kids, five girls (one of the girls didn’t make it from the pilot to the series) whom he decides to adopt. Each week, a different problem ensued and was sprinkled with songs that were made over from some of the 50’s and 60’s favorite tunes. I used to love this show!

So much so that I recorded every episode on the family room Betamax and often memorized all of the songs and choreography. I had slumber parties during this era, and we always watched several Rags to Riches episodes.

With its musical approach to every storyline, and the bright early 60’s colorful costumes and hairstyles, it was a fashionable look at what it could’ve looked like to grow up during the soda shop era.

Rags to Riches was a musical series that had just two seasons on NBC in the 80's, but had a profound effect on this pre-teen black girl living in Phoenix.

Rags to Riches did well at the beginning, but NBC changed their slot from Sunday nights to Friday nights in 1988, and it was canceled after two short seasons. The series standout, Tisha Campbell, went on to star in the House Party franchise, which kicked off two years after Rags to Riches was yanked off the air.

For my pre-teen entertainment needs, this short-lived program gave me something that I was longing for at the time. Its tagline: “If you liked Annie, you’ll like Rags to Riches” aimed at the Hard Knock Life of us all.

Do you remember Rags to Riches? And more importantly, did you watch?

Rags to Riches was a musical series that had just two seasons on NBC in the 80's, but had a profound effect on this pre-teen black girl living in Phoenix.


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In: 80's baby, Boob Tube, Fashion

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Comments

  1. Molli Taylor says

    March 2, 2020 at 10:43 am

    i was a HUGE HUGE fan of this show. i am probably around the same age as you and was a musicals kind of kid, raised on my dad’s extensive doo wop collection. just started watching with my kids on youtube, but i am hard of hearing now and the captions are awful.

    Reply
    • Vanessa says

      September 16, 2020 at 11:08 pm

      I loved this show. Was looking where to be able to watch but it looks like none of the tv outlets have it. You can buy it through amazon but not watch it through any subscriptions. That sucks!

      Reply
      • The Cubicle Chick says

        September 16, 2020 at 11:57 pm

        I watched both seasons on YouTube. Try watching there.

        Reply
  2. Richard Johnson says

    April 24, 2020 at 4:54 pm

    I was obsessd with the series as a kid. Heidi Ziegler and I are the same age to give you an idea. I waited 20 years to access a copy of “Wilderness Blues” Thanks to Baby Jessica interrupting the broadcast. Something that wouldn’t have affected you in Arizona. I wish this was on a social media platform, because recently I had a professional Monopoly Game created for Rags To Riches. My love of the series hasnt stopped there. I have collected a good deal of memrobelia from the series as well.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Himowitz says

      March 5, 2021 at 8:24 pm

      I was 11 or 12 years old and loved this show and specifically remember the episode being pre-empted for breaking news about Baby Jessica in the well. I was SO upset. They didn’t re play the episode so I probably still haven’t seen it

      Reply
  3. Miranda Kilgore says

    May 27, 2020 at 7:10 pm

    Oh, how I LOVED this show!! Me and my 2 older sisters had to watch it! And I at that time would have bn about only 6ish I think, but I remember it like yesterday. Great memories from this era of life for me!

    Reply
  4. Gina says

    June 8, 2020 at 8:47 am

    I loved Rags to Riches!! I have looked for a long just to remember the name of the show. Finally it came to me! And now I’m looking where to watch it. I was young also when it aired and sad that it was gone. Now I’m excited to finally watch it.
    Great show!

    Reply
    • Richard Johnson says

      June 8, 2020 at 9:43 am

      It is on DVD, although the pilot film on that release is a work print. If you want to source it online there are 10 episodes on you tube currently.

      Reply

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Awesome human. Magna Cum Laude. Editor-in-Chief. Awesome human. 
Magna Cum Laude.
Editor-in-Chief.
School podcaster.
Quill and Scroll recipient.
Citizenship award winner.
Spirit of Excellence  Award 8 yrs. running. 
Class of 2022. 
Job well done, daughter!
P R O M. That’s the caption. P R O M. That’s the caption.
You done good, young lady. Now it’s time to soar You done good, young lady. Now it’s time to soar. 🎓#classof2022
Happy #NationalCollegeDecisionDay! Laylah is off Happy #NationalCollegeDecisionDay! 

Laylah is officially registered at St. John’s University and will begin her freshman year in August as a Public Relations Major. I’m so proud of her hard work and dedication—proud of the young woman that she has become.
Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is.. Dan Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is.. 

Danyelle Little, the NEW Director of Marketing and Communications at @rungforwomen . Been sitting on this for a while—now it’s officially official. 🙌🏾
Happy 28th birthday to the best son a mom could ev Happy 28th birthday to the best son a mom could ever have. Kind. Supportive. Talented. Creative. Caring. Smart. Courageous. The list goes on and on. You’ve overcome so much in the past year, and I know that God’s plan for you is working. I love you more than words can say. ❤️❤️❤️
And it’s official. Signed, sealed, delivered. Cl And it’s official. Signed, sealed, delivered. Class of 2026! 🙌🏾@stjohnsu #acceptedstudentday
Look for me in the Spring/Summer edition of St. Lo Look for me in the Spring/Summer edition of St. Louis Family Magazine—page 10 to be exact! I’m honored to be able to share a glimpse into my life as an author, Social Media Manager, and most importantly, a mom! 💕
And we have Book #2! My new novel, 'A Wedding On C And we have Book #2! My new novel, 'A Wedding On Clermont Lane', is now available! It's the sequel to my first novel 'Christmas On Clermont Lane', and if you loved the first one, just wait until you read the sequel.

That makes it two novels in five months, and I must say that while I missed my original deadline in February, I am so excited to have this one finished. The support you all showed me during the first release made me warm and fuzzy and so many of you reached out and asked when the next one would be. Well, here you go!

You can purchase 'A Wedding On Clermont Lane' on Amazon Prime, available in paperback for $10.99 and $7.99 for the eBook/Kindle edition. If you'd like a signed copy, a limited amount of copies are available. Hit the link in my bio.

I cannot wait for you to read this one and let me know your thoughts. Jasmine and The Robinson Family are back---and this time, it's for keeps!
Happy International Women’s Day. I would not be Happy International Women’s Day. I would not be here without the wisdom and strength of my praying grandmother who has poured into me for 46 years and counting. I am so thankful for her unconditional love and unwavering support. ❤️❤️❤️#internationalwomensday #womensday #womenshistorymonth

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