It was on this day back in 1979 that The Dukes of Hazzard premiered on CBS. The show became wildly popular and was one of the top rated series in its day. It ran for seven seasons and 147 episodes over the course of six years. The Dukes of Hazzard was inspired by the 1975 movie, Moonrunners.
The Duke family was always at odds with the local sheriff, “Roscoe P. Coltrane” and county commissioner “Jefferson Davis (Boss) Hogg.” Good thing for Bo and Luke Duke, they had quite the spectacular racing car they called “General Lee” to escape their schemes.
Mickey Gilley | Dukes of Hazzard
Since the Hazzard County officials were so corrupt, it would be no surprise that they would come up with all sorts of shenanigans to fill their pockets…well, Boss Hogg’s pockets anyway. One of their recurring schemes was the “Celebrity Speed Trap.” Anytime they heard a celebrity was coming through Hazzard, Roscoe would set up a speed trap to catch them. Most often these celebrities were Country Music stars such as Tammy Wynette, Roy Orbison, Johnny Paycheck, Mickey Gilley, and more. Check out this clip below of Gilley performing his hit, “Don’t the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time.”
