On January 26th, 1976, a show debuted on CBS that would forever change southern and country culture.
Dukes Of Hazzard aired its first ever episode 48 years ago today and if you haven’t gone back and rewatched an episode recently, let me tell you first hand, it still holds up.
The Dukes of Hazzard debuted on CBS today in 1979. The show aired a total of 147 episodes over seven seasons and aired its final episode in 1985. #80s #80stv pic.twitter.com/yafIrzaWM9
— LandOfThe80s (@landofthe80s) January 26, 2024
None other than Waylon Jennings sang the now iconic theme song “Good Ol Boys,” and the series has become a popular reference in country songs.
And although the bro-country era really ran wild with the whole Daisy Dukes thing, that kind of just proves the cultural power the show had. (And let’s be honest for a second, we all had (and still have) a crush on Jeep driving Daisy, played by Catherine Bach).
Catherine Bach pic.twitter.com/3RcNB9T7Mi
— NotablePhotos (@NotablePhotos) January 21, 2024
Dukes Of Hazzard ran for 7 seasons and aired a total of 147 episodes, featuring a number of cameos from country stars such as Loretta Lynn, Johnny Paycheck, The Oak Ridge Boys, Tammy Wynette, and Buck Owens.
After years of fans begging, Waylon Jennings made an appearance in the final season, playing himself in an episode titled “Welcome, Waylon Jennings.”
While the series itself was obviously a hit, a new generation was introduced to it in 2005 when the Dukes of Hazzard movie came out starring Jessica Simpson as Daisy. Admittedly, this movie was my first introduction to the Duke brothers but hey, I didn’t ask to be born in the 90’s.
Seeing a lot of Jessica Simpson/Daisy Duke headlines online lately. I'm all for any mention of the #DukesofHazzard! pic.twitter.com/llHYSHwJeR
— Larry Franks (@larryafranks) October 4, 2021
That movie quickly lead me to go back and watch most of the original series, and to this day there’s not much better than waking up on Saturday morning, pouring a cup or 6 of coffee, and binge watching the Duke boys get into and out of trouble in the old General Lee.
Speaking of the iconic car, they went through a LOT of 1969 Dodge Chargers while filming the series…
According to FuelEconomy, the show wrecked 317 Chargers, working out to an average of over 2 destroyed per episode. That is a lot of destroyed vehicles, and while many car enthusiasts cringe at the thought, it’s clear it worked out in the end as people will forever associate that model with badassery.
Although some people take it a bit to far and try their own jumping stunts, like this Florida Woman absolutely sending it off the back of a tow truck…
A driver survived with serious injuries after hitting a tow truck ramp off a highway in Georgia. Police were on scene for another crash when bodycam video captured the moment. pic.twitter.com/VYZ9VfiSJk
— CNN (@CNN) May 31, 2023
In honor of this anniversary, I think I’ll be settling in to watch more than a few episodes this weekend and I hope you do the same.
Cheers to Bo, Luke, Daisy, Boss Hogg, Sheriff Rosco, Cooter, and all the other legendary characters this show produced.
And here’s the full version of “Good Ol’ Boys”
