Reading Rainbow
Ty's One Man Band
TV Flash files “Ty's One Man Band” as the last listed hour of season 1 — Reading Rainbow (1983–2006) on PBS, season 1, episode 15, aired 1983-06-24, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E15: listed hour 15 of 155 in the Reading Rainbow guide, last listed hour of season 1. It aired 1983-06-24 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash” (S01E14). Next is “Hot-Air Henry” (S02E01).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
This episode leads LeVar on an exploration to a concert in the park where he discovers a rap-band, doo-wa group, jazz band, and salsa band-all different types of music. An a cappella singing group and the talented Ben Vereen add to the mix. Then a visit with the Reading Rainbow's music director shows how he performs magic with a music synthesizer.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Ty's One Man Band sit in the Reading Rainbow guide?
S01E15 is listed hour 15 of 155 — last listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 15.
When did Reading Rainbow S01E15 air?
Ty's One Man Band aired 1983-06-24 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Is it only for kids?
PBS literacy as after-school adventure. Adults return for Burton and the catchphrase. The Kickstarter revival proved nobody actually outgrew the librarian on camera.
In the series
Why this series still plays
LeVar Burton takes you into a book, then kids review it, then the catchphrase: you don't have to take his word for it. PBS literacy as after-school adventure, with field-trip segments that treated reading as a passport. A generation's librarian on camera — the Kickstarter revival proved nobody actually outgrew him.
The catchphrase is the contract. PBS, premiere 1983 through 2006: LeVar Burton introduces books, field trips, and kid reviews that sell the joy of reading — you don't have to take his word for it. Reading Rainbow, from Twila Liggett, Cecily Truett Lancit, and Larry Lancit, made literacy appointment television. After-school adventure treated reading as a passport: theme song as permanent childhood earworm, multiple Daytime Emmys, Burton as a generation's librarian on camera. If you came for a blotter item about a…
Filed against
- LeVar Burton as Host
LeVar Burton’s breakthrough as young Kunta Kinte on Roots made miniseries history — eight ABC nights, event television that forced a nation to watch and talk together. Later Star Trek: TNG and Reading Rainbow sealed educator-icon status.…