On this day in 1977, ABC0TV began televising the Roots mini-series. This series would go on to be the most watched mini-series in history. The mini-series was based on Alex Haley‘s 1976 novel, entitled Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Roots received 37 Emmy Award nominations and won nine. It won also a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings for the finale, which still holds a record as the third-highest-rated US television program. It was produced on a budget of $6.6 million.
Quincy Jones produced the best selling soundtrack which featured the moving soul-stirring song “Oluwa”(Many Rains Ago) by South African jazz artist Letta Mbulu.