A Tribute to ABC's Chord-rippin', Hip-Shakin', Rock 'n' Roll Prime Time Variety Show

 

Groovy letters and an exclamation point!

While many American prime time variety shows occasionally catered to youths, Shindig! was perhaps the first one to focus solely on that audience. ABC introduced the series in September 1964 at the height of the British Invasion. Shindig! lasted less than two seasons, but its influence was both immediate (NBC launched a rival series, Hullabaloo, four months later) and long-lasting (its descendants include late-night variety shows The Midnight Special and In Concert).

Naturally, the roots of American rock 'n'roll variety shows can be traced to Dick Clark's long-running American Bandstand. In fact, a prime-time edition of Bandstand was broadcast briefly in 1957. However, Clark's series wasn't a traditional variety show with performances by multiple acts. Shindig! borrowed its format from variety series like The Ed Sullivan Show, which featured a host that introduced each act.

Host Jimmy O'Neill.

The host of Shindig! was Jimmy O'Neill, a Los Angeles disc jockey who died in January 2013. O'Neill and his then-wife, songwriter Sharon Sheeley, were instrumental to the show's success. (Trivia note: O'Neill was later married to Troy Donahue's sister from 1969-83.) However, the show's look and sound can be attributed to British producer Jack Good. After launching several rock'n'roll TV shows in Great Britain, Good traveled to the U.S. in 1962 to sell the pilot of what eventually became Shindig! 

Aretha Franklin on Shindig!

Largely due to Good's and O'Neill's industry connections, Shindig! featured many of the top artists of the era, to include: The Beach Boys, Sonny and Cher, James Brown, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Jerry Lee Lewis, Donovan, Little Richard, and Aretha Franklin. The first episode featured a star-studded line-up of The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Everly Brothers, and The Byrds. The Who made their U.S. television debut on Shindig! and, yes, even The Beatles appeared--though their segment was shot in Great Britain. Amazingly, most of the performances were broadcast live (in contrast to Bandstand, where singers lip-synced their hits).

Shindig! regular Donna Loren.

Shindig! also boasted a house band called the Shin-diggers (later renamed the Shindogs), the Shindig Dancers, and semi-regulars Bobby Sherman, Donna Loren, and The Righteous Brothers.The dancers included Beach Party veterans Teri Garr and assistant choreographer Toni Basil (who later scored a monster hit with 1982's Mickey). A 1994 Entertainment Weekly article notes that Jack Good was concerned that American girls wouldn't identify with a bevy of beautiful dancers, so he had one wear fake braces and another horn-rimmed glasses.

Teen idol Bobby Sherman was
everywhere in the 1960s!

Despite it star power, Shindig! struggled to find an audience. Its format and time-schedule changes, dictated by ABC, didn't help. After debuting as a half-hour show, it was expanded to an hour, and then later reduced to half-hour shows that aired twice weekly. After producer Good left the show, ABC added older hosts (perhaps imitating the Beach Party films) like Boris Karloff and Hedy Lamarr.

The last episode of Shindig! was broadcast on January 8, 1966. In the early 1990s, Rhino Entertainment released a series of VHS tapes that featured selected musical numbers--but, sadly, not entire episodes. Surely, there's some entertainment company willing to pay proper homage to the groovliest rock'n'roll variety show of the 1960s!


This post is part of the Classic TV Variety Show Blogathon, hosted by the Classic TV Blog Association. Click here to view a schedule of all the great posts in this blogathon.