Shindig!

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For other uses, see Shindig.
Shindig!

Shindig! logo
Genre Musical variety
Created by Jimmy O'Neill
Sharon Sheeley
Starring Jimmy O'Neill
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of seasons 2
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Selig J. Seligman
Running time 30 mins. (September 1964-January 1965)
60 mins. (January 1965-Fall 1965)
30 mins. (Fall 1965-January 1966)
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Original run September 16, 1964 – January 8, 1966
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Shindig! was an American music variety show which aired on the ABC network from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

The series first aired for a half-hour every week, but was expanded to an hour in January 1965. In the fall of 1965, the show split into two half-hour telecasts, on Thursday and Saturday nights. In contrast to American Bandstand, it ran during prime-time. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, who was a famous disc jockey in Los Angeles at the time.[1]

Shindig!'s premiere episode was taped in Britain with The Beatles as the guests. The series featured other "British invasion" bands including The Who and The Rolling Stones. Shindig would continue to broadcast episodes from London throughout its run.[1]

Many popular performers of the day played on Shindig! including Sam Cooke, Lesley Gore, Bo Diddley, and Sonny and Cher, and was noted to feature both black and white acts during a time of racial segregation in the United States.[2]

Shindig!'s success prompted NBC to air the similar series Hullabaloo.

[edit] Series regulars

Accompanying the music acts of the week, Shindig! also featured a dance troupe called the Shin-diggers. One of the regular dancers was Teri Garr, who would go on to find success as an actress. The Shin-diggers' assistant choreographer, Antonia Basilotta, later changed her named to Toni Basil, and would go on to have a successful music career with the hit song "Mickey".[2]

The series house band, the Shin-diggers (later renamed the Shindogs), featured a young Glen Campbell, Billy Preston, James Burton, Delaney Bramlett, and pianist Leon Russell.[2]

The Blossoms, an all-female vocal group featuring Darlene Love, backed up many of the performers and were occasionally featured in spotlight performances. Donna Loren, Jackie DeShannon and Bobby Sherman were also regular vocalists on the series.[2]

[edit] Musical Guests

[edit] Celebrity guests

[edit] Guest hosts

[edit] Cancellation

In January 1966, Shindig! was canceled and replaced in its Thursday time slots by Batman.[1]

[edit] VHS release

In 1991 and 1992, Rhino Entertainment and WEA released a series of Shindig! Presents VHS videos featuring highlights from the series.[3]

[edit] In popular culture

  • Shindig! was mentioned in The Ramones song "Do You Remember Rock N' Roll Radio?" as "Do you remember Hullabaloo, Upbeat, Shindig, and Ed Sullivan too...?"
  • Shindig! made an appearance on The Flintstones as "Shinrock!"

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Shindig!, Rod Barken
  2. ^ a b c d Wharton, David. "'Shindig!' Tapes Bring 1960s Rock Back to Life", Los Angeles Times, 1999-12-14. Retrieved on 2007-12-21. 
  3. ^ The Shindig! Series product info

[edit] External links