'SHINDIG: Frat Party' - (1964 to 1966)

FEATURES: The Kingsmen, The Sir Douglas Quintet, Roy Head, The Olympics, Dobie Gray, The Hondells, The McCoys, The Righteous Brothers, Zsa Zsa Gabor, The Isley Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis

Shindig! was an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles at the time who also created the show along with his wife Sharon Sheeley, British producer Jack Good, and production executive Art Stolnitz. The original pilot was rejected by ABC and David Sontag, then Executive Producer of ABC, redeveloped and completely redesigned the show. A new pilot with a new cast of artists was shot starring Sam Cooke. That pilot aired as the premiere episode.

Shindig! was conceived as a short-notice replacement for Hootenanny, a series that had specialized in folk revival music. The folk revival had fizzled in 1964 as the result of the British Invasion, which damaged the ratings for Hootenanny and prompted that show's cancellation.

Shindig! focused on a broader variety of popular music than its predecessor and first aired for a half-hour every Wednesday evening, 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.

Shindig!'s premiere episode was actually the second pilot, and featured Sam Cooke, The Everly Brothers, and The Righteous Brothers. Later shows were taped in Britain with The Beatles as the guests. The series featured other "British invasion" bands and performers including The Who, The Rolling Stones, and Cilla Black. Shindig! continued to broadcast episodes from London throughout its run.

Many other popular performers of the day played on Shindig! including Tina Turner, Lesley Gore, Bo Diddley, and Sonny and Cher, The Beach Boys, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, The Supremes, and The Ronettes. Shindig!'s success prompted NBC to air the similar series Hullabaloo starting in January 1965 and other producers to launch syndicated rock music shows like Shivaree and Hollywood a Go-Go. Shindig! is one of the few rock music shows of the era to still have all of the episodes available to watch.

[johnmitchelljr]

Thanks for all the Shindigs. Thank you

[williamhiles]

Totally canned. The Kingsman without cables to their guitars, and no lead guitar type movements by the Guitarist during the solo in Louie, Louie. Oh well.
LedHed Pb 207.20 🎶 🎸 🎹