SOUNDIES
I just watched a screener of a wonderful special that aired on PBS in
March, 2007. Soundies: A Musical History chronicles the
first 'music videos,' if you will, filmed performances that were available
for viewing (for a dime) on a 'Panoram' machine, a massive TV looking
device found in nightclubs of the 1940s.
These
historically important performances have all been preserved, thankfully,
and this hour-long tribute gives us a sweet taste of Duke Ellington, Louis
Jordan, Cab Calloway and many other immortals of the swing era.
The
special jumps along at a nice pace, the clips are long enough that you
can enjoy them and the commentaries by Hugh Hefner, Wynton Marsalis and
Leonard Maltin (among others) are spot on. I really enjoyed this documentary,
it will turn up during March pledge time like all the other best PBS specials,
consult your locals. Don't miss this,
Soundies: A Musical History is loads of fun; more than
once my jaw dropped in amazement and joy. There will also be a DVD release,
with an added bonus - host Michael Feinstein's favorite Soundies films
in their entirety.
A
few years after Soundies died out in the mid-1940s, the ball was picked
up by Snader Telescriptions which made the same type
of musical shorts (with some of the same staff) but this time for broadcast
over the new medium of television. You
can read about those films here on TVparty!
Kevin
S. Butler has more on the Soundies and their unique place
in TV history:
In
1952 WFIL (now WPVI) Channel 6, the Philadelphia, Pa. affiliate of the
ABC network, acquired the TV rights to the Soundies and were planning
to air them on a daily show.
The
station execs at Channel 6 wanted a local radio DJ named Bob Horn to
host the show but he hated the idea of emceeing a TV program that did
little more than screen old musical films from another era. He felt
that it would bore the hell out of his viewers and he tried to turn
down the job. Station execs insisted.
Knowing
that he needed some kind of extra segment to attract viewers, Horn suggested
playing swing / jazz records and having kids from the neighborhood dance
on the show. Since many jazz bands performed in Philly at the time,
he also suggested booking popular groups as guests and having them perform
their latest hits on the show. This way he could interview them afterwards.
Channel
6 agreed to this idea and American Bandstand was born. Eventually,
the kids liked the live band performances with recorded music and dancing
better than watching Soundies on the show. Screening of the Soundies
was dropped as the show changed its format to accommodate rock and roll
music.
Mr.
Horn was ousted from the program in 1956 when Dick Clark took over as
host both locally in Philly and in Los Angeles over ABC TV and in national
syndication for the next 31 years.
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