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by Billy Ingram
A staple of TV markets around the country in the 1960s, local dance shows were rare by the late-seventies; they fell out of favor at the end of the 1960s and we aren't likely to see a revival. (Then again, you never know. Similar in nature, nationally broadcast Dance Party USA was a hit in the 1980s.)
The main feature on Soul Alive was the heated competition between dancers representing some of the City's top discotheques or local high schools. The winning couple's names were delivered via the 'Mechanical Hand' - they could collect a bounty of prizes including a trip, new sound system or might end up with a package that included Bic disposable shavers. Well, they were new then!
One regular (and unintentionally hilarious) segment of the show saw dancers revealing their working life in pictures that were mixed into their solo spots. Similarly, when schools competed, a profile of the student body was aired.
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From TVparty! reader Ray Mora comes an amazing find - an ultra-rare
episode of Soul Alive starring WWRL radio DJ
"Golden Voice" Gerry Bledsoe. Soul Alive aired during
1978 in New York City for an hour on WPIX channel 11 Saturday mornings
at 11:00am.
With
the Disco craze in full swing and nationally syndicated Soul Train still hot on Saturdays, WPIX saw an opportunity to bring that stone cold
format back to TV screens.
Big
name guest stars frequented the program, after all, this was the number
one TV market in the world and a lot of record albums were sold in the
city of New York. On this episode, Cissy Houston lip-synced her latest
single while the Rolling Stones appeared in a video.
