''Shindig!'' is 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 A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobil ...

in Los Angeles,''Shindig!'', Rod Barken
from tvparty.com 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.

Synopsis

''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 The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" o ...

, 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 featured performances that were taped in Britain - A set was used at Twickenham Film Studios, where British acts performed live for the cameras, with the resultant footage flown back to be shown on the program. The first UK episode had

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

as the guests. The series later featured other "British invasion" bands and performers including

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

, and Cilla Black. ''Shindig!'' continued to broadcast episodes with footage shot in London throughout its run. This meant many acts were seen on U.S television before they actually went to America (The Who in particular, who performed a unique early version of 'My Generation' live, two months before the single version was recorded). Many other popular performers of the day played on ''Shindig!'' including

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

, Lesley Gore, Bo Diddley, 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 Hubbabaloo or hullaballoo may refer to: * Hullabaloo (band), a punk band * Hullabaloo (song), a 1990 single by Absent Friends * Hullabaloo (festival), a music festival at the University of California San Diego * ''Hullabaloo'' (film), a 1940 fil ...

'' starting in January 1965 and other producers to launch syndicated rock music shows like '' Shivaree'' and '' Hollywood a Go-Go.'' In March 1965, Little Eva performed a live but short version of her hit song " The Loco-Motion". This is the only known video clip of her singing it. Toward the end of the program's run, The Mamas and the Papas appeared in an episode featuring Barry McGuire. Although serving as his backup singers, the group introduced " California Dreamin'" on that program, which launched its career. ''Shindig!'' is one of the few rock music shows of the era to still have all of the episodes available to watch.

Final season

In September 1965, the show was moved out of its Wednesday-night time slot (where it gave '' The Beverly Hillbillies'' its first serious competition in its time period among younger viewers), and split into two half-hours on new days and times (Thursdays and Saturdays at 7:30 P.M. Eastern time). The show faced tough competition from '' Daniel Boone'' and '' The Munsters'' on Thursdays along with '' Flipper'' and ''

The Jackie Gleason Show ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' is the name of a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms. ''Cavalcade of Stars'' Gleason's first variety series, which aired on the DuMon ...

'' on Saturdays. Additionally, the Saturday edition aired in a time period when many of its potential viewers were going out and, thus, not at home to watch television. By October 1965, the show was having ratings problems ( ''Time'' magazine said "early-season tide asrunning against the teen scene"), and in January 1966, ''Shindig!'' was cancelled and replaced in its Thursday time slots by ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

.''

Series regulars

''Shindig!'' also featured a dance troupe choreographed by David Winters and André Tayir, who accompanied the music acts of the week (Winters later worked on the competing NBC show ''

''). One of the regular dancers was Teri Garr, who went on to find success as an actress. Others included Maria Gahva,

Lorene Yarnell Shields and Yarnell were an American mime team, formed in 1972, consisting of Robert Shields (born March 26, 1951) and Lorene Yarnell (March 21, 1944 – July 29, 2010). Robert Shields Shields was born in Los Angeles and graduated from G ...

(later of the mime team Shields and Yarnell) Diane Stuart, Pam Freeman, Gina Trikinis, Marianna Picora, Virginia Justus, Rini Jarmon and Carol Shelyne, who always wore glasses while she danced. Occasionally, a small group of dancers who sang would get a featured spot; this rotating group was billed as The Shindig Girls. The assistant choreographer was Antonia Basilotta, better known as

Toni Basil Antonia Christina Basilotta (born September 22, 1943), better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer, choreographer, dancer, actress, and director. Her song "Mickey" topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and hit th ...

, who later gained fame with her 1980s hit song " Mickey". Both Garr and Basil were dance students of David Winters at the time and worked with him on most of his choreography projects. The series house band was supposedly known as "The Shin-diggers", but that was actually the name host Jimmy O'Neill used to refer to fans of the show. At first, TV credits identified the musicians simply as the Shindig Band. By early 1965, they'd been renamed Sir Rufus Marion Banks and his Band of Men, but the generic name had returned by the time "Shindig" went off the air. The rhythm section was spun off into a featured group and named the ''Shindogs''. It included Joey Cooper on bass, Chuck Blackwell on drums, James Burton on lead guitar, Delaney Bramlett on rhythm guitar and

Glen D. Hardin Glen Dee Hardin (born April 18, 1939) is an American piano player and arranger. He has performed and recorded with such artists as Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Emmylou Harris, John Denver, and Ricky Nelson. Career Hardin was born in Wellington, ...

on keyboards. Cooper and Bramlett traded off lead vocal duties. The larger band featured Jerry Cole on lead guitar, Russ Titelman on rhythm guitar, Larry Knechtel on bass, Leon Russell on piano,

Julius Wechter Julius Wechter (May 10, 1935 – February 1, 1999) was an American musician and composer who played the marimba and vibraphone. He also played various percussion instruments. He composed the song "Spanish Flea" for Herb Alpert and was leader of The ...

on percussion and Ritchie Frost on drums. Later, Billy Preston took over keyboards and performed as a singing regular. Glen Campbell was not a regular member of this band but a frequent guest performer.

Ray Pohlman Merlyn Ray Pohlman (July 22, 1930 – November 1, 1990) was an American session musician and arranger who played both upright bass and bass guitar, and also did sessions as a guitarist. He is credited with being the first electric bass player i ...

was the musical director, and he was also one - as was Campbell, Knechtel, Wechter and Russell - of the collection of first-call pop studio musicians that would later be known as " The Wrecking Crew". In some instances when one of the guitarists was unable to work, Pohlman would bring in Bill Aken to fill in. The Righteous Brothers, Dick and Dee Dee, Jackie and Gayle, Donna Loren, Willy Nelson (not the famous Country singer

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

) and Bobby Sherman were regular vocalists on the series. Up until July 1965, when he quit the show, producer Jack Good was also a regular, wearing a bowler hat and improvising comedy routines with Jimmy O'Neill at the close of each episode. The Blossoms, an all-female vocal group featuring Darlene Love, backed up many of the performers and were occasionally featured in spotlight performances. The Wellingtons were a trio of male singers who performed on their own, and as backup singers. Another male group, The Eligibles, sometimes alternated with The Wellingtons on backup.

Musical guests

* Terry Allen * The Animals *

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

Desi Arnaz, Jr. Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV (born January 19, 1953), known professionally as Desi Arnaz Jr., is an American actor and musician. He is the son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Early life Arnaz was born on January 19, 1953, at Cedars-Sinai Medical ...

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

The Barron Knights The Barron Knights are a British humorous pop rock group, originally formed in 1959 in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire,Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), ), p. 32 as the Knights of the Round Table. C ...

* Fontella Bass * Shirley Bassey * The Beach Boys *

* James Brown *

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole con ...

The Beau Brummels The Beau Brummels was an American rock band. Formed in San Francisco in 1964, the band's original lineup included Sal Valentino (lead vocals), Ron Elliott (lead guitar), Ron Meagher (bass guitar), Declan Mulligan (rhythm guitar, bass, harmo ...

* Tony Bennett * The Chambers Brothers * Chuck Berry * Cilla Black * Booker T & the MG's *

Vashti Bunyan Vashti Bunyan (born Jennifer Vashti Bunyan, 1945) is an English singer-songwriter. Beginning her career in the mid-1960s, she released her debut album, '' Just Another Diamond Day'', in 1970. The album sold very few copies and Bunyan, discourag ...

* Glen Campbell * Freddy Cannon *

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

* Chad and Jeremy *

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnight ...

* The Clara Ward Singers * Petula Clark * The Coasters * Sam Cooke * The Dave Clark Five *

Karl Denver Karl Denver (16 December 1931 – 21 December 1998) was a Scottish singer, who, with his trio had a series of UK hit singles in the early 1960s. Most famous of these was a 1961 version of "Wimoweh", which showed off Denver's falsetto yodelling ...

* Jackie DeShannon * Dick & Dee Dee * Dino, Desi & Billy * Bo Diddley * The Dixie Cups * Donovan * The Everly Brothers *

Shelley Fabares Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares (; born January 19, 1944) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her television roles as Mary Stone on the sitcom '' The Donna Reed Show'' (1958–1963) and as Christine Armstrong on the sitco ...

* Adam Faith * Marianne Faithfull * The Four Tops *

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in '' Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Wit ...

* Freddie and the Dreamers * Billy Fury * Gale Garnett * Gary Lewis & the Playboys * Marvin Gaye * The Gentrys * Gerry & the Pacemakers *

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre ...

* Dizzy Gillespie * Dobie Gray * Bessie Griffin * Bobby Goldsboro * Lesley Gore * The Grass Roots * Ruben Guevara (credited as "J.P. Mobey") * Françoise Hardy * Herman's Hermits *

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band ...

* Don Ho * Brenda Holloway * The Honeycombs * The Ikettes * The Isley Brothers * Davy Jones * Gloria Jones *

The Kingsmen The Kingsmen are a 1960s rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of R&B singer Richard Berry's " Louie Louie", which held the No. 2 spot on the '' Billboard'' charts for six weeks an ...

* The Kinks * Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas * Bettye LaVette * Major Lance * Dinah Lee *

Ketty Lester Ketty Lester (born Revoyda Frierson; August 16, 1934) is an American singer and actress known for her 1961 hit single " Love Letters", which reached the top 5 of the charts in the U.S. and the UK. She is also known for her role as Hester-Sue Ter ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...

* Little Anthony and the Imperials * Little Eva *

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

* The Lovin' Spoonful * Lulu & the Luvvers * George Maharis * The Mamas & the Papas *

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English rock band, formed in London and active between 1962 and 1969. The group were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The band had two diffe ...

* Martha & the Vandellas *

Melinda Marx Melinda Marie Marx (born August 14, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and musician who had a brief movie career. She is the daughter and only surviving child of Groucho Marx and his second wife, Kay Marvis Gorcey. Life and work Marx appeare ...

* Johnny Mathis * Jody Miller * Sal Mineo * Matt Monro * The Moody Blues * The Nashville Teens * Ricky Nelson * The Nooney Rickett 4 * The Olympics * Roy Orbison *

Rita Pavone Rita Pavone (; born August 23, 1945) is an Italian-Swiss ballad and rock singer and actress, who enjoyed success through the 1960s. Singing career She was born in Turin, Italy. In 1962 she participated in, and won, the first Festival degli Sco ...

* Peter and Gordon *

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

* The Poets *

The Pretty Things ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

P. J. Proby P. J. Proby (born James Marcus Smith; November 6, 1938) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Proby recorded the singles " Hold Me", " Somewhere", and "Maria". In 2008, EMI released the greatest hits album '' Best of the EMI Years 1961 ...

Eddie Rambeau Eddie Rambeau (born Edward Cletus Fluri; June 30, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Career While performing in a high-school musical he had written, Rambeau met songwriter and musician Bud Rehak, who went on to become his ...

* Roy Head * Johnny Rivers * Smokey Robinson and The Miracles * Jimmie Rodgers *

* The Ronettes * Mickey Rooney, Jr. * Bobby Rydell * Tommy Sands * Neil Sedaka * Del Shannon * Dee Dee Sharp * Sandie Shaw * The Shangri-Las * Sir Douglas Quintet * Sonny & Cher * George Soulé * The Spencer Davis Group *

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

(as part of

Brian Auger and the Trinity Brian Auger and the Trinity was a British band led by keyboardist Brian Auger. His duet with Julie Driscoll, the Bob Dylan– penned "This Wheel's on Fire", was a number 5 hit on the 1968 UK Singles Chart. The song also reached number 13 in C ...

) * The Supremes * The Temptations * Joe Tex * Tommy Tucker * Ike & Tina Turner * The Turtles * Twinkle * Unit 4 + 2 *

Leroy Van Dyke Leroy Frank Van Dyke (born October 4, 1929) is an American country music and honky-tonk singer and guitarist, best known for his hits " The Auctioneer" (1956) and " Walk on By" (1961). Biography Van Dyke was born in Mora, Missouri. He lived ...

* Sylvie Vartan * Bobby Vee * The Ventures * The Vibrations * The Walker Brothers * We Five * Clara Ward Singers * Mary Wells *

Hank Williams, Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son o ...

* Joe Williams * Jackie Wilson * Howlin' Wolf *

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwe ...

* The Zombies

Celebrity guests

* Ted Cassidy as Lurch in Halloween episode * Patty Duke *

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr., (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best known for starring in such films as ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), ''Gunga Din'' (1939) ...

* Rosey Grier * Tommy Kirk * Vincent Price *

Alan Sues Alan Grigsby Sues (March 7, 1926 – December 1, 2011) was an American actor and comedian widely known for his roles on the 1968–1973 television series ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In''. Sues's on-screen persona was campy and outrageous. Typical o ...

* Raquel Welch *

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

Guest hosts

George Chakiris George Chakiris (born September 16, 1932) is an American actor. He is best known for his appearance in the 1961 film version of '' West Side Story'' as Bernardo Nunez, the leader of the Sharks gang, for which he won both the Academy Award for Be ...

* Zsa Zsa Gabor *

Carolyn Jones Carolyn Sue Jones (April 28, 1930 – August 3, 1983) was an American actress of television and film. Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy ...

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

in Halloween episode * Hedy Lamarr * Jack E. Leonard * Hugh O'Brian *

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

* Ed Wynn

VHS release

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

In popular culture

*''Shindig!'' was mentioned in

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

song " Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" in the lyric "Do you remember ''

'', ''Upbeat'', ''Shindig!'', and '' Ed Sullivan'' too...?" *''Shindig!'' made an appearance on a December 1965 episode of '' The Flintstones'' as ''"Shinrock!"'' with host "Jimmy O'Neillstone" (O'Neill provided his own voice). The episode featured musical guests

, appearing as "The Beau Brummelstones", who performed their hit song "

Laugh, Laugh "Laugh, Laugh" is a song by American rock group The Beau Brummels, written by guitarist Ron Elliott and produced by Sylvester Stewart, later known as Sly Stone. Released in December 1964 as the band's debut single, the song reached number 15 on ...

". Fred turns off the show, saying "Let me take care of Jimmy O'Neillstone," whereupon O'Neillstone's hand reaches out from the set and turns it back on. "Well," Barney quips, "that's one way of keeping up their ratings." *''The Shindogs'' were a rock group parody on an episode of '' The Patty Duke Show''
"Partying Is Such Sweet Sorrow"
Sept. 29, 1965), when Patty sang,
Funny Little Butterflies
"

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0149523, Shindig! 1964 American television series debuts 1966 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming 1960s American music television series 1960s American variety television series Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows Pop music television series Television series by Selmur Productions