Steve Allen | SOLID GOLD | Standup Comedy (9/13/1980)

From our very first episode of our very first season from Paramount’s hit 80s TV series, “SOLID GOLD”, enjoy this clip of comedian, Steve Allen, making fun of pop music. Steve was introduced by Dionne Warwick and Paul Anka, and this aired on September 13, 1980! I (Michael Miller - “Mickle“) was the musical director and theme song composer for the series.

[@kimberlysmiley0033]

My Dad loved this, he used to jokingly say, 'Booogeeeeee'😂

[@TiroDvD]

"I like big butts and I cannot lie." Art builds upon the Greats before them.

[@jasonburger3533]

That was hilarious!!! Steve Allen, the original host of the NBC-TV "Tonight Show" beginning in 1954 and a very popular comedian and television talk show guest, provided some deadpan humor on some of the "modern" music lyrics of the day by reading them very slowly and offering his commentary. From Peaches & Herb and their disco hit "Shake Your Groove Thing" to KC & The Sunshine Band and their disco hit "Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake Your Booty", he reads the lyrics without the benefit of the musical accompaniment to the delight of the studio audience and the viewers at home. It was quite a way to debut the most preeminent television music show of the 1980s. Funny stuff.🙂 The current youth might not connect with that, but the youth of that era surely made the connection.

[@4seeableTV]

It's just too bad they didn't seem to rehearse it, with the book blocking the microphone and aíl.

[@blr85]

Steve Allen had been doing that tired schtick for decades by that point. He used to read the lyrics of early rock n roll classics such as "Be Bop A Lulu" in the same condescending tone in the '50s. Kids in '80 had no idea who he was, given that he had peaked decades earlier, but I guess the producers were trying to appeal to their parents. And calling "Solid Gold" the most preeminent television music show of the 1980s is a) redundant and b) inaccurate. The term "Solid Gold dancer" was a punchline for lazy comedians in the early '80s. "Friday Night Videos" and pretty much all of MTV were more important.

[@jasonburger3533]

@@blr85 That does not remove the fact that "Solid Gold" was a show that was available on free over-the-air television and at earlier times for younger viewers and that the Solid Gold Dancers were very talented and the hosts and co-hosts covering hits of the era did not occur on the very late at night "Friday Night Videos" on NBC-TV and that it aired actually in the wee hours of Saturday mornings, beyond the bedtimes of younger children who could watch "Solid Gold" in the afternoon or usually early evening. They did not feature the special 2-hour Christmas, summer, and other specials that "Solid Gold" had.
Video cassette recorders were not that available and priced right in the early 1980s. MTV was cable or satellite only. That was off limits for those who grew up without that, such as I.
So, "Solid Gold" was still a showcase show of music, comedy, wonderful dancers that were even referenced on "The Golden Girls", exposure to music from earlier eras, including already legendary singer-hosts Dionne Warwick and, later on, Marilyn McCoo from the original Fifth Dimension, and a wonderful theme song that had them all surpassed.

[@jasonburger3533]

@@4seeableTV They had to rehearse it, but being the first show of the series, it was new to everyone on set and the viewers as well, so it may have given that appearance, but they must have rehearsed, as that is customary on most television shows.

[@blr85]

@@jasonburger3533 What were you, the publicist for the show? The fact that the show aired in weekend afternoon slots in non-network syndication demonstrates that it wasn't important. Next you'll be telling us that "Dance Fever" with Denny Terio and the Motion revolutionized the art of modern choreography.

[@Misten...40]

😂😂😂