Solid Gold in Concert
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Solid Gold was an American syndicated television series which premiered on September 13, 1980. From 1987 to 1988 it was retitled Solid Gold in Concert.
The first episode of the show in September 1980 would become a yearly tradition, as they counted down the Top 40 of 1979 in an epic 2-hour series premiere. The show was called Solid Gold '79 for that one episode. Every year thereafter through 1986, they would host a 2-hour year-end Top 40 countdown show.
The premiere and much of the first season was hosted by Dionne Warwick. At the beginning of the 1981 - 1982 season, Marilyn McCoo of The Fifth Dimension and Andy Gibb took over hosting duties. In the 1982 - 1983 season Rex Smith replaced Andy Gibb as Marilyn McCoo's co-host and in the 1983/1984 season Marilyn McCoo hosted alone. In September, 1984, Rick Dees hosted the show with comedy bits added to the format. Dionne Warwick returned to the show as host in the 1985 - 1986 season before Marilyn McCoo would return as host in the 1986 - 1987 season along with Arsenio Hall and Nina Blackwood as co-hosts which would last until the end of the series in 1988.
The weekly one-hour show played segments from the Top 10 charting songs accompanied by the Solid Gold Dancers. At times, artists who had a single among the week's Top 10 appeared guest performers, although the songs were lip-synced, and not performed live. Celebrities also occasionally served duty as guest hosts. During the 1986 - 1987 season, the Top 10 was no longer danced to by the Solid Gold Dancers, and instead was just simply listed halfway through the show.
In the summer of 1984, a weekday half-hour format called Solid Gold Hits went into syndication, hosted by Grant Goodeve and showcasing just a general grouping of the hits of the time. The main Solid Gold format was still airing on weekends.
Contents |
[edit] Guest-hosts and hosts
- Andy Gibb
- Nina Blackwood
- Wayland Flowers (as Madame)
- Rex Smith
- Jeff Altman
- Rick Dees
- Dionne Warwick
- Marilyn McCoo
- Paul Anka
- Paul Williams
- Glen Campbell
- George Benson
- The Commodores
- Gladys Knight
- Natalie Cole
- Toni Tennille
- Johnny Mathis
- Bobby Goldsboro
- Richard Sanders and Tim Reid
- Neil Sedaka
- Jim Stafford
- The Pointer Sisters
- Cliff Richard
- Smokey Robinson
- Larry Gatlin
- Isaac Hayes
- Dottie West
- Roberta Flack
- Leo Sayer
- Anne Murray
- Aretha Franklin
- Helen Reddy
- Roger Miller
- Bill Cosby
- Ricky Nelson
- Barry White
- Chuck Mangione
- Oak Ridge Boys
- Billy Preston
- Jose Feliciano
- Harry Chapin
- Mickey Gilley
- Debbie Harry
- Jerry Reed
- Scott Baio
- Charlie Daniels
- Glen Shorrock
- Lou Rawls
- Shaun Cassidy
- Mel Tillis
- Peter Noone
- Air Supply
- Lisa Hartman
- LaToya Jackson
- Deniece Williams
- Laura Branigan
- Irene Cara
- Chaka Khan
- Julian Lennon
- David Hasselhoff
- Eddie Rabbit
- Jack Wagner
- Melba Moore
- Crystal Gayle
- Mac Davis
- Melissa Manchester
- Ray Parker Jr.
- Boy George
- Luther Vandross
- Stevie Wonder
- Peter Allen
- Burt Bacharach
- Lorenzo Lamas
- Billy Dee Williams
- Gordon Thompson
- Frank Sinatra
- Roy Clark
[edit] Guest performers
- Irene Cara
- Laura Branigan
- Belinda Carlisle
- Larry Graham
- Chuck Berry
- Stevie Ray Vaughan
- Nicolette Larson
- Amii Stewart
- The Village People
- Blondie
- Rita Coolidge
- Linda Ronstadt
- Rod Stewart
- Natalie Cole
- The Spinners
- Christopher Cross
- The S.O.S. Band
- Hall and Oates
- Leo Sayer
- The Commodores
- Pete Townshend
- Johnny Rivers
- Andy Gibb
- Paul Simon
- Dire Straits
- Grace Jones
- Ritchie Havens
- Dottie West
- The Pointer Sisters
- Ricky Nelson
- Captain & Tennille
- Con Funk Shun
- Sheena Easton
- A Taste of Honey
- Yarborough & Peoples
- Fleetwood Mac
- Andrae Crouch
- Rick Springfield
- Dr. Hook
- Don McLean
- Crystal Gayle
- Sister Sledge
- Madonna
- "Weird Al" Yankovic
- Dolly Parton
[edit] Trivia
- The Solid Gold Dancers were featured in the holiday movie Scrooged, though by the time the movie opened, the show had already been cancelled for a few months.
- Sum41 made a music video that features Solid Gold and the dancers, with the band being filmed into a green screen to make it look like they were in the show.
- Green Day quotes ironically this program on their song "I want to be on TV" from their B-Side album Shenanigans.
- Los Angeles radio personalities Robert W. Morgan and Charlie O'Donnell were the off-screen announcers during the duration of this series.
- Solid Gold was produced by Brad Lachman and Bob Banner in association with Operation Prime Time and Paramount Television.