Solid Gold (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Solid Gold is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 syndicated music television series that debuted on September 13, 1980. Like many other shows of its genre, such as American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...

, Solid Gold featured musical performances and various other elements such as music videos. What set Solid Gold apart was a group of dancers who at various points in the program performed various (and sometimes borderline risqué) dances to the top ten hits of the week. Many other specials aired in which the dancers would dance to older pop hits as well. Reviews of the show were not always positive, with The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

 referring to it as "the pop music show that is its own parody...[enacting] mini-dramas...of covetousness, lust and aerobic toning - routines that typically have a minimal connection with the songs that back them up."

The series ran until July 23, 1988 and was usually seen on Saturdays in the early evening. Beginning in Solid Gold's seventh season in 1986 and lasting only until the end of that season, the current year was added to the show's title. For the final season in 1987-88, the program was renamed Solid Gold In Concert and featured more live performances than in the past. For the first four seasons Paramount Television
Paramount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...

 produced the series with Brad Lachman Productions and Bob Banner
Bob Banner
Robert James Banner, Jr. was an American producer, writer and director. From 1967 to 1972 he co-produced The Carol Burnett Show.- Life and career :...

 Associates, and for three additional seasons Paramount co-distributed Solid Gold with MCA Television and Al Masini
Alfred Masini
Alfred Michael "Al" Masini was an American television producer.Masini was born in in Jersey City, New Jersey, and was a three-sport star in college and an Air Force officer during the Korean War....

's Operation Prime Time. Banner became producer of Star Search
Star Search
Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...

 during Solid Golds fourth season and elected to remain there afterward, while Masini folded Operation Prime Time into his Television Program Enterprises in 1987.

From its debut in 1980 until the end of its fourth season, the show was taped at the Golden West Broadcasters
KTLA
KTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...

 studio facility. Beginning in September 1984 Paramount, who had previously owned the Golden West facility in the early days of television, moved production of Solid Gold to its studios with a redesigned set.

At the start of Solid Gold's first season (1980), Michael Miller was chosen by Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....

 to be the show's musical director. Miller stayed on for the entire series and composed the theme song for Solid Gold with Academy Award winning songwriter Dean Pitchford
Dean Pitchford
Dean Pitchford is an American songwriter, screenwriter, director, actor, and novelist. His work has earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for three additional Oscars, two more Golden Globes, seven Grammy Awards and two Tony Awards.-Early life:Pitchford was born in...

, who provided the lyrics. The song, re-recorded various times to reflect ongoing music trends, was performed by the show's hosts (with the exception of the 1984-85 season) at the beginning and end of each program, with the closing theme accompanied by a final routine from the Dancers.

Flashpots

In the Solid Gold '79 pilot and the early episodes of the regular series, the stage had "flashpots" randomly placed and they would be set off at points during performances.

Year-end Top 40 countdown shows

The first episode of the show in January 1980
1980 in television
The year 1980 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1980.For the American TV schedule, see: 1980-81 American network television schedule.-Events:...

 would become a yearly tradition, as they counted down the Top 50 of 1979
1979 in television
The year 1979 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1979.For the American TV schedule, see: 1979-80 American network television schedule.-Events:...

 in a two-hour television pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...

 special, called Solid Gold '79, hosted by Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....

 and Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...

. Solid Gold would return in the fall of 1980, as a weekly series. Of the 8 original Solid Gold '79 dancers only 4 would join the Solid Gold series cast (Darcel Wynne, Deborah Jennsen, Paula Beyers & Alexander Cole). Gayle Crofoot would join the cast in late fall of 1982 replacing dancer Lucinda Dickey. Every year thereafter through 1986
1986 in television
The year 1986 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1986.For the American network television schedule, please see 1986-87 American network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:*September 6 –...

, they would host a two-hour year-end Top 40 countdown show.

All chart information for the Solid Gold countdown was taken from the Radio & Records
Radio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...

 magazine chart lists, which only tracked airplay. As such, the placement of singles on Solid Gold usually did not match Billboard's placement, as at the time Billboard did not have an airplay chart and singles were strictly limited to the magazine's list of its various genres as well as its Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 list.

Solid Gold Hits

In the summer of 1984
1984 in television
This article is a list of television-related events in 1984.-Events:*January 9 – Wendy's "Fluffy Bun" ad first airs, which propels Clara Peller and her "Where's the beef?" catchphrase to national prominence....

, a weekday half-hour format called Solid Gold Hits went into syndication; it was hosted by Grant Goodeve
Grant Goodeve
Grant Goodeve is an American actor and television host. He is best known for playing the role of David, the oldest son, on Eight Is Enough, from 1977 to 1981. He sang the theme song for the show as well...

 and showcased just a general grouping of the hits of the time. The main Solid Gold program was still airing on weekends.

The Solid Gold Hits Dancers were Deborah Jennsen, Raymond Del Barrio
Ramon Del Barrio
Ramon Del Barrio is an American performer, choreographer, dancer and singer. He is sometimes credited as Raymond Del Barrio...

, Cooley Jackson, Tricia McFarlin, Macarena Garandillas, Flo Lyle and Debra Johnson. Jennsen was the lead dancer, even though she was never so credited. She and Cooley both worked on the regular series also. Pam Rossi also was on the show a few episodes.

Hosts and announcers

Solid Gold had several hosts over its eight season run. The longest tenured host was singer Marilyn McCoo
Marilyn McCoo
Marilyn McCoo is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group The 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series Solid Gold...

, who hosted the series for a total of five seasons in two separate stints as host. Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....

, who co-hosted the premiere, was host for two seasons.

The premiere and much of the first season was hosted by Warwick and Marty Cohen, known more commonly as "Partyin' Marty Hardy". In the fall of the 1981
1981 in television
The year 1981 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1981.For the American TV schedule, see: 1981-82 American network television schedule.- Events :...

-1982
1982 in television
The year 1982 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1982.For the American TV schedule, see: 1982-83 American network television schedule.-Events:...

 season, The 5th Dimension's McCoo and Andy Gibb
Andy Gibb
Andy Gibb was an English singer and teen idol, and the youngest brother of the family whose other male siblings formed the Bee Gees: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb.-The early years:...

 took over hosting duties. McCoo stayed on as host for the 1982
1982 in television
The year 1982 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1982.For the American TV schedule, see: 1982-83 American network television schedule.-Events:...

-1983
1983 in television
The year 1983 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1983.For the American TV schedule, see: 1983-84 United States network television schedule.-Events:...

 season and the 1983-84 season, hosting with Rex Smith
Rex Smith
Rex Smith is an American actor and singer. Smith debuted in the Broadway play Grease in 1978. He is noted for his role as Jesse Mach in the 1985 television series Street Hawk, as well as being a singer and stage actor. During the late 1970s, Smith was popular as a teen idol...

 in the first of those two years and alone the second. In September 1984
1984 in television
This article is a list of television-related events in 1984.-Events:*January 9 – Wendy's "Fluffy Bun" ad first airs, which propels Clara Peller and her "Where's the beef?" catchphrase to national prominence....

, Weekly Top 40
Rick Dees Weekly Top 40
Rick Dees' Weekly Top 40 is an internationally-syndicated radio program created and hosted by American radio personality Rick Dees. It is currently heard on over 200 radio stations worldwide and the American Forces Network. It is distributed domestically by Citadel Media Networks and...

 host Rick Dees
Rick Dees
Rigdon Osmond "Rick" Dees III is an American comedic performer, entertainer, and radio personality, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown and for the novelty song "Disco Duck." He is a People's Choice Award recipient, a Grammy-nominated...

 became host of Solid Gold. Despite the addition of more comedy bits to the program, Dees was not as popular as his predecessors and left the series at midseason. The producers relied on a rotating guest host arrangement for the remainder of the 1984-85 season.

Dionne Warwick returned for the 1985-1986 season, which was her last year as host of the program. After taking two seasons off, Marilyn McCoo once again replaced Warwick as host in September 1986. She was joined as host by former MTV VJ Nina Blackwood
Nina Blackwood
Nina Blackwood is an American disc jockey and music journalist, who was the first of the original five MTV VJs. She has also been an actress and model.-Early life and career:...

 and comedian Arsenio Hall
Arsenio Hall
Arsenio Hall is an American actor, comedian, and former talk show host. He is best known for his talk show The Arsenio Hall Show, which ran between 1989 and 1994, and his roles in the films Coming to America and Harlem Nights.Hall is also known for his appearance as Alan Thicke's sidekick on the...

, and all three presided over Solid Gold until its eventual cancellation in 1988.

For the first six seasons of Solid Gold, Los Angeles area DJ Robert W. Morgan
Robert W. Morgan
Robert Wilbur Morgan was an award-winning morning radio personality best known for his work at several stations in Los Angeles, California, in particular KHJ-AM....

 was the show's announcer. He was replaced in September 1986 by former Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...

 announcer Charlie O'Donnell
Charlie O'Donnell
Charles John "Charlie" O'Donnell was an American radio and television announcer, primarily known for his work on game shows...

. At the time, in addition to his game show announcing duties for Barris Industries and The $100,000 Pyramid
Pyramid (game show)
Pyramid is an American television game show which has aired several versions. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted March 26, 1973 and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series...

 O'Donnell was announcing for another weekend music program, ABC's American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...

, which Solid Gold had many similarities with except for Bandstand not having the dance crew Solid Gold employed. For the final Solid Gold In Concert season, veteran game show announcer John Harlan
John Harlan (announcer)
John Harlan is an American television announcer who has worked on numerous television projects for over 40 years, particularly game and variety shows....

 served as the announcer; American Bandstand moved into syndication in September 1987 and O'Donnell chose to keep his position on Bandstand instead of staying on Solid Gold.

The Solid Gold Dancers

The weekly one-hour show played segments from the Top 10 charting songs accompanied by the Solid Gold Dancers. Darcel Wynne
Darcel Wynne
Darcel Leonard Wynne , sometimes credited as simply Darcel, is an African-American dancer, choreographer, author and producer, best known for heading the "Solid Gold Dancers" on the syndicated 1980s music series Solid Gold.Darcel started dancing professionally at the age of 13...

 was the principal dancer on Solid Gold during her five-year reign. She appeared on the show from 1980 to 1984, took most of the 1984-1985 season off and rejoined the cast for 1985-1986. In 1986, Darcel had many speaking roles on Solid Gold, regularly announcing the countdown re-caps towards the end of the show. Wynne and most of the other dancers left the program at the end of that season.

The last appearance of the Solid Gold Dancers in media was not on Solid Gold itself, but rather in the 1988 motion picture Scrooged
Scrooged
Scrooged is a 1988 American comedy film, a modernization of Charles Dickens' novella, A Christmas Carol. The film was produced and directed by Richard Donner, and the cinematography was by Michael Chapman. The screenplay was written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue...

. The movie, which premiered in November 1988, was scripted and filmed before Solid Gold was officially cancelled.

However, on January 4, 2011, three of the Solid Gold Dancers (Darcel Wynne, Deborah Jenssen & Lezlie Mogell) appeared together for the first time in almost 23 years as they competed on the new TV show Live to Dance
Live to Dance
Live to Dance was a United States television reality program and dance competition on the CBS network. Dancers from all over the country auditioned for Live to Dance in "specially constructed Dance Domes"...

. They advanced to the next round of competition.

The choreographers who plotted out the dancers' routines over the years included Kevin Carlisle, Anita Mann and Lester Wilson
Lester Wilson
Lester Wilson was an American dancer and choreographer. Wilson attended the Juilliard School. Bob Fosse cast him in a 1963 revival of Pal Joey at the New York City Center. Wilson toured London with Sammy Davis, Jr. in "Golden Boy". Lester's best known choreography was the 1977 movie Saturday...

; the last of these had also staged and choreographed the musical numbers for Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...

.

Guest performers and the usage of the Top 10

At times, artists who had a single among the week's Top 10 appeared as guest performers. Often the vocals were lip-synchronized, or "lip-synced"; rarely they were performed live. For the live performances, Michael Miller, the Musical Director, would either record the backing instrumental tracks with his Solid Gold Band or with the artist's band, and then the singers would sing live on stage at the taping. One of the more prominent guests to receive this treatment was Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...

, who performed "Up Where We Belong" on Solid Gold several times with Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...

, as well as one solo performance of his song "Seven Days". Celebrities also occasionally served duty as guest hosts, and all the duets that Dionne, Marilyn, Andy or Rex ever performed with their guest hosts (which Michael Miller arranged & produced) were done live. During the 1986-1987 season, the Top 10 was no longer accompanied with dancing from the Solid Gold Dancers but instead was simply listed halfway through the show.

Awards

Solid Gold won Robert A. Dickinson three Primetime Emmy Awards for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lighting Direction|Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Series (two of which were co-won by Frank Olivas). Choreographer Anita Mann
Anita Mann
Anita Mann is an Emmy awarding winning choreographer, as well as a dancer and actress. Mann has been honored by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as one of America's top five contemporary choreographers...

 was also nominated twice (1985 and 1986) for Outstanding Choreography
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography.-Award winners:1950s* 1955 June Taylor – The Jackie Gleason Show* 1956 Tony Charmoli – Your Hit Parade* 1959 Hermes Pan – An Evening with Fred Astaire1970s...

.

Pop culture references

  • A September 2007 episode of the sketch-comedy show Saturday Night Live
    Saturday Night Live
    Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...

     featured a satirical promotion for a supposed "Best of Solid Gold" DVD
    DVD
    A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

    , with the announcer stating, "enjoy as the Solid Gold dancers sexy-shake it to some of the most undanceable songs ever written," before showing the dancers dancing to "We Built This City
    We Built This City
    "We Built This City" is the title of a song written by Bernie Taupin, Martin Page, Dennis Lambert, and Peter Wolf, and originally recorded by the American pop rock group Starship and released as its debut single on August 1, 1985....

    ".
  • The animated internet talk show This Spartan Life
    This Spartan Life
    This Spartan Life is an award-winning talk show created by Bong + Dern Productions and produced and directed by Chris Burke, who hosts the show under the pseudonym Damian Lacedaemion...

     features the "Solid Gold Elite Dancers" as the show's equivalent to a talent segment.
  • The music video for Sum 41's
    Sum 41
    Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. The band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of members Deryck Whibley , Tom Thacker , Jason McCaslin and Steve Jocz .In 1999, the band signed an international record deal with Island Records...

     "We're All to Blame
    We're All to Blame
    "We're All to Blame" is the title of a song recorded by Canadian group Sum 41. It was released in August 2004 as first single from Chuck.-Content:...

    " parodies Solid Gold and features the Solid Gold Dancers via CGI.
  • In an episode of The Golden Girls
    The Golden Girls
    The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...

     (Season 2-Episode 18-Aired: 2/14/1987) character Dorothy Zbornak
    Dorothy Zbornak
    Dorothy Hollingsworth , is a fictional character from the TV series The Golden Girls, portrayed by Bea Arthur for 7 years and 183 episodes. Dorothy was the strong, sarcastic, sometimes intimidating, and arguably most grounded of the four women in the house...

     (Bea Arthur) finds out her new boyfriend is a priest
    Priest
    A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

    . When he tells her she looks lovely in her low-cut, sequined blouse, she quips, "I look like the mother of a Solid Gold dancer!"
  • In the 1990 Babes
    Babes
    Babes is an American situation comedy series that ran for one season on the Fox Television Network from September 13, 1990 to August 10, 1991. It was created by Gail Parent and executive produced by Dolly Parton and Sandy Gallin's Sandollar Productions for Twentieth Century Fox Television...

     episode, "Bend Me Shape Me," Darlene Gilbert (Susan Peretz
    Susan Peretz
    Susan Peretz was an American actress, best known for her performances in film and on television. Among others, she appeared in Dog Day Afternoon, Melvin and Howard, Swing Shift, and Oh, God! You Devil....

    ) makes a reference to the show after seing a workout tape that her sister Charlene (Wendie Jo Sperber
    Wendie Jo Sperber
    Wendie Jo Sperber was an American actress, best known for her performances in the films I Wanna Hold Your Hand , Bachelor Party and Back to the Future as well as the television sitcom Bosom Buddies .-Life:Sperber was born in Hollywood and aimed for a performing-arts career from high school onward...

    ) bought, saying that the instructor on the tape made them look like "Fellini's Solid Gold" while trying to follow her lead.
  • In a 3rd season episode of 30 Rock
    30 Rock
    30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...

     titled "The Ones" Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) mentions that her prom night ended with "Eating ice cream and watching Solid Gold in my Basement."
  • In episode AABF20 of The Simpsons
    The Simpsons
    The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

     ("Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo", original airdate May 16, 1999), when Chuck Garabedia asks the audience, "Are you tired of missing out on the good things in life -- family vacations, jet packs, Solid Gold dancers?", Homer leans in to Marge and says, "There's only three left in the world."
  • In a 2nd season episode of The Cleveland Show
    The Cleveland Show
    The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...

    titled "Cleveland Live", he introduces the show with "The Original Solid Gold Dancers."
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