Upbeat (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Upbeat was a syndicated musical variety show
produced in Cleveland, Ohio
, United States, at WEWS-TV
that aired from 1964 to 1971 which spotlighted on the performers and their hit songs of the 1960s Top 40 pop music genre which was common on such AM radio stations as WIXY
in Cleveland and CKLW
in Windsor, Ontario
, the dominant formatted stations in that region during that particular time.
As such, the series was possibly inspired by Ready Steady Go!
(a predecessor series produced in England by ITV
) and by American Bandstand
as many of the featured performers would often lip-sync to their hit singles (without the audience dancing or similar elements), and was a predecessor of Shindig!
which aired on ABC
from 1964 to 1966 and Hullabaloo on NBC
from 1965 to 1966.
The introduction of the program commenced with a studio musician shouting "HEY LET'S GO WITH THE UPBEAT SHOW!" as the in-house band, Dave C and The Sharptones, would play the introductory theme song with the program's main title logo (done in Viking stencil font) slowly exploding and coming back together again in a quasi-animated frame by frame fashion as the performers were announced for that particular episode. Ironically, the logo was almost similar to the logo of WIXY. The series was aired in black and white from 1964 until 1967, then broadcast in color from 1967 until the series demise in 1971.
in 1966 and one from Expo 67
in Montreal in 1967, bringing with him an entourage of performers from the 1960s Top 40 era.
and Raspberries founder Eric Carmen
, many regional performers gaining national exposure also appeared on the show including Question Mark & the Mysterians, Terry Knight and the Pack
, Mitch Ryder
and The Detroit Wheels, The Bob Seger
System and Cleveland's own groups The Outsiders
and The O'Jays
.
During years when "Go-Go" was popular, the show featured its own go-go girls made up of area young ladies dressed in the popular outfits and footwear of that period.
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
produced in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, United States, at WEWS-TV
WEWS-TV
WEWS-TV, virtual channel 5 , is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio. WEWS has been owned by the E. W. Scripps Company since its inception, and is an affiliate of the ABC television network...
that aired from 1964 to 1971 which spotlighted on the performers and their hit songs of the 1960s Top 40 pop music genre which was common on such AM radio stations as WIXY
WWMK
WWMK — branded Radio Disney AM 1260 — is the Cleveland, Ohio affiliate of Radio Disney. Owned by ABC Radio, the station's studios are located at 175 Ken Mar Industrial Parkway in Broadview Heights, and its five-tower transmitter is located about 2.2 miles away on Snowville Road in front of I-77...
in Cleveland and CKLW
CKLW
CKLW is a 50,000 watt AM radio station broadcasting on 800 kHz and located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and serving Windsor and Detroit. Additionally, its signal can be heard as far west as Belding, Michigan; as far east as Batavia, New York; as far south as Edgewood, Kentucky; and as far...
in Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, the dominant formatted stations in that region during that particular time.
As such, the series was possibly inspired by Ready Steady Go!
Ready Steady Go!
Ready Steady Go! or simply RSG! was one of the UK's first rock/pop music TV programmes. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan was assisted by record producer/talent manager Vicki Wickham, who became the producer. It was broadcast from August 1963 until December 1966...
(a predecessor series produced in England by ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
) and by 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...
as many of the featured performers would often lip-sync to their hit singles (without the audience dancing or similar elements), and was a predecessor of Shindig!
Shindig!
Shindig! was 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 in Los Angeles at the time who also created the show along with his wife Sharon Sheeley and production executive Art Stolnitz....
which aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
from 1964 to 1966 and Hullabaloo on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
from 1965 to 1966.
Brief history
Originally titled as "The Big Five Show" a local program when it premiered in 1964 and was a reference to WEWS Channel 5 and the 5 to 6 pm time slot on Saturday afternoons. When the program became syndicated nationally, stations had the option of airing the program at different times, hence the program's title change and deletion of the Channel 5 and local air time references.The introduction of the program commenced with a studio musician shouting "HEY LET'S GO WITH THE UPBEAT SHOW!" as the in-house band, Dave C and The Sharptones, would play the introductory theme song with the program's main title logo (done in Viking stencil font) slowly exploding and coming back together again in a quasi-animated frame by frame fashion as the performers were announced for that particular episode. Ironically, the logo was almost similar to the logo of WIXY. The series was aired in black and white from 1964 until 1967, then broadcast in color from 1967 until the series demise in 1971.
Don Webster
The program's host, Don Webster, was a familiar face to WEWS viewers. In addition to hosting "Upbeat," Webster also hosted several musical specials, one from Sandusky's Cedar PointCedar Point
Cedar Point is a 364 acre amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, United States on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Erie. Cedar Point is the only amusement park with four roller coasters that are taller than...
in 1966 and one from Expo 67
Expo 67
The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...
in Montreal in 1967, bringing with him an entourage of performers from the 1960s Top 40 era.
Local and area performers
In addition to such local talent as The Rapid Transit, The GTOs, The Grasshoppers, The Baskerville Hounds, Bocky and The Visions, The Damnation of Adam Blessing, The James GangJames Gang
The James Gang was a rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. Though the band was not a huge commercial success, except in the Northeast Ohio area, the fame garnered by guitarist Joe Walsh has since made the group more notable.- History :...
and Raspberries founder Eric Carmen
Eric Carmen
Eric Howard Carmen is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist.He scored numerous hit songs across the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Raspberries , and then with his solo career, including hits such as "All By Myself", "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", "She Did It",...
, many regional performers gaining national exposure also appeared on the show including Question Mark & the Mysterians, Terry Knight and the Pack
Terry Knight and the Pack
Terry Knight and the Pack was, between 1965 and 1967, an American rock band from Flint, Michigan. The band was signed to the Lucky Eleven label throughout its short recording career.-Career:...
, Mitch Ryder
Mitch Ryder
William S. Levise, Jr , better known by his stage name Mitch Ryder, is an American musician who has recorded over two dozen albums in more than four decades.-Career:...
and The Detroit Wheels, The Bob Seger
Bob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...
System and Cleveland's own groups The Outsiders
The Outsiders (American band)
The Outsiders was an American rock and roll band from Cleveland, Ohio, that was founded and led by guitarist Tom King. The band is best known for its Top 5 hit "Time Won't Let Me" in early 1966, which peaked at #5 in the US, but the band had three other hit singles in 1966 and released a total of...
and The O'Jays
The O'Jays
The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1963 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert , Walter Williams , William Powell , Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005...
.
During years when "Go-Go" was popular, the show featured its own go-go girls made up of area young ladies dressed in the popular outfits and footwear of that period.
Headliner performers performing on "Upbeat" (partial listing)
- James BrownJames BrownJames Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
- The WhoThe WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
- Stevie WonderStevie WonderStevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
- The Rolling StonesThe Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
- The First EditionThe First EditionThe First Edition was a country music/rock band. Its stalwart members being Kenny Rogers , Mickey Jones and Terry Williams...
- B.B. King
- The MiraclesThe MiraclesThe Miracles are an American rhythm and blues group from Detroit, Michigan, notable as the first successful group act for Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation . Their single "Shop Around" was Motown's first million-selling hit record, and the group went on to become one of Motown's signature...
- SteppenwolfSteppenwolf (band)Steppenwolf are a Canadian-American rock group that was prominent in the late 1960s. The group was formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by vocalist John Kay, guitarist Michael Monarch, bassist Rushton Moreve, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton after the dissolution of Toronto group The...
- The Pink Floyd
- The Impressions
- Bobby ShermanBobby ShermanRobert Cabot "Bobby" Sherman, Jr. , is an American singer, actor and occasional songwriter, who became a popular teen idol in the late 1960s and early 1970s.He graduated in 1961 from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California...
- LoveLoveLove is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
- The Left BankeThe Left BankeThe Left Banke is an American baroque pop band that formed in New York City in 1965 and disbanded in 1969. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, "Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina"...
- The MonkeesThe MonkeesThe Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
- Otis ReddingOtis ReddingOtis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
with The Bar-KaysBar-KaysThe Bar-Kays are a popular soul, R&B, and funk group who began performing in 1966 and continue to perform today, although with only one original member. The group had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" The Bar-Kays are a popular soul, R&B, and funk group...
(Appeared on December 9, 1967; Redding and 4 members of The Bar-Kays died in a plane crash the next day) - The YardbirdsThe Yardbirds- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...
- Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & TichDave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & TichDave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich , were a British pop/rock group of the 1960s. Two of their single releases sold in excess of one million copies each, and they reached Number One in the UK with the second of them, "The Legend of Xanadu".-Biography:Five friends from Wiltshire, David John Harman,...
- The O'JaysThe O'JaysThe O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1963 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert , Walter Williams , William Powell , Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005...
- The BarbariansThe BarbariansThe Barbarians were an American garage band of the 1960s with a few nationally charted hits. They had their biggest hit with the novelty single "Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?".-History:...
- Blue CheerBlue CheerBlue Cheer was an American psychedelic blues-rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009...
- Jefferson AirplaneJefferson AirplaneJefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
- Little Anthony and the Imperials
- Inez & Charlie Foxx
- Lesley GoreLesley GoreLesley Gore is an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "It's My Party", which she recorded at the age of 16. Following the hit, she became one of the most recognized teen pop singers of the 1960s.- Biography :Gore was born in New York City, New York. She was raised in...
- Frankie ValliFrankie ValliFrankie Valli is an American musician, most famous as frontman of The Four Seasons. He is well-known for his unusually powerful falsetto singing voice...
and The Four SeasonsThe Four Seasons (group)The Four Seasons are an American rock and pop band who became internationally successful in the mid-1960s. The Vocal Group Hall of Fame has stated that the group was the most popular rock band before The Beatles... - Jerry Lee LewisJerry Lee LewisJerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
- Paul Revere and The Raiders
- The Shadows of Knight
- The Music ExplosionThe Music ExplosionThe Music Explosion was an American garage rock band from Mansfield, Ohio, best known for their Top 10 hit, "Little Bit O'Soul", in 1967. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and received gold record status by the R.I.A.A....
- The Fifth Estate (band)The Fifth Estate (band)The Fifth Estate was a rock and roll band, originally formed in Stamford, Connecticut as The D-Men in early 1964.-Early years :...
- Richard and the Young Lions - 2 appearances
- The Velvet UndergroundThe Velvet UndergroundThe Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
- Jerry ButlerJerry Butler (singer)Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
- Jack Blanchard & Misty MorganJack Blanchard & Misty MorganJack Blanchard & Misty Morgan is an American country music duo from Florida. It is composed of guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Jack Blanchard and his wife, keyboardist/vocalist Misty Morgan . The duo recorded for several labels in the 1970s, including the charting albums Birds of a Feather and Two...
- FunkadelicFunkadelicFunkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...