Music Scene (1969–1970)

"Music Scene" was presented by ABC TV in a 45 minute format, Monday evenings 7:30-8:15, a unique time slot that pitted it against CBS' "Gunsmoke" at 7:30PM and NBCs "Laugh In" at 8PM . The ... See full summary »

Stars:

David Steinberg, Chris Bokeno, Larry Hankin

Cast

Series cast summary:
David Steinberg	...	Himself - Host (14 episodes, 1969-1970)
Chris Bokeno	...	Herself - Host (6 episodes, 1969)
Larry Hankin	...	Himself - Host (6 episodes, 1969)
Paul Reid Roman	...	Himself - Host (6 episodes, 1969)
Christopher Ross	...	Himself - Host (6 episodes, 1969)
Lily Tomlin	...	Herself - Host (6 episodes, 1969)

Storyline

"Music Scene" was presented by ABC TV in a 45 minute format, Monday evenings 7:30-8:15, a unique time slot that pitted it against CBS' "Gunsmoke" at 7:30PM and NBCs "Laugh In" at 8PM . The series had several hosts including Paul Anka, Lily Tomlin, Groucho Marx and David Steinerg who often served as host, writer, and comedian. This series presented a wider variety of musical guests than did ABCs earlier series "Shindig(1964). The main theme, as with "Shindig" was the hits of the day. In that tradition, "Music Scene" featured such guests as Crosby Stills and Nash, Janis Joplin, James Brown, Judy Collins, and The Rascals as well as The Beatles' in the form of their 1969 video, "The Ballad Of John And Yoko" . Early Rock, Adult Contemporary , R n B and Country were also featured with the appearances of Jerry Lee Lewis, The Everly Brothers,Tony Bennett, Eydie Gorme , Lou Rawls, Jerry Butler, Sonny James and others

---

Genres:

Music

---

Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1969 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harris/Fritz Productions, American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Gary Smith Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White (early episodes) Color (later episodes)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The show began with six co-hosts (David Steinberg, Chris Bokeno, Larry Hankin, Paul Reid Roman, Christopher Ross and Lily Tomlin) who would also do comedic skits between musical numbers. This format lasted for 6 episodes. Beginning with the first episode in November, David Steinberg became the sole host with different special guest hosts. Unfortunately, this format change did not bring new viewers, and the show was canceled less than three months later.

---

Connections

Featured in Reflections of Evil (2002)

User Reviews

An Updated Version of Shindig

This was one of the more interesting attempts to put rock and roll on prime time. In fact, the first episode featured performances by both the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, however the Beatles appearance was nothing more than a promotional film. However, this was a show that not only featured rock and roll, but it even featured "old fogies" like Moms Mabley, Pete Seeger and Della Reese. Also, this was the fist show to showcase the talents of a young David Steinberg and a young Lily Tomlin. Too bad that it had a couple of things that helped to ensure its short run. One is the fact that it ran not only opposite "Gunsmoke", but it also ran opposite "Rowan and Martin's Laugh In". Ironically, Lily Tomlin would achieve her first big success on "Laugh-In". Another thing that helped seal its fate was its unusual running time. Usually, most shows run a half an hour to an hour. However, this show ran for 45 minutes, which probably worked against it. Too bad though. With all those factors running against it it wound up killing what could have been a great show.