The Big Beat (TV program)

The Big Beat is an American music and dance television program broadcast on the ABC Network in 1957.[1] It was hosted by Alan Freed, and subsequently by Richard Hayes. The program debuted on May 4, 1957, four months before American Bandstand, making it the United States' "first nationally-televised rock 'n roll dance show".[2]


The Wall Street Journal summarized the end of the program as follows. "Four episodes into “The Big Beat,” Freed’s prime-time TV music series on ABC, the show was canceled after black singer Frankie Lymon was seen on TV dancing with a white audience member".[3]

History

The Big Beat was the first interracial teen show broadcast in New York City which was debuted on May 4, 1957. The show was broadcast on Fridays from 10 to 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Guest stars included Connie Francis, the Everly Brothers, Don Rondo, Andy Williams, Chuck Berry, Bobby Darin, Fats Domino, Clyde McPhatter, Gogi Grant, and Jerry Lee Lewis.[4]

The fourth episode caused an uproar 1957 when it showed Frankie Lymon, a black teen star, dancing with a white woman.[1] Two more episodes were aired[5] but the show was suddenly cancelled. A local version continued on WNEW-TV New York.

Controversy

On July 19, 1957, New York-based American black teen singer Frankie Lymon was dancing with a white girl, causing the outrage in TV stations at the Southern states. In the Southern states, racial segregation was "still in effect" since the civil rights movement was at its earliest stages. Few weeks after the incident, the show was immediately cancelled after four episodes. Therefore, the ABC executives "buckled under the pressure."[6][7][8]

Following the incident regarding interracial dance between Frankie Lymon and a white girl, Freed was often featured in magazines and newspapers which he wore "bright scarlet tuxedos or outsized window-plaid sport coats punctuated with a wispy silk bow tie favored by African American or white hillbilly artists." Therefore, Freed was fired from the ABC.[9]

According to an American Bandstand producer to New York Post, the interracial dance between Frankie Lymon and a white girl "contributed to American Bandstand's segregation." It is also revealed that The Milt Grant Show faced similar issues two months prior to the following incident.[10]

Regardless of the controversies among Southern Americans who were working in TV stations, Freed was inducted along with Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "in its very first class" in 1986 because he promoted the interracial dance.[11]

It appears that the clip of final episode does not exist, but the audio files remain online.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b Altman, Billy (2001). Brooklyn: A State of Mind. Workman Publishing Company. p. 160. ISBN 978-0761116356.
  2. ^ "May 4, 1957…America's First Prime Time Rock n Roll Show Debuts". eyesofageneration.com. May 4, 2016.
  3. ^ "Moondog's Final Sign Off". WSJ. 20 January 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  4. ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. p. 97. ISBN 0-345-42923-0.
  5. ^ Sagolla, Lisa Jo (September 12, 2011). Rock 'n' Roll Dances of the 1950s. Performing Arts. p. 74. ISBN 978-0313365560.
  6. ^ Johnson, Gary. "Frankie Lymon's Tombstone Blues 2: The Downslide - Michigan Rock and Roll Legends". Michigan Rock and Roll Legends. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  7. ^ MacGregor, Jeff. "Teen Idol Frankie Lymon's Tragic Rise and Fall Tells the Truth About 1950s America". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  8. ^ Robbins, Michael W. (2001). Brooklyn: A State of Mind. New York, NY: Workman Publishing Company, Inc. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-7611-1635-6. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  9. ^ Nayman, Louis (24 April 2012). "Rock 'n' Roll Payola: Dick Clark and Alan Freed". In These Times. the Institute for Public Affairs. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  10. ^ Delmont, Matthew F. "Dancing Around the "Glaring Light of Television": Black Teen Dance Shows in the South". Southern Spaces. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  11. ^ Mandell, Jonathan (24 August 2023). "Rock and Roll Man. Another bio jukebox musical?". New York Theater. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  12. ^ Welch, Chris (11 February 2022). "The Big Beat: Alan Freed, Channel 5 and TV's first interracial teen dance show". FOX 5. FOX Television Stations. Retrieved 28 August 2024.