The Clay Cole Show

The Clay Cole Show (1959-1968) was a rock music television show based in New York City, hosted by Clay Cole.

In 1959, New York City was the center of rock ‘n’ roll – The Brill Building songwriters, subway a cappella groups (later dubbed doo-wop groups by DJ Gus Gossert), mom-and-pop record labels, The Apollo Theater, and The Copa. New York became the port of disembarkation – the Plymouth Rock to the invading Brit Boy-Bands. New York was home to The Ed Sullivan Show and The Clay Cole Show. "When we first came to America, we were told we must do Clay Cole and Ed Sullivan," said Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits. "Trouble is, we didn't know which was which."

First on WNTA (Ch 13 - now WNET) in September 1959 as Rate the Records, within two months the format was changed, and an hour-long Saturday-night show was added. In the summer months, the show was expanded to an hour, six nights a week, live from Palisades Amusement Park, where Chubby Checker first performed and danced "The Twist." When WNTA's licence was sold to a public broadcasting foundation, the show moved to WPIX (Ch 11) where for five years it was wildly successful, thanks to first-time guest appearances of the Rolling Stones (on a program with one other guest, The Beatles), Neil Diamond, Dionne Warwick, Simon & Garfunkel, Richie Havens, Tony Orlando, Blood, Sweat & Tears and The Rascals. Clay produced a full hour with just one guest, Tony Bennett. Clay's all-star, ten-day Christmas Show at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater holds the all-time box-office record for that 4000+ seat theater, second only to Radio City Music Hall.

Clay Cole was the first to introduce stand-up comics such as Richard Pryor, George Carlin, and Fannie Flagg to a teen audience. He was the first to produce a full hour of all-black performers, his historic Salute to Motown. He introduced music videos and disco (Clay Cole’s Disk-O-Tek aired in 1965, twelve years before Saturday Night Fever). Also as his sidekick on his show was future actor Chuck McCann.

In 1968, at the height of his show's popularity, Clay, unhappy with the shift in pop music to psychedelic acid rock and heavy metal, simply walked away. Channel 11 erased all the historic tapes in a cost-cutting move; only one tape is known to exist. [1] (NOTE: The one known tape clip shown here is from a 1958 show, "Al Rucker & The Seven Teens" broadcast on WJAR-TV, Providence, RI.)

Clay Cole's pop culture memoir of the early years of rock 'n' roll and live television, "Sh-Boom! The Explosion of Rock 'n' Roll (1953-1968)" published by Morgan James, was released October 2009.

See also

• Buddy Deane Show
• Connecticut Bandstand
• Groovy Show
• Jocko's Rocketship
• The Milt Grant Show
• Wing Ding
• John Waters
• Brooklyn Paramount Theater

External links

• The Clay Cole Show website
• The Jersey Girls Sing website, Clay Cole Tribute Page