Lennon insisted they be paid as individuals. He also spent many years in a battle royale with the father/agent of the Lennon Sisters Welk wanted to pay them as a single act, whereas Mr. He famously fired one Champagne Lady for "showing too much leg", only relenting when fan mail poured in supporting the singer (whose offending outfit had been ridiculously modest even for the time). Years later, though, he used it as the title of his autobiography.) He was later parodied in MAD magazine and on Saturday Night Live and SCTV.Īlthough audiences knew him as the fatherly host with a quirky grasp of the language, he could be a stern taskmaster when dealing with performers. (Freberg parodied Welk's poor English using the phrase "wunnerful, wunnerful", which Welk denied he'd ever said.
Support JSTOR Daily! Join our new membership program on Patreon today.Right from the beginning he found himself the target of satirists such as Stan Freberg, whose ferocious sendup of the bandleader hurt him. History-making appearances by the Beatles and Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan Show, and later shows like Soul Train, Midnight Special, and of course MTV, have shown that then and now, Forman writes, “audiences enthusiastically greeted the opportunity to see musical performances from a wide array of viewing locales, including the home.” For example, bandleader Ray Anthony, according to Forman, “expressed his disdain for the pressures exerted by television producers and programme sponsors who he deemed insensitive to musicians’ interests.” And even after MTV made its debut, artists voiced “exasperation at the new industry requirements for music video production.” In a 1983 article, film critic David Ehrenstein found music videos “Shallow, derivative, gimmick-laden…three-minute clumps of visual noise.”ĭespite these misgivings, music on television has endured.
#LAWRENCE WELK GOOD NIGHT SONG TV#
Shows like this, Forman writes, gave television the air of “a potential star-making medium.” The 1950s would also see the success of live shows from ballrooms, ranging from country shows like Ozark Jubilee and Grand Ole Opry to the easy-listening stylings of Lawrence Welk and His Champagne Music.Īlthough TV helped bring musical acts into living rooms, not everyone was on board. It wasn’t strictly because of a love of music, Forman explains: music shows “were seen as less expensive options than elaborate dramas and other highly scripted programming.” So with an eye on cost savings, this era also saw the rise of musical game shows like Jukebox Jury and Name That Tune, as well as amateur shows like Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts and Doorway to Fame. Networks were on the hunt for performers who could translate their stage acts to TV. As Stone told a reporter in 1950, “One night on TV is worth weeks at the Paramount.” to 7:15 p.m., which eventually led to more in-person appearances and a record contract.
One musical group, the Kirby Stone Quintet, had a regular slot on CBS each weekday from 7:00 p.m. The doors were wide open, and over the next few years, musicians of all kinds began appearing on television. “One night on TV is worth weeks at the Paramount.” Petrillo negotiated a three-year-contract, which allowed “live music performances on television while ensuring parity between the television wage scale and that of radio.” Two days after the deal was announced, “the first live musical performances of the post-war period were broadcast”-Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra appearing on CBS, and an hour and half later, Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony. On March 18, 1948, union president James C. Why would a music lover go to a nightclub to see an act if they could see the same performance from the comfort (and lower price) of home? The American Federation of Musicians recognized that while there was going to be a loss in income because of TV, it also represented an opportunity for negotiation. In the early days of television, there were some concerns about televising musical acts. As media historian Murray Forman explains, “music has always been deemed essential to the character and success of television.” Long before there was a twenty-four-hour channel devoted to televising music, musicians and TV executives both understood that the two mediums could be a successful match. And although MTV may have felt electric and new in those early days, it was only the latest (but likely the flashiest) partnership of music and television.
This year, MTV celebrates its fortieth anniversary.