Remember way back when… the main way to get your top of the charts music was the radio, from Casey Kasem if you were discerning. Music on TV was already a staple of the televised airwaves but was mostly only ever performed on variety shows and programs geared around dancing. From time to time you could catch a traditional music video on a talk show but that was about it. Enter Solid gold.
In the year 1979, a pilot episode was released to test the waters, Then in 1980 the program In the beginning, Dionne Warwick hosted the first season of Solid Gold with co-stars comedian Marty Cohen. When Warwick left the series, Marilyn McCoo and Andy Gibb were tapped as co-hosts and puppeteer Wayland Flowers. Solid Gold had many hosts but a constant was the Solid Gold Dancers, although those faces changed as well.
Solid Gold went on weekly for eight years, and honestly I am shocked that it made it that far. Music video programs were a staple by 1983, Friday Night Videos on NBC being a personal favorite, and MTV became a juggernaut in the industry. The early days of the show are something that I remember fondly. Eddie Rabbitt’s “I Love a Rainy Night” sticks out in my mind specifically. I can recall the flavor of the show but other than the Eddie Rabbitt performance I don’t have any other specifics to hang my memories on. What I do know is that I was a regular viewer by the time I was in the sixth grade (1980-81) and it introduced me to some artists that I probably wouldn’t have gotten into.
Oh, plus I had a bit of a crush on Marilyn McCoo. She was always a delight to watch every week, and her voice was enchanting.
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