| Where the Action Is | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Genre | Musical Rock 'N' Roll Variety |
| Created by | Dick Clark (also host-announcer) |
| Presented by | Linda Scott andSteve Alaimo |
| Opening theme | Action byFreddy Cannon |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 Minutes (1965) 30 Minutes (1965-1967) |
| Production company | Dick Clark Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | June 28, 1965 (1965-6-28) – March 31, 1967 (1967-3-31) |
Where the Action Is is a music-based televisionvariety show that aired in the United States from 1965 to 1967.[1] It was carried by theABC network and aired each weekday afternoon. Created byDick Clark as a spin-off ofAmerican Bandstand,Where the Action Is premiered on June 28, 1965. The show was another step in the then-current trend of entertainment programs that targeted the teenage audience by focusing on pop music, following in the footsteps ofShindig! (premiered in the fall of 1964, also on ABC) andHullabaloo (premiered January 1965 onNBC). Dick Clark's voice could be heard doing the artist introductions, and he sometimes did filmed interviews.
The show was hosted byLinda Scott andSteve Alaimo, who sang numbers between guest performances.[2] Ms. Scott had a few hit singles as a teenager in the early 1960s; she was only 20 when "Action" premiered. Also appearing wereKeith Allison (a Paul McCartney look-alike who later became a member of Paul Revere and the Raiders) andLaura Nyro. Typically, the show featured two or three performers lip-synching their recent hits with a bunch of teenagers clapping and swaying in the background, and a dance segment featuring the Action dancers. There would occasionally be an interview segment. A few episodes featured only one performer, such asHerman's Hermits orJames Brown.
Originally intended as a summer replacement and broadcast at 2 P.M. EDT, the show was successful enough for it to continue throughout the 1965–66 TV season, with a change in time period to 4:30 P.M. Eastern time following the horror soap operaDark Shadows. Both programs attracted a young audience who watched the shows after school. It was in black and white.
The show's theme song, "Action", became a hit single forFreddy "Boom Boom" Cannon, peaking on the charts (#13) in September 1965. Most of these black-and-white telecasts were taped at various locales inSouthern California. A handful of segments were taped elsewhere around the US. The theme song was written by Steve Venet andTommy Boyce. Later, Boyce co-wrote songs forThe Monkees.
The program had its own stable of performers, most notablyPaul Revere & the Raiders, who served as thede facto house band. Easily identified by their Revolutionary War costumes, the band had several Top 40 hits in the '60s thanks in part to the exposure they received on "Where The Action Is". Their lead singer,Mark Lindsay, with his signature ponytail, became one of the most popular teenage idols of the decade, gracing the covers of countlessteen magazines. The Raiders also recorded the "Action" theme song for their 1965 album "Just Like Us" for which Dick Clark wrote the liner notes. When the group departed the show in 1966, they were replaced byThe Robbs andThe Hard Times. Other regular performers onAction included the dance troupe Pete Menefee and the Action Kids. Individual episodes featured a wide range of guest performers, as detailed below. Tina Mason was a regular singer being promoted by Dick Clark on the show. She met on the set and later marriedPhil Volk, the bass player for Paul Revere and the Raiders. They married on the second anniversary of the show's premiere, June 27, 1967.
The weekday program was cancelled on March 31, 1967, with the network giving its local affiliates the time slot. However, members of the program's mainstay bandPaul Revere and the Raiders (with lead vocalist Mark Lindsay) hosted very similar follow-up shows: both Revere and Lindsay hostedHappening '68, a Saturday afternoon follow-up toAmerican Bandstand, and a weekday version of the same show,It's Happening, from 1968 to 1969. Both shows were produced by Dick Clark's production company for ABC.
