I dig "Shindig!"

On the air from late 1964 to early 1966 "Shindig!" was ABCs high-speed version of "American Bandstand". A fast-paced rock´n roll show which featured back-to-back appearances by British and American artists.









In the mid-sixties the show was setting new standards in its non-stop presenatation (only interrupted by commercials, which were mostly self-made and a part of the show) and its appearance to be a "live"-show.
In fact most of the performances were specially pre-recorded live or alternative versions, which were then "mimed" by the performers.

Another novelty must have been the co-existence of black and white artists in the same show, and I guess that the combination of Go-Go Dancers and Rock´n Roll artists must have been as exotic back then as it seems now.

Here are three "Shindig!"-clips which I edited with Omnisio. It features great perfomances by otherwise slightly obiquitous artists like James Brown and Tina Turner. Check a smashing duet between Tina and Marvin Gaye, doing a mash-up of "Money" and "Doggone". Then of course there is the hilarious milk-commercial which has the kids digging the white juice as if it was...well, something different.



"Shindig!" was apparantly quite trendsetting as other broadcasters quickly threw similar shows on the air. It was probably this abundance of Rock´n Roll programming that caused the ratings to wane.

In January 1966 "Shindig!" was over. It was replaced by "Batman"!

More info on "Shindig!" at Shindi-pedia