''The Milt Grant Show'' was a

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teen dance party program aired on

WTTG WTTG (channel 5) is a television station in Washington, D.C., airing programming from the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV outlet WDCA (channel 20). WTTG and WDCA share ...

from 1956 to 1961. It was hosted by former radio deejay Milt Grant (1923–2007), who recognized the untapped potential of the teen rock and roll music market, and convinced the management to let him host a dance party show - but only if he sold the advertising himself. The show originated from the Raleigh Hotel. It aired at 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and at noon on Saturday. According to a ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' article, "each show began with Mr. Grant calling 'Hi, kids!' " 'Hi, Milt,' they answered.' " 'What's our favorite drink?' " 'Pepsi!' they shouted, in an early example of embedded advertising carefully crafted by Mr. Grant.' " "Milt Grant was one of the most important pioneers of early rock-and-roll in Washington," said Mark Opsasnick, a cultural historian and the author of ''Capitol Rock." "When he started his music show in 1956, there was nothing like it on the

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airwaves." "The introduction of both ''The Milt Grant Record Hop'' on local television n 1956and disc jockey Don Dillard's ''Record Club'' program on local airwaves via WDON were important milestones for local rock and roll. Both men brought rock music into homes of thousands and became local legends for bringing national stars to the Washington, D.C. area and raising record hops to heights of popularity never before attained. Through these and other on-air and in-person promotions, both men provided inspiration for local teen musicians by creating these outlets and sponsoring such events," states Opsasnick on page 67 of ''Capitol Rock''. According to Grant's ''Washington Post'' obituary, published May 3, 2007, "for five years, the ''Milt Grant Show'' was a runaway success and soundly beat the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

-based ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

'' when the two shows ran head-to-head." After the show was canceled in 1961 by new station management,

Metromedia Metromedia (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in 1956 after the DuMo ...

, who did not like the rock-and-roll programming, Grant entered a new phase of his broadcasting career when he formed a corporation that led to the launching of

WDCA WDCA (channel 20), branded on-air as Fox 5 Plus, is a television station in Washington, D.C., airing programming from MyNetworkTV. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox Broadcasting Company ...

, Channel 20, in 1966 on the then-barren UHF band. Grant immersed himself in management and never again appeared on camera as a personality. In 1990, he formed

Grant Broadcasting Grant Broadcasting System II (also referred to as Grant Communications and Grant Company) was an owner of various television stations in the United States, Based in Roanoke, Virginia. Grant Broadcasting was founded in 1990 by Milton Grant (May 1 ...

. Ironically, WDCA and WTTG are now commonly owned by the

Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Corp ...

group.

References

* Schudel, Matt, "Milt Grant; Dance Host, TV Station Entrepreneur", obituary, ''Washington Post'', Thursday, May 3, 2007, page B-7. {{DEFAULTSORT:Milt Grant Show Dance television shows Local music television shows in the United States 1956 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings 1950s American teen television series 1960s American teen television series 1950s American music television series 1960s American music television series Television series about teenagers

See also

References