''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert'' is an American television music variety show that ran during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by

Don Kirshner Donald Kirshner (April 17, 1934 – January 17, 2011) was an American music publisher, music consultant, rock music producer, talent manager, and songwriter. Dubbed "the Man with the Golden Ear" by ''Time'', he was best known for managin ...

and syndicated to television stations, initially through Viacom Enterprises, and later through Syndicast. It premiered on September 27, 1973, with a performance by

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

and

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greate ...

; its last episode was in 1981.

History

Kirshner had been executive producer and "creative consultant" on ABC's '' In Concert'' series which debuted with two shows in November and December 1972, in the 11:30 p.m. time slot usually held by ''

The Dick Cavett Show ''The Dick Cavett Show'' is the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including: * ABC daytime, (March 4, 1968 – January 24, 1969) originally titled ''This Morning'' * ABC prime time, Tuesday ...

''. The programs, taped at the Hofstra Playhouse at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

in Hempstead, N.Y., featured performances by

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

;

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

; Seals & Crofts;

Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...

;

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards), as well as Dickey Betts ( ...

;

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

;

Blood, Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is an American jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. BS&T has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and ...

; Poco; The Steve Miller Band; and

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...

. Their rating more than doubled the average rating of ''The Dick Cavett Show'' and even topped NBC's ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

'' in some markets and among viewers under the age of 35. ''In Concert'' became a bi-weekly series in January 1973. "Right now, we have more artists than we know what to do with," Kirshner's music director Wally Gold told ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' late in 1972. "We pay them scale to appear, which is way below what they usually get for a concert, but they know that the publicity is well worth it. So everyone wants to be on. We're getting hundreds of calls. At first, we had to beg the artists to appear. Now they're begging us." In September 1973, Kirshner left ''In Concert''—he received producing credits for three more shows—to launch his own syndicated "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert." The premiere, on September 27, 1973, featured

, taped in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in their first appearance on American TV in more than four years. The program featured many of the popular performers of the day during its run and other notable guests included Rush,

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...

KISS A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

Foghat Foghat are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1971. The band is known for the use of electric slide guitar in its music. Their best known song is the 1975 hit "Slow Ride". The band has released 17 studio albums, including ei ...

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of t ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

and

. Kirshner personally commissioned rock designer Jim Evans to create a special logo for the show. The show was hosted by Kirshner up till the last season. His on-air delivery was described as flat by viewers.

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian musician, actor, and comedian who served as David Letterman's musical director, bandleader, and sidekick on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (1982–1993) and ''Late Show with D ...

often lampooned him in a convincing impersonation on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', which went head-to-head against "Rock Concert" in some cities between 1975 and 1981. In its final season the show was hosted by Kirshner's son and daughter. As with ''The Midnight Special'', ''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert'' was noted for featuring live performances, which was unusual for the period since most television appearances at that time used lip-synching to prerecorded music. Kirshner's show was recorded in

stereo Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

utilizing

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

to broadcast on FM Stereo radio stations and early

Cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television broadcast programming, programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This ...

. The series also occasionally aired vintage footage of older acts such as

Bill Haley & His Comets Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...

and

Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), better known by his stage name Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens died i ...

, which due to the age of the recordings were broadcast in mono. ''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert'' library is owned by SOFA Entertainment and Historic films.

Performers who appeared on ''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert''

10cc 10cc are an English rock music, rock band formed in Stockport, southeast of Manchester, in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians, Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who had written and recorded togethe ...

* A Taste of Honey *

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* Average White Band *

Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...

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* Bachman-Turner Overdrive * Bar Kays *

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* Black Oak Arkansas *

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* Blue Öyster Cult *

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* Brooklyn Dreams * Brownsville Station * Cameo *

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the rhythm and blues, R&B and Rock music, rock band The Animals and the funk band War (band), War. He is regarded as one of the Br ...

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* Irene Cara *

Harry Chapin Harry Forster Chapin (; December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs. He achieved worldwide success in the 1970s. Chapin, a Grammy Award- ...

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Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American Folk music, folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he released five studio albums and numerous singles. During this period, Croce took a series of o ...

* Sarah Dash *

Devo Devo is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs ( Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 ...

Dixie Dregs Dixie Dregs is an American rock band from Augusta, Georgia. Formed in 1970, the band is known for instrumental music that fuses elements of rock, classical music, country music, country, jazz and bluegrass music, bluegrass into an eclectic sou ...

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

* Dr. Hook * Dr. John *

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* Edgar Winter Group *

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* Flying Burrito Brothers *

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Golden Earring Golden Earring were a Dutch rock music, rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as The Tornados. They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on the Dutch chart, reached the top ...

Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in Flint, Michigan, in 1969 by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Don Brewer (drums, vocals) and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved pea ...

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* Hot Tuna *

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* James Gang *

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* Journey *

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* KC and the Sunshine Band * B. B. King *

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* Lenny Williams *

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* Mahogany Rush *

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* Frank Marino *

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* Molly Hatchet * Montrose * Mother's Finest *

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* Marshall Tucker Band *

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* Outlaws *

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* Robert Palmer *

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* Prince & The Revolution * Pure Prairie League with

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* Lou Rawls *

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* Raspberries *

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* Martha Reeves *

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* Vicki Sue Robinson *

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* Rush *

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* Seals & Crofts * Sensational Alex Harvey Band *

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* Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes * Sparks *

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* The Spinners * The Stampeders *

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* Steppenwolf *

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* The Sylvers *

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*Bram Tchaikovsky *The Temptations *Tim Weisberg *T. Rex (band), Marc Bolan and T. Rex *Ike & Tina Turner *UFO (band), UFO *Uriah Heep (band), Uriah Heep *Village People *

*Bay City Rollers *Van Halen *

*Walter Murphy *War (band), War *Weather Report *Wet Willie *Wild Cherry (band), Wild Cherry *Wishbone Ash *Stevie Wonder *Zebra (American band), Zebra

Episode Guide

Season 1 (1973-1974)

Season 2 (1974-1975)

In popular culture

The TV series ''Second City Television, SCTV'' satirized ''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert'' as ''Lee A. Iacocca's Rock Concert'' in an episode of the same name; the premiere of List of SCTV episodes#Season 3, season 3. Dave Thomas (actor), Dave Thomas appeared as Lee Iacocca asking for government help to subsidize the costs of running the show, a satirical take on Chrysler bailout, his asking the government to bail out Chrysler around the same time. The skit also mentions

's satires of him on ''

'' and also has a performance of the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" but sung as "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round a Dodge Omni" sung by him and Tony Orlando (Tony Rosato). The skit appears on the 'Best of the Early Years' DVD. In the Blue Öyster Cult song "The Marshall Plan" from their 1980 album ''Cultösaurus Erectus'', Don Kirshner makes a cameo as himself introducing Johnny (the subject of the song) as if Johnny were a guest on ''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert''.

References

Citations

General sources

*McNeil, Alexander M. (1980). ''Total Television'', New York: Penguin Books, Ltd. .

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 0252784, Don Kirshner's Rock Concert 1970s American late-night television series 1970s American music television series 1970s American variety television series 1973 American television series debuts 1980s American late-night television series 1980s American music television series 1980s American variety television series 1981 American television series endings American English-language television shows Pop music television series Rock music television series First-run syndicated late-night television series