The Big Beat scandal
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The Big Beat scandal was a national television controversy in the United States, mainly concerned with the racial issue focusing on Black American and White individuals dancing interracially while The Big Beat was broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) Network, which was hosted by Alan Freed.
History
[edit]The Big Beat was the first interracial teen show broadcast in New York City which was debuted on May 4, 1957. On July 19 the same year, New York-based American black teen singer Frankie Lymon was dancing with a white girl, causing the outrage in TV stations at the Southern states. In the Southern states, racial segregation was "still in effect" since the civil rights movement was at its earliest stages. Few weeks after the incident, the show was immediately cancelled after four episodes. Therefore, the ABC executives "buckled under the pressure."[1][2][3]
Following the incident regarding interracial dance between Frankie Lymon and a white girl, Freed was often featured in magazines and newspapers which he wore "bright scarlet tuxedos or outsized window-plaid sport coats punctuated with a wispy silk bow tie favored by African American or white hillbilly artists." Therefore, Freed was fired from the ABC.[4]
According to an American Bandstand producer to New York Post, the interracial dance between Frankie Lymon and a white girl "contributed to American Bandstand's segregation." It is also revealed that The Milt Grant Show faced similar issues two months prior to the following incident.[5]
Regardless of the controversies among Southern Americans who were working in TV stations, Freed was inducted along with Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "in its very first class" in 1986 because he promoted the interracial dance.[6]
It appears that the clip of final episode does not exist, but the audio files remain online.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Johnson, Gary. "Frankie Lymon's Tombstone Blues 2: The Downslide - Michigan Rock and Roll Legends". Michigan Rock and Roll Legends. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ MacGregor, Jeff. "Teen Idol Frankie Lymon's Tragic Rise and Fall Tells the Truth About 1950s America". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ Robbins, Michael W. (2001). Brooklyn: A State of Mind. New York, NY: Workman Publishing Company, Inc. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-7611-1635-6. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ Nayman, Louis (24 April 2012). "Rock 'n' Roll Payola: Dick Clark and Alan Freed". In These Times. the Institute for Public Affairs. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Delmont, Matthew F. "Dancing Around the "Glaring Light of Television": Black Teen Dance Shows in the South". Southern Spaces. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Mandell, Jonathan (24 August 2023). "Rock and Roll Man. Another bio jukebox musical?". New York Theater. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Welch, Chris (11 February 2022). "The Big Beat: Alan Freed, Channel 5 and TV's first interracial teen dance show". FOX 5. FOX Television Stations. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
External links
[edit]- Spots and Auditions at Alan Freed's official website.