Re: "Red Hot and Blues" - mid 60's local Chicago Dance show -
Posted by:
Diogenes9561
()
Date: February 03, 2012 11:45AM
What a kick, remembering this old show. WCIU was the first Chicago UHF TV station and seemed to have a microscopic budget. But, Don Cornelius' Soul Train ("You can bet your last money, it'll be a stone gas, honey") was 5-6 PM daily, IIRC, and RH&B was 9-10 Fridays.
Both were really cheesy as has been noted, but for us ethnically isolated North Side white kids, it was fascinating.
Hey, Captain, I'd forgotten about Zip's but do you remember the commercials for Don's Cedar Club, too? Don did his own and he was simply godawful in front of the cameras but that was part of the charm of the show. He always brought a couple of "dancers" from the club, too, who couldn't dance for diddly compared to the kids on the show. Or, how about "Joey's, the big store" on West Madison?
I recall Soul Train started off with low budget sponsors, too, like Atlas Brooms and Joe Louis Milk. Was it really 40-odd years ago now? Good memories, good times.