Six O'Clock Rock
Encyclopedia
Six O'Clock Rock was an Australian Rock and Roll
television
show which showed on ABC Television
from 28 February 1959 to 1962 and was broadcast at 6PM on Saturday evenings.
Inspired by the BBC program 6.5 Special
, it had a similar format to its rival on the TCN9 network, Bandstand
compered by Brian Henderson. This was ABC-TV's very first youth oriented music program, long before the start of Countdown.
The show initially opened with American girl Ricki Merriman as compère and Johnny O'Keefe
and his band the The Dee Jays as guests. After six shows O'Keefe had taken over the hosting role. The show always opened with O'Keefe singing "Weeeeeell, come on everybody its 6 o'clock huh huh huh".
The first episode also featured Reg Lindsay
, The Australian All-Stars, The Graduates, Terry King and Johnny Ball. The dancers in the opening title sequence were Lee Nielson and Milton Mitchell.
Many entertainers got their first big exposure on 6 O'Clock Rock and these included Lonnie Lee
, Barry Stanton and Warren Williams
. The show was produced by Peter Page.
The show originally contained a mixture of Rock and Roll and Jazz, but O'Keefe wanted the show to be all Rock and Roll, so the Jazz content dwindled for a time.
O'Keefe left the show in 1961 to move to ATN-7
to compère the more elaborately produced Johnny O'Keefe Show. 6 O'Clock Rock closed in 1962 after having moved to a 'softer' format with O'Keefe's departure, suffering from greater competition from O'Keefe's new show on 7 and Bandstand on 9.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show which showed on ABC Television
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
from 28 February 1959 to 1962 and was broadcast at 6PM on Saturday evenings.
Inspired by the BBC program 6.5 Special
Six-Five Special
The Six-Five Special is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain.-Description:...
, it had a similar format to its rival on the TCN9 network, Bandstand
Bandstand (Australia)
Bandstand was an Australian musical/variety television show which screened from November 1958 to 1972. It was produced at the studios of TCN-9 in Sydney and eventually became a national program as Nine Network expanded into other Australian cities in the early 1960s.Bandstand was created by Nine...
compered by Brian Henderson. This was ABC-TV's very first youth oriented music program, long before the start of Countdown.
The show initially opened with American girl Ricki Merriman as compère and Johnny O'Keefe
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...
and his band the The Dee Jays as guests. After six shows O'Keefe had taken over the hosting role. The show always opened with O'Keefe singing "Weeeeeell, come on everybody its 6 o'clock huh huh huh".
The first episode also featured Reg Lindsay
Reg Lindsay
Reginald John Lindsay OAM was an Australian country music singer who won three Golden Guitar Awards and wrote more than five hundred songs in his fifty-year music career....
, The Australian All-Stars, The Graduates, Terry King and Johnny Ball. The dancers in the opening title sequence were Lee Nielson and Milton Mitchell.
Many entertainers got their first big exposure on 6 O'Clock Rock and these included Lonnie Lee
Lonnie Lee
Lonnie Lee is an Australian singer. He was raised on sheep property in Rowena, New South Wales and has been performing since the mid 1950s. At the peak of his career, Lee had eight national #1 hits and produced five Gold Records...
, Barry Stanton and Warren Williams
Warren Williams (rock musician)
Warren Williams is a rock musician from Australia. In the 1950s, he was a pioneer of Australian rock music, forming the group Warren Williams and the Squares.Williams was a prolific songwriter.- The Squares :...
. The show was produced by Peter Page.
The show originally contained a mixture of Rock and Roll and Jazz, but O'Keefe wanted the show to be all Rock and Roll, so the Jazz content dwindled for a time.
O'Keefe left the show in 1961 to move to ATN-7
ATN-7
ATN is the Sydney flagship television station of the Seven Network in Australia. The licence, issued to a company named Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of Fairfax, was one of the first four licences to be issued for commercial television stations in Australia...
to compère the more elaborately produced Johnny O'Keefe Show. 6 O'Clock Rock closed in 1962 after having moved to a 'softer' format with O'Keefe's departure, suffering from greater competition from O'Keefe's new show on 7 and Bandstand on 9.