This Day in ’64: Shindig! Debuts with the Everly Brothers

55 years ago today, one of the most important musical variety series of the ‘60s made its debut on ABC, and while it concluded its run less than two years later, its importance to pop culture of the era remains to this day.

Shindig! was hosted by disc jockey Jimmy O’Neill, a fella who was – let’s be honest – was a complete unknown outside of his base of operations (Los Angeles), but in the long run, it didn’t really matter who hosted the show, since the reason kids tuned in was for the guests. Over the course of its run, Shindig! played host to such luminaries as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Beach Boys, James Brown, The Supremes, The Ronettes, The Righteous Brothers, Lesley Gore, Tina Turner, Sonny and Cher, the Mamas and the Papas, and many more.

The first episode of the series kicked off the run of the series with just as much star power as it continued to pull on a weekly basis over the course of its run, including – as we revealed in the subject of this piece – The Everly Brothers, but Don and Phil were far from the only big names in the lineup. Fortunately for you, the fine folks at TV.com have the full listing of everyone who performed on the episode:

•     "(Up Above My Head) There's Music in the Air" (performed by Jackie and Gayle)
•    "Yes, Indeed" (performed by the Wellingtons and the Blossoms)
•    "Gonna Build a Mountain" (performed by Jackie & Gayle)
•    "(Up Above My Head) There's Music in the Air" reprise (performed by Jackie and Gayle, the Righteous Brothers and the Everly Brothers) (end of medley)
•    Shindig dancers (singing to picture of Bobby Sherman) - "If I Had a Talking Picture of You"
•    Bobby Sherman - "Back Home Again in Indiana"
•    The Wellingtons – "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena"
•    Jackie and Gayle - "The Girl from Ipanema"
•    Sam Cooke - "Tennessee Waltz"
•    The Everly Brothers - "You're the One I Love"
•    Donna Loren - "Wishin' and Hopin'"
•    The Righteous Brothers - "This Little Girl of Mine"
•    Alan Sues (comedian doing an imitation of Liberace)
•    Bobby Sherman - "Hello Dolly" (duet with Shindig dancer Maria Ghava)
•    The Everly Brothers - "Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo"
•    Sam Cooke - "Blowing in the Wind"
•    Alan Sues (again, as Liberace)
•    Finale: The Everly Brothers and Sam Cooke - "Lucille" (with closing credits)

Well, we’ll say this much for Shindig!’s debut: they sure knew how to kick off a TV series!