| Six O'Clock Rock | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Created by |
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| Starring |
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| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC Television |
| Release | 28 February 1959 – 1962 |
Six O'Clock Rock was an Australian rock and roll television show broadcast on ABC Television from 28 February 1959 to 1962 at 6 p.m. on Saturdays.
Inspired by the BBC program Six-Five Special , it had a similar format to its rival on TCN-9, Bandstand compered by Brian Henderson. This was ABC-TV's first youth-oriented music program, long before Countdown .
The show initially opened with American girl Ricki Merriman as compère and Johnny O'Keefe and his band The Dee Jays as guests. [1] The Dee Jays consisted of Dave Owens (tenor sax), Johnny "Greeno" Greenan (baritone sax) and Johnny "Catfish" Purser on drums, Keith Williams on bass guitar, and Lou Casch on guitar, [2] Bob "Bluto" Bertles, later a leading jazz player, substituted as the second saxophone.[ citation needed ] After six shows O'Keefe took over the hosting role. [3] The show usually opened with O'Keefe singing "Weeeeeell, come on everybody it's six o'clock, uh huh huh huh", with The Graduates providing the "bap bap bap bap" background. [1]
The first episode 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.
Entertainers who got their first big exposure on Six O'Clock Rock include Lonnie Lee, [4] Barry Stanton and Warren Williams. The Delltones also debuted on this show, which was produced by Peter Page.
The show originally contained a mixture of rock and roll and jazz. The jazz was supplied by the Australian All Stars, featuring Don Burrows on alto and baritone sax, Terry Wilkinson on piano, Ron Webber on drums, Fred Logan on bass, and tenor player Dave Rutledge. The jazz musicians were always a bit uncomfortable with their role, and since O'Keefe insisted on deciding who should be on the show, the jazz numbers were few and far between. O'Keefe wanted the show to be all rock music.
O'Keefe left the show in 1961 to move to ATN-7 to compère the more elaborately produced Johnny O'Keefe Show . These later shows were compered by Tanya Halesworth and Chet Clark, as seen in an existing 1961 edition. Six O'Clock Rock closed in 1962 after changing to a 'softer' format with O'Keefe's departure, and suffered from competition from O'Keefe's new show on Channel 7 and Bandstand on Channel 9.
The bass saxophone is one of the lowest-pitched members of the saxophone family—larger and lower than the more common baritone saxophone. It was likely the first type of saxophone built by Adolphe Sax, as first observed by Berlioz in 1842. It is a transposing instrument pitched in B♭, an octave below the tenor saxophone and a perfect fourth below the baritone saxophone. A bass saxophone in C, intended for orchestral use, was included in Adolphe Sax's patent, but few known examples were built. The bass saxophone is not a commonly used instrument, but it is heard on some 1920s jazz recordings, in free jazz, in saxophone choirs and sextets, and occasionally in concert bands and rock music.
The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were last awarded in 2016.
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Leslie William Morrison, known professionally as Lucky Starr, is an Australian pioneer rock and roll, pop and country music singer, guitarist and television presenter. His most popular single, "I've Been Everywhere", appeared in early 1962, which peaked at number one in Sydney. Starr became well known through his many TV appearances on show's such as Bandstand and Six O'Clock Rock, in which he briefly hosted taking over from Johnny O'Keefe, he was the first star to entertain troops in Vietnam.
Barry John Stanton was an English-Australian rock and roll musician. He performed on pop music programs, Six O'Clock Rock, Bandstand, Johnny O'Keefe Show, Sing Sing Sing, Saturday Date, and Woody's Teen Time. He issued a compilation album, A Tribute to the King Rare Songs 1957-1965, in 1988.
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Lee Gordon was an American entrepreneur and rock and roll promoter who worked extensively in Australia in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Gordon's jazz and rock'n'roll tours had a major impact on the Australian music scene and he also played a significant role in the early career of pioneering Australian rock'n'roll singer Johnny O'Keefe, serving as his manager.
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Lorraine May Chapman, professionally known as Laurel Lea, was an Australian popular singer of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Lea appeared regularly on TV series, Bandstand, Six O'Clock Rock and Saturday Date. In 1974 and 1975 she toured throughout Australia with contemporaries Johnny O'Keefe, Johnny Devlin, Lonnie Lee and Barry Stanton. On 31 January 1992 Lea died of leukaemia.
The Crescents were a vocal harmony group which formed in Sydney, Australia in late 1958 under the name The 4 Tops. The Crescents were best known for their Top 10 hit "Mr. Blue" and for their tours with Lee Gordon's "Big Shows" supporting Johnnie Ray, Fabian, and Ricky Nelson.
Colin John Loughnan is an Australian jazz saxophonist, teacher, and composer, best known as a member of the Delltones, Ayers Rock, Judy Bailey quartet, and as a teacher of saxophone at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Although Loughnan has long been associated with jazz music, the first nine years of his career were spent as a non-instrumental vocalist with vocal harmony groups The Crescents, and The Delltones starting in 1958. In the 60s, he learnt to play the saxophone, performing as an instrumentalist with Col Nolan and The Soul Syndicate, and as a founding member of the Daly-Wilson Big Band. At this time Loughnan was proficient in saxophones, flutes, and clarinet.
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