The Big Record
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 Patti Page hosted The Big Recoord.
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The Big Record is an American television musical variety series which aired on CBS from 1957 to 1958. Originally it was an hour-long show (approximately 50 minutes excluding advertising) but later was a half-hour show (approximately 25 minutes excluding ads, as can be seen on available episodes). It was hosted by Patti Page (1927-2013), who sang songs and introduced the guest performers. Most of the music was of the pop genre, although other styles of music were also featured, including jazz, rock and roll, and occasionally country. Professional dancers also sometimes appeared as guests.
In the episode which aired on March 12 1958), the guests included Pearl Bailey (1918-1990), Hilo Hattie, The Four Voices, and Florence Henderson (1934-2016).[1] There were 26 hour-long episodes and 12 half-hour episodes.[2]
The series aired live and was kinescoped for West Coast audiences. In the episode of May 21, 1958, guest singer Jo Stafford (1917-2008) mentioned the series being broadcast from New York City, and made a topical joke: "look at it this way, you haven't lost a ball team, you've gained a parking lot."
Oldsmobile was the main sponsor, and some of the commercials featured Patti Page singing the Oldsmobile jingle. Florence Henderson appeared in some of the filmed ads for the cars. Because of the kinescope technology used for recording the shows, a number of episodes with commercials intact still exist. Following the end of the series, Page did an additional series for Oldsmobile during the 1958-1959 television season, The Patti Page Oldsmobile Show.
Reviewing an episode, Billboard felt that the series needed a more precise format, but also complimented Page's hosting and singing.[3]
References
- ↑ Pearl Bailey Stars on The Big Record Show. Google Books. Retrieved on January 25, 2020.
- ↑ The Big Record. Internet Movie Data Base (1958). Retrieved on January 25, 2020.
- ↑ (June 2, 1958) The Billboard. Google Books.
The series was not registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Four and a half episodes appear on the Internet Archive: November 27 1957.
