
The Solid Gold Dancers in 1982
Photo: Ron Wolfson/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Explore "Solid Gold," The Epic '80s Hit Music TV Show | History Of
"Welcome to 'Solid Gold!' Starting right now and for every week to come, we're gonna bring you the biggest hit records in the country, some by the people that made them famous. So get ready for a lot of comedy, some real hot dancing and many surprises," host Dionne Warwick said during its debut episode on Sept. 15, 1980. The GRAMMY-winning singer hosted the entire first season, after which would go on to be hosted by Andy Gibb, comedian Arsenio Hall and others for the remaining seven seasons.
We celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launch of the shimmering '80s music TV show in our third-ever episode of the one-minute History Of video series, which you can watch below.
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During that lively first show, Irene Cara performed (most numbers were lip-synched) her GRAMMY-nominated hit "Fame" and Chuck Berry rocked the crowd with a live rendition of "Johnny B Goode," both backed by the amazing in-house dance squad known as the Solid Gold Dancers. To add excitement to the countdown of the week's top hits, the crew served up energetic choreography for each song.
Other legendary musical guests included GRAMMY winners Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, James Brown, Madonna, the Pointer Sisters and Rod Stewart, as well as Hall & Oates, a-ha and many others.
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