|
Rock show host books area tour
By BOB McCLURE
| Article published on Monday, Feb. 8, 2010 |
|
 |
 |
|
![[Image]](/content_images/020810_lebook-01.jpg) |
|
| Clay Cole, right, poses for a recent photo with Tommy DiVito of the Four Seasons and Denise Ferro of the Delicates. |
|
|
For those younger than 50, there’s a good chance the name Clay Cole has no meaning.
But for those a little older and especially those from the metro New York area, his name is synominous to an era of music that affected all corners of the United States.
Cole, 72, now lives in Oak Island, N.C., where he recently released an anthology of rock ’n’ roll memories in a book titled “Sh-Boom! The Explosion of Rock ’n’ Roll 1953-68.”
Next week, Cole will be in Pinellas County to promote the 320-page paperback that was last week nominated for an award by the Association for Recorded Sound Collection.
He will appear on The Morning Show Wednesday, Feb. 10, on Channel 10 before making a 1 p.m. stop at the Armed Forces Museum, 2050 34th Way, in Largo. Cole will appear at the Seminole Community Library, 9200 113th St. N., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2 p.m., before heading south to Bradenton for another library stop.
Other stops include a Friday, Feb. 12 appearance at the Springstead Theater in Spring Hill with Bobby Rydell, an appearance Saturday, Feb. 13 with Bill Haley’s Comets at the Red Rose Inn and Suites in Plant City, before a 2 p.m. stop Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Dunedin City Library, 223 Douglas Ave.
Cole spent four years compiling the book, which covers his years as the popular television host of the “The Clay Cole Show,” a top local teen music program in New York.
“It took four years but it was fun and not a job,” said Cole. “I had fun remembering things. Then it was over and it was like I had nothing to do.”
Cole was one of the big three among music hosts in New York during the early days of rock ’n’ roll, which also included Dick Clark and Alan Freed.
The book chronicles his early days as a youngster growing up in Youngstown, Ohio, when he started as a stage and radio actor. He later became the producer/host of his own Saturday night teen music show called “Rucker’s Rumpus Room,” which was inspired by the first rock ’n’ roll tune he heard, “Sh-Boom” by the Crewcuts.
At age 19, Cole landed in New York, where he targeted a career as a song and dance man. Shortly thereafter, he became a page at NBC and worked as a production assistant for a number of quiz shows.
In 1959, he signed on to host “Rate The Records” on WNTA-Channel 13 (now a PBS station). At the same time, producers asked him to change his name from Albert Rucker. He chose that of a distant cousin, Clay Cole.
The show eventually evolved into “The Clay Cole Show,” which enjoyed a nine-year run on WNTA and WPIX-Channel 11. Over the next few years it was very successful and featured the first U.S. appearance of the Rolling Stones.
“I was on tour with the Dave Clark Five when a gentleman from London Records approached me and asked if I would consider putting the Rolling Stones on my show. At the same time, I got a call from WGN in Chicago who said they had rights to a feed of The Beatles concert there and wondered if I’d like it.”
In June of 1964, Cole had the Rolling Stones live and a feed of The Beatles from Chicago on the same show, which knocked the socks off the local ratings. The live show was taped and shown again twice to huge ratings.
Cole also produced a one-hour show featuring Tony Bennett and gave Neil Diamond a big break as a guest host of his show about the same time.
His show also helped to introduce music fans to Dionne Warwick, Simon & Garfunkel, Richie Havens, Tony Orlando, Blood, Sweat and Tears; the Lovin’ Spoonful, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the Young Rascals and Percy Sledge.
The show was also the first stop in the U.S. for a number of British groups such as Gerry and The Pacemakers, The Who, The Yardbirds, the Animals, and Herman’s Hermits.
His show was also first to introduce stand-up comedians Richard Pryor, George Carlin and Fannie Flagg to a teen audience.
Sandwiched in all of this was the highlight of his career, he said, when Cole appeared in the 1961 Columbia Pictures movie “Twist Around The Clock,” starring Chubby Checker.
In 1968, he retired abruptly as a television host and concentrated on becoming a television writer-producer. But his success didn’t stop. Cole twice won Emmys and put together the first HBO-produced music special, “Clay Cole’s 20 Years of Rock and Roll,” in 1974.
Cole said his departure as a television host in 1968 came about due to changes in the industry from rock ’n’ roll to psychedelic acid rock and heavy metal.
“I couldn’t relate to the groups coming into the studio,” he said. “They were all stoners and they were tie-dyed people. So I just walked.”
In the three months since his book was released, Cole has made a variety of appearances to promote it in Ohio, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina. The reviews have been good, he said.
The book, published by Morgan James Publishing in Garden City, N.Y., sells for $20. A portion of the proceeds go to Habitat For Humanity.
For additional information on Cole, visit www.claycoleshow.com.
|
Article published on Monday, Feb. 8, 2010
Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved. |
