Musical Merry-Go-Round
Musical Merry-Go-Round is an NBC TV series which aired from July 25, 1947, to 1949. The series featured live music performances.
Production history
[edit]The program was originally titled Disc Magic.[1][2] The program was one of the first to use a disc-jockey format on television. It supplemented recorded music with live acts, to "add vaudeville-like embellishments to eliminate the possible monotony of just watching records spin".[3] Each episode was hosted by Jack Kilty,[4] "who sat in front of the camera and played records."[5] Disc Magic was broadcast from July 25, 1947 through September 1947 on Fridays from 8 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.[2]
Musical Merry-Go-Round was an early incarnation of music videos on TV. It was renamed from its predecessor, a groundbreaking series called Disc Magic. Martin Block, the orchestra leader, hosted as one of the emcees presenting musical performances.
In October 1947 the format was changed; records were eliminated, and the show presented only live acts. Regular elements of episodes were songs by Kilty and a female vocalist (Eve Young in 1947, Penny Gerard in 1948-1949) and segments by actor Fritz DeWilde. Guests were usually relatively unknown performers at that time.[2] They included Kyle MacDonnell.[1]
Musical Merry-Go-Round was initially broadcast on Thursdays from 8 to 8:30 p.m. E. T. In January 1948 it was moved to Fridays from 7:45 to 8 p.m. E. T. In February 1948 its time slot was shifted to 7:30 to 7:50 p.m. E. T. (still on Fridays). It remained at that time until it ended on March 11, 1949.[2]
See also
[edit]- 1947-48 United States network television schedule (Thursdays at 8:30pm ET)
- 1948-49 United States network television schedule (Fridays at 7:30pm ET)
References
[edit]- 1 2 Hyatt, Wesley (October 6, 2015). Short-Lived Television Series, 1948-1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops. McFarland. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-4766-0515-9. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. pp. 698–699. ISBN 0-345-42923-0.
- ↑ Butterfield, C. E. (September 5, 1947). "Dialing In". The Portsmouth Star. p. 12. Retrieved May 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 578. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
- ↑ Wood, Wayne (2003). Watching the Wheels: Cheap Irony, Righteous Indignation and Semi-Enlightened Opinion. iUniverse. p. 100. ISBN 9780595287215. Retrieved September 22, 2017.