On Rate the Records, we would play four new releases and our two high school panels would…well, rate the records. The record companies loved it because it gave instant exposure to their new releases and the teenage panels played it safe, never really knocking a record. But, how many different ways can a sixteen-year-old express a colorful opinion?
“I like the words, I like the beat. I can dance to it,” became the cliché.
We tried a post card write-in contest for our home viewers, playing a mystery record, and offering prizes:
“I’m going to play a record and if you recognize the voice, drop me a card. The first 50 correct cards received win an LP, the next 100, single records.”
Channel 13 received over 11, 000 cards within two days.
I had a very short attention span, which served me well in television; when I felt a show was growing stale, the audience probably felt that way too. I begged the station to change the format, to get rid of that rigid rate-the-record gimmick. Based on our instant success, they were agreeable, allowing me to put my own personal imprint on the show, and to create a unique New York spin.
Our new freewheeling show was called The Record Wagon, which began attracting all the big names -- Bobby Darin, Steve Lawrence, Connie Francis, Connie Stevens and the Queen herself, Dinah Washington. The three Isley Brothers invited me to join them in their show-stopping “Shout,” and The Drifters, Skyliners and Dion & the Belmonts became recurring guests.
My very first all-star stage-show appearance was a “Welcome Clay Cole” celebration, at the Long Island Arena at Commack. Pete Bennett, a drummer and well-connected promotions man, assembled a big band, and booked a hot line-up of R&B groups and pop singers. The morning of the show, we awoke to storm warnings, an oncoming blizzard, freezing temperatures with icy roadways. Hell is an empty arena. Our hopes were dashed, until our car crawled into Commack and the police chief told us that 4,500 fans were waiting inside.
I returned home with a paper sack full of dollar bills and that special, rewarding feeling ... "they like me!"
