28 replies to this topic

[TheCustomOfLife]

I did not see a thread for this, so I am creating one. I've been watching clips online, and I must confess that I am so infatuated with this show, and the SOLID GOLD DANCERS...my only regret is not being old enough to remember this show when it was on.

ETA: Come on, nobody is willing to admit they liked Solid Gold?

Edited by TheCustomOfLife, Apr 26, 2007 @ 3:28 PM.

[Kaboom]

Right here, I'll admit it! I cannot even begin to guess the hours my sister and I spent practicing the dancers' moves. At the time I thought Darcel was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

I have trouble remembering my mom's birthday, what day of the week it is, etc etc but what do I clearly have etched into my memory? Rick Dees' Solid Gold performance of Disco Duck. lol

Ah the memories...

[Decormaven]

Aww, Solid Gold! Makes me feel wistful, thinking about the days when the late Andy Gibb was a host. While I never exactly understood how Dionne Warwick came to be a host, she did an OK job as well. And the dancers! Some of the kookiest choreography ever, teamed with some crazy outfits. I swear, I think TPTB at Dancing With the Stars channel the same nutty energy. And Wayland Flowers and Madame! What a melange of cheesy, silly fun that show was.

Edited by Decormaven, Apr 27, 2007 @ 2:00 PM.

[Barrett0033]

Loved Solid Gold. I would throw a tantrum if I had to miss an episode as a kid. I was so in lurve with Tony that it wasn't even funny. And Wayland Flowers and Madame rocked. This show needs to be released on dvd.

[fatneck]

Solid Gold, I remember loving this show and the love have never left.

The Solid Gold Dancers got me through many Saturday nights as a growing teen! I loved their dances and I loved the long-haired black lady, she was FINE!

I really did love the whole concept behind Solid Gold. It was so much better seeing the short dance numbers to some of the billboard countdowns of the week and how they incorporated some costumes in showcasing the songs. Just very good all around.

Ah, thanks SassandtheCity!

Edited by fatneck, Apr 27, 2007 @ 7:37 PM.

[SassandtheCity]

Solid Gold is such perfect cheesy goodness. The black woman with the long hair was Darcell.

[TheCustomOfLife]

I love Darcel's weaves, especially the long ones which end past her butt. That is so going to be my drag Halloween costume.

[xavier03]

I came darting into this thread because I thought this show had somehow been revived. As I'm typing this I'm trying to remember the lyrics of the theme song. Glad to see others here loved this show. I never missed an episode. Despite it's cheesiness it had a feel good quality to it and I often found myself getting up from my couch and dancing as if I was one of the SGD.....Those were the good ole days!

Edited by xavier03, Apr 28, 2007 @ 4:31 PM.

[TheCustomOfLife]

I have a question...how come Darcel and that one guy were dancing to Silly Love Songs by Wings? I thought this show was only about the current top hits; that song would have charted before this show aired. She also dances to Bad Bad Leroy Brown. So did they have like classic shows?

Edited by TheCustomOfLife, Apr 28, 2007 @ 7:56 PM.

[Decormaven]

For xavier03, the lyrics to Solid Gold: Sing Along, Children!

And for TheCustomOfLife, the Solid Gold Dancers often danced to tunes that weren't on the charts. That's how I think this show kind of parallels today's Dancing With the Stars; one minute, TPTB will have a dance choreographed to a chart-topper, then they'll pull out an older hit for the next dance. It may have something to do with the show's budget and how much is allotted to pay broadcast royalties. If a show aired all current hits, it would pay a higher rate for the "hot" tunes. Older chestnuts are cheaper to use. (At least this is my limited understanding of the situation. I had asked a question over on the DWTS board to see if someone with experience in broadcast rights/revenues could shed light on the subject.)

Edited by Decormaven, Apr 29, 2007 @ 9:10 AM.

[jennifuh]

Oh, how I wanted to be a Solid Gold Dancer!! I still do. I have such great memories of this and Dance Fever.

Edited by jennifuh, Apr 29, 2007 @ 12:04 PM.

[Decormaven]

Another Solid Gold nugget: Solid Gold Dance Connection

[soymilk]

Look who has aged well. I remember when he and his sister won Star Search. (off to check for a Star Search thread...)

[TheCustomOfLife]

I wonder if he's gay. I know not all male dancers are gay, but there was just something about him that screamed it just a tad more than any other male dancer would.

[eyechart]

I didn't remember him on SG, but I remember all his other appearances on American Bandstand, Star Search, and his only "failure" on Dance Fever...and I HATED him! I found his dancing/gestures/facial expressions grating and obnoxious, no matter how talented he was.

But that pic...WOOF! Just as long as he lost those mannerisms, he be welcome to my bed anytime.

[Dandesun]

At the time I thought Darcel was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

Speaking as a little white suburban girl... back in the day I so wanted to be Darcel when I grew up. She was so exotic and lithe and tall and sexy!

Le sigh.

[TheCustomOfLife]

one minute, TPTB will have a dance choreographed to a chart-topper, then they'll pull out an older hit for the next dance. It may have something to do with the show's budget and how much is allotted to pay broadcast royalties.

I'd really hate to see Darcel doing a booty clap dance to "Knock Three Times." That'd ruin the entire song for me. Actually, it'd ruin all of '70s music for me.

[AlexDS69]

"I look like the mother of a Solid Gold dancer."

-- Dorothy Zbornak, The Golden Girls

Everytime I think about Solid Gold, it's not the cheesy dance numbers or the chart-toppers that come to mind: it's that phrase.

[TheCustomOfLife]

I just noticed that Solid Gold never used the Billboard charts to determine placement, they used Radio & Records. I wonder why that is. I only figured it out when watching a compilation clip that had "Her Town Too" by James Taylor and J.D. Souther on it multiple times (and the announcer noting it was the sixth week in the countdown), when on the Billboard chart, it peaked at #12.

[danablue]

The enduring memory for me of Solid Gold is guest host Shaun Cassidy (squeeeeeee!) singing "Always On My Mind." I've never recovered.

Edited by danablue, May 29, 2007 @ 3:38 PM.

[True Dat2]

I was so in lurve with Tony that it wasn't even funny.

Ahhh, Solid Gold and the goofy cute Tony Fields, R.I.P. He died in '95 of AIDS related cancer. I always remember him as the dancer who messed up his steps in MJ's "Beat It" video.


Solid Gold was Saturday night must-see TV in my house. Not just the performers who came on to lip sync, but especially the Solid Gold Dancers! Darcel Wynne was my fave too. Lucinda Dickey and Chelsea Field were dancers too.

[Decormaven]

Aww, Lucinda Dickey. Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo!

[butheircousins]

You people are killin' me with the memories of this show. I was such a nerd (and, probably still am) and would watch this show every weekend. I rememeber Darcel being listed as Lead Principal Dancer while the other dancers didn't even get a credit. My favorite part of the show was the final dance number to the theme song. I was always amazed at how long they danced and were always in sync with each other and they weren't even looking at one another. I know that's dumb, but for someone who can't dance and was probably 12 or something, I was really impressed. Thanks for the memory and it's nice to see there are others out there who remember as well.

[scarletbegonia]

YES! Camel toes, hair weaves, sock crouches, Dionne Warwick's teeth, Marilyn MaCoo!, dancers rolling and gyrating around cylindrical objects with gold rings....It gets no better than this. Where are all you folks getting your fixes? I found some video montages on YouTube, but some have been recently removed(Bastards!).

Look who has aged well. I remember when he and his sister won Star Search. (off to check for a Star Search thread...)

I remember too! The area that I lived in had the ultimate Saturday lineup in the early 80's. I believe it was Star Search at 5pm, Fame the tv show at 6PM and Solid Gold at 7pm. Sadly that is also my vision of true nirvana.....
Watching some of the youtube stuff now really drives it home, that watching Solid Gold was like going to a strip club where the strippers never disrobe.

d really hate to see Darcel doing a booty clap dance to "Knock Three Times."

When they'd start out a dance number with a booty clap....priceless.

Edited by scarletbegonia, Jun 1, 2007 @ 3:27 PM.

[TheCustomOfLife]

My favorite part of the show was the final dance number to the theme song. I was always amazed at how long they danced and were always in sync with each other and they weren't even looking at one another.

And at the very end, they tap dance furiously while they're in four-inch hooker heels. How nobody got a sprained ankle, I will never know.

I wonder who the shaggy-haired brunette in the older episodes is. She kind of looks like Janet from Three's Company.

Edited by TheCustomOfLife, Jun 2, 2007 @ 2:06 AM.

[cheeztoast]

I have been waiting for the DVD gods to put out a monstrous box-set of this. I would buy it if it cost $1000. I used to go into a panic if me and my family were out doing something family-like and suburban and it approached "Solid Gold" time and we weren't home in front of the television. I used to have to fight with my dad over whether I could watch "Solid Gold" or he could watch "M*A*S*H" re-runs. There was no tantrum bigger than mine if I wasn't allowed to watch my favorite show.

If there was a groundswell of support, I would totally cobble together the funds to put a box-set together myself and sell it with a Solid Gold sweatband (out of real 100% gold lame) and legwarmers that people could wear when they watched.

[MyAimIsTrue]

Wow, I haven't thought about Solid Gold in years and while I didn't love the show I certainly watched it often enough. Darcel was cool, I wanted to be just like her, but it really ticked me off that the show didn't use Billboard as a guide because I listened to Casey Kasem religiously and knew which songs were actually at the top of the chart.

[GreedyGretchen]

Ahh, Solid Gold. I actually thought Arsenio Hall was Eddie Murphy using an assumed name and that I was the only one who was on to him. (I was eleven, OK?)

[catlover79]

Oh, to be a little kid again, watching Solid Gold and Fame (our local market ran the two shows back-to-back on weekends). Where are my legwarmers???