Where the Action Is

Background

Where the Action Is was a black-and-white music program that aired in the mid-1960s. Linda Scott and Steve Alaimo hosted, with both occasionally performing songs between the guest acts. Scott, who had scored a few hits as a teen in the early 1960s, was just 20 when the series began. The show also featured Keith Allison, a performer who resembled Paul McCartney and later joined Paul Revere and the Raiders, as well as Laura Nyro. A typical episode had two or three artists lip-syncing their latest singles for a studio audience of teenagers, plus a dance number from the Action dancers. Interviews popped up now and then, and on rare occasions the whole show centered on a single act like Herman’s Hermits or James Brown.

Originally planned as a summer fill-in, the program debuted at 2 P.M. Eastern time. Its popularity kept it on the air through the 1965–66 season, and it moved to 4:30 P.M. Eastern, right after the horror soap opera Dark Shadows. Both shows drew a young after-school crowd. The theme song, simply called “Action,” was written by Steve Venet and Tommy Boyce—Boyce later co-wrote for The Monkees—and became a hit for Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon, reaching number 13 in September 1965. Most episodes were taped at various Southern California locations, though a few segments were recorded elsewhere in the United States.

The series had its own regular performers, with Paul Revere and the Raiders acting as the unofficial house band. Known for their Revolutionary War-style outfits, the group scored multiple Top 40 hits in the 1960s, helped by the show’s exposure. Their ponytailed lead singer, Mark Lindsay, became a teen idol and appeared on countless magazine covers. The Raiders also cut their own version of the “Action” theme for their 1965 album Just Like Us, which featured liner notes by Dick Clark. When the band left the show in 1966, The Robbs and The Hard Times took over. Other regulars included the dance troupe Pete Menefee and the Action Kids. Singer Tina Mason, promoted by Dick Clark on the program, met and married Phil Volk, the Raiders’ bass player, on June 27, 1967—exactly two years after the show’s premiere.