Sh-Boom!: The Explosion of Rock 'n' Roll (1953-1968) - Paperback

by Clay Cole (Author), David Hinckley (Foreword by)

There was a small sliver of time between Be-Bop and Hip-Hop, when a new generation of teenagers created rock 'n' roll. Clay Cole was one of those teenagers he was the host of his own Saturday night, pop music television show.

Clay Cole's SH-BOOM! is the pop culture chronicle of that exciting time, 1953-1968, when teenagers created their own music, from swing bands and pop to rhythm and blues, cover records, a cappella, rockabilly, folk-rock, and girl groups; from the British Invasion to the creation of the American Boy Band. He was first to introduce Chubby Checker performing the ""Twist;"" the first to present the Rolling Stones, Tony Orlando, Dionne Warwick, Neil Diamond, Bobby Vinton, the Rascals, Ronettes, Four Seasons, Dion, and dozens more; the first to introduce music video clips, discotheque, go-go girls and young unknown standup comedians Richard Pryor, George Carlin, and Fannie Flagg to a teenage television audience.

Front Jacket

After his "fifteen years of fame," Clay reveals, for the very first time, his reason for walking away from his highly-popular Saturday night show at 30-years old, and remain out of the spotlight for over forty years. Clay has been called "the missing link to the Sixties." Well, he's missing no longer; he's back with a remarkable story to tell. And what a story it is!

SH-BOOM!is brimming with the gossip, scandal and heartbreak of the upstart billion-dollar music-biz in this breezy, behind-the-scenes look at 'live' television, mom-and-pop record companies and a boozy, mafia-run Manhattan, during the explosion of rock 'n' roll music.

Author Biography

Clay Cole is best-known as the host of "The Clay Cole Show," a highly-popular, pop music television variety show from 1953-1968, and on-the-air in the New York City market from 1959-1968. In the following thirty-five years Clay Cole was an Independent television writer/producer/director winner of two Emmy Awards (NATAS) as "producer of outstanding entertainment programming."
In his youth, he was a juvenile radio and stage actor, recording artist, musical comedy performer and was featured in one Hollywood film, "Twist Around the Clock."