Solid Gold (TV series)

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Solid Gold
Created by	Al Masini
Developed by	Bob Banner
Presented by	Dionne Warwick (1980–81, midway through 84–85 season and all of 85–86 season) Marilyn McCoo (1981–84, 1986–88) Andy Gibb (1981–82) Rex Smith (1982–83) Rick Dees (1984–85) Nina Blackwood (1986–88) Arsenio Hall (1986–88)
Narrated by	Robert W. Morgan (1980–86) Chuck Riley (1986) Charlie O'Donnell (1986–87) Dick Tufeld (1987–88)
Opening theme	"Solid Gold Theme" music by Michael Miller lyrics by Dean Pitchford
Ending theme	"Solid Gold Theme" music by Michael Miller lyrics by Dean Pitchford sung by Dionne Warwick (1980–81, 1985–86) Marilyn McCoo & Andy Gibb (1981–82) Marilyn McCoo & Rex Smith (1982–83) Marilyn McCoo (1983–84) Deborah Davis (1984–85)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	332
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Brad Lachman Productions Bob Banner Associates (1980–1984) (seasons 1–4) Operation Prime Time (1980–1986) (seasons 1–6) Paramount Television Service (1980–1981) (season 1) Paramount Domestic Television (1981–1988) (seasons 2–8)
Original release
Network	Syndicated
Release	September 13, 1980 (1980-09-13) – July 23, 1988 (1988-07-23)

Solid Gold is an American syndicated music television program that debuted on September 13, 1980, and ran until July 23, 1988. The program was a production of Brad Lachman Productions in association with Operation Prime Time and Paramount Domestic Television.

Solid Gold featured a weekly rundown of the top ten hits on the pop charts for the week, similar to America's Top 10 which also premiered in 1980.^[1] It also featured music artists performing their hits live in studio, in the vein of American Bandstand.^[2] However, what set it apart from those two shows was a troupe of dancers that performed heavily choreographed routines to the songs.

Singer Dionne Warwick was the original host of the program, hosting for the first season.^[3] In 1981, she was replaced by Marilyn McCoo, formerly of The Fifth Dimension, as host^[4], with Andy Gibb joining as her co-host; the pairing only lasted one year as Gibb's continued issues with substance abuse forced Paramount to fire him.^[5] Actor Rex Smith took over for Gibb for 1982,^[6] while McCoo hosted the 1983-84 season by herself.

Warwick would return to the show midway through the 1984-85 season following a brief stint where Rick Dees took over the show, and would stay on for one more season before leaving for good at the end of the 1985-86 season.^[7] The final three seasons were hosted by a returning McCoo along with Arsenio Hall, who had been with the show since 1984 as its in-house comedian, and Nina Blackwood, who had been one of the original MTV studio hosts.^[8]

Los Angeles disc jockey Robert W. Morgan was the original announcer for Solid Gold, running for seven seasons before leaving in 1986^[9] Charlie O'Donnell, the announcer for American Bandstand, replaced Morgan but only stayed on until the end of the 1986-87 season. The final season was announced by Dick Tufeld.

Reviews of the show were not always positive, with The New York Times referring to it as "the pop music show that is its own parody...[enacting] mini-dramas...of covetousness, lust and aerobic toning—routines that typically have a minimal connection with the songs that back them up."^[10]

• Solid Gold at IMDb