Who Performed at the First ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’?
What To Know
- The first Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve aired on December 31, 1972, with Three Dog Night as both hosts and performers, alongside acts like Helen Reddy and Billy Preston.
- The show featured pre-recorded musical performances from the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, while Dick Clark reported live from Times Square during the ball drop.
- Dick Clark created the special to appeal to younger audiences by focusing on contemporary pop and rock music, moving away from the traditional big band format.
In 1972, Dick Clark had a pretty straightforward idea: New Year’s Eve television needed to catch up with the modern era. While Guy Lombardo‘s broadcasts had defined the holiday for years, Clark knew they no longer reflected the music younger audiences were listening to. So he helped create a new kind of New Year’s special, one built around current pop and rock instead of big band music. The first New Year’s Rockin’ Eve aired on NBC on December 31, 1972, and it was billed as Three Dog Night’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. Rather than positioning himself as the host, Clark put the band front and center and handled the live Times Square reporting himself.
The first New Year’s Rockin’ Eve performers
The original lineup featured artists who were radio-friendly and culturally relevant at the time. Three Dog Night served as both hosts and performers, anchoring the entire broadcast, and confirmed performers from the first special included Helen Reddy and Billy Preston. Contemporary reporting from the period also connects Al Green and Blood, Sweat & Tears with the inaugural lineup as well. Clark said in an interview with the Television Academy Foundation, “At that moment in time the world realized that kids might rule the world. They had their own music, their own fashion, their own money,” leading to his decision to choose the performers of the night.
How the first special was produced
The first Rockin’ Eve was structured as a two-location production, which solved several problems at once. The musical performances were pre-recorded aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, using the ship’s ballroom as the setting. It gave producers control over sound, lighting, and timing while avoiding the risks of staging multiple live performances outdoors on a freezing December night. At the same time, Clark positioned himself in Times Square, reporting live as the ball dropped.
Why Three Dog Night were the hosts
Everett Collection
Clark was intentionally distancing Rockin’ Eve from the big band sound that had defined New Year’s television for years. Three Dog Night represented a new way to celebrate the holidays, one that Clark hoped would make more young people tune in and it worked. The special is still going strong today.
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70s Pop Idols
May 2019
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