Where The Action Is

"Where the Action Is" was a music variety show which aired on ABC network each weekday afternoon from 28 June 1965 though 31 March 1967.

This series was the brainchild of Dick Clark of "American Bandstand" fame. The show's theme song, "Action" became a big hit single for Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon, peaking on the pop charts at #13 in September 1965. Most of the telecasts, all of which were produced in black-and-white, were taped at various locales in Southern California.

The group "Paul Revere & the Raiders" were seen on the biggest majority of the shows. Other artists that appeared more then one time included a virtual who's who of the 1960's pop generation. Some of these artists included The Animals, Aretha Franklin, The Association, Billy Joe Royal, Bobby Freeman, Bobby Goldsboro, Bobby Rydell, Bobby Vee, Brian Hyland, The Byrds, Chad & Jeremy, Cher, The Crystals, Dick & Dee Dee, Dee Dee Sharp, Dionne Warwick, Jackie DeShannon, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, Freddie & The Dreamers, Herman’s Hermits, Jackie Wilson, James Brown & his Famous Flames, Jimmy Clanton, Jr. Walker & The All Stars, The Kinks, The Mama’s & The Papa’s, Peter & Gordon, The Righteous Brothers, The Shangri-Las, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Them, Tommy Roe, The Who, The Zombies and many others.

Both Paul Revere & The Raiders and Mark Lindsay would go on to be the hosts of another Dick Clark variety series in “Happening '68”, a 6-days a week series. “It's Happening” was the next music variety series from 1968 to 1969. All of the aforementioned shows were all produced by Dick Clark's production company for ABC. The Raiders had a total of 24 songs appear on the Billboard pop charts from 1961 to 1973 with their biggest hit and only #1 being Indian Reservation that went platinum in 1971.