Night Tracks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Night Tracks | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Music Videos |
| Creator(s) | Tom Lynch and Gary Biller |
| Starring | (see article) |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Production | |
| Running time | up to 3 hours per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | TBS / WTBS |
| Original run | June 3, 1983 – May 30, 1992 |
Night Tracks was an American television series which ran from 1983 to 1992 on SuperStation WTBS (later known as TBS SuperStation) on late night weekends. It premiered on June 3, 1983 and the first music video aired was "Family Man" by Hall & Oates, from their H2O album.
Night Tracks was created and produced by Tom Lynch and Gary Biller (Lynch/Biller Productions).
Contents |
[edit] Programming
Night Tracks produced shows include:
- Night Tracks: Two 3 hour blocks (1983-1989) of music videos in which the Friday night airings are swapped and repeated on Saturday nights. This was done partly to accomodate sporting events such as Atlanta Braves Baseball and NBA Basketball games that run overtime into Night Tracks' schedule. Night Tracks does not get the benefit of being seen in its entirety and must abruptly end its broadcast just before 6:00 AM Eastern Time. In a few rare cases a sporting event ended early and thus produced extra time for Night Tracks so the first 3 hour block of that evening is repeated until the cutoff time just before 6:00 AM. In 1989, this was changed to two 2 hour blocks and the remaining 2 hours became Night Flicks which can be considered as when the show started "jumping the shark". In 1990, it was further reduced to two 90 minute blocks. In 1991, Night Tracks went to an all Alternative format but it was unsuccessful and TBS canceled the show in May 1992.
- America's Music Tracks (1983-1984): An hour of the best Country music videos that aired on Sunday evenings.
- Chartbusters (1984-1991): An hour long Top 10 (changed to Top 20 in 1990) music video show countdown that aired on Saturday Nights preceding Night Tracks. Its chart listing is associated with Kal Rudman's Friday Morning Quarterback. The show also featured a BREAKER video that was destined to hit the charts soon.
- Power Play (1985-1988): An hour of the best music videos that aired on Friday Nights preceding Night Tracks.
- Power Play Dancin' (1988-1989): An hour long Top 10 Dance videos. (replaced Power Play)
- Power Hits (1989-1990): An hour of Hard Rock music videos. (replaced Power Play Dancin')
Power Hits was canceled in 1990 and nothing Night Tracks related was put in its place. - Night Flicks (1989-1992): A byproduct of Night Tracks, it is a 4 hour movie presentation that uses Night Tracks' theme music. The name Night Flicks was once used on Night Tracks as a sneak preview trailer of an upcoming movie at the theaters. (replaced most of Night Tracks, later changed to Nite Flix)
- New Alternative Express (1991-1992): An hour long Top 10 Alternative videos. (replaced Chartbusters)
[edit] Night Tracks Announcers
- Bob Coburn (1983-1986): Currently hosting the national call in radio show Rockline.
- Joanne Erhart (1983-1989)
- Frazer Smith (1986-1988), (1989-1991): Currently hosting The Green Room on All Comedy Radio.
- Mike Carruthers (1988-1989): Currently hosting Something You Should Know.
- Cynthia Fox (1989-1991): Currently at KLOS-FM.
- Phil ??? (1991-1992)
- Nile Fair (1991-1992)
- Heath Adams (1992)
The announcers faces are never seen except during a special year end show in 1991. During a typical Night Tracks show the announcers would mention artists and music videos that would be aired within the hour. They would also mention facts and information about the artists just before the videos are aired. The announcers were also heard in these segments during the show.
- New Video of the Week
- New Music Spotlight (changed to New Artist Preview in 1989) - Highlighting a new artist to Night Tracks just before that artist's video is aired.
- Original Classic - A classic music video is aired with info on that artist.
- World Premiere - Occasionally Night Tracks would have the privilege of being the first to air a particular music video. The announcers would thank the people at the record company for the arrangement.
- The Inside Track - A short one question interview segment just before that artist's video is aired.
[edit] Guest Hosts
- Pet Shop Boys (November, 1988)
- Taylor Dayne (December 9-10, 1988)
[edit] Trivia
Following Night Tracks' debut, Lynch and Biller would go on to create a musical series for children, Kids Incorporated. Today, Lynch produces mainly children's programs, such as The Secret World of Alex Mack, Caitlin's Way and Romeo!.
