Where the Action Is or (WTAI) was a music-based variety show which aired on television in the United States during the 1960s. It was carried by the ABC network and aired each weekday afternoon. Created by Dick Clark as a spin-off of American Bandstand, Where the Action Is premiered on June 27, 1965.
The show's theme song, Action became a hit single for Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon, peaking on the charts (#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 theme song was written by Steve Venet and Tommy Boyce who would later write songs for The Monkees.
The program had its own stable of performers, most notably Paul Revere & the Raiders. Other performers on Action included Steve Alaimo, Tina Mason (who has been married to Raider Phil Volk for over 40 years now), Linda Scott, future Raider Keith Allison, Tommy Roe, The Hard Times, The Knickerbockers, Don and the Goodtimes (featuring former Raider Charlie Coe, who would rejoin the band in May 1967), The Robbs, and the dance troupe Pete Manifee and the Action Kids.
The weekday program was cancelled on March 31, 1967, with the network giving its local affiliates the time slot; however, the program's mainstay band Paul Revere and the Raiders with lead vocalist Mark Lindsay continued their string of hit singles into the early 70s. Both Revere and Lindsay hosted Happening '68, a Saturday afternoon follow-up to American Bandstand; and a weekday version, It's Happening, from 1968 to 1969. Both shows were produced by Dick Clark's production company for ABC.
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