{"id":104339,"date":"2024-10-07T03:04:05","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T07:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2024\/10\/07\/american-music-awards-50th-anniversary-special-8-takeaways-from-a-2-hour-crash-course-in-pop-music-history\/"},"modified":"2024-10-07T03:04:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T07:04:05","slug":"american-music-awards-50th-anniversary-special-8-takeaways-from-a-2-hour-crash-course-in-pop-music-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2024\/10\/07\/american-music-awards-50th-anniversary-special-8-takeaways-from-a-2-hour-crash-course-in-pop-music-history\/","title":{"rendered":"American Music Awards\u2019 50th Anniversary Special: 8 Takeaways From a 2-Hour Crash Course in Pop Music\u00a0History"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

\n\tMusic has gone through a lot of changes since the American Music Awards debuted on Feb. 19, 1974, as a fan-driven alternative to the Grammy Awards. American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special, a two-hour special that aired on Sunday, Oct. 6, captured many of those changes in smartly curated segments and fresh performances.<\/p>\n

\n\tFifty years is a long time, of course. Two of the three co-hosts of that first show (Roger Miller and Helen Reddy<\/a>) are no longer with us, nor is the show\u2019s creator, legendary TV producer Dick Clark<\/a>. The show recently switched networks, from ABC to CBS, which aired this anniversary show and will air the next regular AMA broadcast in May.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe original plan was for the AMAs to debut on CBS with a regular best-of-the-past-year broadcast. Someone had the bright idea to first remind the audience of the AMAs\u2019 considerable history before relaunching the show (which has been on hiatus since 2022.)<\/p>\n

\n\tMotown legend Smokey Robinson<\/a>, who was the third co-host of that first show, introduced a segment on this anniversary show. He was one of six former AMAs hosts or co-hosts to appear, along with Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, Reba McEntire, Jimmy Kimmel and Cedric the Entertainer.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe AMAs has had a far longer life than most expected \u2013 and that includes Clark himself. In December 1973, Clark was working on the first AMAs. He knew a little publicity couldn\u2019t hurt, so he found time for an interview with\u00a0Billboard<\/em>\u2019s Bob Kirsch which ran on page one of the Dec. 15, 1973 issue under the headline \u201cABC-TV Slates Favorite Acts\u2019 Awards Feb. 19.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the end of the piece, Clark attempted to take the long view of his fledgling show and said \u201cIf this is done properly, we may have a show that will last 20 years and will finally get the general public involved in popular music awards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tClark underestimated the longevity of his own creation. Next year\u2019s AMAs will be the 51st.<\/p>\n

\n\tAmerican Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special<\/em> was produced by Dick Clark Productions.\u00a0 Michael Dempsey served as executive producer.<\/p>\n

\n\tHere are eight moments from the AMAs special in which they most effectively told the big-picture story of the vast changes in popular music in the last 50 years.<\/p>\n

\n\tAmerican Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special is produced by Dick Clark Productions. DCP is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a Penske Media Corporation (PMC) subsidiary and joint venture between PMC and Eldrige. PMC is the parent company of Billboard.<\/em><\/p>\n