Murray The K – It's What's Happening, Baby
Murray The K – It's What's Happening, Baby was a television special on CBS-TV hosted by Murray the K. The show aired on June 28, 1965. The special featured performances by many of the popular artists of the day like Jan & Dean, Mary Wells, the Dave Clark Five, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, The Supremes, Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles, The Drifters, The Miracles, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, The Ronettes, Chuck Jackson, The Four Tops, The Temptations, The Righteous Brothers and Little Anthony & the Imperials occasionally interspersed with Murray the K's public announcements urging the youth of America to pursue education and summer employment (due to the show being co-produced by the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity).
| Murray The K - It's What's Happening, Baby | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS-TV |
| Original release | 1965 |
The show opened with a performance of "Nowhere to Run" by Martha and the Vandellas filmed at a Mustang assembly line in the Ford River Rouge Plant in Detroit.
Fred Gwynne makes a guest appearance as Herman Munster, his character from CBS's The Munsters during Cannibal & The Headhunters miming of their hit "Land Of 1000 Dances"
It's What Happening, Baby! debuted on Public Television stations in March 2001 The return of the special was spearheaded by longtime PBS producer TJ Lubinsky (well-known for the My Music series of programs) and newly restored from original video and audio elements
An illegal bootleg version was released by Lady Goose Productions in 2007 as a DVD entitled: Murray the K & His 1965 Show of Shows. An official special DVD release of the restored program with over an hour of new interviews with the performers was issued by TJL Productions in March 2021 minus Murray the K's public announcements urging the youth of America to pursue education and summer employment
Performances
Martha and the Vandellas: "Nowhere to Run"
Herman’s Hermits: "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter"
Cannibal & the Headhunters: "Land of 1000 Dances"
Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles: "You'll Never Walk Alone"
Little Anthony & The Imperials: "I’m Alright"
Chuck Jackson: "I Don't Want to Cry!"
Mary Wells: "My Guy"
Johnny Rivers: "The Seventh Son"
The Temptations: "The Way You Do the Things You Do"
Gary Lewis & the Playboys: "Count Me In"
The Drifters: "Up on the Roof"
The Supremes: "Stop! In the Name of Love"
The Righteous Brothers: "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"
The Four Tops: "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)"
References
Smith, Suzanne (2001). Dancing in the Street: Motown and the Cultural Politics of Detroit. ISBN 0-674-00546-5.