The Steve Allen Show In the summer of 1957, NBC signed on Steve Allen almost as a lark. He was considered by the networks execs as a so/so comic, has been jazz singer and a fair announcer-personality. Network audiences thought otherwise and "Steverino," even with caustic jabs at things he didn't like and a corny supporting sidekick (Louis Nye), caught on and became a popular daytime television show.

Married to actress Jayne Meadows (sister to Audrey "Alice Kramden" Meadows), Steve despised rock and roll (it displaced swing, pop and jazz, Steve's foray). It's burgeoning popularity among teenagers was deemed by Allen as an "immoral d3ecay of society" (that's what they said in the 1800's about Johaan Strauss jr's waltzes). A writer of jazz ballads, Steve thought rock otherwise insipid and repetitive. His poetic readings of the lesser prolific (but catchy and chart topping) rock and roll hits of the time (such as Gene Vincent's Be Bop A Lula and Little Richard Pennington's Tutti Fruiti covered as white pop by Pat Boone - what black songs didn't Boone and The Crew Cuts cover? - resulted in what some perceive as "classic bit"s such as Oldies Television has revived here

As Dennis James (who also disliked R&R) use to say on his telethons about rock and roll acts, and we say here about the anti-rock clip "if you like it, watch it, if not, go to the phone." Except we have no tiers of operators to take your call...not even Jayne Meadows who took calls for James.