The Big Beat (TV program)
The Big Beat is an American music and dance television program broadcast on the ABC Network in 1957. It was hosted by Alan Freed, and subsequently by Richard Hayes. The program debuted on May 4, 1957, four months before American Bandstand, making it the United States' "first nationally-televised rock 'n roll dance show". The show was cancelled in 1957 when it showed Frankie Lymon, a black teen star, dancing with a white woman. A local version continued on WNEW-TV New York.
