Fifty Years Of Music is a one-off
BBC TelevisionBBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
production, broadcast to coincide with the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Fiftieth Anniversary in 1972. Originally broadcast on BBC2 on 6 November 1972, from 8:50 – 10:05pm, it was later repeated on BBC1 on 27 December 1972, at 5:45pm. The show was recorded in October 1972 at BBC TV Centre and featured music from each of the five decades since the BBC's inception.
The musical direction was provided by
Alyn AinsworthAlyn Ainsworth was a singer and dance band conductor in the late 20th century-Education and early career:...
and the BBC Concert Orchestra. The Young Generation troupe provided dancing and vocal support.
The artists taking part were:
LuluLulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...
, who performed songs from the 1920s. The 1930s were represented by
Henry HallHenry Hall was a British bandleader. He played from the 1920s to the 1950s.-Biography:Henry Hall was born in Peckham, South London and served in both the Salvation Army and the British Army...
with
Alyn AinsworthAlyn Ainsworth was a singer and dance band conductor in the late 20th century-Education and early career:...
and the Orchestra recreating the big band sounds of the era.
Vera LynnDame Vera Lynn, DBE is an English singer-songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during World War II. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops...
and
Cliff RichardSir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
sang hits from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, including many of their own chart successes, as well as other hits from the era.
Gilbert O'SullivanGilbert O'Sullivan is an Irish-English singer-songwriter, best known for his early 1970s hits "Alone Again ", "Clair" and "Get Down". The music magazine, Record Mirror, voted him the No...
and
The New SeekersThe New Seekers are a British-based pop group, formed in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music had rock as well as folk influences...
covered the 1970s, while The New Seekers also performed a medley of songs from the 1950s to the 1970s, including songs by
Nat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
,
Perry ComoPierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
,
Teresa BrewerTeresa Brewer was an American pop singer whose style incorporated elements of country, jazz, R&B, musicals and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of the 1950s, recording nearly 600 songs. Born Theresa Breuer in Toledo, Ohio, Brewer died of a neuromuscular...
and
The Everly BrothersThe Everly Brothers are country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing...
. The show ended with all the participating acts singing parts of a song specially commissioned from Gilbert O'Sullivan, called
What Have We Got?
Parts of the show have survived in the UK archives and have been broadcast on other channels, including recent cable airings in the USA.