(ABC Primetime, 1952) [The 1950s may have been a "Classic" period of television music, remembered fondly by many; but socially it was a backward time; for those entertainers who were not white there was a struggle for acceptance in television that seemed to take longer than in other entertainment mediums such as night clubs, vaudeville, Broadway musical theatre or even radio; The first network TV variety show hosted by an African American was this short-lived series by the energetic entertainer Billy Daniels; the brave effort was a 15 minute show on Sunday nights which only lasted half a season (13 weeks) but it was historic; Four years later the recording star Nat "King" Cole was to be given a half-hour NBC series that lasted 64 weeks, but Madison Avenue advertisers failed to show interest and the network couldn't justify continuing to air it without revenues...]
[THEME verified as seen on excerpt broadcast on the "TVLand" cable network 2/24/2002; The THEME which was introduced in the film by Johnny Johnston, was Billy Daniels signature song...] Composers: music by Harold Arlen (ASCAP) [professional name of Hyman Arluck], and lyric by Johnny Mercer (ASCAP) 1978 Publisher: Famous Music Corporation (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: Famous Music Corporation (ASCAP) of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: Renewal Date: Recording: