A Look Back at a Grand Rapids TV Show: Pepsi Dance Trax

Over the years there have been several TV shows with music and dancing. The most well known were probably "American Bandstand", hosted by Dick Clark, "Soul Train", or "Solid Gold". But did you know that Grand Rapids had similar shows produced locally for the viewers of West Michigan?

Back in the mid to late 60s, radio personality Dick McKay hosted a dance show for WZZM TV-13. It aired at 4:30 in the afternoon and was very similar to "American Bandstand". The show would feature national top 40 hits along with local bands. From time to time national acts would stop by to perform on the show. There doesn't appear to be any video archives of that show. You can read more about it here...

About 20 years after Dick McKay's show, another TV dance show made it's way to the Grand Rapids television airwaves. It was sponsored by Pepsi and was called Pepsi Dance Trax. The program aired on FOX 17.

The show was originally hosted by then WKLQ on-air personality Danny Douglas. The shows were recorded at Club Eastbrook (which would later become the Orbit Room).

Danny recently posted a video clip of Pepsi Dance Trax on his Facebook page and said:

Fall of 1989, I hosted a teen dance show on the Fox affiliate in Grand Rapids. This is VERY painful to watch.

Here is a clip of Pepsi Dance Trax from 1989...

After Danny Douglas stepped down from hosting the show, the new co-hosts were Frosty Stillwell and Michelle McKormick from the then WGRD morning show.

Here is a video segment with those two hosts...

(Did Michelle do a hit of helium before the show?!)

The show was also hosted by Steve Smith from WGRD. I'm not sure if he was just filling in, or if he was an actual full time host at one point.

Here is a clip of Steve on Pepsi Dance Trax from February of 1990 (yes, 33 years ago!)...

If you want to take a journey down memory lane, a search on YouTube.com brings up a several video clips of Pepsi Dance Trax from 1989 to 1990. You can see those videos here.