Bandstand

This was MTV before MTV. No one ever heard of Dick Clark until American Bandstand. If you were an up and coming Music Group, you fought to get on one of two shows, Ed Sullivan and American Bandstand. All the oldsters watched Ed while all the teens of the time watched American Bandstand. When I was growing up EVERYONE watched American Bandstand. Even on the small screen with tiny speakers, it was the only place you could actually see the bands you loved without going to their concerts. Then along came Soul Train. That was just a sad copy. I have no idea who hosted that show, but, EVERYONE knew who Dick Clark was. Am I right?

Super low budget dance party to pop hits that only lasted because it had no nationwide competition. I saw it since the early 70s. Once MTV began, it died a well deserved death.

If you liked anything but the most predictable comfortable safe bland suburban hits, you were out of luck. Soul Train had much better music and certainly better dancers. Bandstand had suburban kids who couldn't really dance. They just slightly bounced and moved their hands and never their hips.

All of it presided over by the clueless Dick Clark. Clark who never cared for pop and esp rock music by his own admission. Clark who even from the start peddled the blandest music, pushing Pat Boone instead of Little Richard.

Watch Soul Train, or Don Kirshner instead.

My family, friends and co-workers all remember Saturday's weekly TV series American Bandstand back in the 1960's and 1970's when it was THE ONLY music related theme show that could compete each week with the popularity of the following evenings Sunday night TV's Ed Sullivan show. Dick Clark as host was that perennial television star who seemed to have found the fountain of youth and just never seemed to age.

Each week the music that played and was danced to were the most popular songs of that day and when Dick Clark would ask some of the studio fans who were grooving and dancing to the music playing they would invariably respond with something like the following, "Well, I just like the beat. It's a beat we can dance to really easy. I just like the beat".

Yes for the most part the TV audience dancing to the songs playing represented a white mid-west America audience, but I believe it fair to say that American Bandstand would bring in the live talent from all across the country. The TV series sound stage was produced and filmed from the home of soul music in Philadelphia and yes from the great soul singer James Brown and Chubby Checkers, to crooners like Bobby Darin and Neil Sedaka, country singers like Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton, pop singers like the Carpenters and the Supremes, and rock and roll like Chuck Berry, the Animals and Creedence Clearwater Revival. American Bandstand never disappointed their television audience that tuned in each week to hear the beat, and maybe just a bit tongue in cheek laugh and criticize the shows dancers hokey dance moves, or their wide bell bottom pants and long hair or huge afros. Not only was American Bandstand the epicenter of the hip music, it was also a platform for teenage dress and fashion statements.

Who can not say that after more than 30 consecutive seasons on the air that if you were born prior to the 1980's that you didn't watch American Bandstand, didn't enjoy the music and the music guests that appeared each week? If you were not a fan of American Bandstand than you probably still tuned in and watched the TV show on Saturday as its critic so that you could make fun of the hokey dance moves that were displayed, the abstract fashion statements and hairdos (such as the women's beehive hairstyles and the men's two foot high afros).

Dick Clark's soothing voice and his ease with which he interacted with his musical guests made him the perfect host, and allowed us the audience to spend a Saturday for an hour or so enjoying great music guests, classic music and dance moves and ohhhh the fashion statements when we reminisce. Who can forget American Bandstand that lasted for 32 wonderful seasons. We miss you Dick Clark. God bless.

I am very fortunate to have danced on American Bandstand during 1962 when it was live from WFIL studios at 46th & Market Streets in Philadelphia, PA. I was 18 at the time and used to go down there whenever I could get out of school early. I once got on the record review panel and remember rating 3 new releases, one of which was "Do You Wanna Dance". According to my high school newspaper which printed a story about my being on the panel, I rated that one the highest. I still have that school paper in my scrapbook along with a snapshot I took of Dick Clark interviewing Sandra Dee. To this day, I am amazed at how being on that show was something I almost took in stride. What great teenage memories I now am privileged to enjoy!

I remember watching this show every Saturday afternoon when I was a child and I always had a lot of fun doing it. It featured a lot of awesome musical talent in the many years that it was on and Dick Clark was always an excellent and cordial host. The dancers always looked so alive on the dance floor and you could just tell that they were loving every minute of it. My memories of this show are very easily among my favorite memories of sitting in front of the television set when I was a child. It's very easy to understand why it lasted so many years.