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It Has A Good Beat And You
Can Dance To It:
The music -
part two:
By Pat Jacobs
It was 49(!) years ago on August 5th, 1957, that a true musical
icon was born.
AMERICAN BANDSTAND, with host Dick Clark, aired its first
national show on ABC. It became the longest running series on
the ABC network, which aired from 1957 to 1987! (It was
resurrected for a year on USA in 1989.) It was the first network
rock and roll show and the longest running musical show in
television history.
And it became the flagstone and launching pad of a media
empire for Richard Augustus Clark II. Born on November 30th,
1929 in Mount Vernon, New York, Clark discovered the joy of
radio in the tenth grade and proceeded to forge a career.
A few years later, Clark was given a summer job at WRUN-AM
radio in Rome, N.Y., a station owned by his uncle and run by his
father. (Connections DO help!)
He started as an office boy, but advanced to fill-in for
a vacationing weatherman on the WRUN's new FM station. By
summer's end, Clark was doing station breaks. He attended
Syracuse University (major in advertising with a minor in radio)
where in his senior year, he worked at WOLF, a local country
station. He returned to WRUN for a short time as "Richard Clay"
that then led to his first television job, as a newscaster at
WKTV in Utica, N.Y. He also hosted a country music TV program
called "Cactus Dick and the Santa Fe Raiders."
Then in 1952, using the name "Dick Clark", he worked for
WFIL radio and television in Philadelphia , PA. That summer WFIL
started having announcers play records over the air; shortly
after, the same format was tried on TV.
Bob Horn, a WFIL radio deejay, became host of the new
televised program "Bob Horn's Bandstand." Within a month,
teenagers were invited to come and dance to the records played.
The show began a successful run, from 1952 to 1957.
Clark was hosting a similar program on radio and filled
in for Horn when on vacation. Then in 1956, Horn was arrested
for drunken driving, while the station was conducting an
anti-drinking when driving campaign(!!).
Clark took over the show on July 9th. And both became a
local success. Clark's clean-cut, boy-next-door, "all-American"
image, and the show itself was very reassuring to white,
middle-class Americans who felt threatened by this new rock and
roll music. (Rock was predominated by black artists at this time
and for several years, pre-Beatles.)
Al Jarvis, an R & B deejay, was ABC's first choice as the
replacement host, but Jarvis turned the job down, due to the
network's reluctance to feature black artists on the show.
Clark knew almost none of the songs, (his personal taste
is said to be 1940s and "big band" music) but was great working
with the kids, asking about clothing trends, favorite songs,
(Rate-A-Record was a very popular segment; Three kids would
listen and then rate a new song. Rankings ranged from 35 to 98.
Legend has it that an early Beatles song was played on this
segment BEFORE 1964 and was rejected!) and dance fads (Many
teens learned the Stroll and other latest steps through
Bandstand).
"Everybody watched it." (I watched regularly during the
'60s.) I won't say the show had a major impact on me, but it DID
influence my dress and record buying. The Beatles were (and are)
my all-time favorite group. There were so many singers and such
a great variety. I also particularly enjoyed Marvin Gaye's
appearances. And I looked forward to seeing the Supremes, the
Four Tops and Four Seasons, and the Beach Boys," said Irene
Clark (no relation!), a long-time fan.
It was Clark's efforts that led Bandstand to national
success; he had been sending kinescopes of the show to New York,
thus convincing the ABC programmers to include the show in its
lineup.
It was a brilliant move: ABC was a struggling network and
needed hits. The program, to reflect its new statue and network
affiliation, was renamed "American Bandstand". The first
national show aired on Monday, Aug. 5th, 1957, and ran Monday
through Friday from 3 to 4:30 pm. EST. (Teens were coming home
from school then!)
There was also a brief spin-off, "The Dick Clark Saturday
Night Beechnut Show", sponsored by Beechnut Gum, which ran from
1958-1960.
It was quite innovative for the time. Each show featured
popular artists lip-synching their latest hits, interviews,
autograph sessions, and of course, dancing! There was a dress
code: Girls weren't allowed to wear slacks or tight sweaters,
guys had to wear a coat and tie. Smoking and chewing gum wasn't
allowed.
Focus began around a regular group who developed their
own national following ( Kenny, Arlene, Justine, among others).
American Bandstand provided the first national exposure
of many singers and was one of the first programs to be racially
integrated, which Clark himself insisted upon.
Mrs. Tina Martin recalled that "Bandstand was the
catalyst. We heard the songs on the radio, and when Dick Clark
put a face to the singers on TV, that made us hear AND see. We
liked the combination of both, especially the fact that for the
most part, we thought the teen idols were SO CUTE!"
The show's success spawned the growth of several local
labels, such as Jamie, Cameo, and Parkway. Clark became
financially involved in Swan and Jamie, and the label's acts.
The labels prospered as a result of Bandstand exposure.
The show became such a powerhouse to the point where if a
song was played on the show, thousands of records were sold in a
week. A song played daily could go top ten. Agents clamored to
get their acts on.
Many felt that Philadelphia acts and records were getting
excessive exposure due to Clark's business interests and in
1959, a Senate committee began investigating music industry
payola.
Clark was a main focus, having partial copyrights to one
hundred and fifty songs, many played on his show. He also had
ties to thirty-three music-related businesses, including
publishers, recording companies, and pressing plants. Clark was
eventually cleared, but was required to drop his music holdings
for Bandstand to continue. He did.
And the beat went on.
In 1964, Bandstand moved to Los Angeles, California for
two reasons: The American music scene was Los Angeles by then,
and Clark was expanding into other program productions. (In
early Sept. 1963, Bandstand went from a daily to a weekly,
airing on Saturday.)
Once Clark was an aspiring actor and has appeared in a
few films, playing himself and character parts. He's hosted TV
compilation and game shows ($10,000 Pyramid) and of course, New
Year's Rockin' Eve. He's produced series, such as "American
Dreams" and the 1965 music series "Where The Action
Is", "Happening '68", and since 1973, the annual American Music
Awards.
Many feel Clark was responsible for shifting rock and
roll into the white bread teen idol sound prevalent in the late
50s-early 60s.
Be that as it may, there's no denying that Dick and
Bandstand forever changed the genre, becoming pop culture icons.
Dick Clark was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
1993, and his Bandstand podium now rests in the Smithsonian.
And deservingly so.
Did you know that:
Clark is only 5 feet 8. He was in
the last "Perry Mason" episode. He's written 5 books: 3 on the
history of American Bandstand, a memoir, Rock, Roll, and
Remember, and 1 on teen grooming tips!
Bandstand went from black and white to color in early Sept.
1967.
The first song played on the national show was "Whole Lot of
Shakin' Going On" by Jerry Lee Lewis.
The first guests were Billy Williams and The Chordettes.
The only performer who did NOT lip-synch was B. B. King.
The show's theme song is "Bandstand Boogie", the original by the
Les Elgarts Orchestra.
The music was by Charles Albertine, words added later by Barry
Manilow and Bruse Sussman.
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