Back in the day… Bandstand was the “Cat’s Pajamas”… Beginning locally in Philly in 1952, and featuring mainly short musical films, and occasional studio guests, Bandstand was an early predecessor for the type of music videos that became popular in the 1980’s… After a short time, the show changed to a dancing format, with teenagers dancing along on camera as the records played… In 1956 Dick Clark replaced Bob Horn, the original host… And the show took off like a rocket… It was picked up nationally by ABC (becoming American Bandstand) on August 5, 1957…
There were regulars… Who were kinda like minor movie stars… And kids who stood in line day to day to get on the show… The latest records were played… And there were guest artists, who would lip-sync their records… A spot on the show could propel an artist or group to stardom… Or a song up, and off the charts… Local idols, Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon, and Fabian were the Bandstand “Golden Boys”… Clark would often interview the teenagers about their opinions of the songs being played, most memorably through the "Rate-a-Record" segment… Another segment was “Role Call”… The kids would pass in front of the camera and say their name and where they went to school… It seemed like every day there was three or four girls answering to “Mary, South Philly”… In 1958, ABC even gave Clark a Saturday night time slot for The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show, which originated from the Little Theatre in Manhattan… Let’s tune it in… All three of the Golden Boys are on tonight…
1 comment:
I am very impressed with your skillful orchestration. We share the same sentimentality for Oldies Music and items from our era. We are fortunate that those years were part of a great transition period. We went from sitting by the large Philco Radio and listening to shows like "The Green Hornet and Fibber McGee and Molly, to the introduction of early comedy shows like "Milton Berle, Cid Caesar, and Red Skeleton on TV. Music was changing from Pop to Rock & Roll; cars were improving in style and technology, and the Economy was prosperous. What a great time to be a kid! You clearly, concisely and accurately describe that wonderful time. In the videos and pictures of American Bandstand you have some real special regulars that appear. Thank you for sharing .
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