 American Bandstand - American Bandstand -
The popular rock and roll music program for teenagers AMERICAN
BANDSTAND/ABC/1957-87/SYN/USA/ 1987-89 started as a local dance program in
Philadelphia in 1952 (hosted by Bob Horn under the title BANDSTAND) and
ran for thirty years under the guidance of its ever-youthful host Dick
Clark beginning October 7, 1957. The program featured the music and film
clips of current recording artists of the time, and a select audience of
teenage regulars who danced to the tunes of such favorites as Frankie
Avalon, Bobby Rydell, Chubby Checkers, Fabian, James Darren and just about
every major rock singers (who lip synched their latest hit).
To some of the loyal viewers, the real stars of the show were the teenage
dancers who appeared weekly on the program (some even had their own fan
clubs).
One such teen was Tommy DeNoble, a dancer and singer who became one of the
most popular regulars on the show. He developed his own following,
recorded a couple of records and appeared in the 1965 films The Monkey's
Uncle and Ship of Fools. Tommy went on to have a long career in
broadcasting in Philadelphia. He died at the age of 64 in Chalfont,
Pennsylvania.
Over its long history, AB dancers shuffled and swayed to the gyrations of
a variety of dance trends which included the show's popular Line dance, as
well as the Twist, the Frug, the Watusi, the Hustle, among others. In
1964, the show relocated to Los Angeles where it remained until the series
ended.
TRIVIA NOTE: For more information read: The History of American Bandstand
written by Michael Shore with Dick Clark (Ballentine, 1985).
In 2002, the NBC drama AMERICAN DREAMS featured a fictional 15-year-old,
Meg Pryor (Brittany Snow) who became a dancer on the American Bandstand
program. This clever format enabled the show's producers to bring out of
mothballs all the old rock and roll TV footage from the original American
Bandstand series and use it as legitimate backdrop to help sell each
week's storyline.
Other programs to feature teenagers dancing to music included:
- SONG AND DANCE/NBC/1948-49
- SATURDAY NIGHT DANCE PARTY/NBC/1952
- THE LLOYD THAXTON SHOW/SYN/1964
- SOUL TRAIN/SYN/1971+ (a black counterpart
of AMERICAN BANDSTAND hosted by Don Cornelius)
- DANCE PARTY USA/1986-92
- DANCIN' TO THE HITS/SYN/1986
- DANCIN' AT THE HOT SPOTS/TNN/1993-94
See also
NICKNAMES:
"America's Oldest Living Teenager"
External Links
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