Bandstand Beat

Oh where have you gone, The Other Dick Clark?

"Dick Clark, formerly program director of KTEM, Temple, Tex., has joined WMFJ, Daytona Beach, Fla., in the same capacity." - Billboard, March 20, 1957.

I found this item while doing research into Dick Clark who, you may know, was the young man who transformed Philadelphia's Bandstand television program into the immensely popular national American Bandstand. Although the Dick Clark mentioned in the Billboard item, whom I'll refer to as The Other Dick Clark, is obviously not the person I was seeking information on, I was intrigued. What happened to him after he moved to Florida? Did he ever go on the air as Dick Clark? Does he have any interesting stories about sharing a name with one of the best-known people in the country at the peak of that person's popularity? Where is he now?

I tried to track down The Other Dick Clark on the Internet and have discovered a few things of interest, though I can't be 100 percent certain they refer to The Other Dick Clark I'm seeking. Nor has my research answered my questions. So, with that caveat, here is what I found:

• The Other Dick Clark was apparently born in in 1929, the same year as Bandstand's Dick Clark.
• The WMFJ web site has pictures of The Other Dick Clark (that's where the photo with this post came from) and indicates that Dick Y. Clark was program director and an on-air announcer in the mornings. A musical survey from 1964 lists Dick Clark as an on-air DJ and a co-worker says that Clark was the morning man and General Manager in 1966.
• A Richard Y. Clark was listed as vice-president of Life Style Broadcasting, Inc., in Daytona Beach when that company was incorporated in 1980. Although that corporation is now listed as inactive by the State of Florida, Life Style was issued a permit by the Federal Communications Commission on Dec. 11, 1986, to construct television station WLSY-TV on Channel 26. By the time the station went on the air, the call letters had been changed to WAYQ-TV. There was a flap in the community about the height of the station's broadcasting tower when it was built, a concern that was apparently realized in 1991 when a military plane hit the antenna and knocked the station off the air.

As you can see, biographical information about The Other Dick Clark has been hard to find on the Internet. The My Life site lists a Richard Y. Clark, born in 1929, now living in Danville, Va., but I have no idea if that is The Other Dick Clark. While I'd still like to know the answers to my questions, my search is pretty much over. Unless, of course, you can fill in some of the blanks by adding your comments.

Thanks.

Author Larry Lehmer's book about Dick Clark and American Bandstand --  Bandstandland: How Dancing Teenagers Took Over America and Dick Clark Took Over Rock & Roll --is available from Sunbury Press. Go here to learn the story behind the writing of Bandstandland or here to listen to the Pennsylvania Cable Network's interview with author Larry Lehmer.

Larry Lehmer's book about the last tour of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens -- The Day the Music Died -- is available at Amazon.

 

Famed Philadelphia clothier once tried for his own rock & roll glory

Before American Bandstand, the music business was mostly centered in New York City, but larger cities like Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Nashville also played prominent roles in the hybridization that gave birth to rock and roll in the mid-1950s.

But shortly after American Bandstand emerged on the national scene on August 5, 1957, it was clear that Philadelphia was the center of the rock and roll universe. As dancing Philadelphia teens filled the television screen every weekday afternoon, Dick Clark introduced many of the area's young musical talents to an eager national audience.

Rock and roll became big business in Philadelphia. Kids wanted to be stars and there were plenty of adults to help them along the path. Everyone from disc jockeys to record distributors to auto dealers seemed to own a record label after Bandstand made its splash. One of the most interesting stories from that era is that of Ben Krass, a middle-aged clothier who made his own brief grab at rock and roll glory.

Krass would later go on to become one of Philadelphia's most-recognized figures. Though a scant 5-foot-7 and a wispy 135 pounds, Krass was the public voice for Krass Brothers' clothing store at 9th and South Streets, just three blocks from his 1919 birthplace. "If you didn't buy from Krass Brothers, you wuz robbed!" goes one of Krass' television commercials. The spots were filmed in the store where he kept a coffin. The coffin was a prop for another famous Krass spiel, "If you gotta go, go in a Krass Brothers suit."

He and brothers Jack and Harry first opened their store in an old movie house in 1947. They became known for their celebrity clientele - including Jerry Vale, the entire Palumbo house orchestra and the Ink Spots - and claimed the honorific "Store of the Stars." But, apparently, Krass wanted to be a star himself.

Though details are sketchy, Krass was the owner of South Street Records around 1960. One of the label's releases was Nagasaki, listed as by Krass himself. Another release was Slippery Sal by Bobby Dadino. While searching the Internet, I also came up with a 45 of Green Eyes by Ben Krass on the Camelot label.

The South Street label was apparently short-lived, but Krass didn't totally give up his interest in music. In the early 1970s, he reportedly lent money to Kenny Gamble so Gamble could pursue his own musical dreams. Krass went on to live until June 7, 2004, when he died of complications of Alzheimer's disease. I find Krass' story fascinating, but I have a number of questions:

1. Did Krass ever have any connection to Bandstand, Bob Horn or Dick Clark?

2. Who was Bobby Dadino?

3. Did Krass actually sing on any of the records credited to him?

4. Where did he do his recording?

5. What's the story behind Camelot Records?

6. Why did Krass start a record label anyway?

Author Larry Lehmer's book about Dick Clark and American Bandstand --  Bandstandland: How Dancing Teenagers Took Over America and Dick Clark Took Over Rock & Roll --is available from Sunbury Press. Go here to learn the story behind the writing of Bandstandland or here to listen to the Pennsylvania Cable Network's interview with author Larry Lehmer.

Larry Lehmer's book about the last tour of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens -- The Day the Music Died -- is available at Amazon.

 

 

 

Dick Clark and the curious case of Louisiana's best-known Twister

When Dick Clark first arrived at WFIL in Philadelphia, he was just one of a half-dozen young clean-cut staff announcers, each intent on making his own mark in one of the nation's hottest radio and television markets.

While Clark's boyish charms may have been disarming to some, his ambitions soon became obvious. By the time he took over Bandstand and maneuvered it onto the national stage as American Bandstand, there was no questioning who was in charge.

Not content with merely directing the behind-the-scenes machinations of a network television show, Clark sometimes inserted himself into altering the creative content that made up the heart of the show.

To his credit, Clark is credited with changing the title of a little ditty recorded by a group of Philly teens from Do the Bop to At the Hop, a move that helped make Danny & the Juniors national stars. Clark is also said to have made a few changes to Freddy Cannon's Tallahassee Lassie and persuaded Lloyd Price to clean up the lyrics of Stagger Lee for the American Bandstand audience (more on that in a later post).

But one of the most curious Clark-orchestrated content changes involved a young singer and disc jockey from Opelousas, La., named Rod Bernard.

Bernard bought his first guitar at age 8, earning most of the money by selling pecans. He made his radio debut at age 10 and soon became a radio regular. In 1956, he joined some high school classmates in a band called the Twisters. The band played at teen centers on weekends and Bernard deejayed on the local radio station after school during the week.

An early Twisters recording went nowhere, but following high school graduation they cut two sides for Floyd Soileau of Jin Records at J.D. Miller's fabled studio in Crowley La., in an all-night session -  Bernard's own composition, Pardon, Mr. Gordon, backed with a song written and recorded first by King Karl (Bernard Jolivette), This Should Go On Forever. The session ended with Bernard's head wrapped in a towel due to a severe nosebleed. The altered sound proved popular with teens.

Soileau had his records pressed by RCA in Linden, N.J., then had to ship them to his distributor in New Orleans, a process that became problematic as This Should Go On Forever broke out as a regional hit across the Southeast and Texas. Soileau solved that problem by leasing the disk to Leonard Chess of Chess Records, who released the record nationally on his Argo subsidiary label.

As the song crept into the national Top 10, it caught Dick Clark's attention. He soon booked Bernard for American Bandstand and his Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show. Bernard embarked on a two-week national tour to plug the record when Clark had an unusual request. Someone had complained about use of the word "sin" in the record; would Bernard be so kind as to re-do the record without the offending phrases?

No problem, replied the Bernard camp. Musicians were hastily assembled at Miller's studio and were soon laying down the instrumental track, which was shipped to Chess in Chicago. Bernard flew into Chicago one night, added the G-rated vocal and a single acetate was cut for use only on the Clark shows.

When Bernard arrived at WFIL in Philadelphia for his Bandstand debut on March 6, 1959, he was understandably nervous. For one thing, his appearance was touted by Opelousas newspapers and radio as the biggest thing to hit the city since it was named capital of Louisiana during the Civil War after Union forces occupied Baton Rouge or since native son Jim Bowie died in the siege of the Alamo.

But of greater concern to Bernard was the fact that he would be lip-syncing to his hit with lyrics he was unfamiliar with. Bandstand producer Tony Mammarella made sure Bernard had a dressing room equipped with a turntable and the acetate so he could practice before airtime. There were a couple of other minor union-related issues at WFIL, but things were quickly resolved.

Bernard made it through both appearances in fine shape, though Clark neglected to bring the acetate to New York for the Saturday night show. He was rescued by his wife, Bobbi, who delivered the disk shortly before Bernard's appearance.

Bernard returned a hometown hero and his career was taken over by Bill Hall, who earlier managed the Big Bopper. Bernard's 1962 hit of Colinda featured studio work by brothers Johnny and Edgar Winter, who each earned $10 for their efforts. Bernard later concentrated on a radio and television career at KLFY in Lafayette, La.

Somehow, the acetate for the Clark shows made its way to England, where it has occasionally popped up in reissues. Bernard's son, Shane King Bernard, produced a documentary about his father in 1986. It's available on YouTube in two parts. The second part has details about Bernard's Dick Clark experience. Here's part 1:

 

Here's part 2:

 

Author Larry Lehmer's book about Dick Clark and American Bandstand --  Bandstandland: How Dancing Teenagers Took Over America and Dick Clark Took Over Rock & Roll --is available from Sunbury Press. Go here to learn the story behind the writing of Bandstandland or here to listen to the Pennsylvania Cable Network's interview with author Larry Lehmer.

Larry Lehmer's book about the last tour of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens -- The Day the Music Died -- is available at Amazon.

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