In the fall of 1959, life was very interesting for Dick Clark.
He and his wife, Barbara, were preparing to move into their first house together, the first Dick Clark Caravan of Stars hit the road that September and Clark added a Sunday night show to his busy schedule, The World of Talent, making him the only TV personality to have a network television show available from coast to coast every day of the week.
He may not have realized it at the time, but his world (and the world of disk jockeys across the land) would soon be shaken by a congressional probe of payola. But Clark also added another title to his impressive resume that fall - published author.
The first edition of Clark's Your Happiest Years hit bookstores with a $2.95 price tag. The book of advice aimed at teenagers was published by Clark's own Rosho Corporation but was distributed by Random House.
Clark took advantage of the book's 157 pages to share a few personal anecdotes and the inside covers and dust jacket included rarely seen (to that date) photos of Clark's personal and professional life. But Clark's advice is mostly generic and some of it is downright dated, like this exerpt:
“A young woman should begin in her teens learning the things that keep a home running smoothly. She can watch how her mother cooks and bakes. There are also many opportunities for a daughter to observe how Mother handles Dad when he’s had a tough day at work. Mom can always use some help around the house, with dishes, cleaning, cooking, and a million other things a girl should know to qualify for that band of gold.”
In 1991, Seattle Times reporter Erik Lacitis took a copy of the book to a 7-11 store and started reading passages from it to teens. What he found was that maybe things haven't changed as much as we thought. You can check out his article here.
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.
