In the fall of 1963, Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars roadshow was especially notable for several reasons.
One of those reasons was that the Caravan was scheduled to play in Dallas, Texas, the evening of Nov. 22. That appearance was canceled because of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas earlier in the day.
Another noteworthy aspect of the tour was that Dick Clark and his wife, Loretta, rode the bus with the performers for most of the stops, which Clark emceed. This was possible because ABC had cut American Bandstand to a weekly Saturday slot that September, leaving Clark free during the week.
But, perhaps the most noteworthy thing to come out of that tour was the home movie produced by Myron Lee. Lee and his musical group, the Caddies, were the house band for the tour and Lee's silent footage of the tour provides a rare glimpse of life on the road in the early 1960s. That includes footage of Billy Cook, a former popular dancer on Bandstand's early days. He's the young man identified in the film as Dick Clark's assistant.
Here's Lee's fascinating film:
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.
