American Bandstand was a rock & roll hitmaker, bringing national fame and fortune to dozens of eventual music icons by allowing them to lip sync to their latest tunes for three minutes on a weekday afternoon from a small television studio in Philadelphia, Pa.
What was less obvious to casual observers was that host Dick Clark, who spent much of his youth living a comfortable suburban lifestyle in an era of big band and swing music, apparently had something of an affinity for country music. Rock music was still finding its footing as a curious combination of country, blues and pop music when Dick Clark inherited the locally popular Bandstand television show in 1956, but by the time American Bandstand launched as a national institution a year later, Clark clearly recognized the value of including an occasional country act on his show.
Most of the country singers who enjoyed crossover success in those early years doubtless owe much of that success to their appearances on American Bandstand. That includes Johnny Cash, Jim Reeves, Bob Gibson, Stonewall Jackson, Johnny Horton, Skeeter Davis and Faron Young. In an unusual twist, Conway Twitty broke through nationally as a rock singer and capitalized on that success to launch a lengthy and successful country career.
Even after moving to Los Angeles, Clark stayed connected to the country music community. In 1969, he hosted his first Academy of Country Music awards program. In 1979, Dick Clark Productions took over production of the show, a duty that continues today. In 2008, the ACM awarded Clark the Jim Reeves International Award at its annual gathering in Nashville.
Trivia corner: "Bandstand Boogie" was the theme song for American Bandstand during its entire national run. Who wrote it? (Answer next time).
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.
Photo: Patsy Cline being interviewed by Dick Clark during her American Bandstand appearance.
