Dick Clark and his wife had just moved into their first brand new house when ABC-TV president Oliver Treyz asked him to come to New York for an important meeting in early November 1959. When he arrived, Clark was surprised to find ABC-Paramount president Leonard Goldenson and several other network executives in Treyz’ office. We pick up the story in this excerpt from Bandstandland: How Dancing Teenagers Took Over America and Dick Clark Took Over Rock & Roll:
"Goldenson got right to the point.
“Have you ever taken payola?” he asked Clark.
After Clark assured his boss that he had never accepted money for playing a record, had never refused to play a record because he wasn’t offered money and had never accepted any form of payola from anyone, Goldenson asked Clark whether he had any interest in music publishing, records or anything else related to the music business.
Well, yes, Clark said. He did have part ownership in a few music-related businesses.
After Goldenson admonished Clark for not revealing his business ties earlier, Clark defended himself, saying he didn’t think he was doing anything different from others in the industry.
Goldenson saw it differently. He had faced a similar situation years earlier when he was in charge of Paramount’s theaters. Goldenson thought things were sliding in Detroit, where a lawyer turned businessman named George Trendle was supposed to be managing Paramount’s theaters. But Trendle seemed to be focusing on another venture of his, radio station WXYZ, where he had created two popular radio series — The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet.
That won’t do, Goldenson told Trendle. You’ve got to decide: the theaters or radio? Trendle chose radio. Now, Goldenson gave Clark a similar ultimatum: you’ll have to get rid of the outside business interests if you want to stay on the air at ABC-TV."
Did you know? As talk of payola in the music business spread across America, Dick Clark's bosses at ABC summoned him to New York to talk about it. Read more in this excerpt from Bandstandland. 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.
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.
© 2019 Larry Lehmer