Bandstand Beat

Dick Clark's path to Bandstand TV glory included overcoming lousy radio ratings

Before Dick Clark succeeded Bob Horn as host of TV's Bandstand in 1956, there was some question among WFIL management whether he was the right man for the job. Even after giving Clark's radio show the same Bandstand name, Clark's ratings were not very good. This excerpt from Bandstandland picks up the story:

"Station executives were not satisfied with Clark’s radio ratings, which failed to take off despite the new Bandstand name. When Clark protested that he was stymied by station edicts that his music be taken from the WFIL pop music library while Horn was given free rein on what he could play on TV, WFIL management responded by sending Clark to Pittsburgh for a week to see how a successful disc jockey can get it done in the afternoons.

Again, Clark protested that it was the type of music he was forced to play that limited his audience, not his announcing skills. He tried other methods to boost his audience: a month-long contest for listeners voting on Philadelphia’s favorite recording artist and a stint spinning records in the lobby of the Tower Theater in Upper Darby in the hopes teens would drop by to watch and, maybe, even dance. Few did.

While Horn was riding the wave of unprecedented popularity with the success of TV’s Bandstand, Clark was marking time in the 12-by-20-foot WFIL-AM cubicle down the hall. He had managed to replace his old Studebaker after staffers complained about constantly having to push it to get it started, but he was still waiting for that big break."

Did you know? Before Dick Clark joined WFIL in Philadelphia, he had another on-air name. 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. His 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

Dick Clark's Bandstand duties didn't keep him from hosting record hops as well

In early 1957, Dick Clark had been the host of Bandstand (still a local show in Philadelphia) for less than a year but his star was clearly on the rise, as this excerpt from Bandstandland shows:

"As Bandstand continued to grow in popularity, the demand for Clark’s appearances at record hops grew as well. Working with good friend Eddie McAdam, Clark zipped from hop to hop carrying rolls of quarters and an empty 45-rpm record box. McAdam would take dollar bills from kids at the door to cover the 75 cent admission fee, give them back a quarter and stuff the dollar bills into the record case.

“[Eddie] used to sweat profusely. Literally, he would perspire all the time,” said Clark. “By the end of the night, the sweat would drip off the end of his tie and into the box with all the money, which was coming in hand over fist.

“We’d take the boxes of money and stick them in a spare bedroom. Two or three weeks would go by and then my wife and I would try to straighten out all these crumpled, sweaty one-dollar bills.”[1]


[1] Joe Smith, Off the Record, pp. 103-105.

Did you know? When Bandstand debuted as a local show in Philadelphia, it had two hosts. And neither one was Dick Clark. 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. His 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