| When I was a teenager I used to race home | | | | along with the Regulars. Like so many of us, |
| every afternoon, sit down in front of the TV, | | | | they wanted to be on TV where all their |
| and watch the kids dancing on American | | | | friends would see them getting their chance |
| Bandstand. Like so many young people across | | | | at fame. It wasnt so different from the urge |
| America, my friends and I knew all of them by | | | | of todays contestants on American Idol. |
| name. We considered those kids to be role | | | | |
| models. We copied their clothes, hair, and | | | | The show featured dance contests to spotlight |
| maybe most of all, their dancesbecause what | | | | songs, dancers and dances. Contestants signed |
| dominated the TV screen were kids moving to | | | | up and got a number. Once a week the numbers |
| the beat of our whole generation. We felt | | | | would be pinned on the contestants backs and |
| that beat, and watched the couples who always | | | | viewers cast ballots for favorites. This |
| danced together. These were people we got to | | | | would go on for three or four weeks, then the |
| know. There were Arlene Sullivan and Kenny | | | | winners would be announced on the air. A |
| Rossi, Bunny Gibson and Ed Kelly, Justine | | | | dancer didnt have to be that skillful. It was |
| Carelli and Bob Clayton, Joyce Shafer and | | | | more a matter of how they came across to the |
| Norman Kerr, Carole Scaldeferri and Nick | | | | cameras. The way they looked, or their manner |
| Gaeta, Mary Beltrante and Lou DeSero, Barbara | | | | might count for more than the technical |
| Levick and Joe Wissert, Janet Hamill and | | | | quality of their moves. It was how a dancer |
| Eddie Connor and Carmen Jimenez and Frank | | | | came across to the audience. If we liked them |
| Vacca. They were the ones setting the trends | | | | we would vote for them. Of course, there were |
| for kids from coast to coast. | | | | prizes, but they werent anything that would |
| | | | make a dancer rich. You might get a portable |
| Watching them we saw the moves, and imitated | | | | TV. One prize that lots of us wanted was our |
| them. From the daily dance on the tube we | | | | own personal jukebox. |
| learned the steps that we would take with us | | | | |
| to school dances, record hops and parties. We | | | | The show brought in most of the best groups |
| learned them all: the Slop, the Hand Jive, | | | | of that time. On any given day you might |
| the Bop, Chalypso (a combination of the | | | | catch Martha and the Vandellas, Little Eva, |
| Cha-Cha and the Calypso) and the Stroll. | | | | The Beach Boys, Dee Dee Sharp, Little |
| | | | Richard, Jackie Wilson, or Jay and the |
| The kids who appeared regularly on American | | | | Americans, Among other acts on the show were |
| Bandtstand weren't paid. These were the real | | | | Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, The Shirelles, |
| thing teenagers dancing to the latest Top 40 | | | | Tina Turner, The Everly Brothers, Little |
| hits. In real life the dance partners were | | | | Anthony & the Imperials, and Paul Anka. It |
| usually dating, which made watching every day | | | | was an amazing line-up. Though the performers |
| into a kind of soap opera. It was as if there | | | | were there, live on the show, most of them |
| were a national high school right there on | | | | didnt sing live. American Bandstand was where |
| TV. Keeping up with who was breaking up and | | | | lip-synching became an artform. |
| making up was a regular part of an American | | | | |
| teenagers week. | | | | The name most associated with American |
| | | | Bandstand is that of Dick Clark, but when it |
| The regulars were also known as The | | | | premiered locally in Philadelphia on October |
| Committee. They were on day-in-day-out, but | | | | 7, 1952 (as Bandtstand) the host was Bob |
| there were also a lot of other kids dancing | | | | Horn. Dick Clark took it over in 1956, and it |
| among them. These were young people who lined | | | | first aired as American Bandstand on the ABC |
| up each day, hoping they could be among the | | | | on August 5, 1957. The last episode aired on |
| fortunates who got the opportunity to dance | | | | October 7, 1989. |