Customer Reviews

Dick Clark's American Bandstand

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"Dick Clark's American Bandstand" is not just a look back at the popular music show of the pre-MTV generation but at the history of American music and popular culture during the span from 1952-1989 when "American Bandstand" aired. That explains why you will find pictures of Led Zeppelin and the Ayatollah Khomeini in this book despite the fact neither ever performed on Bandstand. With the show playing a pivotal role in the ABC Sunday night family drama "American Dreams," this oversized book provides a relatively detailed look back at the show and the music Dick Clark played while the teenagers of first Philadelphia and then California danced their ways in the livingrooms of America.

Dick Clark became the host of the afternoon dance television show for teenagers in 1956 when he was a youthful 26 (as opposed to the youthful 73 he is currently), and this volume is one of the first opportunities he has taken to reminisce about the series that made him a household name as well as to talk about the artists who appeared on the show. "American Bandstand" was television's longest running and most popular dance program, with the power to make a record an overnight success and Clark's most interesting comments have to do with the early days of rock 'n' roll when "Bandstand" was pivotal in bringing the new music to a mass audience. That is why it is so strange to hear about the studio being picketed by angry teenagers because Clark was replacing Bob Horn as the host of "AB" (which was originally "Bob Horn's Bandstand" on radio) or to think about the show being 3 hours long, airing each afternoon from 2:30 until 5:30 playing 35 records a day. Of course, when the kids rated songs during Record Review the importance of being able to dance to a song was going to move American music away from pop to rock. The strength of this book is that Clark consistently offers insights and analysis of the music and the times instead of simply stringing together a series of anecdotes and memories.

Clark and his co-writer Fred Bronson divide the volume into four chapters, representing the fifties ("Let the Good Times Roll"), sixties ("Hard Day's Night"), seventies ("Disco Fever"), and the end of "American Bandstand" ("We Got the Beat"). The book is illustrated with pictures of memorabilia from each decade and photographs from the "Bandstand" archives with detailed captions, all intended to provide visual counterpoints to Clark's behind-the-scenes recollections and insights. There are also anecdotes about songs and performers, sidebars filled with facts and music trivia (the first record played on the premier network installment of "American Bandstand" was Jerry Lee Lewis's "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On"), and even a full-size poster of "footprint" dance steps. You will get a sense for the history of music and "American Bandstand," especially when the show shifted to California during the British invasion. Whether you watched "American Bandstand" or only know about it as a recognizable brand name of American pop culture, you will find this book informative and insightful.

what can you say about Dick Clark?the ageless one.the teen for life.he was very ground-breaking in alot of ways.he gave alot of Artists a chance to be in the spotlight.this book recounts his feelings on Race,Music SOciety at large&the changing times&artists.before there was a Carson Daily&a TRL there was a American Bandstand.MR.CLark had COntrol over what Artists or SOngs got on his Show unlike TRL.a Great Read.

I grew up with American Bandstand and I am nostalgic. This oversized tribute to one of the few shows geared to youn people in the 1950s and 1960s could have been better. There is a lot of non-musical history. Page after page of text covering topics found in any high school history textbook. A book of this kind should have many more illustrations and more popular music coverage. One of my degrees is in history and I certainly don't need to be educated about VietNam, civil rights, the communist scare of the 1950s, Kennedy's assasination, etc. The audience for this book is not a group of children. I believe the author used the historical information as filler. Surprisingly, there are more pictures of AB regulars than musical guests. If you loved the show and can get a good price, surely you should read this book. But it left me yearning for more of nostalgic musical trip than it delivered.

This book has great information about "American Bandstand" as well as terrific pictures. However, there are parts of the book where I believe the authors got some facts mixed up, but other than that, it's a great book.