The passing of Dick Clark today made me reminisce about my hours watching American Bandstand.
My sister is 6 years older than I am so it seems like AB was always in my conscious life growing up. I think I was about ten years old when I started watching it on my own. I liked the dancing, the clothes, the boys. I saw the show as the epitome of what it was going to be like as a teenager. I couldn’t wait because it looked so fun!
One segment of AB was the couples spotlight. 3 couples were pulled out of the general group and danced in different parts of the dance floor for a whole song. Before this couples spotlight, I’d look to see who I thought were good enough to be spotlighted. I was always curious how those 3 couples were picked.
Another segment was something about new music. 2 different new songs would be played and a couple would rate how they liked it. Inevitably, if they liked the song and when asked why they liked it, they would reply “it’s got a good beat and you can dance to it.”
Then there was the “live” guest. I didn’t understand lip synching back then but it really didn’t matter. It was still cool to see Donna Summer, Michael Jackson, and even Madonna “singing” and dancing. Yes, I was someone who liked disco: it had a good beat and you could dance to it.
I learned that the teen years weren’t anything like AB. It was like advertising in that you never have as much fun as the people are having in the advertisement. I think I watched some AB into my college years (hence the Madonna reference) and then MTV came along. I shifted my music and dance watching to MTV, back when MTV had music on it.
Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve was a staple from age 13 until, well now. Dick Clark was the perpetually young guy who brought music and entertainment to my life. I will miss him.