The ubiquitous Dick Clark

Dick Clark was everywhere, or so it seemed. I remember him from American Bandstand, which I watched almost every week for well over a decade in the 1950s and 1960s, and occasionally after that. That show had a feature called Rate-A-Record, from which the catchphrase “It’s got a good beat and you can dance to it” was made famous. This version of Bandstand Boogie by Les Elgart, which became the American Bandstand Theme, has several shots of Clark. Here is The Time performing The Walk on AB from 1983.

I was an avid viewer of Where The Action Is from the late 1960s, a show which, I distinctly remember, introduced the videos for the Beatles’ Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever. That show featured the group Paul Revere and the Raiders, who namechecked Clark in the song Legend Of Paul Revere: “And then Dick Clark approached them, said ‘I know a thing or two. I’ll put you on a TV show and make big stars of you.'”

Undoubtedly watched him most as the host of the game show Pyramid (initially the $10,000 Pyramid), a show I tried out for and failed to get on in 1977.

When I bought a Time-Life CD collection covering the rock and roll hits of 1955-1961, guess who was listed as the compiler?

But check out his IMDB listings as producer and host of a variety of award shows, and other specials. I did see him, early on, doing the New Year’s Eve show, though not since his first appearance after his stroke a few years back.

The New York Times story.

Here’s his appearance on the TV show This Is Your Life from 1959, where he appears with his first wife Barbara, and his eldest son.

Mark Evanier’s take.

An unflattering portrayal of Clark in the book White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s By Joe Boyd; some of the allegations seem to be contracted by others.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

From ABC News: Dick Clark, Entertainment Icon Nicknamed ‘America’s Oldest Teenager,’ Dies at 82

PLUS:
Lester Bangs on Dick Clark, from nearly 40 years ago.
Reminder: Dick Clark, not Dick Cheney, died Wednesday

Author: Roger

I'm a librarian. I hear music, even when it's not being played. I used to work at a comic book store, and it still informs my life. I won once on JEOPARDY! - ditto. View all posts by Roger