Wednesday, March 25, 2009

American Bandstand 1957

In a comment on a long-ago blog post, sweetfreddie mentioned that there was a DVD of a December 1957 American Bandstand show available.  I finally got around to buying a copy.  It's great.  Not the video quality.  That bites the moose.  But the instant blast of nostalgia can't be topped.  Watching the dancers, I saw people whose images I hadn't seen in 50 years, yet it was as if I'd seen them yesterday.  I recognized many of them by name (Arlene, Pat, Carol).  I'd rush home every afternoon after school to watch them and to hear the music.  It was a different world then, but I remember it well.

12 comments:

Ed Gorman said...

Yep Bandstand was definitely a major cultural force. I never quite liked Dick Clark--to unctuous--but I appreciated the music and the girls.

Janet Rudolph said...

I was only on one time, probably in 1961, so later than your nostalgia period. Bandstand had a bad rap because the original host (before Dick Clark) was thrown off for colluding or connoodlng with the girls. I remember our mothers watching the show for days before allowing us to go on. Of course, we were never going to be the cool girls on Bandstand. We didn't go to West Catholic for Girls. As I said it was just the one time, but I remember it fondly. I even remember what I wore. So it was Fame at an early age. Maybe it was my warm-up for the Janis Joplin incident.

Randy Johnson said...

I watched Bandstand in the afternoons somewhere in the Sixties, also a bit later than you. I remember appreciating the girls as much as anything.

Unknown said...

Janet, you're going to have to write your autobiography. Bandstand, Janis, what next?

Anonymous said...

Janet, that is so cool! Jackie was a huge devotee of the show (though more 1961 than 1957) and mentioned that about the Catholic school girls.

My sister was on in the 70s in L.A. She got to "rate a record" and used a variation of the cliched "has a good beat/easy to dance to" line. Dick said "if I had a dime for every time I've heard that...".

Jeff

Cap'n Bob said...

I seem to recall watching Bandstand and The Mickey Mouse Club afterwards.

Anonymous said...

Go to this website
http://archives.museum.tv/login?from=archives
Create a login and then go to the tv archive, input bandstand and you'll find a good copy (320 x 240) that you can watch.

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