A Farewell to Dick Clark

AP file photo from 1957

The photo of Dick Clark on one of the American Bandstand shows brings back fond memories of that era when I was a wannabe teenager. When this show hit the airwaves, rock and roll hit new heights and gained a legitimacy that it previously lacked.  Dick often sat among the regulars on bleachers and handled his role as MC in a casual, unassuming way that made him seem like a friend.

I couldn't wait to get home from school every afternoon to watch the kids from Philadelphia dance on the show and see what singer would perform that day. Arlene and Kenny, Justine and Bob, Bunny and Ed, regulars on the show, vied for the most time in front of the cameras. Jerry Lee Lewis was first to perform on the shoe and Chubby Checker launched a new dance called the the twist in front of an audience on American Bandstand. Frankie Avalon, Paul Anka, Fats Domino, and Chuck Berry appeared on the show in the early days as well. Fabian was the one singer that I thought had zero talent, and he didn't last long on the pop scene.

Clark asked teenagers their opinions of new records through Rate-a-Record. During the segment, two audience members each ranked two records on a scale of 35 to 98, after which the two opinions were averaged by Clark, who then asked the audience members to explain why they had chosen the scores.  Those comments often made a record climb the charts or caused its doom.

Dick Clark embraced rock and roll and made it okay to sing along and dance the crazy dances of the that day. The mashed potato, watusi, the stroll, the jerk, etc., could be danced without a partner so anyone who wanted could participate. He was the quintessential nice guy that everyone found ways to praise for his role in the rise of rock and roll and its eventual evolution into the music of today.

Bidding good-bye to Dick Clark is like losing an old friend. He was a gentleman in a business filled with greedy promoters and managers. Farewell to a man who was truly "a legend in his own time."