He Had A Good Beat, 20 Million Kids Watched: God Gave Him An 82

I liked the young Dick Clark.  Carson got it right.  When Johnny left the Tonight Show that was IT--no comebacks, awkward interviews or guest shots on other shows-- he was DONE.  In show biz lingo he knew when to "get off".  Dick Clark, though he gave up Bandstand, insisted on hanging on to his New Year's Rockin' Eve television appearances WAY too long.  A stroke in 2004 left him speech impaired and looking old which made for cringe inducing moments every New Year's Eve.  America's "Oldest Living Teenager" became a cadaver like reminder to the rest of us that we were all becoming ripe bananas.  It was the old "you can't go home" syndrome writ large on the last night of a dying year.  I swear I could hear a gigantic "Nooooooo" go up across the U.S. when Dick would start the annual countdown.  

1957 the network was young and so was DC.

  The cool guy out of Philly, circa 1957, the one we could tune in, after some serious antenna manipulation, on channel 12 the new ABC affiliate out of Flint.  That's the guy I want to remember.  He, like Pat Boone, was the clean cut young man that moms liked and dads generally found non-threatening enough to trust around their daughters.  We kids liked him because he played all our songs, had a party going on EVERY day at his house, and often hosted the very rock n' roll stars we loved and admired.  He was smooth too.  Dick Clark knew just what to say and how to be oh so cool while saying it.  That had miles of appeal to clumsy teens who were just hoping their face would clear up before next Saturday's dance.  

Like most things in life, timing is everything.  Clark began his career in high school working at his dad's radio station in Utica/Rome, New York and continued his air work at WOLF in Syracuse while getting a business degree at Syracuse University.    His talent landed him a gig at WFIL in Philadelphia in the early 50's where he also grabbed some occasional TV time substituting for Bob Horn on his daily teen dance party called "Bandstand".  When Horn was busted for drunk driving the younger and more handsome Clark was ready to rock n' roll.

 

United Stations

For those of us in the hinterlands, his American Bandstand afforded a first look at the rock acts we loved to listen to on the radio, even if they were lip syncing.  It also didn't hurt  that their hair and clothes made parents everywhere shake their heads and quietly confirm that indeed the country was going to hell and Chubby Checker was driving the bus.  In the Eastern time zone we knew that it was always good idea to make sure that Bandstand, which started at 4 PM, was off the TV before dad got home.  I still remember lengthy lectures about how dad didn't fight the "Japs" in the South Pacific so that Dion and the Belmonts could establish a beachhead in his living room.  (Maybe he had a point.)

Through the years Clark stayed connected to radio via his United Stations Network where he produced and hosted shows like "Rock Roll and Remember".  The network's website is featuring several tributes to his work this week.

Dick Clark had a marvelous career being, well...Dick Clark.  He sold the music and a ton of products by mostly selling himself.  He was in love with his work and it showed.  It made him successful and crazy rich.  Not bad for a kid from upstate New York.

He was an icon to we boomers, as much a touchstone in our lives as JFK, hula hoops and transistor radios.  His death is just one more reminder that the days, weeks and years are slipping away; our generation is no longer young and full of promise.  The music plays on but the static increases and the colors are beginning to fade.  Top 40, "rate a record", and even pop music as a concept mean little or nothing to our grandkids.  Theirs is the world of the Internet and "on demand" entertainment.  We can take some comfort in knowing that Dick Clark and American Bandstand  mystified our parents and grandparents in the same way.

The Righteous Brothers sang, "If there's a rock n' roll heaven...you know they've got a hell of a band."  Even money says they now also  have a hell of an emcee.

Thanks Dick...well played.

"For now, Dick Clark, so long."