Farewell Mr. Clark

Unless you are living under a rock, I am sure you are aware that Dick Clark passed away this week. Who can ever forget American Bandstand? The two were synonymous. Maybe this is the day the music died for the past few generations.  Every Saturday morning, if you weren’t sitting in front of the TV, it was playing in the background.

I loved American Bandstand, and I know I was not alone.  I remember watching it back in the early sixties with some of my older cousins.  They would be trying out the latest in dance steps, copying the moves of those lucky teens actually in the studio. I adored my cousins, and was as happy as a clam, just being allowed in the same room while these important lessons took place. As time moved on, I too tried copying the latest in preparation for the local CYO dances held on Friday nights. People were not born knowing how to do the “mashed potato” or the ‘swim,” we all learned by our intense study of Dick Clark’s show.  Some of us learned better than others, as I am sure the phrase “white men can’t dance” was coined by curious onlookers at a dance event attended by my extended family.

Not only did we learn how to dance, we learned how to dress. Here was a bunch of good looking teens on TV, and we wanted to look just like them! They were cool, they were hip, and they embodied all our hopes and desires.  They say Carnaby Street and Twiggy changed the face of fashion; I disagree, Bandstand set the style. They transitioned from boys in jacket and tie, through bell bottom jeans, to Disco suits.  The girls started out in bobby sox and twin sets, and rode the fashion wave of minis, maxis, and halter dresses. Let’s be honest, what gal didn’t crave an open weave crocheted sweater vest, to wear with her love beads, and go-go boots?

Hairdos were another aspect studied and copied from Bandstand. In the early sixties, the hair curled up in a flip, with either a matching or tortoise shell head band. Soon enough the girls were sporting “pixie” cuts, while the young men were letting their crew cuts grow out. We saw it all, the long straight hair, the Farrah Fawcett wings, the Dorothy Hamill, and the curly perms.  We watched as the boys moved on to afros, complete with hair picks in pants pocket to locks combed back ala Saturday Night fever. Looking at old pictures, it becomes clear that not all hairdos were meant for all people.  I have a number of “perm” pictures floating around out there, that I pray never show up on Facebook!

What person of our generation didn’t wonder if those kids didn’t know how to wash their faces correctly, thus ending up with the Stridex Medicated Pads revealing “Residue that plain old soap and water can never totally remove?” I know I badgered my mom into buying me some Stridex, so I could perform the experiment myself.  This is how I learned that all the claims made by advertisers may not be the whole truth!

How about “Rate the Record?” Or that tag line, “it’s got a good beat, and you can dance to it.”  Mr. Clark always appeared to be fascinated with the young reviewers.  He treated them with respect, and valued their opinion. Unlike our parents, who thought our choices in music were questionable at best!

Which brings me to the MUSIC!  Oh the music! The majority of the show was dancing to the top 40 hits. But at some point, usually right after a commercial, the special guest would perform. Dick Clark booked everyone from Tony Bennett, to Jim Morrison. Most of the musical giants of our generation appeared on the Bandstand stage at one time or another.  Sure they lip synced their latest hit, but it was thrilling none the less, so much better than just looking at pictures from our “Tiger Beat” magazine.

So thank you Dick Clark, thank you for letting us find our own way, thank you for changing the way we listened to the music.  May you rest in peace.  You will be missed, but rest assured, your memory will go on and on.