Bandstand at 50

Posted on August 7, 2007
Filed Under Culture, Main, Music | Leave a Comment

american_bandstand2.jpgAmerican Bandstand

On August 5, 1957, at 3 p.m, “American Bandstand” made its debut on national television. Not as shocking as the fins on Cadillacs or the launch of Sputnik, the event nevertheless was seismic in its long-lasting effects – it helped to usher in a new national cultural phenomena:

“… young viewers were suddenly able to watch teenagers much like themselves dancing in Philadelphia (where the show was produced) to the same records that could be heard on their local Top 40 AM radio stations. And as they did, the baby boom generation came of age as an audience and a market — and so did rock ‘n’ roll”

Ken Emerson, The Los Angeles Times: The spin on ‘Bandstand’

Rock music, of course, was one of the guiding lights for our generation – and American Bandstand helped popularize the music and the social milieu it helped engender. Within months every major city around the country hosted their own dance show on local television. And rock went from rebellion to mainstream.

For more on Bandstand:

The Museum of Broadcast Communications

History of Rock: American Bandstand Pictures

History of Rock: Dick Clark

Fifties Web

Early American Bandstand

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