Remembering Dick Clark: Dancing to the Music

Sunday, April 22, 2012

It would amuse my friends who know I listen primarily to country music that Dick Clark's American Bandstand was my first musical love.

I would race home from school to watch the show from Philadelphia.  And dance.  How I loved to dance.  I yearned to be one of the dancers on the show.  That dream later moved on to wanting to dance on Shindig! and Hullabaloo.

Alas, the desire to be a dancer faded as I grew older, but Dick Clark introduced me to singers from Pat Boone to Chuck Berry, from the Four Seasons to Buddy Holly and the Crickets.

To me the early days of American Bandstand was a rich, idealistic period when rock & roll exploded on the scene with experimentation and excitement.  And Dick Clark was right there in the middle, as he often sat among the members of the audience.   

When Dick began rocking in the New Year, I was right there with him, including this year dancing in 2012 with my Shih Tzu Maddie. 

May heaven hum with music, Dick.  

Carol