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American Bandstand
| American Bandstand | |
| Premiere | 1957 |
| Finale | 1989 |
| Host | Dick Clark (1957-1989), David Hirsch (1989) |
| Network/Provider | ABC (1957-1987)
syndication (1987-1988) USA (1989) |
| Style | 60-minute variety |
| Company | Dick Clark Productions |
| Seasons | 42 |
| Episodes | 3000+ |
| Origin | USA |
American Bandstand is a music variety show that aired on ABC from 1957 to 1987. It ran in syndication from 1987 to 1988; then moved to USA in 1989.
The show started in 1952 on Philadelphia TV station WFIL/channel 6 (now ABC affiliate WPVI) as simply Bandstand. It was optioned as an after-school offering weekdays on the network after Dick Clark pitched it to ABC upon learning they wanted their O&O stations to come up with an idea for a late afternoon show. In 1957, ABC took in the show, now renamed American Bandstand where it aired weekday afternoons, then in 1964 it migrated to early Saturday afternoons where it became a staple. In that year, its broadcast origination moved from Philadelphia to Hollywood. It highlighted the hit songs of the times and featured an on-camera audience of teens dancing to the music as it plays and frequently had noted acts perform live on the show. Its regular feature was "Rate-A-Record," in which selected teens were asked to grade a new song on a scale of zero to 100. In 1964, they gave The Beatles' "She Loves You" (one of their most iconic songs) a rating of 73.
Show host Dick Clark divvied up his time between American Bandstand and other ventures, most notably the game shows The Object Is, Missing Links, The $10,000 Pyramid and its permutations, and TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes. The show moved to syndication in 1987. Clark turned the show over to a new host two years later. A 50th anniversary special was made in 2002.
Contents |
Seasons
Specials
| Title | Airdate | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Bandstand's 25th Anniversary | February 4, 1977 | |||||
| American Bandstand's 30th Anniversary | October 30, 1981 | |||||
| American Bandstand's 33 1/3 Anniversary | December 1, 1985 | |||||
| American Bandstand's 40th Anniversary | May 1, 1992 | |||||
| American Bandstand's 50th Anniversary | May 1, 2002 |
In-Depth
- At a Glance: Additional information about the series
DVD Releases
There are no DVD releases for this show.
