American Bandstand

Can’t you just hear that theme song as soon as you hear the name American Bandstand? Bandstand. Back in ’54 two years before Dick Clark entered the scene, the show was hosted by a big guy, Bob Horn. That’s when three girlfriends and I played hookey from 8^th grade and went to Philadelphia, experiencing my first time seeing ‘trains’ running overhead of the streets making a loud rumble and dark shadows on the roadways. I was appalled at the dirty, filthy streets and a little alarmed at the exterior of the TV studio. It looked like a an old broken down-factory without windows.

But my mother was just as excited as I was, dressing up to be on television! I’d be dancing with the stars of the day-teenagers just like me. Without hesitation of the consequences of being caught absent from school without proper permission; principals in those days were definitely NOT ‘hip’ and would NEVER allow us to go. We were a merry group. The mother of one of the girls was familiar with the City.

Our first surprise was the small area that looked so big on the screen at home. It always looked so crowded with lots of kids. It was a crush but there weren’t so many kids in reality. Most of those were regulars and danced with the regulars. I did get to dance twice, with a tall, 6 ft. guy. A full foot taller than me. I remember stretching my arms up to reach him. So I did get on TV filling Mom with glee.

The following Monday when we got back to school, the secretary called us in. Uh-oh. After she closed the doors, she piped up, smiling. “Hey, I saw you all on Bandstand last Friday! You looked great!” She was beaming and happy for us adventurous kids. The principal, of course never would watch that show so we were safe with our daring.