August 5, 1957: ABC aired a show about teenagers dancing. Parents were horrified. The music industry panicked. It ran for 30 years and changed America forever. The concept was simple: put teenagers on television and let them dance to rock ‘n’ roll. In 1957, this was revolutionary. And terrifying.
Rock ‘n’ roll was dangerous music. Elvis Presley had been censored on Ed Sullivan—cameras only showing him from the waist up because his hip movements were considered too sexual.
Parents across America were convinced this new music was corrupting their children. Making them rebellious. Destroying moral values.
And now ABC wanted to put teenagers—actual teenagers, not actors—on national television, dancing to this “devil’s music.”
Network executives were nervous. Advertisers were skeptical. Critics predicted disaster.
But Dick Clark had a vision.
He’d taken over hosting a local Philadelphia show in 1956. Just 26 years old, clean-cut, articulate, wholesome-looking.
He didn’t look dangerous. He looked like the guy who’d date your daughter and have her home by curfew.
And that was exactly the point.
Clark understood something the critics didn’t: if you put rock ‘n’ roll in a clean-cut, wholesome package, parents might actually let their kids watch it.
So on August 5, 1957, American Bandstand went national.
. . . . . . . . . .
Go here to read the full story and what happened – or didn’t – after AB went on air:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077306640421