David Cassidy in the News
'Bandstand' Turns 40 With Rock Celebration
TELEVISION
May 13, 1992
By Greg Dawson
Sentinel Television Critic
The Orlando Sentinel
If Johnny Carson's 30-year run on The Tonight Show is remarkable, then what can you say about Dick Clark, who tonight hosts the American Bandstand 40th Anniversary Special (9 to 11, WFTV-Channel 9)?
You can say it's amazing a man can spend 40 years on the air and never say anything memorable. Or project such a bland image that comics don't even try to do Dick Clark impressions. He's not doable.
That's one of the keys to his longevity, of course. Like Carson, 62, Clark is a keenly intuitive performer who knew his success lay in making others look good. He was a chameleon who reflected pop taste, often blending Zeliglike into the bandstand with the rest of the kids on his show.
In fact, the only notable quote associated with American Bandstand belongs to teens asked by Clark to rate a new song: ''I liked it. It was easy to dance to and had a good beat.''
Pretty much the same could be said for American Bandstand in its heydey, and for this anniversary special, an entertaining mix of rock 'n' roll 'n' remembrance.
It's sure to rekindle memories of ''your first kiss, that big high-school crush, the clothes you wore, the car you drove,'' as Clark, 66, puts it.
The show is generously long on clips and mercifully short on gab. Clark's guest list encompassed virtually the entire history of rock, from Bill Haley and Jerry Lee Lewis to the Beach Boys, Elton John, Jim Morrison and Madonna.
The most famous acts never to appear were Elvis and the Beatles (though both phoned Clark on-air).
Among the rare sights tonight are the late Roy Orbison without his dark glasses, and early black-and-white film of the Beach Boys doing ''Surfin' Safari'' dressed in what appear to be long-sleeve plaid shirts.
This isn't just a two-hour wallow in the past. Performing ''live'' on tape are Luther Vandross, Neil Diamond, Alabama, Gloria Estefan, Don McLean and - in a dynamite reunion - Little Anthony and the Imperials doing ''Going Out of My Head.''
The show closes with an all-too-brief all-star jam featuring a motley crew that includes Greg Allman, Bo Didley, Joe Walsh and James Ingram, but also Johnny Rivers, Donny Osmond and David Cassidy (?).
American Bandstand as we know it, with Clark presiding at the elevated podium above a dance floor of gyrating teens, hasn't really been on the air 40 years, as the title suggests.
It started on Philadelphia TV in 1952, but Clark didn't take over as host until 1956. For all practical purposes it vanished from the air in 1987 when it was canceled by ABC, though it continued for a couple of years on USA cable.
A nice nostalgic touch tonight is then-and-now photos of some of the dance-floor regulars. Some became so popular they had their own fan clubs.
''It was kinda like the only show that featured music that you could watch,'' says John Mellencamp. ''For a kid growing up in a small town it was interesting to see other kids being teen-agers.''
That was American Bandstand. Not exciting, just essential.
