But just like a lot of today's showmances are concocted, many of the Bandstand boppers were harboring a big secret: They . Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, died Sunday, Dec. 8, of congestive heart failure at a Springfield hospital. Parents across America would never, NEVER have allowed their kids to put Bandstand on, she writes. We danced and it was like we had never stopped, says Clayton, 70, who owns a gift boutique in Delaware (Carrelli, 68, sells real estate in Arizona). Keep public media strong anddonatenow. . by Sharon Sultan Cutler | Jan 7, 2019 | American Bandstand, Philadelphia, Regulars | 8 comments. "Bandstand's Backyard". Clark continued as host of the series, which was restored to its former hour length,[22] and aired on stations including KYW-TV in Philadelphia; WWOR-TV in New York City[23] (WWOR's superstation status also gave the program further national exposure); KTLA in Los Angeles; WMAQ-TV in Chicago; WDIV in Detroit; WEWS in Cleveland; WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee;[24] and WCIX in Miami.[25]. [8] In the fall of 1961, ABC truncated American Bandstand's airtime from 90 to 60 minutes (4:005:00pm ET), then even further as a daily half-hour (4:004:30pm ET) program in September 1962; beginning in early 1963, all five shows for the upcoming week were videotaped the preceding Saturday. CD (Digipak) with 36-page booklet, 23 tracks. American Bandstand played a crucial role in introducing Americans to such famous artists as Prince, Jackson 5, Sonny and Cher, Aerosmith, and John Lydon's PiLall of whom made their American TV debuts on the show. - Rhythm Is A Dancer (7_ Edit) (3:45)<br>02 - Haddaway - What Is Love (7_ Mix) (4:30)<br>03 - Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee) (Gabry Ponte Ice Pop Radio) (4:43)<br>04 - Wamdue Project - King Of My Castle (Roy Malone Kings Mix Edit) (3:33)<br>05 - Whigfield - Saturday Night (3:43)<br>06 - Mr. President - Coco Jamboo (Radio Edit) (3:39)<br>07 - Gigi D\'agostino - La Passion . The big teenybopper magazines of the era Sixteen and Teen plastered Bandstand dancers on their covers and wrote glowing, gossipy stories about their lives in Philadelphia, where Dick Clark produced the show. Reporters and bloggers, alike, Can the Democratic Party regain strength in Florida? Hints. Davey Frees, president of the American Bandstand Fan Club, never got to the studio while the show was on the air. Dick Clark did feature black recording artists as guests on American Bandstand - and he did so from his earliest days as host. Dick Clark as host was that perennial television star who seemed to have found the fountain of youth and just never seemed to age. The Beach Boys were already the kings of surf pop by their first appearance on American Bandstand in 1964. God bless friendships !!! Browse celebrity nostalgia on our website. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Making matters worse, on September 13, 1986, ABC reduced Bandstand from a full hour to 30 minutes;[13] at Clark's request, the 2,751st and final ABC installment[14] (with Laura Branigan[15] performing "Shattered Glass"[16][17]) aired on September 5, 1987. In 1972, after a divorced Carole appeared on a reunion show, Spada sent a letter to her and they married later that year. the use of any copyrighted material is used under the guidelines of "fair use" in title 17 107 of the united states code. This is a video I created of one of my favorite dance pa. Well, it's our last show here on Bandstand and I really want to thank the viewers who have kept American Bandstand on the air all these years. The first syndicated episode aired on the weekend of September 19, 1987[26] but this run was short-lived; The New American Bandstand ran until the weekend of June 4, 1988. Bob had his last get-together with Justine at a Christmas party in his Delaware home in 2013. In other parts of the country, if you were a gay kid growing up, you were probably the only one in town who was gay, Sullivan said. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Mike Curb The Buddy Deane Show aired on WJZ-TV until January 4, 1964. She blurted out count me in., So, I guess that was the part when I knew that it wasnt going to be a one-time meeting., She visited Jim in Venice that Thanksgiving. And while Smith knew he was gay, he was shocked to learn that most of the guys on Bandstand, so many of them, were gay, he told The Post. The bashing of Bandstand regulars, gay and straight, happened all the time, Sullivan and Smith reveal. When I first met Kenny Rossi he was sitting way up in the stands I noticed his curly black hair, blue suit, beautiful brown eyes. But Molittieri eventually returned to her Philadelphia roots, where she married and had two daughters before dying at age 32 of either a heart attack or a stroke. This first national broadcast of American Bandstand was filmed in the Starlight Ballroom in Wildwood, NJ. Justine got in, and along with her dance partner and soon-to-be-boyfriend, Bob Clayton, became one of the shows most popular couples. When Dick Clark died it came to mind what happened to Justine, again, Jim said. "When I first met Kenny Rossi he was sitting way up in the stands I noticed his curly black hair, blue suit, beautiful brown eyes. "[40] WFIL defended these local associations in order to maintain support. Later, in hindsight, I guessed that made me the first white Rosa Parks. Who wrote the theme song to American Bandstand? It got me out of my shell, but I learned I was a regular teenager who happened to dance on a show that unexpectedly became very popular. Sex sells books and ranks right up there as one of the very best publicity hooks, even if you haven't written erotica or a romance novel.omance novel. Kenny left. She said to go to Hawaii. Although the Regulars didnt perform in the South, Sullivans memory of a personal visit to Fort Worth, Texas, stuck with her: My friend Barbara [a fellow Regular] and I were visiting Barbaras friend there. Togethera certain magic radiated from them when they were dancing!!! Sometimes, he would come home from school and turn on the show. I figured I had no chance in hell, but I was smitten by her the same way I was smitten by Marilyn Monroe and actresses like that. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. History goes back and forth with the timing and motives of the integration, but nevertheless, American Bandstand socially impacted teenagers' opinions regarding race. American Bandstand Dancers Justine Carrelli Miller and Bob Clayton Kenny loved to sing. From 1974 to 1977, there was a newer, orchestral disco version of "Bandstand Boogie", arranged and performed by Joe Porter, played during the opening and closing credits. She told me she got so many letters from fans who thought I looked like her and [with our dark hair], we did look alike. Taking center stage each week was superstar Bandstand couple Justine Carrelli and Bob Clayton, two of the show's most popular dancers.At just 13 and 16, respectively, the twosome became regulars on the Dick Clark-hosted show, dancing as a couple for almost three years before they parted ways. American Bandstand, abbreviated AB, is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions that aired regularly from 1952 to 1989,[1] and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the program's producer. [Editor's note: Justine Carrelli and Bob Clayton were misidentified in a photo that ran in the May 13 issue of PARADE. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. At just 13 and 16, respectively, the twosome became regulars on the Dick Clark-hosted show, dancing as a couple for almost three years before they parted ways. Themselves - Dancers 1 episode, 1962 Tony Brady . I tried my best to fill your shoes and I hope I have lived up to what you were expecting of me. "The whole thing was like a grand party," she said. He introduced her to his sister and neighbors, who remembered her from Bandstand.. She wasnt immediately successful, but with the help of a new southwest Philly friend, she eventually got in. The series also reached into its vaults for a highly rated twentieth-anniversary late night special. Artie Shaw They dont look at middle school kids or junior high kids, he said. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. The program was permanently shot in color starting on September 9, 1967. I still really didnt know who I was. Oldies. To recognize the anniversary, Gov. Dick Clark died on April 18, 2012, at the age of 82. . It was shot live from Studio B at Forty-Sixth and and Market Streets, where the two . Bandstand originally used "High Society" by Artie Shaw as its theme song, but by the time the show went national, it had been replaced by various arrangements of Charles Albertine's "Bandstand Boogie", including Les Elgart's big-band recording remembered by viewers of the daily version. Famous Americans. Who are the couples on Bandstand in real life? This show was on for 32 . The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Justine started dancing on Bandstand in 1956, when she was still in junior high school. But it was not easy on the mean streets of Philadelphia to be a Bandstand regular suspected of being gay. Clark regularly asked teenagers their opinions of the songs being played, through the "Rate-a-Record" segment. If she was on I watched it, if not I would do something else.. If it wasnt assaults from outside haters, some of the Bandstand kids suffered in their own homes. from CBS in November 1957, they renamed the program as Who Do You Trust? From September 13, 1986, to September 5, 1987, Manilow's version was replaced at the close of the show by a new closing theme arranged by David Russo, who also performed an updated instrumental arrangement of "Bandstand Boogie" when Bandstand went into syndication. After a ten-month hiatus,[27] Bandstand moved to cable on USA Network[28][29] on April 8, 1989,[30] with comedian David Hirsch[31][32][33][34][35] taking over hosting duties. 1 Who were the most popular dancers on American Bandstand? Her sister, Ivette Jimenez, recalled the thrill of having an admirer from Seattle send her a check for a car. Dick Clark took it over in 1956, and it first aired as "American Bandstand" on the ABC on August 5 . Soul Unlimited was not well-received among its target audience of African-Americans, ostensibly due to its being created by a white man (Clark), and because of its alleged usage of deliberately racial overtones despite this fact. The show's popularity helped Dick Clark become an American media mogul and inspired similar long-running music programs, such as Soul Train and British series Top of the Pops. The previous theme was retained as bumper music. best known for his love of music and dancing on American . And now we have computers. Required fields are marked *, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years 1956 - 1963. Personal life. I had met other fans along the way, she said, but not that Id had lunch with them.. When cute young teenagers Arlene Sullivan and Kenny Rossi slow danced together on American Bandstand back in the late 50s and early 60s, kids across the country swooned. Justine turns 80 next year and Jim 79. Thank you Arlene for given us a second turn of theGold Yeaysand new meaning of my Old Years. [3] Horn was temporarily replaced by producer Tony Mammarella before the job went to Dick Clark permanently. Jim Miller was in junior high, living on Long Island, New York, when Bandstand became a national hit. ``It was like having a New Years party every day, and when it was over I missed it _ the camaraderie, the dancing _ there was a void.. If this is what 50 is like, who cares?, Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Back In The Day. He still treats me like Im the queen of the hop, Justine said. American Bandstand premiered locally in late March 1952 as Bandstand on Philadelphia television station WFIL-TV Channel 6 (now WPVI-TV), as a replacement for a weekday movie that had shown predominantly British films. No other dancers or couples even came close to comparing to them!!! Arlene with singer Frankie Avalon at an American Bandstand event. Delmont, Matthew F. (September 30, 2014). Absolutely! Your email address will not be published. Justines friends, who were the same age, got into the show one day, but she was turned away. The Monday-night version aired its last program in December 1957, but ABC gave Clark a Saturday-night time slot for The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show, which originated from the Little Theatre in Manhattan, beginning on February 15, 1958. At the height of their popularity, they received as many as 500 letters a day. They knew what was going on, but they never asked the question., Sullivan says there were at least four other popular girl dancers on Bandstand who she quickly learned were lesbians and we all started hanging out together. Her husband, Richard Spada, said Mrs. Spada was recovering from a minor stroke she had suffered earlier when she became ill on the way . My favorite dance was the Jitterbug the last dance where people danced together. PublishedDecember 28, 2022 at 7:00 AM EST, See stories by Sheldon Zoldan/Special to WGCU, Some California mountain residents could be snowed in for another week, Tom Sizemore, 'Saving Private Ryan' actor, has died at 61, He visited Disneyland 2,995 days in a row. Dick Clark never played either song on American Bandstand. If she was on I watched it, if not I would do something else.. There were occasional shows that were not hosted by Clark, in which case a substitute host (among them Rick Azar) was brought in.[6]. It does not store any personal data. Q: What happened to my favorite American Bandstand couple, Justine Carrelli and Bob Clayton? 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Particularly during the show's prime Philadelphia years (1952-63), Philadelphia youth culture became American culture through American Bandstand. Arlene asked him to dance and thus Arlene and Kenny happened. Here is a short recap of her recollections. Bob retired after being in the shoe business and the chemical business, where he often worked 18 hour days. Clark was "determined" to keep the homosexuality of popular "Bandstand" regulars a secret, Smith said. The Saturday show would run until 1960. Due to the size of the studio, the need to have as much dance space as possible, and the size of the cumbersome color camera compared to the black-and-white models, it was only possible to have one RCA TK-41 where three RCA TK-10s[4] had been used before.