These Philadelphia Teenage Dancers Were Loved by Over 20 Million Television Viewers During the Late 1950s and Early 1960s
When American Bandstand became the most popular daytime television program in the late 1950s, a group of ordinary Philadelphia high school students who loved to dance suddenly became a national phenomenon. Known as the Regulars, they became the nation’s first reality stars.
These 14- to 18-year olds like Arlene and Kenny, Justine and Bob, Carole, Pat, Frani, the Jimenez sisters and more were idealized and idolized by teens and young adults. They became just like other Hollywood celebrities. Television viewers followed their romances and break-ups; they copied their hairstyles, fashions and dance steps. Fans bought the records the Regulars rated highly in the weekly Record Review. Millions of Americans of all ages voted for their favorites in the Bandstand dance contests.
For the first time in over 50 years, you have the opportunity to meet the Regulars and discover what it was really like to be on American Bandstand. Learn about their fan clubs and adoring fan club members. Learn what many of them are doing today; see photos galore of the ‘Regulars’ then and now.
There are special features about the musical groups and singers who performed on the show – including Charlie Grace, Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon, Dion and the Belmonts, Danny and the Juniors, Paul Anka, and Fabian.
You will enjoy:
· Over 700 photos from then and now
· Entries from Arlene Sullivan’s personal diary
· Interviews with the living legends – the Regulars – today
· Special Tributes for Pat Molittieri, Carole Scaldeferri, Myrna Horowitz and many others
· Following Dick Clark’s rise to fame
· Information on special theme shows and reunions
· The mystery of the reruns
· Fan Club experiences
· Learning how American Bandstand made rock ‘n’ roll respectable
BANDSTAND DIARIES is a coffee-table book that offers readers a nostalgic walk through those halcyon, memory-filled days when rock n’ roll became the soundtrack of a generation, when television was in grainy black and white and when a 45 RPM record cost less than 70 cents.
