Our Era - Movies, Music, Radio and TV, 6th Edition

Our Era - Movies, Music, Radio & TV, 1950‟s and 1960‟s. 1957Courtesy http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/A/htmlA/americanband/americanband.htm & http://www.marshasvintage.com/page/page/1038910.htmAmerican BandstandAmerican Bandstand first aired on the ABC network on Monday, 5August 1957, becoming one of a handful of local origination programsto broadcast nationally. Initially, the program ran Monday throughFriday from 3:00 to 4:30 P.M., EST. Almost immediately, the showbecame a hit for the struggling network. In retrospect, AmericanBandstand fit in nicely with the programming strategy that evolved atABC during the 1950s. As the third television network, ABC couldnot afford the high-priced radio celebrity talent or live dramatic programmingthat generated the predominantly adult viewership of NBCand CBS. Therefore, ABC counterprogrammed its scheduled withshows that appealed to a younger audience. Along with programs suchas The Mickey Mouse Club, ABC used American Bandstand to build aloyal audience base in the 1950s that would catapult the network tothe top of the prime-time ratings in the mid-1970s.From a cultural and social standpoint, the impact of American Bandstandshould not be underrated. Even if the show diffused some of themore raucous elements of rock 'n' roll music, it helped to solidify thegrowing youth culture which centered around this phenomenon. Butthe show was important in another way as well. Once Clark took overthe helm of Bandstand in 1956, he insisted on racially integrating the show, since much of the music was performed byblack recording artists. When the show moved to the network schedule, it maintained its racially mixed image, thusproviding American television broadcasting with its most visible ongoing image of ethnic diversity until the 1970s.In 1964, Clark moved the production of American Bandstand to California, cutting broadcasts to once a week. In part, themove was made to facilitate Clark's expansion into other program production. Additionally, it became easier to tap intothe American recording industry, the center of which had shifted to Los Angeles by that time. The show's popularity withteenagers continued until the late 1960s.