With its new young host, Dick Clark, the show aired every day at 3 p.m. for an hour-and-a-half. Within six months of its national debut, American Bandstand was picked up by 101 stations. Soon there were about 20 million viewers tuning in, half of whom were adult. Fan letters poured in by the tens of thousands. Teenagers came to Philadelphia from wide and far for a chance to dance on the show.
But American Bandstand also became a place where new talent could be seen, as Clark allotted featured spots on each show for new acts to perform their songs. “Perform,” in this case, is a generous term as the guest or guests typically “lyp-synced” or mouthed the words to their pre-recorded songs rather than performing them live. They did, however, appear in person and typically sat with Clark in brief conversation, answering his questions about their music, where they were from, what they were doing next, etc.
During American Bandstand’s first national season – which ran a short five months from its August opening – about 200 or so guests appeared. Typically, one or two acts were scheduled for each show. Among notable guests appearing that first season, some making their television debuts, were: Paul Anka, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, Bobby Darin,
The Del-Vikings, The Diamonds, Buddy Holly, Johnny Mathis, Simon & Garfunkel( “Tom & Jerry”), Andy Williams, Jackie Wilson, and others. Some guests appeared more than once that season, including: Frankie Avalon, The Chordettes, The Everly Brothers, The Four Coins, Bill Haley & the Comets, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Mello Kings, and Gene Vincent. A few acts in 1957 launched national and international careers after appearing on Bandstand. Danny & The Juniors, for example, rose quickly to national notice shortly after an early December 1957 Bandstand appearance. Their song, “At the Hop,” rose to the top of the music charts within weeks of their appearance.
On December 5th, 1957, the Diamonds appeared with their song “the Stroll,” which kicked off a new kind of dance with the kids forming two lines facing each other with several yards of space between them, as dance couples then took turns “strolling” down this middle aisle.
Non-musical guests would also appear occasionally, as in the case of actor Hugh O’Brian from the ABC-TV series “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.” O’Brian appeared on the October 25, 1957 show. Some guests appeared only once and never emerged as national stars. Among those who appeared in 1957, were artists from an older era of popular music that continued in a period of transition to rock ‘n roll music. A listing of many of those who appeared on American Bandstand during its first national season appears below by show date, and when available, song performed.
In addition to the regular American Bandstand weekday afternoon shows that aired in 1957, there were also a series of prime time American Bandstand TV shows broadcast on Monday evenings in the 7:30-8:00 p.m. time slot. Bill Haley & The Comets, for example, appeared on the prime time show, October 28th, 1957; Mickey & Sylvia appeared there, November 25th, 1957. The prime time shows, 13 in all that year, were much like the daytime show, with a bit more focus on the guests.
These shows appeared to be experimental and served to broaden the reach of Bandstand to more viewers who could not see the daytime version. Some of these show dates are also included below. In any case, in 1957, American Bandstand – with its nationally-broadcast television dance show and a daily spotlight on new musical talent – was helping to build the gigantic national and international business that would emerge around rock ‘n roll music.
See also at this website, a more general background story on the history of American Bandstand, Dick Clark, and related businesses, 1956-2007.
