Then: American Bandstand Now: American Idol

Then: American Bandstand

Now:  American Idol

Every weekday at 3:30 I was glued to our black and white TV(where you had to get up to change the channel) watching American Bandstand, hosted by the eternally young (until recently) Dick Clark.   I couldn’t wait to see which of my favorites teen idols would be performing: Paul Anka, Johnny Mathis, The 4 Seasons, to name a few.

But I was even more excited to see the dancers.  Those regulars became part of my life.  I followed their relationships with one another and waited for each new show to see if they were still together.  I guess you could say it was one of the first reality shows.  One without all the glam and back story segments of the shows aired today.

I also was eager to see the new dances and hopefully learn the moves before I went to our Saturday night high school dance.  The Twist.  The Watusi.  The Mashed Potato.  The locomotion  The Pony.  The Monkey.  I’m sure I’ve missed one of them, there were so many.

I’m not sure that a show like Amercian Bandstand could  survive in today’s world of MTV, VH1, iTunes, and You Tube, mediums that provide today’s teenagers with close- ups, rewinds, zooms and swirls.  At any hour of the day.  Not just for one hour.

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My mom always left the room.  She couldn’t stand the music.  And my grandfather called this new rock and roll – barbaric.

Which is where our generation of Baby Boomers differs greatly from those before us.  The music gap seems smaller between most of us and our children, than it was between our “rock and roll” generation and that of our parents’.   Of course, I don’t like all the music my kids listen to, but even what I don’t like, I can tolerate.  We sing along in the car.  We dance around the house.

And each year we look forward to a new season of American Idol.  We pick our favorites (mine is one of the judges!) and sit glued to our flat screen HD TV watching as the contestants perform.

We even play American Idol.  I’ve gone to Hollywood now about a dozen times and each time my grandkids jump up and down as if it’s the first time I performed.  I do the same for them.

The show not only gives these fabulous young singers a change to make their dreams comes true, as well as inspiring kids all over the country, but it also gives families, such as mine, hours of togetherness.

When our favorite contestant sings,  we sit on the edge of the couch, holding our breathes, hoping he or she doesn’t sing off pitch. We cheer when the judges agree with us.  And boo them when we think they are wrong.

And during a fast tune, we get up and dance.  I’m usually doing the Swing or some other “old fashioned” dance according to my family.

I never would have made it as a regular on American Bandstand.  But who knows?   I may be dancing with a future American Idol!