American Bandstand vs Soul Train

Peace, Love and Soul a phrase that emanated from Don Cornelius’s deep voice and afro; was the perfect sign off from a dance show that revolutionized America’s narrowed perception on dance music and culture. In the live from essay, Soul Train is often compared alongside with American Bandstand. While their content is similar, the two shows are totally different when it comes to the overall message being portrayed.

What American Bandstand did differently at the time in the 1950s was feature teenagers as their dancers and promoted the show to teens- a long ignored demographic, that were not considered a massive consumer market. But the show still did not include all teenagers especially another “untapped” consumer group, that being black teenagers. Dick Clark often cited himself as being a pioneer of integration, when in fact he was the complete opposite. In an article Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Didn’t Originally Allow Black Dancers, Tim Whitaker writes about a book by California professor Matt Delmont- The Nicest Kids in Town: American Bandstand, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and the Struggle for Civil Rights in 1950’s Philadelphia- who calls out Dick Clark for being a fraud. The book asserts that Clark, a multimillionaire, has continuously promoted Bandstand as racially pioneering, and himself as an early civil rights trailblazer, when in fact he was the host of a show that banned Philadelphia black kids from appearing on TV (Whitaker). Thousands of pictures turned up only two photos of black kids. Delmont reports that between 1958 and 1963, the Philadelphia Tribune had published seven editorials or letters to the editor regarding Bandstand’s exclusion of black teens…. (Whitaker).

Another article from The Daily Mail written by Caroline Howe, Revealed: Dick Clark's brazen scheme to oust Don Cornelius and replace Soul Train with his own all-black dance show, Caroline addresses the fact that Dick Clark was not blind to Don Cornelius’s Soul Train success. The impact of Soul Train on the television landscape was not lost on Dick Clark. By 1973, Clark was no longer just cherry-picking talent [from Soul Train] but actively trying to co-opt Cornelius’s franchise by launching his own, black-themed dance show, Soul Unlimited (Howe). It is noted that Clark’s use of “integration” was not really seen until 1976 when Bandstand was actively competing with Soul Train and was trying to feature more black artists and dancers. There are numerous YouTube videos showing Dick Clark interviewing a slew of black artists from the 1976, but no videos from the previous years before that- further proving Dick’s lack of inclusion.

While Soul Train could be considered the “black American Bandstand”, I do not believe this to be the case. Even though Soul Train’s goal was to primarily feature black artists and dancers, it never steered from including white artists and later non-black dancers. While American Bandstand capitalized on the cool- Soul Train represented the blacks, browns, and every color through the feelings provoked and inclusiveness of all American cultures through the music and dance.

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American Bandstand 1976- Interview Aretha Franklin [Video file]. (2017, August 24). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inwo9PDSqrg

American Bandstand 1976- Interview Kool And The Ganghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkHBpvljjCg [Video file]. (2017, August 24). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkHBpvljjCg

American Bandstand 1976- Interview Soul Train Gang [Video file]. (2017, August 24). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlfHJIayE5s

Howe, C. (2014, March 21). Exposed: Dick Clark's brazen scheme to replace Don Cornelius' Soul Train with his own all-black dance show. Retrieved December 01, 2020, from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2585503/Exposed-Dick-Clarks-brazen-scheme-replace-Don-Cornelius-Soul-Train-black-dance-show.html

Whitaker, T. (2013, September 19). Dick Clark's American Bandstand Didn't Originally Allow Black Dancers. Retrieved December 01, 2020, from https://www.phillymag.com/news/2012/03/01/american-bandstand-didnt-allow-blacks/