Dick Clark

rip eternal bobbysoxxer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l0c9wFoT1I

Only 82...that is young for him. Shit, I thought he'd go out like Bob Hope!

Here's what I posted on the ILE thread:

http://performingsongwriter.com/alan-freed-payola-scandal/

Alan Freed and Dick Clark both played important parts in the rise of rock ’n’ roll (Freed embodied the incendiary spirit of the music more than Clark, refusing to play white cover versions of black songs, such as Pat Boone’s “Tutti Frutti”). And though they both denied ever accepting payola, it’s almost impossible to imagine two young, popular jocks not succumbing to a little temptation. Guilty or not, it was Freed who ended up taking the fall for DJs everywhere.

Why did the committee single him out? Freed was abrasive. He consorted with black R&B musicians. He jive talked, smoked constantly and looked like an insomniac. Clark was squeaky clean, Brylcreemed, handsome and polite. At least on the surface. Once the grilling started, Freed’s friends and allies in broadcasting quickly deserted him. He refused—“on principle”—to sign an affidavit saying that he’d never accepted payola. WABC fired him, and he was charged with 26 counts of commercial bribery. Freed escaped with fines and a suspended jail sentence. He died five years later, broke and virtually forgotten.

Dick Clark During House Hearing
Previous to the trial, Dick Clark had wisely divested himself of all incriminating connections (he had part ownership in seven indie labels, six publishers, three record distributors and two talent agencies). He got a slap on the wrist by Committee chairman Oren Harris, who called him “a fine young man.” As Clark told Rolling Stone in 1989, the lesson he learned from the payola trial was: “Protect your ass at all times.” Surprisingly candid words from the eternal teenager.

― curmudgeon, Wednesday, April 18, 2012 7:52 PM (36 minutes ago)

The $20,000 Pyramid made skipping school a little more fun in the 1970s.

He always seemed hipper than most of his musical guests without condescending to them. That kind of grace seems a rare commodity nowadays.

RIP. Is rock 'n' roll dead now?

I bet as far as Dick Clark was concerned, rock and roll died decades ago, probably right around the time he started to dye is hair.

rip bloopers

The letter U and the number 2

oh nm that was casey kasem. lol me.

so gonna happen...

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090713005740/en.futurama/images/archive/4/46/20090713005948!DickClark.png

Hadn't seen curmudgeon's post when I posted on the general RIP thread a few hours ago. I started to wonder if I was being unfair to Clark. and just accepting myths about Freed--but maybe what I'd internalized (from where, I don't know--the excellent American Hot Wax?) is close to the truth after all. In Clark's defense: 1) as lame as the likes of Fabian and Bobby Rydell could be, there was the occasional good song mixed in; 2) Clark also was crucial to the careers of Dee Dee Sharp, the Orlons, Chubby Checker (underrated, I'd say), and I'm sure many other black artists (though not to the degree that Freed was; and 3) when comparing a noble martyr like Freed to a hard-headed business guy like Clark, the latter invariably comes across looking slimy.

Can a Hologram of Dick Clark Host New Year’s Eve?

jerry blavat, the geator with the heater and the boss with the hot sauce, is still kicking. god bless him. he was on bandstand before dick. also a very "colorful" dude. philly royalty.

"In 1981, Blavat was having dinner at a South Philadelphia restaurant with Greek mob boss Chelsais "Steve" Bouras and several other guests when Bouras was shot dead in a contract killing."

"In the early 1990s, an investigation by the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation into organized crime's influence in the liquor business made public Blavat's association with the Bruno-Scarfo crime family. During the investigation, Thomas A. DelGiorno, a former Scarfo crime family Capo, testified that Blavat had regularly paid a "street tax" to the crime family, had purchased a $40,000 yacht for crime boss Nicodemo Scarfo and was one of several individuals who purchased a condominium in Florida for Scarfo. In exchange, the criminal organization secured employment for Blavat throughout the state and also kept union organizers out of Blavat's nightclub. Del Giorno also testified that Blavat regularly served as a driver for crime boss Angelo Bruno. Blavat pled the fifth."

And in conclusion, what is ska?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EUx1i38Rco8

RIP

Wow. Could this be the first death thread in ILM history that isn't chock full of "bah! say 'RIP' all you want, but the man was actually an enormous asshole Republican who burned down some churches and was all in all a senseless waste of human life and i'm glad he's dead"-type posts?

uh...check the other thread