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Larry Lehmer

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You know about Bob Horn and Dick Clark, but what about George Skinner?

True Bandstand fans realize that Dick Clark did not start the show. They know that it was Bob Horn that got things rolling, nearly five years before it became a national sensation. But how many fans know that it was George Skinner who staked an early claim on the Philadelphia... Continue reading

Posted May 9, 2013 at Bandstand Beat

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Bandstand, TV Guide ride parallel path to prominence

That TV Guide and Bandstand simultaneously rose to prominence in the early 1950s was no coincidence. The common thread is Walter Annenberg, president of Triangle Publications and Triangle Broadcasting. Annenberg, like his father, Moses, found that businesses ran smoother when they were unfettered by rules and competition. Moses Annenberg earned... Continue reading

Posted Apr 15, 2013 at Bandstand Beat

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Jamboree is no rock & roll gem, but it does offer insight into Dick Clark's methods

In the months before American Bandstand's August 5, 1957, premiere on the American Broadcasting Company, Dick Clark was one busy fellow. Besides pulling all the pieces together for a national television program, Clark was busy in the greater Philadelphia area, attending as many teen dances as he could while hyping... Continue reading

Posted Mar 29, 2013 at Bandstand Beat

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Daredevil Harry Rich tempted fate once too often with his "Slide for Life"

Few people have heard of Harry Rich today, but for a brief stretch of the early part of the 20th century he was a major attraction in the upper midwest, even claiming the title of "Demon of the Air." According to some sources, Rich was a magician, but his enduring... Continue reading

Posted Mar 15, 2013 at Before Their Time

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Just being on American Bandstand turned young teen's social life around

A few years back, I exchanged e-mails with Robert Nash, who described himself as "an irregular regular" on American Bandstand in 1960 and 1961. It was Robert's observation that it was easier to get into the studio on weekday afternoons in the winter than it was in the summer, when... Continue reading

Posted Mar 13, 2013 at Bandstand Beat

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This blog winds through decades from Philadelphia to Upper Darby to California

My path to this blog has taken a long time, more than 15 years, to be more precise. It began in the spring of 1997, when I used some of the advance money I received for my book on the last tour of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big... Continue reading

Posted Feb 12, 2013 at Bandstand Beat

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Payola was bad for many disc jockeys, but not Dick Clark or American Bandstand

For Dick Clark, 1960 was a pivotal year. As 1959 wound down and the Congressional hearings on payola in the music business were heating up, Clark stayed one step ahead of the feds by divesting himself of virtually all of his music business holdings. It was a monumental gamble by... Continue reading

Posted Jan 25, 2013 at Bandstand Beat

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Dinah Washington, 'Queen of the Blues,' dead at age 39

Dinah Washington was looking forward to Christmas. After six weeks out west, singing for adoring audiences in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, she was finally settled in her Detroit home where she would spend her first Christmas with her husband of five months, Dick "Night Train" Lane. She and her... Continue reading

Posted Jan 17, 2013 at Before Their Time

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You didn't say that? Well, we think you should have, so we'll tell people that you did!

Here's another reason so many people are frustrated with the media these days. On December 30, host David Gregory presented an exclusive interview with President Barack Obama on the NBC program, Meet the Press. Gregory asked the president "What is your single priority of the second term?" President Obama answered... Continue reading

Posted Jan 7, 2013 at Life In the Slow Lane

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Dick Clark's business empire included collectibles for American Bandstand fans

Dick Clark's incredibly successful entertainment career was undoubtedly boosted by his bland public persona - a boyish-looking straight arrow that could be trusted with America's teens in a turbulent time. But Clark, who later in his career admitted to having bipolar disorder, was much more than the smiling, perpetual teen... Continue reading

Posted Jan 7, 2013 at Bandstand Beat

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Do you need a copy editor? Of course you do!

Waaay back in the 1970s when I was sports editor at the Council Bluffs Nonpareil, we decided to put together a company softball team to play in a city rec league. We persuaded the publisher to pony up enough cash so we could buy some spiffy uniforms. The biggest selling... Continue reading

Posted Dec 26, 2012 at Life In the Slow Lane

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For bullfighting legend, fan pressure led him to an early death

Manuel Rodriguez Sanchez - better known as Manolete - stepped wearily to the microphone in an anteroom of the San Sebastian, Spain, bullring, looking far older than a man who had recently marked his 30th birthday. Manolete, the most celebrated bullfighter of his day, had just killed his 1,000th bull... Continue reading

Posted Dec 21, 2012 at Before Their Time

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Overbrook High School: Home of the Dovells, the Orlons and Wilt 'The Stilt'

Overbrook High School has made huge contributions to the Philadelphia music scene since Bandstand took to the TV airwaves in 1952. Members of the Dovells and the Orlons attended Overbrook. So did Solomon Burke, Mike Pedicin and Bob "Big Murph" Murphy. And Wilt Chamberlain. That's right, Wilt "The Stilt" did... Continue reading

Posted Dec 18, 2012 at Bandstand Beat

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What does wealth really have to do with job creation, anyway?

I have a real problem equating wealth with job creation. Although many wealthy people undoubtedly create jobs, I've known many true job creators who are not wealthy. Like the local entrepreneurs I know who are passionate about what they do and work long, hard hours in an attempt to bring... Continue reading

Posted Dec 17, 2012 at Life In the Slow Lane

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Bandstand was far from a sure thing when Dick Clark took over

In 1956, NBC introduced Bandstand to America. But this wasn't the Bandstand that was so popular in Philadelphia. NBC's Bandstand originated in Studio 6A in Rockefeller Center in New York City, featured big band-era music and aired weekday mornings on radio stations from coast to coast. Veteran announcer Bert Parks,... Continue reading

Posted Dec 13, 2012 at Bandstand Beat

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Battle of Little Big Horn pitted Custer against Crazy Horse

George Armstrong Custer and Crazy Horse were among the most revered leaders of their times. Custer had distinguished himself on the battlefields of the Civil War as a crafty strategist and bold leader. He was also seen as insufferably vain and preoccupied with perpetuating a mythical legacy. Crazy Horse was... Continue reading

Posted Dec 10, 2012 at Before Their Time

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My family's Thanksgiving tradition: It's still evolving

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, most of us are thinking of family and family traditions. There are few occasions that bring family together better than Thanksgiving. This famous Norman Rockwell illustration was first published in 1943 yet still represents... Continue reading

Posted Nov 15, 2012 at Passing It On

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Our Amtrak California Zephyr adventure gets a qualified thumbs up

For the first time in our adult lives, my wife, Linda, and I recently took our first trip by train. Since neither of us had ridden a train since the "golden days" of rail travel, this was our first experience with Amtrak. After four days of Amtrak travel, we feel... Continue reading

Posted Nov 14, 2012 at Life In the Slow Lane

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Where to go to learn more about American Bandstand, Dick Clark

I try to keep this blog interesting by offering new or unique insights into the show that started as Bob Horn's Bandstand in 1952 and ended its run in Philadelphia as Dick Clark's American Bandstand in early 1964. A lot happened in those 11 1/2 years of Bandstand, and many... Continue reading

Posted Nov 13, 2012 at Bandstand Beat

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Karen Silkwood: Scheming malcontent or innocent victim?

Karen Silkwood knew something was wrong. After hours of grinding and polishing plutonium pellets through a protective glovebox, she checked for radioactive exposure. After a modest positive result, the glovebox was replaced. By the time she left the Kerr-McGee plant where she worked in Cimarron, Oklahoma, five hours later, she... Continue reading

Posted Nov 12, 2012 at Before Their Time

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Wanted: One presidential candidate I can really believe in

Maybe I should just flip a coin. Tomorrow is election day and I just don't know enough about either of the major party candidates to feel confident that either one of them will govern in the best interests of the majority of Americans. You would think that after the many... Continue reading

Posted Nov 5, 2012 at Life In the Slow Lane

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Dick Clark and Bob Horn hung out at Brown Jug ... do you know more?

Help! I'm looking for some information about the Brown Jug, a neighborhood bar near the WFIL studios where Bandstand was produced. I know a bit about the place, which apparently was in the same block as Pop Singer's drug store. While Pop's place was a popular attraction with some Bandstand... Continue reading

Posted Oct 29, 2012 at Bandstand Beat

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Television is the video soundtrack to our lives

I see that NBC has canceled Animal Practice. I can't say that I'm surprised. I saw some of the promo ads for it and it looked like a real stinker. There are lots of those around today but there are... Continue reading

Posted Oct 26, 2012 at Passing It On

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Skydiver Piantanida sought record in skies over Iowa

Nick Piantanida was on a mission, a mission that took him over Iowa at an altitude higher than anyone had ever achieved by a balloon anywhere. It also cost him his life. Piantanida's pursuit of a world record for a high altitude dive from the sky brought him to the... Continue reading

Posted Oct 24, 2012 at Before Their Time

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Hmmm...maybe this really is 'the new normal'

There are a lot of words and phrases kicked around these days that I don't like. Poster child. Holy grail. Kick the can down the road. At the end of the day. Another one that I hear a lot is "the new normal." I'm not sick of it yet, but... Continue reading

Posted Oct 22, 2012 at Life In the Slow Lane

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