Originally hosted by Dick Clark (1929–) from a studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, American Bandstand was a live, hour-long televised dance show that began national broadcasts on August 5, 1957. It was the first and most popular show that portrayed a live audience of teenagers dancing (see entry under 1900s—The Way We Lived in volume 1) to the latest rock and roll (see entry under 1950s—Music in volume 3) records—a formula that helped popularize this musical genre (category) as an emblem of American youth culture. Most of rock and roll's leading artists made guest appearances on American Bandstand, including Buddy Holly (1936–1959) and the Crickets, Jerry Lee Lewis (1935–), the Everly Brothers, Johnny Mathis (1935–), Fabian (1943–), Bobby Rydell (1940–), and Frankie Avalon (1940–).

The original version of the show had debuted on WFIL-TV in 1952 as a local program with the name Bandstand, hosted by Philadelphia disc jockey Bob Horn (1916–1966). In 1956, Horn was dropped from...