Almanac: "American Bandstand"

And now a page from our "Sunday Morning" Almanac: August 5th, 1957, 61 years ago today … the day "American Bandstand" went national.

A staple of local Philadelphia television, ABC picked it up as a network show thanks in large part to prodding by its young host Dick Clark.

The show's format of clean-cut teens dancing to the latest hits quickly proved a winner.

Over the years, "American Bandstand" helped launch the careers of countless stars, including the Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Madonna, and Sonny and Cher.

The show moved to Los Angeles in 1963, but after years at the top, it lost ground in the 1980s to new competitors including that cable upstart MTV.

After leaving ABC in 1987, "American Bandstand" briefly made its last stand on the USA network, before going off the air for good in 1989.

Gone but, for a generation or two of pop music fans, hardly forgotten.

       
For more info:

• "American Bandstand" (dickclark.com)
  
• Follow @OnBandstand on Twitter and Facebook
  

     
See also: 

• Dick Clark dead at 82 (CBS News, 04/18/12)
  
• "America's Oldest Teenager," Dick Clark, dead at 82 ("CBS Evening News, 04/18/12)
  
• Dick Clark: A timeline of career highlights from "American Bandstand" and beyond (CBS News, 04/19/12)
  
• Gallery: Dick Clark: 1929-2012
  

    
Story produced by Justin Hayter.