When I was just 14 or 15 I remember listening to some great radio out of Hartford, Connecticut. Disc Jockeys with names like Ken Griffen, Ron Landry & Dick Robinson. Later there was Barry Grant, Bob Marx and Dick McDonough. All of these guys were terrific broadcasters and even though they all had an impact on my decision to choose radio as a career, none of them left their mark on the entire industry like Dick Clark. Having a brother 10 years my senior put him at the perfect age to witness the birth of rock & roll & helped introduce me to something before I was even 10 years old that would shape my musical interest for a lifetime. That something was called “American Bandstand”. While most kids my age that were aware of this new TV show wished they could be part of the audience & get a chance to hear the music & dance, I was enamored by this smooth talking, cool looking (for the time) host of the show that actually got to introduce the music, and the artists that sang the songs! Since his death yesterday morning many who knew & worked with Dick Clark have shared their own view of a man they knew as a consummate professional and genuinely kind human being. For just about anyone, an epitaph like that would be enough. But Dick Clark was more than that. He was a pioneer, a visionary, creating the way kids listened to music for more than a generation. Even today, more than 50 years after he first sat down behind a microphone the music industry…….and the radio industry owe him a deep debt of gratitude. And so does that young 8 or 9 year old kid from Connecticut. So, just as Dick Clark would salute us all every time he ended any of his TV appearances as he said: "For now, Dick Clark … so long,", here’s a salute back to “America's Oldest Teenager” …..thanks for letting us “Rock, Roll & Remember”.
