My father is from the south right from the hills of Tennessee. We have a relative that was a staple at the Grand Ole Opry so of course I was raised listening to Box Car Willie, Hank Williams, George Jones, Roy Clark, Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, Tammy Wynette and a host of others. I was never a country buff at all. The music was just so tragic to me. It was really back then cry a tear in your beer sort of music however,  I did like some of the humor in country and it got me thinking…

Humor and old country music just don’t seem to go hand in hand but how could we be part of the 50s and 60s country scene without the great wit of Minnie Pearl? If you did not grow up in the 50s-60s you may have no idea who “Cousin Minnie Pearl” was  but I sure can tell you she made country fun.

I could tell when Minnie Pearl was on without even looking at her because whenever she appeared she would always say Howdy. I don’t mean just howdy, I mean “How-w-w-DEE-E-E-E” and once she yelled “How-w-w-DEE-E-E-E, the audience would yell it right back at her. You knew she was there with that friendly greeting. Her other distinctive trait was she always wore a straw hat with the price tag of 1.98 still on it.

Her humor mainly focused on her family members such as Uncle Nabob and brother. She made it seem okay to be less than smart with life in the back hills of Tennessee. This is funny in itself because Minnie Pearl, who was born Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon was a college graduate in theater and arts and was a rather intelligent woman. She was quite smart indeed so when she met a mountain woman  which some would refer to as a country bumpkin, she created her character of Minnie Pearl and the rest was history.

Minnie Pearl could first be heard on the radio in 1939. She made the first of thousands of appearances at on the Grand Ole Opry in 1940 and she appeared at the Grand Ole Opry from 1940 till her death of a stroke in 1996. She was 83 when she died. She was so popular she could fill concert hall throughout the world. Who would have thought a woman playing a hillbilly could bring her so much fame?  Sarah knew what she was doing. In fact, she wrote joke books, cook books and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and not for being a musician, but for being, well, Minnie Pearl.

She became fixture on Hee Haw and she was probably my favorite part of that show. It did not matter what part of the house I was in I could hear the How-w-w-DEE-E-E-E. I would run out of my room and watch it for a good chuckle. She was a female comedian in a world that was dominated by males.

The just don’t have characters like Minnie Pearl anymore. It is a real shame. Down home comedy no longer is part of our culture so for me, it was fun remembering Cousin Minnie Pearl. For those who have not heard of her, here is a little video and as Cousin Minnie would say, “I sure hope you fellers and gals enjoy it.” Minnie Pearl Video

Bob Horn permission of daughter Barbara Horn

The last time I did a story on Dick Clark, author of the book American Bandstand the Untold Story, Stan Blitz got a hold of me to tell me a bit about Bandstand. He told me about the real originator of Bandstand Bob Horn. This time I did a story on Dick Clark, the daughter of the originator of Bandstand got a hold of me and it got me thinking…

Bandstand was a really big deal! I was a kid when Bandstand came out. I watched it as much as I could and grew up with it. Little did I know that as an adult, I would have the privilege to learn so much about American Bandstand. Some of it was information that I thought I was better off not knowing, while other information I found fascinating.  For me, I never knew there were so many stories behind Bandstand.

What I did know is that American Bandstand played such an important role in the lives of so many of us, and there are a great deal of untold stories about the originator Bob Horn. I was pleased that I was able to talk to his daughter Barbara Horn this week and get to know her father from the daughters point of view.

Barbara sums it up about as simple and loving as it can be. “My dad was a really cool guy,” she said of her father Bob Horn.  “I adored my father,” she said, “He was a genius,” and that he was because it seemed like there was not anything Bob could not do. She may have said this in a simple manner, but Bob Horn was not a simple man. He was smart, creative and full of life. Even after his Bandstand days, he was full of life.

He created the radio show Bob Horn’s Bandstand and eventually it was aired on TV. You would say the rest was history, except Horn sort of got pushed out and Dick Clark was put in. “My dad was wild and fun and Dick was a safe handsome guy,” Barbra Horn said. She continued to talk about her dads adventures after the show. “He was not a victim,” Horn said, “He moved on rather quickly.” There was some troubles to follow, but she said her dad was genuinely a happy man.

“He laughed a lot,” she said. “He was really a happy man.” After being asked to leave Bandstand he had a radio show for a while then found his career in professional advertizing. “His real passion was horses,” Horn stated, “I loved horses and we had horses. Dad loved to watch us.” In fact Barbra said he died on a Sunday and he was to sign papers on a Monday to get a ranch for them all. Bob did not ride horses, but he sure loved them.

I asked Barbra what she really wanted people to know about her father. There are many stories about him and she said, “He was just a nice guy and funny.” She shared a few tales of her father hanging out with his pal like Dizzy Gillespie and other. Barbra laughed a lot during our phone conversation and said, “I’m a lot like my father.” You can tell she was a happy person and had nothing but fond memories of her father. “Yeah one day I might write a book,” she laughed, “but where to start.”

I think her book would start like, once upon a time my dad was the original host of American Bandstand, but then he happily moved on. I asked her what was one thing that she wanted the public to know about her dad and she said, “My dad was a happy man, he really did move on after Bandstand, he was happy.”

So for many, while they mourn the passing of Dick Clark, there are a few of us who know that Bob Horn was the originator of bandstand and that no matter what, Bandstand had our nation rocking and rolling to music and so rest in Peace Mr. Clark, and thank you Bob Horn for making it all possible. Special thanks to Bob Horns daughter Barbra who reached out to contact me. If she is anything like her dad, I am sure her dad was a very fun and humorous man. I hope she writes her book, she said, “It will be funny.”

Dick Clark died yesterday and it got me thinking…

Well I should say opening my facebook to a slew of letters asking me if I was planning on doing an article for Retroflections on the passing of Dick Clark got me thinking.  Of course I have done a story on Dick Clark and Bandstand a ways back and I knew once Clark passed there would be another one.

The problem is, how do you write about America’s oldest teenager that died of 82 of a heart attack? That is really quite easy; you take it to the streets and begin to ask people. For me I took it to Facebook and a coffee shop and asked what people thought of the passing of Dick Clark who was the host, not the creator, of American Bandstand from 1952-1989 and literally introduced to world hundreds of singers and acts.

Dawn Harward said, Dick Clark was the king of New Years Eve around my house growing up. I remember my mom turning on TV to watch the countdown after a day of cooking traditional foods. It was the one night of the year my parents let us stay up past 8pm. We all had to have had a bath and our pjs on to enjoy the festivities. Mom and dad would dance with each other and then with us! It was so cool to see them loosen up! We also got to eat chips n dip and soda pop which was a rare treat! The night closed out with the countdown with Dick and like a favorite uncle, I was always sad to see him go.

Mary Albert said, “I remember being a very shy teenager who wanted to “look cool” in front of my peers. I would watch and learn the dance steps and feel so much more confident in front of the “popular” kids.”

Singer and entertainer Clifford Ford stated that he grew up in Philadelphia on 42nd and Market right where Bandstand was. He had excitement in his voice as if he was right up the street from Bandstand. He said he was about 16 he would go to the show whenever he could. He stated his memories of the show wonderful, and his memories of Dick Clark were “very fond.”

Jean at the local coffee shop said, “I was as addicted to Bandstand in the 50s as everyone else my age. It was great.” Bernadette added, “American Bandstand in the very beginning was on right after school Monday through Friday. I rushed home from school to watch! Memories will never fade!” Kim chimed in saying, “One man died, but it is the death of a generation.” As I was leaving the coffee shop, someone came up to me and said, “My childhood and music was Dick Clark. How could any adult our age say that Dick lark never touched their lives?” She was right.

I then sent an email to Stan Blitz, author of American Bandstand the Untold Story and asked him what he thought, Blitz stated “Without Bob Horn there wouldn’t have been Dick Clark or American Bandstand.” Which will lead me to saying stay tuned for Monday’s article about Bandstand.

Everyone is right, if you grew up in the 50s-80s, then you knew who Clark was. I cannot imagine growing up without Clark in our front room playing on Saturday mornings. My sister and I got all the housework done as fast as we could so we could sit and watch his show. She loved the fashions and the dances; I loved the music and eager to see what was happening on the charts.

No matter what reason you had, everyone had a reason back then to turn on the TV and watch Bandstand on Saturday mornings. So today, we bid a fond farewell to Dick Clark. No matter what he did or did not do, there is one thing for certain and that is Clark touched many lives. How did he touch yours?