Music Review: 50th Anniversary Collection - Dick Clark's American Bandstand - Page 2

Rock Around the Clock is lots of old rock and/or dance music, an assortment that includes not only Bill Haley's classic, but also the likes of Chuck Berry with "Sweet Little Sixteen," Danny and the Juniors with "At the Hop," Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time," and Chubby Checker's "The Twist." (Total of 32 tracks.)

Dance, Dance, Dance, seems to me to lean more toward classic rockabilly such as "Wake Up, Little Susie" by The Everly Brothers, or pop-flavored songs such as Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe," Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," or "I'm a Believer" by the Monkees. But of course, there's also the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive," dance music for the ages. (Total of 36 tracks.)

Good Vibrations contains, not surprisingly, the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations," but also a variety of feel-good songs that range all the way from Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" to Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion," and from Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" to Blondie's "Heart of Glass." (Total of 34 tracks.)

Bandstand Boogie is a little tougher to define based on the choices, which include not only José Feliciano doing "Light My Fire," but also Elvis crooning " Are You Lonesome Tonight." Or Donovan with "Mellow Yellow," contrasting with the Box Tops doing "The Letter," and Santana's outstanding "Black Magic Woman." (Total of 35 tracks.)

Best of the Spotlight Dances is the last twin set, and it reinforces once again that American Bandstand was always about dancing. Practically everything ever performed on the show was danced to, either fast or slow. Examples of the latter include the Temptations with "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)," Dion and the Belmonts on "Where or When," and Patsy Cline's immortal "Crazy." (Total of 34 tracks.)

The few tunes I've mentioned don't begin to address the quantity and quality of music here. You won't find a more complete set of oldies than 50th Anniversary Collection - Dick Clark's American Bandstand, and if the music of the past few decades is of interest to you, I'd urge you to look more closely at the full listing.*

*Complete listing plus sample clips here.

Article Author: Big Geez

The Big Geez is a retiree who takes time off from trimming his ear hair to write about music -- sometimes doing conventional reviews, but often just sharing his opinions about how something resonates with his memories and those of his generation. …

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