Goodbye, Dick Clark

Dick Clark, "American Bandstand" maestro, pop icon and New Year's Eve legend, died Wednesday at age 82 of a massive heart attack. The news prompted poignant memories among a generation weaned on Clark's afternoon show, as well as tributes from hundreds of entertainers. Here, in memory of the man affectionately known as "the world's oldest teenager," are a few things you might not know about him:

He Had A Great Theme Song

From its beginning in 1957, “American Bandstand” played its classic theme song, “Bandstand Boogie,” on every broadcast. The lyrics (“We’re goin’ hoppin’/goin’ hoppin’ today”) were written by Barry Manilow.

He Was A Good Dance Instructor "Bandstand," which originated in Philadelphia, focused on clean-cut teenagers who made their mark on the dance floor with hits like "The Stroll." The program also featured the rate-a-record section, where kids evaluated new 45s on a scale of 1 to 100. The archetypal comment --"It's got a good beat, and you can dance to it" - is still a pretty good way to judge a pop song.

He Inspired A Broadway Musical "Bandstand" was so popular, especially in the mid-Atlantic region, that it was memorialized in the Broadway musical "Hairspray." In the movie version, Nikki Blonsky (right) plots with movie mom John Travolta to get on "The Corny Collins Show," a fictional Baltimore program modeled after "Bandstand."

Superstars Loved Him Over the years, the long "Bandstand" guest list includes some stars you'd expect (Jerry Lee Lewis) and some you wouldn't (Judy Collins). But one of the most popular acts on the show was The Jackson 5. "He was wonderful to many artists, including our family," Janet Jackson tweeted after learning of Clark's death. "God bless."

He Never Forgot His Roots Although the music scene underwent massive changes between the late 1950s, when "Bandstand" began, and the late 1980s, when it ended, Clark always kept up with what was happening, with guests like David Bowie and Run-DMC. But his heart was always with good old three-minute rock'n'roll songs. His 1976 autobiography was called "Rock, Roll & Remember," and so was this anthology album he put out.

He Was An Award-Winning Game Show Host While "Bandstand" was still broadcasting, Clark affably presided over the "Pyramid" game shows, which went from $10,000 to $100,000 during his tenure in the 1970s and 1980s. The shows won a record nine Emmy Awards, and Clark himself won three.

He Loved The Number Seven On an episode of "The $100,000 Pyramid," Clark said he married his third wife, Kari Wigton, on 7/7/77. There were seven candles at the cermony and seven people in the wedding party. He asked the minister to make the ceremony 17 minutes, and the minister (the father of actor John Davidson) agreed. All that effort paid off. He and Wigton stayed married for the rest of his life.

He Gave Us A Lot Of Great New Year's Eves For the Boomer generation, no one personified New Year's Eve more than Clark, who broadcast his first "New Year's Rockin' Eve" party in 1972. Since then, he missed it just twice: in 2000, when he was pre-empted for the coverage of the millennium, and in 2004, when he had a stroke. In recent years, he co-hosted the broadcast with Ryan Seacrest (far left). On the day of Clark's death, Seacrest tweeted, "I am deeply saddened by the loss of my friend Dick Clark. He has truly been one of the greatest influences in my life."

He Never Stopped Working Clark, in his early 80s, wasn't about to let the digital age pass him by. He had a website (www.dickclarkonline.com), where he kept fans up to date on his doings. His last blog post was written just nine days before his death, and in it, Clark spoke passionately about our need for sound, because it connects us with the world outside ourselves. Coming from a man who connected generations to their music, that's no surprise at all.

Thanks for the memories, Dick.