A pair of early teen music idols skipped ‘American Bandstand’

Only two of the major rock’n’roll super stars from the late 1950s-early 1960s era never performed live on the “American Bandstand” television show, hosted by Dick Clark.

 

It’s a good trivia question. Who are they? Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson. It wasn’t because Dick Clark didn’t like the teen idol singers. Quite the contrary, he appreciated their talents and gushed praises toward both.

 

Rather, the men who managed the rising careers of Presley and Nelson were responsible for distancing them from the “American Bandstand” dancers. The stories have some similarities.

Presley’s manager was Thomas Andrew Parker (shown below), who came to the United States from the Netherlands in 1929. Amidst the Great Depression, times were hard. Parker worked the carnival circuit and enjoyed success promoting the carnival musicians.

 

Parker helped one client, vocalist Jimmie Davis (shown below), get elected governor of Louisiana in 1944. In return, Davis awarded Parker with an honorary rank of “colonel” in the Louisiana State Guard. Parker liked the sound of that…and referred to himself from then on as Colonel Tom Parker.

 

Parker happened to “discover” the talented singer Elvis Aaron Presley of Tupelo, Miss., in 1955…and by 1956 Colonel Parker had become his manager. He promptly sought opportunities for Presley to shine by making selective television appearances (three spots on “The Ed Sullivan Show”), while launching an acting career in the film industry.

 

Everything was going swimmingly until those plans were interrupted by Uncle Sam in 1958.

Todd DePastino, executive director of the Veterans Breakfast Club, based in Pittsburgh, Pa., said: “Presley dutifully registered with the Selective Service 11 days after his 18th birthday in January 1953, while the draft was feeding battlelines in Korea. With the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement in July 1953, conscription numbers plummeted.”

So, it came as quite a shock when the local draft board reached out nearly five years later to tap Presley to become a soldier. “By that time, he was famous. He’d released three Number One records and signed a major Hollywood movie deal,” DePastino said.

 

Everyone anticipated that Presley would draw an assignment in “Special Services” that would keep him in the spotlight, entertaining the troops, like Glenn Miller and Mickey Rooney had done in World War II, DePastino wrote.

“It’s hard to believe, but the Army didn’t think Elvis would be much of a draw among GIs. ‘Our studies indicate that his basic appeal is to young girls,’ said an Army spokesman.”

“The Navy tried to lure Elvis into a blue uniform with a promise to perform at naval installations and enjoy his own priority housing,” DePastino said.

Parker, however, didn’t like the idea of Presley singing on stage for Uncle Sam. “Such performances would be free-of-charge and remain forever in the public domain, meaning no royalties for the Colonel and his star client,” DePastino reported.

“The Colonel also knew any special treatment by the Pentagon would brand Elvis a coddled celebrity and only compound his intense unpopularity among those who disapproved of his rowdy music, leg-shaking performances and long-haired appearance.”

“The best strategy, the Colonel told Elvis, was to profess a readiness to serve in any capacity,” DePastino said.

Presley told reporters: “I’m not gonna ask for anything. I’ll do what they want me to do.”

It began with the military haircut on March 26, 1958, at Fort Chaffee in Arkansas. About 55 members of the news media crowded into the small barbershop to report on the “Haircut Heard ‘Round the World.”

 

“Hair today, gone tomorrow,” quipped Elvis from the barber’s chair. He’s in the Army now….