Collectors scramble for American Bandstand trading cards

Serious fans of early rock’n’roll during the “Dick Clark days” may want to explore the possibility of obtaining vintage American Bandstand trading cards.

A set of 100 American Bandstand cards that feature artists who appeared on the television show between 1952 and 1989, hosted by Dick Clark, truly exists.

 

The 2.5-inch by 3.5-inch cards were manufactured and distributed in 1993 by the Collect-A-Card company, which held the license from Dick Clark Productions.

Matt Litwin, editor of Hemmings Classic Car magazine, said: “Collect-A-Card is such a small blip on the trading card radar that information about its history doesn’t exist on the Internet. It’s only through grading companies – such as Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) – and diehard enthusiasts, that we know the company was hardly a flash in the pan.”

Other successful trading cards produced by the company during the early 1990s focused on motor sports.

What is valuable, said Ryan Cracknell, hobby editor at Beckett Media, a leading authority on collectibles, is that “the American Bandstand cards chart the popular music landscape from the 1950s through to the early days of MTV. It’s somewhat remarkable when you delve into the breadth of artists featured, many of whom don’t have a lot of mainstream trading cards.”

“By today’s standards, it’s quite the festival with headliners like Buddy Holly, Peter Frampton, Mick Fleetwood, Marie Osmond, Otis Redding, Chaka Khan and Devo (an American new wave band formed in 1973),” Cracknell said.

 

“Cards have black borders on both sides. There’s a photo of the act on the front while the back has a brief biography as well as notes on the act’s American Bandstand performances,” he added. “Each foil-sealed pack contains eight cards, and they don’t cost a lot.”

Especially treasured are three cards that contain a limited number of gold foil signatures of Dick Clark, Jerry Lee Lewis and Smokey Robinson. Cracknell’s favorite card is Chaka Khan, because her second name is misspelled as “Kahn.” A little about her:

 Yvette Marie Stevens was born in 1953 in Chicago, and while working in Los Angeles as Chaka Khan, she became the lead vocalist for the band Rufus, earning the distinction as the “Queen of Funk.” Her first performance on American Bandstand in 1974 featured the hit song “Tell Me Something Good.” Other hits included “Sweet Thing” and “Do You Love What You Feel.”

 

Other artists featured in the American Bandstand collection faded through time – including groups such as The Four Lads, Bill Black’s Combo and Simply Red.

The Four Lads was a quartet from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that broke through in the late 1950s with hits like “Moments to Remember,” “Standing on the Corner,” “No, Not Much,” “Who Needs You?” and “Istanbul.”

 

Bill Black was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock’n’roll. He was a member of Elvis Presley’s early band, The Blue Moon Boys. Black played the upright double bass, perfecting the “slap bass” technique that became his trademark. Scotty Moore was the lead guitarist and D. J. Fontana was the drummer.

 Scotty Moore, Elvis Presley and Bill Black

Black played on early Presley recordings including “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Baby Let’s Play House,” “Mystery Train,” “That's All Right” and “Hound Dog.” Black developed an onstage personality as the group’s comedian.

Big hits for Bill Black’s Combo were “Smokie,” “Smokie, Part 2” and “White Silver Sand.”

Simply Red was a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester, England, in 1985. Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010. Since then, Hucknall has reconstituted the band and it continues to record and tour.

One of the American Bandstand cards is dedicated to Bob Clayton and Justine Carrelli, who were dancers on the television show. They paired up in 1957 and became audience favorites. In 1959, they added singing to their partnership, recording “Dream Girl” and “Drive-In Movie.”

 

Other cards in the collection pay tribute to:

Clarence “Frogman” Henry of New Orleans, a rhythm and blues singer and pianist, best known for his hits “Ain't Got No Home” and “(I Don’t Know Why) But I Do.”

 

Bill Doggett of Philadelphia, a pianist and organist who began his career playing swing music before transitioning into rhythm and blues. He was best known for his instrumental compositions “Honky Tonk” and “Hippy Dippy.”

 

Johnny Maestro of New York City, who was the lead vocalist for the doo-wop group The Crests. Its song “16 Candles” went to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. He later led The Brooklyn Bridge, best known for its cover of the Jimmy Webb song “Worst That Could Happen.”

 

Nicolette Larson of Helena, Mont. She had a hit with Neil Young’s song “Lotta Love,” which made it to No. 1 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. It was followed by four more adult contemporary hits, “Rhumba Girl,” “Give a Little,” “Let Me Go, Love” and “I Only Want to Be with You.” Larson later shifted her focus to country music, charting six times.