Dick Clark died today, he was 82.
I got word of the news as I was on the air, getting ready to read some local news when I got a text message. I passed it on to the listeners. Cause of death was a massive heart attack.
Dick Clark and I grew up in the same town, Mount Vernon, New York. I never knew him. He graduated from High School before I was born.
I always thought that it was odd that there was no visible recognition, in Mount Vernon, to the fact that he grew up there. You know, nothing in MV is named for him. Maybe, part of the problem is that the music that he brought to us was not widely accepted by the establishment. Jerry Lee Lewis, Chubby Checker and Elvis - to name a few - they were seen, by many, to be vile and threatening. I can't think of anyone who did more than Dick Clark in promoting popular music to the masses. Without him, the music landscape would not be what it has been during the past 50+ years.
Dick Clark was the perfect person to present this new type of music to the world. He was handsome, educated, communicated well and he was smart!
In the 60s through the 80s he was everywhere on TV. He was the host, the producer and often the owner of the show that you were watching. He had his hands in many different projects and most of them were successful.
I was surfing the Internet for news of his passing and I found a transcript of an interview that he gave in 2004, prior to his stroke. He was asked about what he would like his legacy to be. He responded that the most frequently said thing that he heard was, "Thank you for being part of my life. Thank you for all the happiness you have brought to me." He added,"I hope that is my legacy."
Ryan Seacrest and Carson Daly would agree when I say that Dick Clark was one of a kind.
I got word of the news as I was on the air, getting ready to read some local news when I got a text message. I passed it on to the listeners. Cause of death was a massive heart attack.
Dick Clark and I grew up in the same town, Mount Vernon, New York. I never knew him. He graduated from High School before I was born.
I always thought that it was odd that there was no visible recognition, in Mount Vernon, to the fact that he grew up there. You know, nothing in MV is named for him. Maybe, part of the problem is that the music that he brought to us was not widely accepted by the establishment. Jerry Lee Lewis, Chubby Checker and Elvis - to name a few - they were seen, by many, to be vile and threatening. I can't think of anyone who did more than Dick Clark in promoting popular music to the masses. Without him, the music landscape would not be what it has been during the past 50+ years.
Dick Clark was the perfect person to present this new type of music to the world. He was handsome, educated, communicated well and he was smart!
In the 60s through the 80s he was everywhere on TV. He was the host, the producer and often the owner of the show that you were watching. He had his hands in many different projects and most of them were successful.
I was surfing the Internet for news of his passing and I found a transcript of an interview that he gave in 2004, prior to his stroke. He was asked about what he would like his legacy to be. He responded that the most frequently said thing that he heard was, "Thank you for being part of my life. Thank you for all the happiness you have brought to me." He added,"I hope that is my legacy."
Ryan Seacrest and Carson Daly would agree when I say that Dick Clark was one of a kind.
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