American Bandstand
1952–1989ABCDocumentary
Dick Clark and thirty-seven years of teenagers rating records out of ten.
One opening sequence is catalogued for American Bandstand, covering season 1.
It arrived on ABC in 1952, when The Lawrence Welk Show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and Sky King were also on the network.
The opening titles
Season 1
No usable clip kept. The one upload runs the opening into a performer's introduction rather than stopping at the titles.
More documentary opening titles from the 1950s
2 sequencesBlue Peter
The world's longest-running children's programme, opening on a ship in full sail and a hornpipe.
- Season 45
- Season 64
1 sequenceThe Lawrence Welk Show
Champagne music, bubbles in the titles, and thirty-one years of the same band leader counting in.
- Season 1
1 sequenceTo Tell the Truth
Three people claiming to be the same person, and the line that ends it — will the real one please stand up.
- Season 1
1 sequencePanorama
The longest-running current affairs programme in the world, and a theme borrowed from Rachmaninoff.
- Season 30
1 sequenceTruth or Consequences
A radio stunt show that reached television in 1950 and persuaded a New Mexico town to rename itself after it.
- Season 1
1 sequenceThe Sky at Night
The longest-running programme with the same presenter in television history, opening on Sibelius' At the Castle Gate.
- Season 1