Vintage Rockers Find a Home

by Alanna Nash

Where have the singing stars of the 1950s and ’60s gone? Many are headliners at Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Entertainment Complex, the newest entertainment venue in Branson, Mo. (pop. 6,050).

Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Fabian, Bobby Vee, The Chiffons, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Bill Haley’s Comets, Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers and others have made the complex, which opened in April, their new year-round musical home.

“It’s an entire experience of the early days of rock ’n’ roll,” says Chris Lucchi, the theater’s managing partner. With almost nonstop music from stars stretching across two decades, the venue offers three different daily shows (with the exception of Wednesday afternoons and Sunday mornings), two of which feature the original stars who performed on Clark’s famed American Bandstand TV show in the 1950s and ’60s.

“I think we’re the only place in America that offers that experience,” Lucchi says.

Comprised of a 970-seat theater, a collection of classic 1957 automobiles and a ’50s-style diner—all housed in an 85,000-square-foot building—the five-acre complex is the first permanent showcase of rock acts in Branson, which is most widely known as a mecca for country music.

At 10 a.m., visitors can enjoy “Cruisin’ ’57,” a show blending elements of the movies American Graffiti and Grease. The 2 p.m. show features either Gary Lewis & The Playboys (“This Diamond Ring,” “Save Your Heart for Me”) or Bill Haley’s band, the Comets (“Rock Around the Clock,” “See You Later, Alligator”).

And at 8 p.m., the stars really come out. One week each month, Fabian (“Tiger,” “Hound Dog Man”) hosts a show featuring his friends Bobby Vee (“Rubber Ball,” “Run to Him”), The Chiffons (“He’s So Fine”), Brian Hyland (“Sealed with a Kiss”) and Chris Montez (“Let’s Dance”).

“Believe it or not, women still scream at our shows,” says Fabian, 63. “It’s such a compliment.” Fabian’s show alternates with appearances by Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers (“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’”) and Paul Revere & The Raiders (“Kicks”).

“I’d been looking at Branson for about 10 years and, when the Dick Clark opportunity came up, that made rock ’n’ roll sense to me,” says Medley, 65, citing the graying of baby boomers and a younger demographic trekking to Branson. It’s a family affair for Medley, too, since his son, Darrin, 41, sings lead in Paul Revere’s band. Medley’s singing partner, Bobby Hatfield, died in 2003, but Medley re-creates the Righteous Brothers distinctive duet sound by singing along to Hatfield’s tracks from a live album recorded by the pair six months before his death.

“I think we’ve been a good addition for Branson,” says Bobby Vee, 63, who like his fellow performers, signs autographs after each show. “We all grew up together, so it really is a journey back to the old original days of rock ’n’ roll for us. Like Bill Medley said when I first talked to him a year ago, ‘We got a chance to be the young guys again.’ There have been a couple of nights where it’s felt like 1962 all over again.”

Of course, it’s 2006. The members of the Comets are all in their 70s and 80s, and Bill Haley died in 1981. But all the Bandstand performers have worked steadily in the business, and most still record when they’re off the road. They’ve also stayed close to their roots. Many live close to where they grew up, and return there on breaks between shows—Fabian to Connersville, Pa., Medley to California (he has homes in Newport Beach and Palm Springs) and Vee to St. Joseph, Minn. Several members of The Comets have bought homes in Branson, so certain that the crowds will keep coming.

“Our music is good, clean American music,” says Comets sax player Joe D’Ambrosio, 72. “And that’s what we’re about.

Alanna Nash is a frequent contributor to American Profile.

first appeared: 9/3/2006