American Bandstand 1970 -Spotlight Dance- United We Stand, The Brotherhood Of Man

Airdate: May 23, 1970

Happy 4th of July!

“United We Stand” is at #30 today and will peak at #13 on July 4. The song has been used to show unity in various political movements over the years such as Vietnam War protests, presidential campaigns and, more recently, after the tragic events of 9/11.

The Brotherhood of Man’s lead vocalist Tony Burrows had quite a year in 1970. Besides “United We Stand” he was the lead vocalist on 3 other hits for 3 other groups that were all on the charts at roughly the same time including: “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) by Edison Lighthouse, (#5 in April), “My Baby Loves Lovin’” by White Plains (#13 in June), and “Gimme Dat Ding” by the Pipkins which will be featured on next week’s Rate A Record (#9 in July). He will also be the lead vocalist on “Beach Baby” by First Class, which will peak at #4 in 1974, making Tony the only person to sing lead for 5 different “one-hit wonders”.

Among our Spotlight Dancers today, on the mid riser, are two of American Bandstand’s longtime 60’s regulars Famous Hooks, who has been on the show since 1964, and Theodosia Dayton, who has been on the show since (at least) 1966.

In the news: 3 weeks ago (May 4) at Kent State University during a student protest of Vietnam and the recent invasion of Cambodia, 28 members of the Ohio National Guard fired 67 rounds at protesters, later claiming that they felt “threatened”. 4 students were killed (2 of which were merely bystanders) and 9 were wounded. This event further divided the nation over the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War.