American Bandstand 1964 – Born Too Late, The Poni-Tails/ Last Night, The Mar-Keys

It’s the end of 1964 and “New American Bandstand ‘65” is celebrating the second-to-last show of the year by having an “All Time Hits” day, playing hit songs from the past. “Born Too Late” was the Poni-Tails biggest hit, reaching #7 in 1958, their only top 40 hit. Similarly, “Last Night” was also the Mar-Keys biggest hit, reaching #3 in 1961. The Mar-Keys had several hits as the backing band for singers and groups recording on Stax records including Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Wilson Pickett. In addition to being Stax record’s house band, several members of the Mar-Keys also went on to form “Booker T. and the M.G.’s” in 1962 recording hits such as “Green Onions” (#3 in 1962)

Dancers: The kids slow dance to the Poni-Tails and do “the Jerk” to the Mar-keys (and maybe some other dances?) The AB regulars I’m most familiar with from the mid to late 60’s aren’t quite on the show yet. AB regular Danny McClane can be spotted at 0:46. For years it was a running joke that Danny (almost) always came up last in the roll call. Danny was on the show until 1966.

…..And early yesterday morning (Dec. 11) we lost one of the all-time greats, Sam Cooke. Sam was shot and killed at the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles by the motel manager Bertha Franklin when, she claimed, Sam attacked her while in a rage looking for the girl he had come to the motel with, Elisa Boyer. (It’s a sordid and controversial story that you can read about if you aren’t familiar with it)
RCA would release the album “Shake” and 2 singles shortly after his death in December. The song “Shake” made it to #7. The B side to “Shake” was the song, “A Change Is Gonna Come”. While it only reached #31, it is widely considered Cooke’s best song and was an anthem during the Civil Rights Movement. It was voted #12 in Rolling Stones “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” in 2005 and is preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry for its cultural and historical significance.


Airdate: December 12, 1964