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Couples Sweep the 1967 American Bandstand Contest With Neil Diamond's 'You Got to Me'

A man in a suit and a woman in a white dress are dancing together in a room.

In 1967, 'American Bandstand' had a dance competition involving couples. The finalists were paired up on the dancefloor as legendary host Dick Clark asked his announcer to review the prizes.

A man in a suit and tie stands in front of a perforated background.

Prizes included a fabulous 'Craig' car stereo, a choice of 12 albums from different musicians, and luggage from 'American Tourister.' The prizes also included camping equipment, and the grand prize was a 'Magnavox' color TV.

The show's sponsors were 'Nair' lotion and cream, Adam's 'Dentyne' chewing gum, and 'Miss Breck' hairspray. Dick walks out from behind a curtain and asks how good a judge the viewers could be.

A person in a white outfit is dancing in front of a large "ab" sign with a starry background.

Then, he says the episode title is "The ball is in your court," implying that the viewers choose the couple they think are the best dancers. Later, he asks the dancers' names and ages as he goes down the line of couples.

Dick gives the directions for how to register a vote by mail in an envelope to a specific address. He welcomes each couple one at a time to dance for 15 seconds alone.

A man and woman are dancing on a stage, holding hands, with a large circular backdrop behind them.

Once they finish their solos, they dance together on the floor to Neil Diamond's hit 'You Got To Me.' The 1967 hit single was the featured song on the 'American Bandstand' competition.

Dick says that the audience can wait a few weeks to make their vote if they need to get a better look. The mail-in ballot wasn't due after this broadcast because the competition was going to run for a few more weeks.

If 1967 American Bandstand dance competition episode was your soundtrack back then, it's still out there on AmazonAd. Buying through here helps us a little and pays for the odd treat for the cats.