dance to into the motivating force of a business empire and made singers into fares. the legendary aretha franklin will join us in a few minutes. but here a look back at his career by koreen wynter. reporter: he was known as the world s oldest teenager. dick clark began his career on the weekly dance party that would later be known as american bandstand in philadelphia in 1956. the show became a national and later an international sensation, after it was picked up by abc one year later. do the twist reporter: in spite of racial altitudes at the time, clark was a pioneer in promoting african-american artists, including percy sledge, the silhouettes, the supremes and gladys night and the pips. an appearance on american bandstand could launch their career. if you look at the history of dance, from the popular music to the through the rock n roll period, country music, rhythm and blues, rap music, it is everything. reporter: but music wasn t his only beat, clark