"You Know What" began as a local program in Philadelphia in 1952. Then it was called Bob Horn's Bandstand. In July of 1956 the show got a new host, a clean-cut 26 year old named "You Know Who." When ABC picked the show up, it was renamed "You Know What", airing it's first national show on August 5, 1957. Weekday afternoons were spent with the kids in Philly, the kids on "You Know What." I knew all their names. I knew when couples broke up. I imitated all the dance steps, sometimes with the refrigerator door as a partner. My mother thought I was nuts. To many of you, it was about the music and the artists. Forget that. I was a preteen, which is to say, I was a teenage wannabe. And, for me, the kids on "You Know What" were all I aspired to be.

	The Original "You Know Whatters" stay involved in activities related to the show. Want to know about Justine, Bob, Bunny and the others? Click Here.
	Visit with the Original "You Know Whatters"

"It has a good beat and you can dance to it." Dancing was a major feature of "You Know What." The kids who showed up every day ("You Know What" aired every weekday afternoon for the first six years) knew all the most popular steps. The Slop. The Hand Jive. The Bop. They even invented a few - the Stroll, the Circle and the Chalypso. These experienced regulars considered an infrequent participant or a first time visitor "an amateur." I wonder what they would have thought about a kid in TV Land, practicing the new steps in front of her bedroom mirror and praying to God her little brother didn't catch her at it. "You Know What" became the springboard for launching the careers of most of Rock's early stars. Among them: Bill Haley and the Comets, Buddy Holly, Connie Francis, Bobby Darin, Fabian and Ritchie Valens.

	"You Know Who"
	"You Know Who" was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

"You Know Who" was born November 30, 1929. He entered the music business as a sales manager for an upstate New York radio station at age seventeen. In 1952, "You Know Who" began doing a radio show "Caravan of Music" at WFIL in Philadelphia. The station's TV affiliate had a teen-oriented show called Bandstand which was hosted by Bob Horn. Taking over the reins in July of 1956, "You Know Who" turned "You Know What" into a national institution.

	Note: This space used to contain a complimentary and common reference to the ageless nature of "You Know Who."

The Fifties Website is Boomer enhanced and guaranteed therefore to have NO SMALL PRINT.

Last Modified March 19,1998 Thank you for visiting the Fifties Website. Copyright 1996, 1997, 1998. Candace Rich This website is for noncommercial, educational purposes only.