But he's sure the introduction was brief, wasting no time as Beatlemania raged. And so he gave them -- the only show in the whole country that did this -- we gave them a flat $50,000, which was pretty good in those days. For this little kid from Wetumpka, that was a big, big deal, he said. "We all felt very privileged," Bartoletti says. Its better than not being remembered at all.. "Little Feat at Boutwell mid 70s. nellson nutraceutical revenue; arlington catholic basketball roster; jack cawood and suzy hunt; lawn vacuum for acorns rental. FACIAL. Montgomery's home for country music favorites like Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Alan Jackson, George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert . We do everything from Jerry Jeff Walker to the Grateful Dead to Van Morrison, says Pappas. His clothes were all rumpled, and he said, 'Dan, I need to go on later in the show. Rock 'n' roll had just started, and you were right in the middle of it.". He kicked it off with (what else?) We would always find the artists who were very popular with our audience, and we would try to get them, and we usually were successful.". (Photo courtesy of the Brennan family). He never asked forautographs. We rode up the . The Louvin Brothers. From:"Rodney Justo" To:"robert register" Subject:Re: HEY EL NIXO! "Bill" Brennan, Billy Benns (Jr.) and Mrs. Luella B. Aldridge. And they accepted it, but we did get the total amount of the gate that came in. It's not like now, where they have secret tunnels and drive right into the auditorium.". He pulls this at every one of our shows. He even did about 30 seconds of Sweet Home Alabama (that was before that song was worn out). (In 1965, Legion Field could seat more than 68,000 people.) No mention does anyone else remember that?". ", Brennan, headquartered in Birmingham, rode herd over the Shower of Stars and was the primary talent buyer for the concerts, along with his other duties at WVOK. That was one of my first big gigs - the Big BAM shows! Jimbo Jones (L) and Tommy Beavers look forward to the reunion of Harmony. Lowell George in his prime," says Bingothatwuzagoody. The Lovin' Spoonful. Yes, the Beatles' performance was "a really big show," as Ed Sullivan wouldhave said. In Birmingham, we know of only one man who's had the honor: Dan Brennan, a former radio host, station manager, concert promoter and prime moverat WVOK-AM. He remembers the Kove days with Harvest/Harmony fondly, not only for the bands music but the people who came to see them. The Beach Boys. "To go to the concerts was huge. said donnna. The concertlater gained a secure foothold in Alabamamusic history -- fans here still ooh and aah about it -- but it wasn't a money-making proposition. ", From Larry Gilbreath: "I know it's been a long time ago but not one single June Jam in Fort Payne on the list unbelievable." But in the stations' 1960s heyday, shows usually kicked off on Fridays inMontgomery atGarrett Coliseum and moved to Birmingham on Saturdays at Municipal Auditorium (now called Boutwell Auditorium). Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis were on the bill, said Whitwam of their first performance at Garrett Coliseum. It feels good. Lead in groups were the James Gang with Joe Walsh, and a group that got booed called Frampton's Camel before Peter Frampton hit it big. "His 'side' men was the entire Little Feat rhythm section. Most of the clubs have gone to a single performer, or a duo or karaoke. Toni loved doing the show, but Daryl, who never enjoyed being on camera, did not. Chuck Berry was awesome and the Stones in their early days were unbelievable.". ", From Steve Wayne: "Guns N' Roses at the Birmingham Race Course. "I'm so old. The stage was an immense rectangle glutted with scaffolding and hundreds of klieg lights and a sound system on a board that looked like the skyline of New York at night. ", From Don Haley Benson: "Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA! Most recently they performed earlier this year for a benefit show for ailing former bandmate Keith Brewer, who died in April of cancer. One of the most powerful Shower of Stars events happened on May 7, 1965, when WVOK brought the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys to Legion Field. Its magic, said Beavers. It wasnt concerts where you played and 500 people sat down and listened to you. Were a dance band.. ", From David Hester: "Eagles at Von Braun Civic Center in Huntsville in 1975. Dislike Share. Ask anyone who was there. Ticket prices were never more expensive than $4.00. George Harrison is behind Dan on the left, John Lennon on the right. "It was a promotional thing for us. 0. blues show montgomery, al 2021. Welcome to my Nightmare in Huntsville Von Braun 1975 and KISS in 1976 at Von Braun. This was the last concert they did before going back to LA and joining the band Fleetwood Mac. Four dates per year were standard -- in winter, spring, summer and fall -- and total attendance topped out at 15,000 people for each three-show stint in Birmingham. His current band, The Soul Crackas, does many of the same soul hits the Rockin Gibraltar performed. They didn't come to hear me; they came to hear the Rolling Stones.'". The Captain and Tennille Show became a network hit and featured guest stars such as John Travolta, Don Knotts, The Pointer Sisters, and Red Foxx. Deep South was incorporated in late July of 1950 with a capitalization of $60,000. I dont feel like well have any problem (remembering their songs). Its a good bet theyll play some Steely Dan, Crosby, Stills & Nash, a favorite, Sweet Magnolia, and Bill Hinds rendition of Joe Walshs Rocky Mountain Way.. This book takes a thought-provoking, even-handed look at those days from the perspective of a typical white kid growing up in Montgomery during that . I said, 'Well, this is Roy's show. Their friends were quite envious when they got to hang out with the Grass Roots, Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds, Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders, and rode around with Eric Burden and the Animals. They moved to LA, minus Grier whod gotten married and had a new baby and didnt want to move. As a result, Captain and Tennille declined ABC's offer to do a second season. That way I could see the stars and hear the music better. They agreed to do it, but they were on one end of it, and the Beach Boys were on the other end of it. Edgar Winter Group with the Frankenstein tour," said Rick Allen. The Four Seasons. "Fairgrounds Bham. Louise Brennan, Cyril's wife, at the Beatles' press conference in Jacksonville. We played all the way through college, says Long. Patsy Cline. Whitwam remembers little of that show, but subsequent performances are crystal clear. I can sing as good or better now than I did then, said Grier. . They had the Stones in about 1963-64, with Brian Jones before he died. ), "I remember we used to have people come out to our station on the Bessemer Superhighway," Brennan says, "and they would tell us that our transmitter -- we had a 50-kilowatt transmitter, and it was pretty close to their homes -- and they said, 'Well, I'm picking you up on my coffeepot.'". The Beatles were paid a fee of $50,000 -- a hefty sum in those days, Brennan says -- and in the thick of the civil rights movement, the band's contract specified that they wouldn't perform for a segregated audience. ", From bhamboost: "Parliament Funkadelic Mothership Connection 1976. The Byrds. The Show That Almost Happened Fans also rushed to nominate their favorites when asked for feedback. It was a hold out because they had missed a previous show in May of 1974. In 2020, the median property value in Montgomery, AL was $121,100, and the homeownership rate was 54.1%. Although he admits to anoccasional pang of longing, looking back on his previouscareer, Brennan is far from retired. They would buy so many tickets in advance, we didn't have to worry about whether they were going to come or not.". In Montgomery, music was the Big Bam show put on at Garrett Coliseum by WBAM, and there I saw Neil Diamond, the Buckinghams, Tommy James and the Shondells. Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): Tommy, I'm in Montgomery, Alabama. People came from several states to see these shows. The Who played there. The band has undergone several incarnations. And not just the concerts, but the whole experience building up to it. The group recorded a few songs at Muscle Shoals FAME Studios, played around the Los Angeles area with big name bands like Vanilla Fudge and Three Dog Night, and once opened for Jimi Hendrix. There was always so much excitement surrounding the shows, Knapp said. The bands would come in cars -- just plain old cars -- and they'd get their guitars out and walk past you. to see more entries, Posted on November 1, 2011 by bob in Features. "Cyril's idea was, 'Tell them to sing, just a little bit, and make sure that we get the right one.' The station is locally owned and operated by Bluewater Broadcasting Company, LLC. Dan Brennan recalls the reaction from performers. "They would be paying the acts, literally, in cash. We were waiting at the Holiday Inn, in the bar at the hotel having a beer. They have reformed several times with different members, playing for Lee High School reunions. From Denniswingo: "Was there! Dan Brennan, center, with the Grass Roots. Can you say Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?". Two years later WBAM went country and the station was later sold. At the time, though, Brennan was simply doing his job, helping the family's radio stations to connect with listeners in a vivid, concrete way. One of Brennan's favorite anecdotes concerns a young Elvis Presley, making waves and jostling for position before a concerton Dec. 3,1955, at Garrett Coliseum. Thanks to Donnie Brennan for the Elvis photos. J. Frank Wilson, and The Webs. Here, then, is a readers' choice list of 31 awesome concerts in Alabama, culled from email, Facebook and comments on the original post. You are free to use the above map for educational and similar purposes; if you publish it online or in print . If you were a teenager in south-central Alabama in the 1960s, chances are you danced the jerk, flirted with that cute boy, or made out in the corner of the high school gym to the music of a live band of local erstwhile musicians. It was electric. Herman's Hermits in the studio, Barry Whitwam on drums. by Lenore Reese Vickrey: photos by the Brennan Family, Lenore Vickrey, As the arena began to fill up, you could hear the noise of the crowd from backstage. The Troggs. Big BAM Shows of the late 1960s and early 1970s featured all the biggest artists of the day, including Paul Revere and the Raiders, Lou Christie, Iron Butterfly, The Carpenters, The Monkees (as a group and individually), Tommy Joyce and Bobby Heart, The Grass Roots, and many more. We played a lot of soul music, the Beatles, the Stones, he said. ", From bamamaam: "What about the lynyrd skynyrd concert at rickwood field in the '70's.? "One of my favorites was RUSH 1981 Mobile Municipal Auditorium," said tgfmiss. By 1972 the heyday of the big shows had passed. "Put You Down" was written by lead guitarist Max Kendrick and vocalist Rich Gainer. Respi Mee Sup Sabahiiat. Now sales manager for a Dothan radio station, Moody fondly remembers working as a teenager at a 1959 WBAM concert featuring singer Connie Francis. With the help of Bill Moody and Cyril Brennan at WBAM, their music was played on the 100,000-watt radio station, helping the group built a following as an R&B band.