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Splatt Gallery's History of Michigan Concert Posters
Volume Eleven - 1975 - Page Ten
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Poster for Alice Cooper in Antwerp, Belgium on September 17, 1975.
Ads for Parliament Funkadelic opening for B.T. Express in Akron, Ohio on September 19, 1975, and headlining in Cleveland, at first with Buddy Miles but changed to Gary Toms Empire, on September 21st.
A flyer for Mothers in New York City, where the bands Blondie, Television and the Ramones were all into their second year of forming the NYC punk rock scene, and look who pops up in the middle of this calendar, “Direct from Detroit” “The Motor City Sensations”, The Mutants, September 19-21, 1975.
Newspaper ad for Bob Seger in Mount Pleasant, Michigan with Salty Dog on September 20, 1975.
An ad for the Michigan Palace in Detroit, with Steppenwolf appearing on September 20, 1975.
Bruce Springsteen made his first Michigan appearance on September 23, 1975 at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor (an earlier, 1973, listing appears not to have happened). The date was also Springsteen’s 26th birthday and his spirited performance, which lasted nearly three hours with four encores, is considered one of his best shows of the tour.
It was also the first time that he performed his “Detroit Medley”, a mash-up of Mitch Ryder songs. A recording of it is linked below, and here is an eye witness account:
“This was THE DEBUT of the Detroit Medley and according to Max, it was his suggestion to try this out as practice for the Detroit show (upcoming 11 days later). What most people don't know is that most of the 4000 seat audience had left prior to the encores. I, myself, was out in the lobby waiting on line for a tshirt when I heard music playing. I peeked inside and the band was back onstage. There were about 100-150 people all crowded around the stage. It was totally surreal. I never got my tshirt.”
Bruce Springsteen – Detroit Medley (live in Ann Arbor, Michigan 9/23/75)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t87UMZI1cnE&pp=QAA%3D
A wonderful poster by an unknown artist for ZZ Top and Mahogany Rush at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan on September 24, 1975.
A newspaper ad with Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes opening for Aerosmith in Kutztown, Pennsylvania on September 24, 1975.
Glenn Frey became the ninth Michigan-related artist to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, with the band Eagles on the cover of the September 25, 1975 issue.
Poster by Graphic Communications of Kalamazoo, Michigan for a “Rock Festival” at Bush Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana on September 28, 1975, featuring Rare Earth along with REO Speedwagon, Fleetwood Mac, James Gang, and others.
Cover of the program book for Suzi Quatro’s second tour of Japan, which started on September 30, 1975. It was more than three times larger than her first tour a year earlier, with sixteen shows in twenty days.
Newspaper ad for Sky King at Chances Are in Ann Arbor, Michigan on September 30, 1975 through October 3rd.
By the time of the October 1, 1975 edition of the SUN newspaper, the transition to a larger regional paper was complete with the establishment of a Detroit address for the Editorial Offices and a Detroit mailing address. An Ann Arbor address was maintained for the Business Offices.
Somebody had done their research and had discovered Iffy the Dopester, a pseudonym created by Detroit Free Press managing editor Malcolm Bingay for a sports column that he wrote for the paper in the 1930’s through the 1950’s. Free Press art director Floyd Nixon had created the image of Iffy the Dopester, a grizzled old coot with a distinctive flowing beard. Some of Nixon’s depictions of Iffy, along with his hapless Detroit tiger are at the bottom of the above image.
The SUN staff artist Gary Kell faithfully recreated Iffy in the illustrations at the top of this image and some arrangement must have been made with the estates of Bingay and Nixon to allow the renewed use of the character, who would figure prominently throughout the pages of the SUN.
The October 1, 1975 edition of the SUN newspaper also saw the return of John Sinclair’s “The Coatpuller” column. Sinclair originated The Coatpuller way back in Issue #2 of the Fifth Estate newspaper in November 1965 and continued until 1967.
The original three logos for The Coatpuller, shown on top, were created by Gary Grimshaw. The new stylish logo for the Coatpuller in the SUN is shown on the bottom center.
A full-page Motown Records ad for an appearance by Undisputed Truth at the Starwood in Los Angeles, California on October 1-5, 1975, and for the release of the band’s sixth album “Higher Than High”. It would be the group’s final Motown release as they followed producer Norman Whitfield when he left to form his own Whitfield Records.
And so they still had access to the awesome power of a fully functional Funk Brothers ensemble, and the famed arrangers, producers, engineers and session musicians including Paul Riser, Bob Babbitt, James Jamerson, Jack Brokensha, Eddie "Bongo" Brown, Richard "Pistol" Allen, Uriel Jones, Russ Terrana, Johnny Griffith, Jack Ashford, Earl Van Dyke, Joe Messina, Melvin "Wah Wah" Ragin and Paul Warren.
And that explains why the album’s title track is the slinkiest funk around.
Undisputed Truth – Higher Than High (1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxlvzOOZEtc&pp=QAA%3D
An ad for the Keith Jarrett Quartet at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, October 2-3, 1975, which was the first poster that artist Jeff Yerkey made for Showcase Jazz, shown above a nice ad by an unknown artist for the Recordland store in the Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor.
A better image of the first poster that artist Jeff Yerkey made for Showcase Jazz, for the Keith Jarrett Quartet at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, October 2-3, 1975.
An ad for Smokey Robinson with BT Express at the Front Row in Cleveland, Ohio, October 3-5, 1975. The Jackson Five followed with a week-long engagement, November 24-30.
Newspaper ad for Bruce Springsteen at the Michigan Palace in Detroit on October 4, 1975. It was his first Detroit appearance, having made his first Michigan appearance 11 days earlier in Ann Arbor.
In tribute to the Motor City, he performed his first rendition of The Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", sung as a duet with Miami Steve, in its only tour appearance.
Bruce Springsteen - Ain't Too Proud To Beg (live in Detroit, Michigan 10/4/75)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwV9dJ2yJMs&pp=QAA%3D
Poster/handbill by Gary Grimshaw for a Ballroom Blitz with Diamond Reo, Kurbstone Beauteaze, Blackfoot and Sweet Crystal at the Showcase Theatre in Detroit, Michigan on October 4, 1975.
We don’t know why the show was called the Ballroom Blitz, except that the song by Sweet peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart right around the time of this show.
The song had been released in England two years prior, in September 1973, but for some reason it was not released in the US until July 1975. The band Sweet would not make their first Michigan appearance until February 1976.
Sweet – Ballroom Blitz (1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewFBuYHldeY
An uncut pair of handbills by Gary Grimshaw for a Ballroom Blitz with Diamond Reo, Kurbstone Beauteaze, Blackfoot and Sweet Crystal at the Showcase Theatre in Detroit, Michigan on October 4, 1975.
Poster by Dennis Preston for a concert by Phil Keaggy and Paul Clark Band at Michigan State University in East Lansing on October 4, 1975.
Poster by an unknown artist for Stevie Wonder with Bob Marley in Kingston, Jamaica on October 4, 1975. Historically significant as it was the last time that the three original Wailers, Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, would perform together and for the encore, in which Wonder and Marley performed two songs together, “I Shot the Sheriff” and “Superstition”.
Bob Marley & Stevie Wonder – I Shot the Sheriff (live in Jamaica 10/4/75)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tEYFANqzYo
Bob Marley & Stevie Wonder – Superstition (live in Jamaica 10/4/75)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCJ4FNooEKM
Newspaper ad for Stevie Wonder with Bob Marley in Kingston, Jamaica on October 4, 1975.
Cover of the souvenir program for Stevie Wonder with Bob Marley in Jamaica on October 4, 1975.
Newspaper ad in the State News newspaper in East Lansing, Michigan, suggesting that MSU football fans that were traveling to South Bend, Indiana for the game could also catch Rod Stewart & the Faces with the J. Geils Band on October 4, 1975.
A full-page Capitol Records ad in the October 4, 1975 issue of Billboard magazine, thanking Detroit fans on behalf of Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band for the two sold-out shows at Cobo Arena a month earlier.
Illustration by “Studer” on this ad for Jean Luc Ponty at Michigan State University in East Lansing on October 8, 1975.
Two posters for the movie “Mahogany”, Diana Ross’ second feature film, released on October 8, 1975.
Poster for the Japanese release of the Diana Ross film “Mahogany”, released in the US on October 8, 1975.
One of the greatest Michigan rock and roll stories is the time that KISS performed at a high school homecoming in Cadillac, Michigan on October 9, 1975. The Cadillac High School football team had found the secret to a winning streak was to kick out the jams to KISS music in the locker room in game preparation. The band learned that they were the inspiration for the team’s successes and followed news of their Friday night victories. Ultimately, they agreed to perform at the school’s homecoming festivities.
Arriving in Cadillac at noon on October 9, 1975, the band visited the school, hung out with the team and the marching band and the cheerleaders, all done up in KISS makeup for the occasion, much to the band’s delight.
"We never imagined the entire town would dress in KISS make up. And the street would be renamed KISS Boulevard," Gene Simmons told MLive back in 2015. "It was almost as if we were on a KISS Spaceship and landed on Planet KISS."
Following the ceremonial bonfire, KISS performed their show in the school’s gymnasium. The next day, the band met up with the town's mayor for breakfast, a parade and a massive send-off from the high school, departing in a helicopter that dropped thousands of postcards that read, "Cadillac High - KISS Loves You."
The Cadillac KISS concert continues to rank as one of the greatest rock and roll publicity stunts of all time, but coach Jim Neff, who arranged the event, said it was never about the publicity for KISS or Cadillac, but was simply about celebrating the success of the football team as a result of being inspired by the band’s music.
“These guys were so sincere that getting publicity out of this was the furthest thing from their mind,” said Neff. “The publicity came after the fact and not during. At best 2,000 people were at the concert. Basically, we had some local media coverage but there wasn’t even one professional photographer at the concert. After it happened it became international news.”
Here are a couple of documentaries that tell the story well:
KISS Goes To Cadillac High School (video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0hKxdgb-Bk
Kiss - Cadillac 1975 (video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_jNznR1ojI
Poster/ad for a short UK tour by the Temptations, October 9-13. 1975.
A poster/flyer by an unknown artist for New Order at the Ypsilanti Armory in Ypsilanti, Michigan on October 10, 1975. This puts the band’s stay in Michigan for at least two months. From drummer Dennis Thompson’s four-part story of the band, we know that guitarist Ray Gunn joined up and went back with them to Los Angeles.
From what we know, there were two recording sessions, and some rehearsal tapes, that document the recorded output of Ron Asheton’s New Order. The first session in 1975 was with original singer Jeff Spry and the second was in 1976 with singer Dave Gilbert.
Ron Asheton’s New Order – Sidewinder (1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCuOye3KwJc
Ron Asheton’s New Order – Of Another World (1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwLHPPfFeL0
A subscription ad in the October 10, 1975 edition of the Los Angeles Free Press newspaper, offering the newest album by the Miracles as a premium. The album “City of Angels” included the single “Love Machine”, which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, only the group’s second #1, the only other being 1970’s “Tears of A Clown” with Smokey Robinson. Robinson’s replacement in 1972, Billy Griffin, co-wrote “Love Machine”, which out-sold “Tears of A Clown” and became the Miracles best-selling single.
The Miracles – Love Machine (1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGXSRISBu3Y
An ad for Vanarama Custom Van & Accessory Show at the Michigan State Fairgrounds, October 10-12, 1975, with concerts provided by Stonebridge, Moose & Da Sharks, Werks and Mugsy.
Poster/handbill by Gary Grimshaw for Toots & the Maytals at the Showcase Theatre in Detroit, Michigan on October 11, 1975, We believe the show was cancelled due to illness.
Poster/ad by Gary Grimshaw for Toots & the Maytals at the Showcase Theatre in Detroit, Michigan on October 11, 1975, We believe the show was cancelled due to illness.
“NBC's Saturday Night” premiered on October 11, 1975, presenting the "The Not Ready For Prime-Time Players”. Detroit’s Gilda Radner was the first of the original cast members to be hired, joined by Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, and Chevy Chase.
The show was originally called “NBC's Saturday Night”, because “Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell” was airing on ABC. After the cancellation of the Cosell show, NBC purchased the rights to the name in 1976.
A full-page Capitol Records ad for “Katmandu”, the second single from Bob Seger’s “Beautiful Loser” album, the single peaked at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 11, 1975, becoming Seger's most successful single since "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man".
Poster by Barbara Loveland for a concert by the University Jazz Orchestra at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo on October 12, 1975. The school had a design center that worked together with the school’s music programs.
Poster/ad by an unknown artist for Jethro Tull in East Lansing, Michigan on October 12, 1975, with a schedule of upcoming shows.
Poster/ad by “Studer” for Jethro Tull in East Lansing, Michigan on October 12, 1975.
A Capitol Records poster for the British prog rock band Gentle Giant with tour dates that include two Michigan shows, at Chenery Auditorium in Kalamazoo on October 14, 1975, and three nights later at Cobo Arena in Detroit, where they opened for Rick Wakeman.
A nice little ad by an unknown artist (center) for Gentle Giant at the Chenery Auditorium in Kalamazoo, Michigan on October 14, 1975, with record store ads for their seventh album “Free Hand”.
A nice minimalist design by an unknown artist for Tim Weisberg at Michigan State University in East Lansing on October 15, 1975.
A nice full-page of ads in the October 15, 1975 issue of the SUN newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, including Gary Grimshaw’s poster for Quicksilver Messenger Service at the Showcase Theatre on October 25th, and the first Detroit appearance by the Tubes (it was their second Michigan show as they made their Michigan debut at the Silver Dollar Saloon in Lansing six days earlier).
Poster for the Temptations in Mannheim, Germany on October 16, 1975.
A pair of ads with distinctive band logos for two shows at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, the earlier one being the one on the bottom, Chicago on October 17, 1975, and the Beach Boys on October 26th.
Handbill by Gary Grimshaw for comedian George Carlin at Masonic Auditorium in Detroit, Michigan on October 18, 1975.
Newspaper ad for comedian George Carlin at Masonic Auditorium in Detroit, Michigan on October 18, 1975.
Poster/ad by Gordon Carleton for an appearance by comedian George Carlin in Lansing, Michigan on October 19, 1975. Also, an ad possibly by Hugh Surratt.
Volume Eleven - 1975 - continues - HERE
A full-page Motown Records ad for one of the label’s more unlikely signings; a prog-rock band from Italy called Libra. A US tour to support the album started in Los Angeles in October 1975 and included concerts with Frank Zappa, the Tubes, Chicago and Steppenwolf. While in the US, a second album for Motown was recorded, but by the time it was released the group had broken up.
A promo flyer for the band New Order.
