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Splatt Gallery's History of Michigan Music Posters
Volume Twelve - 1976 - Page Three
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A full-page RCA Records ad for David Bowie touring in support of his 10th studio album “Station to Station” with tour dates that pick up immediately following his three Michigan shows; in Kalamazoo on February 21, and at Olympia Stadium in Detroit on February 29 and March 1, 1976.
All three shows are listed in the "Extra CREEM" events calendar.
The schedule for Chances Are in Ann Arbor, Michigan with an appearance by Leslie West on March 1, 1976.
Poster for John Lee Hooker at Antone’s in Austin, Texas, March 2-6, 1976.
An ad for the Poison Apple in Westland, Michigan with an appearance by Michael Quatro on March 3, 1976. Holding court before Quatro’s appearance is a group called The Quickest Way Out. We cannot find much information on the group except for a handful of singles, their first one, interestingly, was on Ollie McLaughlin’s Karen label, a 1974 cover of Barbara Lewis’ 1963 hit “Hello Stranger”, which McLaughlin also produced.
The Quickest Way Out – Hello Stranger (1974)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugH3RFSEo4&list=PLATG3rkB_MhW2dxpuB9OAaipqsgpECZq-&index=2567
The Quickest Way Out - Tick Tock Baby ( It's A Quarter To Love) (1974)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byy165BcTHU
The Quickest Way Out – Thank You Baby For Loving Me (1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WzQ570xmYg
Poster by an unknown artist for Dave Brubeck at the Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan on March 6, 1976. This was the first concert at the church in three years.
A full-page Capitol Records ad in the March 6, 1976 issue of Billboard magazine for Grand Funk Railroad’s single “Sally” written for Mark Farner’s girlfriend at the time, actress Sally Kellerman.
Grand Funk Railroad – Sally (1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmf1H3rHMRU
An ad by an unknown artist “T.D.” for ELO and the first Michigan appearance by Journey at Michigan State University in East Lansing on March 8, 1976.
A flyer that seems to indicate that the band Destroy All Monsters participated in the Grand Opening of Flora Haven, a florist shop in the Georgetown Mall in Ann Arbor, Michigan on March 8, 1976.
Schedule for Chances Are in Ann Arbor, Michigan, starting with the Whiz Kids on March 8-9, 1976, followed by Lightnin’, Masquerade, Sonic’s Rendezvous Band, Luther Allison, Coal Kitchen and Shooter.
The Spinners on the cover of the March 9, 1976 issue of the British music magazine Blues & Soul.
A collection of ads for Patti Smith’s highly anticipated debut Michigan appearance, at Ford Auditorium in Detroit on March 9, 1976. A show review in the SUN newspaper mentioned a pre-show press party at the Lafayette Coney Island, which may have been the occasion when she first met Fred Smith.
Patti Smith – Gloria (1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPO0bTaWcFQ&pp=QAA%3D
One of the many bootleg recordings of Patti Smith’s Michigan debut appearance, at Ford Auditorium in Detroit on March 9, 1976, likely the result of a WABX-FM radio simulcast. We have been able to confirm from a number of sources that it was indeed on this first Michigan appearance that Patti Smith met Fred Smith and that he did join her group onstage for an encore of “My Generation” (as reported in a show review by John Sinclair in the SUN newspaper). There are videos of future shows in the coming years of the same occurrence, but we can confirm that it originally happened on “night one”.
Patti Smith graces the events calendar in the April 1976 issue of Extra CREEM, with her debut Michigan appearance at Ford Auditorium in Detroit on March 9, 1976, and the following night at the Silver Dollar Saloon in East Lansing.
Also of note are some non-database shows by Rare Earth, Lightnin’, and Sweet Crystal.
The following night after Patti Smith’s Michigan debut in Detroit, she performed in East Lansing for two shows at the Silver Dollar Saloon on March 10, 1976. Poster/ad by Jeff Yerkey. The following clip has a short interview and a live performance in Stockholm, Sweden on October 3rd, 1976.
Patti Smith – Live in Stockholm (10/3/76)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hc10P4AN8E
The first Michigan show by the band Journey was at the Ford Auditorium in Detroit on March 10, 1976 as part of a CBS Records promotion show for three of the label’s groups, Dr. Feelgood, Starcastle and Journey, presented by WABX-FM radio. John Sinclair’s review in the SUN newspaper praised Dr. Feelgood as the best of the three groups and here we have a recording of their complete set from that night.
A full-page Capitol Records ad in the March 1976 issue of CREEM magazine coinciding with the only known Michigan appearance by the British band Dr. Feelgood, at the Ford Auditorium in Detroit on March 10, 1976.
Dr. Feelgood – Live in Detroit, Michigan (3/10/76)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0dE1eMDXM0
Here is Starcastle’s set from the same night:
Starcastle – Live in Detroit, Michigan (3/10/76)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF4vXS2h7qw
A full-page Epic Records ad with tour dates for their roster of artists, including Ted Nugent’s itinerary for March through May 1976. Michigan shows include Starcastle in Detroit on March 10, 1976, Johnny Winter in Detroit on March 18th, and Nugent in Pontiac on May 8th.
Poster/ad for the Japanese issue of the 21st studio album by the Temptations “Wings of Love”, released on March 10, 1976. Three of the tracks featured Sly Stone and members of the Family Stone. The album’s drummer was Detroiter Ollie Brown, who toured with the Rolling Stones’ in 1975 and 1976 as part of Billy Preston’s portion of the set list. He will later form the duo Ollie & Jerry with bassist Jerry Knight.
Here is the lead track from the album, "Sweet Gypsy Jane", featuring the Family Stone, and a live clip from a 1979 performance on the Chicago TV show Soundstage of the song "China Doll" featuring a rare lead vocal by Temptations member Richard Street.
The Temptations - Sweet Gypsy Jane (1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKnUMjUIYxA
The Temptations – China Doll (Soundstage TV show) (1979)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5S1Oe1efDE
A nicely done full-page ad for Recordland record stores, published in the March 11, 1976 edition of the SUN newspaper in Detroit, Michigan.
An ad in the March 11, 1976 issue of the SUN newspaper in Detroit, Michigan with the paper running a contest to “Win a Pound of Columbian” weed for the second time, with Gary Kell’s illustration of Iffy the Dopester.
The March 11, 1976 issue of Entertainment One, one of the many throw-away rags found all over town that we wish we hadn’t thrown away. On the cover of this issue, we read about Dallas Hodge and his “area leading disco band”, a listing for the 24 Karat featuring Buster Brown (formerly Jucy Lucy), Salem Witchcraft (with photo) and Kurbstone Beauteaze, plus a photo of the band Windfall.
Finding any mention of The Dogs rock and roll band during their first years of relocation to Los Angeles, California is few and far between, but here are a couple. There’s a show at Venice Beach on March 14, 1976, which was a free concert including Ron Asheton’s New Order, Heartthrob and Junior. And a show sometime during the week of August 22nd, at Trouper’s Hall with Pop! and the Motels.
Tour poster for Diana Ross one-month tour of the UK and Europe, March 14, 1976 through April 15th.
A full-page ad for Diana Ross one-month tour of the UK and Europe, March 14, 1976 through April 17th.
Poster for Sonic’s Rendezvous Band at Chances Are in Ann Arbor, Michigan on March 15, 1976. Photo is by Marty Agosta and SRB logo by John Benson.
In an article with the cumbersome title “New Age Purveyors Of The Endless Night”, written by Tim Hogan and published in the December 17, 1976 edition of the Los Angeles Free Press, Hogan writes:
“The night of March 15, 1976, a Decision Day of sorts for Ray Manzarek, cruising through the galaxies of a solo adventure. Returning to Planet Earth to seek out a unit with which to parade down Rock ‘N’ Roll Boulevard. March 15 – the birth of Nite City.”
The rest of the rather lengthy article is just as horribly written as Hogan describes the assembly of the band as some sort of Frankenstein creation, adding “arms” and “hands” and “fingers”, a “voice”, a “mind” and a “heartbeat”, as Manzarek puts the group together.
Cutting through the verbosity, Manzarek put the group together in this order, Nigel Harrison on bass, Noah James on vocals, Paul Warren on guitar and Jimmy Hunter on drums. Our interest is, of course, on the two Michigan musicians, so with advance warning, here is how the article describes their enlistment:
“Then one Friday, a 21-year-old electric guitar slayer from Detroit showed up. Paul Warren opened his ax case, pulled a raw egg out from the space reserved for picks and strings, tossed his head back, cracked the shell and gulped down the yolk. Then he affectionately took out his guitar and revealed a Les Paul polished so brightly you could see your reflection in it. For two hours, Warren riffed and swayed, standing his ground on the bridge between arrogance and confidence. The audition had become an arrival and yet Ray, Nigel and Noah were left so collectively speechless that they could barely explain to Warren that he had become the fingertips of the body. Warren left the session not knowing that his own dream sequence would be overdubbed to become part of the cityscape. But when the right-hand man finally caught up with the mobile guitarman, he was proud to become a member of Nite City.”
“They played, displayed, parlayed and relayed their music into such a frenzy that they forgot they were without a drummer.”
“Through the miracles of modern living, a phone call and a plane flight brought Jimmy Hunter out from Detroit. A life-long friend of Paul Warren, Hunter bore the nickname “Mad Dog” in honor of his vicious abuse of the drums. The immediacy of Hunter’s acceptance was a bit stunning, for now the body had its heartbeat. The city had a new rhythm and they called it Nite City.”
“And Paul Warren, who’s ready, willing and able to become a guitar hero. A man unashamed enough to make love to his guitar in public. A player who has gone so far into his instrument that the listener might wonder which is playing which.”
“Jimmy Hunter, the last adventurer to enter the city. Solid like marble. Quiet energy waiting to be released like thunder contained above the clouds, waiting for a storm. As if controlled by an inner rhythm, he grins and grimaces as he snaps and hammers his skins with a dangerously powerful command.”
“Together, these five players commemorate Nite City, the newfound locale for rock ‘n’ roll souls and hearts. The tremendous energy that somehow remains under control, the precision and the passion. They have played hard for the honor of working together. It is ripe and ready for a coming out party. And they’re prepared to take it where it belongs – off the practice field and onto the streets of America. Where they belong. There’s a party going on in Nite City. And you’re invited.”
A Motown Records poster for Diana Ross’ single “Love Hangover”, released on March 16, 1976. It became her fourth #1 hit single.
Diana Ross – Love Hangover (Special Disco Version) (1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNt92c0OGN8
A Motown Records poster for Marvin Gaye’s 14th studio album “I Want You”, released on March 16, 1976. The single of the title track became his eleventh #1 R&B single.
A Motown Records poster/full-page ad for Marvin Gaye’s 14th studio album “I Want You”, released on March 16, 1976. The single of the title track became his eleventh #1 R&B single.
The fantastic album cover art is a 1971 painting called “The Sugar Shack” by artist, and former NFL football player, Ernie Barnes. Gaye purchased eight Barnes originals, including “The Sugar Shack”. After Gaye asked him for permission to use the painting as an album cover, Barnes augmented the painting by adding an additional banner hanging from the ceiling to promote the album's title track. The original painting can be seen in the comments below.
Marvin Gaye – I Want You (1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjRLbzxz_3Y
“The Sugar Shack” by Ernie Barnes, 1971.
“The Sugar Shack” by Ernie Barnes, 1971, with the added banner for use as the album cover art for Marvin Gaye’s album “I Want You”, released on March 16, 1976.
A full-page Atlantic Records ad for Roxy Music with tour dates including a show in Flint, Michigan on March 16, 1976, (possibly cancelled).
Poster by an unknown artist for the 14th Ann Arbor Film Festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan, March 16-21, 1976.
An ad for Dallas Hodge & His All New Disco Revue at JC’s Rock Saloon in Detroit, Michigan, March 17-21, 1976 and again the following week.
Schedule of events at the Poison Apple in Westland, Michigan with Salem Witchcraft on March 18, 1976 and the following week, Stonebridge on March 22nd and 23rd, and DJ Buddy Wright from the Cabaret Discotheque in Montreal, Canada nightly.
Poster by artist Vic Fair for the movie, The Man Who Fell To Earth, starring David Bowie, which premiered in London on March 18, 1976. Bowie’s wife Angela attended the premier in David’s absence since he was still on his “Station to Station” US tour.
Two nights later, Bowie and Iggy Pop were busted for possession of marijuana at an after-show party in Rochester, New York. Bowie came up with the bail money for the two of them and two others.
“They were just doing their job,” Bowie remarked about the two women that they met at the bar and invited up to the room, who turned out to be narcs. “Rest assured the stuff was not mine. I can’t say much more, but it did belong to the others in the room that we were busted in. Bloody potheads. What a dreadful irony – me popped for grass. The stuff sickens me. I haven’t touched it in a decade.”
An ad for the Grand Opening of The Roadhouse, a few miles north of Ann Arbor, along with the debut performance by The Honey Boys on March 19, 1976. The new band was comprised of ex-Rockets bandmates Jim McCarty, Johnny “Bee” Badanjek, and John Fraga, with the addition of guitarist Dennis Robbins.
The Friends Roadshow, who were popping up everywhere between Detroit to Lansing, appeared the following weekend.
A full-page Mercury Records ad for the Australian band Skyhooks, with tour dates that include four Michigan shows, all of them as the openers for Uriah Heep. The first was in Ann Arbor on March 20, 1976, followed by Marquette on March 25th, Muskegon on March 29th, and Flint on March 31st.
The band was huge in their native Australia, but they did not go over well in the US, except for in Jacksonville, Florida, for some reason.
Skyhooks – Horror Movie (1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XljmO_KPQaM
Poster/ad for Ella Fitzgerald and Mercer Ellington at the Masonic Temple Auditorium in Detroit, Michigan on March 21, 1976.
A “tour blank” poster for the Duke Ellington Orchestra, directed by Mercer Ellington, circa the time of the band’s show with Ella Fitzgerald at the Masonic Temple Auditorium in Detroit, Michigan on March 21, 1976.
Poster/ad with logo by an unknown artist for Shotgun at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan on March 22, 1976. We’re still trying to track down their self-titled theme song, but here are some fine album tracks:
Shotgun – Good Thing (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36BFn0EysgE
Shotgun - Dynamite (The Bomb) (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh0kt38lfrE
Shotgun - Concrete Jungle (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBf8nnz5ZrU
The schedule of events at Chances Are in Ann Arbor, Michigan, beginning with Shooter on March 23, 1976, followed by Honeyboy, Friends Roadshow, Cloudburst, After Hours, Sky King, Masquerade and Mojo Boogie Band.
Poster/ad for the Music Hall Center in Detroit, Michigan with an “Easter Jubilation!” program, beginning with Godspell on March 23, 1976, followed by Gospel.
We promised posters with more stars and stripes in this Bi- Centennial year and here’s one for the Detroit Custom Motorcycle & Van Show at the Detroit Artillery Armory, March 26-28, 1976.
Poster/handbill and full-page ad from the Utopia record label for Albert King at the Showcase Theatre in Detroit, March 27, 1976.
A full-page color illustration by Gary Ciccarelli in the April 1976 issue of CREEM magazine.
A Lightworks Bicentennial Poster by Jim Shaw of Destroy All Monsters, published in Issue #4 of Lightworks magazine, April 1976.
Volume Twelve - 1976 - continues - HERE
A full-page Motown Records ad in the March 25, 1976 issue of Rolling Stone magazine for the track “Theme from Mahogany” appearing on two albums by Diana Ross.
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Diana Ross on the cover of the 10th anniversary issue of Blues & Soul magazine, March 30, 1976.
