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Splatt Gallery's History of Michigan Concert Posters
Volume Thirteen - 1977 - Page Six
A full-page Warner Bros. Records ad for the sixth album by the band Little Feat which was released just fifteen days before the group’s two shows at the Royal Oak Theatre in Royal Oak, Michigan on April 30, 1977. It was the Michigan debut for the opening act Pablo Cruise, a band formed by former members of Stoneground, including lead singer and guitarist Dave Jenkins, who was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Little Feat – Time Loves A Hero (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-vPp4GiMfw
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A full-page Wherehouse Records ad with a sale on Bob Seger albums, tied into his concert in Los Angeles, California on April 30, 1977.
Producer Tom Moulton took the Detroit Emeralds’ 1972 hit “Feel The Need” and remixed it in a disco version, over twice the length as the original, released on an album of the same name in May 1977.
Detroit Emeralds – Feel The Need (extended remix) (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-VuOc6ItSc
Steve Miller released his tenth studio album “Book of Dreams” in May 1977 with cover art by Alton Kelley and Stanley Mouse.
A full-page Capitol Records ad featuring artwork by Alton Kelley and Stanley Mouse for Steve Miller’s “Book of Dreams” album.
A half-page ad in the May 1977 issue of Blitz magazine for the self-titled album by Ted Lucas. Originally released in 1975, it was re-pressed in 1977. Cover art by Stanley Mouse.
The premier issue of Slash magazine, published in Los Angeles, California in May 1977. With a fairly wide distribution for a punk rock fanzine it brought the L.A. underground scene to the attention of the rest of the world and inspired localized scenes around the country, including East Lansing, Michigan where Touch and Go magazine would be founded in 1979. Like Touch and Go, Slash also created a record label of the same name.
Slash magazine ran from 1977 to 1980, producing 29 issues. You can download the complete set here:
https://www.circulationzero.com/
A full-page 20th Century Records ad in the May 1977 issue of CREEM magazine for the debut album by Nite City, the group formed by keyboardist Ray Manzarek with bassist Nigel Harrison and two Michigan musicians; guitarist Paul Warren and drummer Jimmy Hunter.
On the facing page is an ad for Punky Meadows’ band Angel, who were nearly as ubiquitous as KISS when it came to ad campaigns in the music press.
The subscription page from the May 1977 issue of CREEM magazine, offering an album by either “Ziggy or Iggy” as a premium.
A poster page of Bootsy Collins in the May 1977 issue of the British music magazine Black Music.
A poster by an unknown artist with Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band endorsing a charity event for the March of Dimes, called “Superwalk ‘77” on May 1, 1977.
A great photo by Colorado's premiere rock photographer Dan Fong of Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado on May 1, 1977 as part of a “Rock Show”, also featuring Firefall, Fleetwood Mac, Country Joe McDonald, and John Sebastian.
The same date that Seger & Silver Bullet sponsored a March of Dimes “Superwalk” on Belle Isle in Detroit, that event was early in the morning so it’s possible they did both.
A poster by Destroy All Monsters for Destroy All Monsters at the Underground in Ypsilanti, Michigan on May 3, 1977. This was the only public live appearance by the “Phase Two” line-up of the band and it was primarily arranged in order to have guitarist Ron Asheton come and check them out.
From the night that Cary Loren and Niagara met Asheton at the Ramones show on March 28th at the Second Chance in Ann Arbor, Loren instantly endeavored to get him to join their band.
Following this show, he brought Asheton to their rehearsals with the promise of free beer and eventually Asheton capitulated and agreed to give it a shot. Asheton later recruited ex-MC5 bassist Michael Davis to sign up, although Mike Powers who performed with the Miller brothers in the group Cruzonics was on bass before Davis stepped in.
And hence, “Phase Three” of Destroy All Monsters was slowly born, a seven piece conglomerate comprised of Loren, Niagara, Larry & Ben Miller, Asheton, Davis and Rob King on drums.
Roger Miller, the older brother of Larry and Ben, puts a finer point on the band’s line-up evolution:
“That was the only gig I played as a band member on drums. It was basically Cary and Niagara with me keeping a rock beat and Laurence (Miller) and Andre Cynkin making the electro-noise of EMPOOL on top of that. It was really fun, and I was amazed the band got a gig. Brother Benjamin was supposed to play drums the second set, but, uh, I think we were told to stop after the first set.”
Brian Tomsic adds some flavor regarding the venue:
“That bar was supreme dump. Nothing above ground but the door. Right next to Putt Putt golf. Perfect.”
Poster/ad by an unknown artist for Virgil Fox’s Heavy Organ with David Snyder’s Revelation Lights at Michigan State University in East Lansing on May 3, 1977.
REO Speedwagon made a four-day swing through Michigan, appearing in Saginaw on May 4, 1977, in Lansing on May 5th, in Detroit at Cobo Arena on May 6th, and in Kalamazoo on May 8th. The Rockets opened the show at Cobo, the largest stage they had played so far.
Parliament released the double-album “Parliament Live – P-Funk Earth Tour” on May 5, 1977, comprised of live recordings from their January 1977 shows in Los Angeles and Oakland, California, plus two studio tracks. It became their third Gold album in a row, included a poster and an iron-on T-shirt transfer, and was also the first Parliament album to feature vocalists Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry, formerly with Sly & the Family Stone, and future Brides of Funkenstein.
The poster that came with the double-album “Parliament Live – P-Funk Earth Tour” on May 5, 1977, and yes, we checked our personal copy, it does have the “Dr Funkenstein” signature printed backwards.
The iron-on T-shirt transfer that came with the double-album “Parliament Live – P-Funk Earth Tour” on May 5, 1977.
Ironically, the only single released from Parliament’s live album had the two non-live studio tracks, “Fantasy Is Reality” (a track that was originally recorded during the band’s time with Invictus Records), backed with “The Landing (Of the Holy Mothership”, which is a sound collage that always cracked us up.
Parliament – Fantasy Is Reality (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SiXt6ArhMg
Parliament - The Landing (Of the Holy Mothership (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrUVMzGOhPI
A full-page Casablanca Records ad with the complete Casablanca Parliament back catalog (ie, missing the first album “Osmium” which was on the Invictus label) on the occasion of the release of double-album “Parliament Live – P-Funk Earth Tour” on May 5, 1977.
Mark Fidrych became the 11th Michigan-related “performing artist” (sure, why not?) to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, with its May 5, 1977 issue. He was only the third professional athlete to appear on the cover, following Muhammad Ali (twice), and Mark Spitz.
On May 5, 1977 John Lee Hooker and his band were recorded at the Rising Sun Celebrity Jazz Club in Montreal, Quebec, the double album “Black Night Is Falling” was a Record Store Day release, which features a 17 minute, “Rock Steady” jam, and includes the song “Chicken And Gravy” which, apparently, appears on no other John Lee Hooker recording.
John Lee Hooker - Black Night Is Falling (live 5/5/77)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP2RM_MGGfE
A nice poster/ad by an unknown artist for Return To Forever at Michigan State University in East Lansing on May 5, 1977.
A collection of ads for Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band in Cleveland, Ohio on May 5, 1977, rescheduled from an earlier date in February that would have been with the Runaways. Instead, the opening act was Starz.
A full-page A&M Records ad for a greatest hits album by Nazareth with tour dates that pick up three weeks after Nazareth had opened for REO Speedwagon at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan on May 6, 1977.
An amusing ad for the Blue Frogge in Ann Arbor, Michigan, advertising the showing of Detroit Tigers baseball games on their 7-ft diagonal color TV screen starting on May 6, 1977.
Poster/ad, possibly by Jeff Yerkey for Grover Washington Jr. in Lansing, Michigan on May 6, 1977.
Poster/ad for Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band performing on the eve of the 103rd Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky on May 6, 1977.
A full-page record company ad in the May 7, 1977 issue of Billboard magazine for the release of the sixth album by Brownsville Station (self-titled) and the first single from the LP.
Brownsville Station - Lady (Put The Light On Me) (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFs5vlfZzH0
Album cover art, front and back covers of Brownsville Station’s sixth album, self-titled, released in May 1977. Art direction was by David Perl, who also designed the artwork for Blondie’s debut album, released on the same Private Stock label, and the nifty lettering on the front was by Ray Barber. The album’s second single “Martian Boogie” became Brownsville’s seventh, and final, charting single.
Brownsville Station - Martian Boogie (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU8EqkQKfw0
A pair of ads for Bonnie Raitt with Sippie Wallace at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan on May 7, 1977. As we’ve mentioned earlier, Detroit blues woman Wallace was a major inspiration to Bonnie Raitt and the two paired up often for touring and recording.
Ann Arbor was also a favorite locale for Raitt, eight of her thirteen Michigan shows to date were in A-Squared, she opened her show at Hill Auditorium by saying, “MC-5 couldn’t make it tonight”.
Her show featured five encores which included her rendition of Grand Rapids, Michigan’s native son Del Shannon’s 1961 hit “Runaway”. Raitt’s studio recording of the song had just appeared on her latest album and proved to be her first commercial breakthrough.
Bonnie Raitt – Runaway (live) (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPzcZNgVfpA
A collection of ads for the Average White Band at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan on May 8, 1977.
A poster for the Eagles, mentioning Glenn Frey by name, for a concert on May 8, 1977 in Frankfurt, Germany, the land of killer concert posters.
Poster/ad, likely by Jeff Yerkey for Bonnie Raitt with Jesse Colin Young in Lansing, Michigan on May 10, 1977.
Poster/ad for Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio on May 11, 1977.
An ad for the Anchor Inn in Pinckney, Michigan with the band Open Road opening the schedule on May 11, 1977. Mugsy follows with three nights and the “Rock ‘N Roll Rumble”, a “battle of the bands” show, pits Mugsy against “the hottest thing from Liverpool, England” Pink Flamingo. The very informative ad also mentions that Jett Black won the previous week’s Rumble, and for the first time comes right out that the Go-Go Girls side is a titty bar.
Poster for the Eagles in Rotterdam, Netherlands, May 11-13, 1977.
Poster/ad, likely by Jeff Yerkey for Doc & Merle Watson at Michigan State University in East Lansing on May 12, 1977.
A newspaper ad in the student newspaper of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio with a contest by the local radio station to win tickets to the Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band concert in Cleveland on May 12, 1977.
A small arbor created from a series of ads for Gary Burton in Ann Arbor, Michigan on May 13, 1977.
A promo poster/ad for Ted Nugent’s third solo album “Cat Scratch Fever”, released on May 13, 1977. The second single released off the album, after the title track, was the instrumental “Home Bound”. We prefer his instrumental tracks over the ones with his, ahem, “lyrics”.
Ted Nugent – Home Bound (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5QLFehqxEA
A full-page Epic Records ad for Ted Nugent’s third solo album “Cat Scratch Fever”, released on May 13, 1977.
An ad in a British music magazine for Ted Nugent’s third solo album “Cat Scratch Fever”, released on May 13, 1977.
Handbill/flyer for Joan Baez at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan on May 14, 1977, a Bamboo Production.
Clean, simple and effective ads by an unknown artist for Gary Burton at Michigan State University in East Lansing on May 14, 1977.
An ad for Alice Cooper’s third solo album “Lace and Whiskey” in the May 14, 1977 issue of the British music magazine New Musical Express.
A full-page Warner Bros. Records ad, with some added embellishments, in the May 14, 1977 issue of Billboard magazine for the fifth solo album by Lamont Dozier, featuring his ten-minute opus "Going Back to My Roots".
Lamont Dozier - Going To My Roots (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdEwRm-kSJ0
An ad for the second single, called “China Girl”, from the album “The Idiot” by Iggy Pop in the May 14, 1977 issue of the British music magazine Music Week.
Iggy Pop – China Girl (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BBAEUOOFKQ
A newspaper ad for Catfish Hodge at the Blue Frogge in Ann Arbor, Michigan, May 15-18, 1977. No longer on the Eastbound or the Westbound labels, he released his fourth solo album on his own Fishtale Records label, titled “An Evening With Catfish Hodge”, a six track live set, which can be heard here:
Catfish Hodge - An Evening With Catfish Hodge (album) (1976)
http://www.catfishhodge.com/music/an-evening-with-catfish-hodge/
An ad for the Byrnegate Club in Toledo, Ohio with Michigan bands, Sweet Crystal on May16-21, 1977, and Salem Witchcraft on May 26-28. You can see that the Disco backlash was beginning, the ad states “Strictly Rock and Roll - No Disco”.
Poster for Ted Nugent in Fargo, North Dakota with the Michael Stanley Band and Widow Maker on May 17, 1977.
Poster/flyer for Brass Ring Presents Rush with Max Webster at Lakeview Arena in Marquette, Michigan on May 18, 1977.
Newspaper ads in the May 18, 1977 edition of the State News in East Lansing, Michigan for a weekly “3-D Night” at the Alle-Ey, that we psychedelicized.
Volume Thirteen - 1977 - continues - HERE
