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Splatt Gallery's History of Michigan Music Posters
Volume Two - 1964-1966 - Page Nine
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Volume Two - 1964-1966 - continues - HERE
A full-page Motown Records ad in the October 23, 1965 issue of Billboard magazine for the single “Ain’t That Peculiar” by Marvin Gaye, his second million selling single and his second #1 hit on the R&B singles chart.
Marvin Gaye – Ain’t That Peculiar (1965)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP0Loe6tVB0
Newspaper ad for Bob Dylan at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan on October 24, 1965. It was, at least, his fourth Michigan appearance in two years, but it would take almost another nine years before his next return, in 1974.
An ad for a Motown Revue, billed as the “Biggest Show of Stars ‘65”, in Youngstown, Ohio, October 26, 1965.
A movie poster for Columbia Pictures’ “Winter A-Go-Go”, released on October 28, 1965 and featuring the only film appearance by the Detroit group The Reflections. They can be seen near the end of this thrilling movie trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhliOnW2-eI
Marvin Gaye has his own Revue show at the Twenty Grand Club in Detroit, Michigan, October 15-24, 1965.
The Detroit Artists Workshop published Change/1, in the Fall/Winter of 1965, a magazine devoted to the New Music. Cover photo by Magdelene Sinclair.
Ad for the Contours on a road trip to Baltimore, Maryland for a ten-night stand at the Royal Theatre, October 22-31, 1965.
A Globe Poster for a nine-day “Royal Fall Revue” at the Royal Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland, October 22-31, 1965, that included Motown’s Contours.
A Globe Poster for the Motown “Biggest Show of Stars of ‘65” show in Columbus, Ohio, October 23, 1965. The original is on the right, with the Globe Poster Classic reprint on the left, showing some color differences between the two. The other difference is that the reprint sells in the $100 range, while the original might fetch $10,000.
A newspaper ad for Sammy Davis with Count Basie and Freda Payne at Cobo Arena in Detroit on October 17, 1965. It was Davis’s second Detroit show of the year, after an eight year absence.
“Homecoming ‘65” at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor included concerts by the Righteous Brothers and Peter Nero on October 16, 1965. It was the second Michigan appearance by the Righteous Brothers, after opening for the Beatles in September 1964. Since then, the duo had a massive worldwide success with the #1 hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", produced by Phil Spector, the ultimate example of his “Wall of Sound” recording.
The Righteous Brothers - You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' (1964)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLiUp3-jCH0
Homecoming week at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, October 15-16, 1965 included a Friday night dance featuring The Four Tops. The Tops, who have a distinction of performing from 1953 to 1997 without a single change in personnel, were signed by Motown in 1963, and scored this #1 hit, their first, in April 1965.
As we saw in the earlier promo film where The Supremes show up at a summer afternoon picnic, anything could happen in a Detroit park in those days.
The Four Tops – I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) (1965)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kds1l77Uups
We took a little liberty with this one, modifying this awesome Globe Poster to use it as a tour-blank for a ten-night stand by Lou Rawls at the Grand Bar in Detroit, Michigan, October 8-17, 1965. For full disclosure, the poster is from 1968, although all of the listed ”hits” were 1966 releases. So it’s still fairly close to contemporary.
When Rawls performed this run at the Grand Bar, it was close to his 70th appearance in Detroit, going back to 1963, with typically long runs at the 20 Grand, Baker’s Keyboard Lounge, and the Grand Bar/Lounge.
The live clip below is from the Ed Sullivan Show on November 6, 1966, a little over a year after these Detroit shows.
Lou Rawls – Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing (1966)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB7u5xVN_CE
Poster for The Supremes at the Philharmonic Hall in New York City, October 15, 1965 by noted fashion illustrator Joe Eula, who also created the cover art for Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain album.
This October 15, 1965 issue of the Los Angeles Free Press newspaper may be the first time that Harvey Ovshinsky’s name appeared in print. The often-told story is that the seventeen-year old Ovshinsky was on a summer trip to California where he worked at the LA Free Press, which inspired him to start a newspaper in Detroit, called the Fifth Estate, which was the name of the Los Angeles coffee house where the Free Press had a basement office.
Ovshinsky continued to be listed as staff member of the Free Press from this issue through the paper’s December 10, 1965 issue, which complicates the story, as these are not summer months, and in addition, the first issue of the Fifth Estate in Detroit was published on November 19, 1965.
A Beatles backlash promo sheet from WJBK radio in Detroit, Michigan, dated September 20, 1965, titled “you won’t find any beatles on us”.
“WE SAY “NO! NO! NO!” TO “YEH! YEH! YEH!”
“What we do say yes to is the kind of music you enjoy. Music for adult tastes. Music that mollifies. Just Beautiful Music that’s bright…not brash. Relaxing…not rocking. No abusive, intrusive sounds here. So when you’re driving along to call on your next customer, you can listen…and still think. Listen…and understand what the vocalist is saying. Listen to Just Beautiful Music on WJBK radio. You just can’t beat it.”
A poster by Posters Inc, for a show in Chattanooga, Tennessee, September 20, 1965, featuring Michigan artists Jackie Wilson, Chuck Jackson, and the Temptations.
A poster for the McCoys in, likely, their first Michigan appearance, at Platters in Cadillac on September 25, 1965.
The poster for the beach party movie “Beach Ball” which was released on September 29, 1965. A story about a struggling rock and roll combo called The Wigglers trying to raise the money they owe for their instruments, which at one point, for some reason, has them performing in drag to pass off as a girl group, also includes some great hotrods in a classic car show, and performances by The Supremes.
The Supremes – Beach Ball (1965)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msWZVQFA8Tk
Poster by an unknown artist for the Shadowland Ballroom in St. Joseph, Michigan, advertising their Sunday afternoon dances, beginning with Bob Richards & the Five Emprees on October 3, 1965. Upcoming Sundays feature Jay & the Americans, Johnny & the Hurricanes, The Kingsmen, and The Four Seasons.
The Amboy Dukes were making the rounds of the Illinois high schools circuit, performing at Lake Park High School in Roselle on October 8, 1965, Wheeling High School in Wheeling on November 10th, and Hoffman Estates High School in Hoffman Estates on November 21st.
An ad for the Pepper Adams - Thad Jones Quintet, which included bassist Ron Carter, at Slug’s in NYC for six nights, October 5-10, 1965.
An ad for Cedric Smith, joining Chuck and Joni Mitchell at the Chess Mate in Detroit for two nights, October 1-2, 1965.
Two ads for Golden World Records, in the September 25, 1965, and December 4, 1965 issue of Billboard magazine, with singles by San Remo Golden Strings, Barbara Mercer, Sonny Stitt, Edwin Starr, J.J. Barnes, and Bob Santa Maria.
An ad for the return of Joni and Chuck Mitchell to the Chess Mate in Detroit, for a two-month engagement from September 21, 1965 through October 17th. Steve Booker continued throughout with after-hours shows.
From 1945 through 1982, Tony Mart’s in Somers Point, New Jersey was one of the most famous rock and roll clubs on the east coast of the United States, known as “The Showplace of the World”. We bring it into our story because of the appearance of Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels on the ad dated September 3, 1965, but we really wanted to include any poster that advertised The Female Beatles.
On the same ad as The Female Beatles, dated August 2, 1965, are the Canadian band Levon & the Hawks, and it was indeed at Tony Mart’s where Bob Dylan met the band, quite possibly during this engagement, maybe even on “Swim Nite”.
Poster for a September 4, 1965 appearance by the The Tremolons from Niles, Michigan with the Vinnedge sisters, Chris and Charlotte (Char). Formed in 1964, they toured the Midwest club circuit, billed, as most girl groups were, as a novelty “all-girl band…see and hear four really cute sweethearts in action”.
We post more details about the remarkable Char Vinnedge when she converts her band into The Luv’d Ones in 1968, but here is an encore (pre-core?) of one our favorite records on the soundtrack.
The Luv’d Ones – Up Down Sue (1966)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozx1SIWSQ78
A full-page Atlantic Records ad in the September 11, 1965 issue of Billboard magazine for the single “Make Me Your Baby” by Barbara Lewis.
Barbara Lewis – Make Me Your Baby (1965)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4FnXBhapqo
A Globe Poster with Jackie Wilson, and also the Temptations in in Columbia, South Carolina on September 13, 1965.
Remember the Contours, who had one of Motown’s earliest hits with the decidedly non-Motown sounding “Do You Love Me”? In 1965, they were back with this little number, written by “America’s greatest poet”, Smokey Robinson.
“First I Look at the Purse” peaked at #12 on Billboard magazine’s Top Selling Rhythm & Blues Singles the week ending September 18, 1965. The song is also the opening track on The J. Geils Band's first live album “Live Full House” recorded at the Cinderella Ballroom in Detroit in April 1972
The Contours – First I Look at the Purse (1965)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5o0I0faJAI
An ad for a homecoming by Aretha Franklin, at the 20 Grand for ten nights, September 17-26, 1965, her first Detroit shows in over two years.
Poster/flyer for the “ONCE Again” festival, an encore of the annual event in February that took place on the top level of the Maynard Street parking structure for three nights, September 17-19, 1965 in Ann Arbor, with a multi-media presentation on the first night, a concert on the second night, and a presentation by acclaimed avant-garde composer John Cage.
An ad for Steve Booker at the Chess Mate in Detroit, September 17-18, 1965, where he was likely recruited to join the Spike Drivers.
An ad for the Sunliners, who will later become Rare Earth, at Club Gay Haven in Dearborn, Michigan, September 15-25, 1965.
An ad for John Lee Hooker back at Blues Unlimited in Detroit for three more nights, September 10-12, 1965.
A full-page Motown records ad in the September 4, 1965 issue of Cash Box magazine for singles by the Four Tops and the Supremes.
An ad for Phil Ochs at the Chess Mate in Detroit for eight nights, September 1-8, 1965.
An ad for the Golf-O-Tron indoor golf center in Lansing, Michigan with The Band from U.N.C.L.E. proving the music for listening and dancing all week, except for Mondays, beginning around August 30, 1965. Surprised if more bands didn’t try the easy take-off from the popular TV spy show, there were probably more.
“The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” premiered on September 22, 1964 and lasted four seasons. Originally centered around Robert Vaughn as agent Napoleon Solo, his Russian counterpart Illya Kuryakin, played by British actor David McCallum, proved to be so popular that he was made into an equal partner. McCallum also developed a teeny-bopper fan base, appearing on the covers of 16 magazine in the big-head cartoons along with the Dave Clark Five and the Beatles.
As the show progressed it moved from tongue-in-cheek humor towards self-parody and slapstick, attempting to keep up with the campiness of the hugely popular Batman TV show, but they pushed it too far in the third season and dropped severely in the ratings, nearly causing cancellation. They adopted a more serious tone for the fourth season, but the ratings never recovered and the show was cancelled midway through the season.
The link below has an opening sequence from each of the four seasons and the music reflects the show's evolution. The first season had dramatic scores using brass, unusual time signatures and martial rhythms. The second season had a lighter approach, employing harpsichords and bongos. By the third season, the music, like the show, had become more camp, exemplified by an R&B organ and saxophone version of the theme. A more somber score was used in the fourth season's attempt at seriousness.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. theme music (1964-1968)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_NytrnoI_Q
The Detroit Artists Workshop published its sixth Workbook, entitled “Free Poems Among Friends” in September 1965, with a cover photo of Leni Sinclair, in a rare instance of her being in front of a camera, rather than behind one.
A mid-week show at Dave Leone’s Hideout #1 in Harper Woods, Michigan, September 1, 1965, featuring a line-up of out-of-state acts, with Dick & Dee Dee from Los Angeles, California, DeDe Sharp from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and The Daze & Knights from Chicago, Illinois.
An ad for the Band Canyon in Bay City, Michigan, when a Shindig All Star Revue of 1965 brought the band the Ebb Tides to town on August 28-29, 1965. Local TV appearances and the release of their debut single “Little Women” on the Clark Records label had earned the Columbus, Ohio band a spot on the Shindig tour.
About a year later, the band made a change in direction when they convinced an insurance salesman named Ben VanDervort, who was visiting relatives in Columbus, to join the band as their vocalist with the stage name of Benny Van. Van brought a demented psychedelic element to the band as evidenced by their 1967 single “Séance”, backed by the spoken-vocals track “Spirits Ride the Wind”.
The band later changed their name to Tree when VanDervort decided to leave the music business, he returned again with a new name for the band, and for himself, J.D. Blackfoot. They released a single in 1969 called “Who’s Nuts Alfred” backed with “Epitaph For A Head”, followed by the 1970 album “The Ultimate Prophecy”.
The Ebb Tides – Séance (1967)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmzTvBTJums
The Ebb Tides – Spirits Ride the Wind (1967)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmoMeKL_Q2s
J.D. Blackfoot – Epitaph For A Head (1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmRTKhW-mAc
An ad from the August 30, 1965 edition of the Detroit Free Press newspaper for WJLB radio in Detroit, Michigan with the big head motif that we love of “Senator” Bristoe Bryant. Bryant had served as a senator in the Michigan legislature from 1951-1952 prior to his radio career, hosting both an R&B program called “Bristoe’s Place” and a gospel program called “Southland Spirituals“ on WJLB.
An ad for the Howard Theatre in Washington DC with Martha & the Vandellas wrapping up an engagement on September 2, 1965, and with the Miracles and the Marvelettes following up.
A full-page Verve Records ad in the October 23, 1965 issue of Billboard magazine for a Kenny Burrell album.
A full-page Motown Records ad in the October 23, 1965 issue of Billboard magazine for singles by Marvin Gaye and the Temptations.
Poster by Gunther Kieser for an American Folk & Blues Festival in Frankfurt, Germany, October 28, 1965, headlined with John Lee Hooker.
An ad for guitarist Kenny Burrell at the Grand Lounge in Detroit for ten nights, October 29, 1965 through November 7th.
A Tamla Motown Records ad in the October 30, 1965 issue of Cash Box magazine for the Supremes’ single “I Hear a Symphony”. Berry Gordy was upset that the group’s previous single, “Nothing But Heartaches”, released in July 1965, not only broke the string of five consecutive Number One records, but didn’t even make the Top Ten (peaking at #11).
Berry issued a memo to Motown staffers that read, “We will release nothing less than Top Ten product on any artist, and because the Supremes’ world-wide acceptance is greater than the other artists, on them we will only release number-one records”. The memo prompted Holland-Dozier-Holland to shelve the planned release of a song called “Mother Dear”, that was still in the mode of the Supremes’ earlier hits, and to come up with the formula-breaking, more musically complex “Symphony”. It worked, and the single became the Supremes’ sixth Number One hit.
The following clip from the Hullabaloo TV show appears to have live vocals, it is certainly a different arrangement from the studio recording, but it is strange to see the assembled symphony orchestra remain poised and motionless through the entire song.
The Supremes – I Hear a Symphony (live Hullabaloo TV show) (1965)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpL1TTxffO0
A poster by Michael Erlewine for his band The Prime Movers. From Bruno Ceriotti’s excellent page on Ann Arbor’s Prime Movers band:
November 1965 – (Drummer) Spider Wynn leaves (the band) because he hated blues and they were playing more and more of it, and was replaced on drums by Jim Osterberg (b. James Newell Osterberg Jr., Monday, April 21, 1947, Muskegon, Muskegon County, Michigan), formerly of The Iguanas, a local high school surf combo. "When Jim first joined our band, we called him 'Iguana' for a while, perhaps just to remind him where he came from." Michael Erlewine recalls, "That soon was shortened to 'Iggy', and that stuck. Jim liked the nickname too."
After joining the band, Iggy also moved into the ‘Prime Mover House’. By the way, when Iggy joined the band, he brought with him his two best friends, 'Famous' and 'The Panther'. 'Famous' was Lynn Goldsmith, who became (pardon the pun) famous as a rock photographer, while 'The Panther' was David White, who became The Prime Movers' honorary manager, which just meant they loved him because he was perhaps the funniest human being they had ever met (he was a natural comedian, and an all-around good guy - beloved by all).
Bruno’s page, with the complete history of the Prime Movers, can be found here: http://brunoceriotti.weebly.com/the-prime-movers.html
