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Splatt Gallery's History of Michigan Music Posters
Volume Nine - 1973 - Page Ten
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Gary Grimshaw handbill for the surprise re-opening of the Eastown Theatre in Detroit, Michigan, July 19, 1973. While the owners, Eastown Theatre, Inc had been battling Detroit Mayor Roman Gribbs in court over the December 1971 closing, a new group, called Eastown Productions had formed, working to revive the ballroom and re-apply for the revoked licenses. Although they also were getting nowhere, they decided, on the advice of the attorney, to just go ahead and re-open without the license.
As reported in the Ann Arbor SUN newspaper, “Three thousand rock and roll freaks were on hand when Detroit started the show off, kicking out the first Eastown jams in almost two years! They were followed by REO Speedwagon and then Joe Walsh ended the show. The next night, the place was packed again.”
The New York band Estus is listed on the handbill, although the article in the Sun described the band Detroit as opening the show. Estus was the follow-up to the band Dust, both formed by drummer Marc Bell, who later became known as Marky Ramone when he replace original drummer Thomas Erdelyi (Tommy Ramone) in The Ramones.
Estus released one self-titled album in 1973, but it was the two albums released by Dust that became highly sought-after records by collectors of early heavy metal, both were combined on CD for a 2013 Record Day release. Here is the trailer for that release:
Dust – Dust/Hard Attack release trailer (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4KnOFDxW0c
Poster by an unknown artist for the Jackson 5 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 20, 1973.
Cover illustration by the mystery artist “G” for the July 1973 issue of the Joint Issue newspaper in East Lansing, Michigan promoting upcoming shows at the Goodman Ballroom.
Dennis Preston ad for the Sounds and Diversions store in the July 1973 issue of the Joint Issue newspaper in East Lansing, Michigan, promoting their t-shirt production.
Newspaper ad by the mystery artist “G” for The Dogs Rock & Roll Band with Licking Stick, at the Goodman Ballroom in East Lansing, Michigan, July 21, 1973.
Poster for pianist Van Cliburn appearing in Interlochen, Michigan, July 21, 1973.
Poster/ad with extra added attraction, “the return of the fabulous Funkadelic” opening for Billy Preston in Long Beach, California on July 21, 1973.
Tour poster for T. Rex, with a show at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan (third on the list), July 22, 1973, where they opened for Three Dog Night.
Record company ad for “the Dutch masters of music”, Focus, appearing at Pine Knob in Clarkston, Michigan, July 22, 1973. It was their third of five Michigan shows in 1973, they would appear twice more in October 1974, then never to be seen in these parts ever again.
Poster by Dennis Preston for a show at Sandy Beach in Waterford, Michigan, July 23, 1973, with Frijid Pink, Frost, Salem Witchcraft, Rumor, Whiz Kids, and the Woolies.
A Dennis Preston poster for waterbeds at the Sounds & Diversions store in Lansing, Michigan that uses the same mermaid as was used in his July 23, 1973 concert poster for Frijid Pink, Frost, Salem Witchcraft, Rumor, Whiz Kids, and the Woolies at Sandy Beach in Waterford, Michigan.
Poster by Terry O’Connor for an appearance by Lester Flatt at The Brewery in East Lansing, Michigan, July 23, 1973.
Dennis Preston ad for an appearance by Proctor & Bergman of the Firesign Theatre at The Stables in East Lansing, Michigan, July 23, 1973.
Poster for the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois, with Leslie West’s Wild West Show on July 23, 1973, one of the few posters for the tour that lists Mitch Ryder as part of the group. It does not, however, mention the opening act, which was Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes.
Tour poster/ad for Grand Funk (without needing naming the band), commencing on July 27, 1973, with 22 shows, ending in Honolulu, Hawaii on September 25th, notable perhaps by having no Michigan shows. They had last played Detroit in October 1972, and would not return again until the end of April 1974.
Volume Nine - 1973 - continues - HERE
Poster/flyer by Gary Grimshaw for a Rebirth concert for the People’s Ballroom at the South Quad at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on July 20, 1973, with Uprising, Sky, and the King Blues Band.
Poster/flyer by Gary Grimshaw for the band Detroit at South Lyon High School in South Lyon, Michigan on July 21, 1973.
Poster/flyer by Gary Grimshaw for a Benefit Monday show at the Primo Showbar in Ann Arbor, Michigan on July 23, 1973, with Uprising and the Tate Blues Band.
An ad with “the Funkadelics” as part of the “Black Music Explosion – 73!!!” show at the State Fair Coliseum in Dallas, Texas on July 27, 1973, with Rare Earth appearing a week later.
No Michigan connection, although it’s likely that some Michigan people were part of the record-setting crowd of 600,000 at the Summer Jam in Watkins Glen, New York, July 28, 1973, and it’s a great poster.
In addition to the record crowd, it was listed for a time in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “largest audience at a pop festival”, it was also a unique presentation. The Grateful Dead started the show with two long sets, The Band followed with a single two-hour long set, the Allman Brothers topped that, playing for three-hours, and then a final jam session with all three bands for another hour-long encore.
In addition, the people that arrived a day early were treated to soundchecks by all three bands, the Grateful Dead’s, in particular, was a lengthy two-set performance that is legendary in Dead Head’s lore.
An ad for Bob Seger at Coral Gables Showbar in East Lansing, Michigan, July 27-29, 1973.
An ad for Diana Ross at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California, July 15-21, 1973, which uses the same photo as would appear later on the cover of her first solo live album and the full-page ad for it that appeared in the August 1974 issue of CREEM magazine.
Back cover of the Ann Arbor Sun newspaper with Rainbow Graphics ad for the Monday night benefit shows at the Primo Showbar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with Mojo Boogie Band and TNT on July 16, 1973, and with Uprising and the Tate Blues Band the following week.
Gary Grimshaw illustration, appropriated from the Goose Lake Festival program, re-used for The Agora in Toledo, Ohio, July 17, 1973. The club featured Ann Arbor bands on Thursdays.
A killer poster for Suzi (not Suzy) Quatro, “sensational rocking tigress from Detroit”, at Plymouth Guildhall in Plymouth, England on July 17, 1973.
Poster by an unknown artist for Hound Dog Taylor & the House Rockers at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 17-19, 1973.
A second poster for a show in Truro, England, July 19, 1972.
Poster/flyer by Gary Grimshaw for the Monday night benefit show at the Primo Showbar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with Mojo Boogie Band and TNT on July 16, 1973.
Poster by an unknown artist for Leslie West’s Wild West Show at Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan, July 14, 1973. The artwork, which shows the wrong month, may have just been the cover for the bootleg record of the show.
One of the show reviews exclaimed, “The band just smoked and you can clearly hear how enthused the Detroit audience responded. Lez was really taken by that as he told them: “You are FANTASTIC! You should be up here, and we should be out there!"
Mitch Ryder provided the vocals on the final five tracks.
Leslie West’s Wild West Show – Live in Detroit (7/14/73)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGyUjXk2aC8
Gary Grimshaw poster for the Free Detroit Blues Festival on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan, July 15, 1973.
Ads for Commander Cody & his Lost Planet Airmen at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio on July 15, 1973.
Rainbow Press handbill for the Primo Showbar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with listings for July 15-28, 1973.
Gary Grimshaw poster for the Sunday Free Concert at Otis Spann Memorial Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan on July 15, 1973, with Rockin’ Reggie, Whiz Kids, Terraplane, and Possom Kreak.
Program cover and poster for the 2nd Annual Astrodome Jazz Festival in Houston, Texas, with two Michigan artists, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin, July 13-14, 1973.
Newspaper ad for the Temptations with Earth, Wind & Fire at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan, July 13-14, 1973. It was two years since EW&F’s previous Michigan show, opening for Long John Baldry at the Eastown Theater in Detroit.
Poster by an unknown artist at Rainbow Graphics with an artist signature hidden in the hair, for the July 1973 schedule for the Full Tilt Boogie Ballroom in LaSalle, Michigan, including Detroit with Rusty Day, and the Dogs. The Bob Seger concert, scheduled for July 14, 1973 never happened as the ballroom was destroyed by a fire in the early hours of the morning the day of the show, causes unknown. Seems that the ballrooms were quite flammable, you’ll recall the People’s Ballroom in Ann Arbor went up in flames in between the sets of Merlin and Mitch Ryder, almost exactly seven months earlier.
Rainbow Graphics poster for Bob Seger at the Full Tilt Boogie Ballroom in LaSalle, Michigan, July 14, 1973. Unfortunately, the show never happened, the ballroom was destroyed by a fire in the early hours of the morning of the show, causes unknown. Seems that the ballrooms were quite flammable, you’ll recall the People’s Ballroom in Ann Arbor went up in flames in between the sets of Merlin and Mitch Ryder, almost exactly seven months earlier.
Fresh off their attendance record breaking show in Tampa, Florida, Led Zeppelin sold out two nights at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, July 12-13, 1973. Inset photo is from the first night at Cobo.
A twelve-song, one-hour live recording made at the Cleveland Recording Company in Cleveland, Ohio on July 12, 1973, billed as Bob Seger and The Borneo Band with an interesting band line-up of:
Bob Seger - guitar, vocals
Drew Abbott - guitar, vocals #
Dick Simms - keyboards
Sergio Pastora - percussion
Tom Cartmell (aka Alto Reed) - saxophones
Marcy Levy and Shaun Murphy - backing vocals
Jamie Oldaker - drums
Bob Seger – Live in Cleveland (7/12/73)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vd3CZr_IXk
Cover image for the bootleg of Leslie West’s Wild West Show with Mitch Ryder in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 12, 1973, two days before the show in Detroit. The recording of the show is linked below, however, it unfortunately does not include the bonus track listed on cover of “You Gotta Tell Her”, which was Leslie West joining Ryder’s opening band at the Central Park in New York City show on August 6th. This was the last show of the tour, and we’ve read that West’s guitar solo on the song was “long and searing”. (Maybe someone can find it for us.)
Leslie West’s Wild West Show – Live in NYC (8/6/73)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVtSEG_D1bA
A full-page Atlantic Records ad for the fifth studio album, “House of the Holy” by Led Zeppelin, coinciding with the band’s two shows at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, July 12-13, 1973.
An ad for Detroit (featuring Rusty Day) with Blue Ash and Thanks in Salem, Ohio on July 13, 1973.
A full-page Atlantic Records ad for Stephen Stills’ Manassas, coinciding with the group’s third Michigan appearance, at the Pine Knob Music Theater in Clarkston on July 12, 1973. Talk about simplicity.
With the return to regular publication with the July 12, 1973 issue, favorite features of the Ann Arbor SUN newspaper, “Where It’s At” and “Michigan Boogie” were back.
“Where It’s At” would publish the itineraries of local bands, this edition included Blue Blazes, Brooklyn Blues Busters, Catfish, Chip Stevens, Detroit, Deliverance, Dogs, Iris Bell Adventure, Justice Myles, Leaves of Grass, Lightnin’, Mojo Boogie Band, Noah Blindside, Okra, Possum Kreak, Radio King, Sky King Blues Band (formerly New Heavenly Blue), Sunday Funnies, Tate Blues Band, Uprising, and Whiz Kids.
“Michigan Boogie” was subtitled “Rock & Roll News” and was a good page-worth of news about the bands, the venues, the radio, and the general scene. This edition talked about two new bands; The Vipers, formed by former Boogie Bros. band members, Steve Nardella, Fran Christina, and Sarah Brown, joined by George Bedard on piano. The second band, which they called “an interesting one”, was Ascension, formed by former MC5 members Fred Smith, Dennis Thompson, and Michael Davis, joined by bass player John Yonkers. “But what does Mike Davis do now that he no longer plays bass?”, they asked, “Why, he plays piano and is the lead singer…”. They mentioned that Ascension had played their first gig in Detroit, July 1.
Ad for the Rainbow Trucking Co. in the July 12, 1973 issue of the Ann Arbor Sun newspaper in Ann Arbor, Michigan, what looks to be the official t-shirt division of Rainbow Graphics.
The events calendar in the the July 12, 1973 issue of the Ann Arbor SUN newspaper, that includes three gigs by the Dogs, high school gigs by the band Detroit, Sunday Free Concerts at Wilson Park in Flint, Michigan, a photo of Scott Morgan in Lightnin’, and a photo of Morgan’s future bandmate Fred Smith, likely taken at a performance by Ascension, although there are no Ascension shows on the list.
Poster, presumably by Dennis Preston, for the next Wild Wednesday, “The Next One”, show at the Sherwood Forest in Davison, Michigan, July 11, 1973. This is the show that Peter C. Cavanaugh describes in his book “Local DJ” as the one that REO Speedwagon cancelled and was replaced by Joe Walsh’s new band Barnstorm. Cavanaugh tells the story quite nicely about how the Michigan audience heard “Rocky Mountain Way” for the very first time.
Other bands on the bill were Blue Oyster Cult, Detroit with Rusty Day, Lightnin’, Uprising, Frut, Smack Dab, Father, “and others”. Now we know that Walsh had actually appeared four months earlier at The Brewery in East Lansing, Michigan, billed as Barnstorm with Joe Walsh, and maybe RMW was played, or maybe not, but we like the way Cavanaugh tells it. And here, we like the way that Richard Pryor introduces the band:
Joe Walsh – Rocky Mountain Way (1973)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CguKJj8xtns
The Ann Arbor Sun was still temporarily out of circulation during the first week of operation of the Primo Showbar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, so this is the first of the regular ads and handbills, with the template of Gary Grimshaw’s logo with two or three weeks of billings and band logos.
For this period of July 11-28, 1973, the bands performing were the Rockets, The Vipers, Terry Tate & United Supply Co, Mojo Boogie Band, TNT, Detroit, Radio King & his Court of Rhythm, and Lightnin’.
Barbara Weinberg’s first cover art for the Ann Arbor SUN newspaper, the July 12, 1973 issue.
Poster/flyer by Gary Grimshaw for the Rockets at the Primo Showbar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 11-14, 1973.
The “1960’s British Rock Invasion Revisited” was being packaged as a nostalgia act, much like Richard Nader had done for the “1950’s Rock & Roll Revival” shows. In fact, the “1960’s British Rock Invasion Revisited” was another Nader creation.
The show came to the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan on July 9, 1973. Herman’s Hermits had made two Michigan appearances during the actual heyday of the British Invasion, in 1965 and 1966. Wayne Fontane & the Mindbenders opened for Herman’s Hermits at the 1965 show at Cobo Arena, that was their only Michigan appearance until this show.
Gerry & the Pacemakers had performed in Michigan only once before, in 1965 as well, at a “Shindig!” show at Cobo Arena that also featured the first Michigan appearance of Willie Nelson.
This was the first Michigan appearance for both Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, and The Searchers.
Illustration by Gary Glenn for a Street Rod Show in Lansing, Michigan, July 9-15, 1973.
Poster/flyer by Gary Grimshaw for the band Detroit appearing on Tuesday nights at the Primo Showbar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, beginning on July 10, 1973.
Funkadelic released their fifth album “Cosmic Slop” on the Westbound record label on July 9, 1973. It was their first album to feature the artwork of Chicago-based artist Pedro Bell, artwork that would become virtually synonymous with the Funkadelic aesthetic for years. A profile on the Funkadelic Family website certainly makes the case and may in fact still be understated, but you can check it out here:
https://georgeclinton.com/family/pedro-bell/
The best song on the album, the title track, became a staple of the band’s repertoire, with different versions showing up on future albums.
Funkadelic – Cosmic Slop (1973)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6SS7JDVRo0
Inner sleeve artwork by Pedro Bell for Funkadelic’s fifth album “Cosmic Slop” on the Westbound record label, released on July 9, 1973.
A full-page Westbound Records ad for the Funkadelic album “Cosmic Slop”, released on July 9, 1973. The following promo video, shot in the streets of New York City at least eight years before MTV, features George Clinton in white face paint, and Funkadelic’s only Caucasian guitar player, Ron Bykowski. A definite must-watch!
Funkadelic – Cosmic Slop (promo video) (1973)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8vBDET3kbI
