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Splatt Gallery's History of Michigan Music Posters
Volume Nine - 1973 - Page Fifteen
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Record company ad for the release of the second single from the Grand Funk album “We’re An American Band” album on October 29, 1973.
Grand Funk – Walk Like a Man (1973)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB9qu_MyQUA
Newspaper ad for the Primo Showbar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with the schedule of events from October 30, 1973 through November 19th. One String Sam with the Brooklyn Blues Busters, Mojo Boogie Band with Radio King, Hound Dog Taylor & the Houserockers, Shortstuff (who?), Lightnin’, Radio King again, Luther Allison, Brooklyn Blues Busters again, Radio King for a third time, Willie Dixon, Uprising, and Radio King one more time again, plus two benefit shows.
Gary Grimshaw poster/flyer version.
An ad for the Primo Showbar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with the Zenta New Year Costume Party, on Halloween, October 31, 1973, with the Mojo Boogie Band and Radio King.
An ad by an unknown artist for a Lunatics Ball at the Unitarian Church in Detroit, Michigan, October 31, 1973.
An ad by an unknown artist for the Blind Pig bar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, circa October 1973.
Ad for WABX-FM radio in Detroit, Michigan, circa October 1973, illustration by Tom Sincavitch.
Poster by an unknown artist (Peevish Pre?) for Iggy & the Stooges with The Tubes at The Matrix in San Francisco, California, October 31, 1973 and November 1st. The Stooges apparently cancelled.
An announcement in the Berkeley Barb newspaper in Berkeley, California of an appearance by Iggy & the Stooges at The Matrix in San Francisco on Halloween night, October 31, 1973, with the Tubes. Unfortunately, Iggy And The Stooges cancelled.
A crisp clear image of the photo used for the cover of Suzi Quatro’s self-titled debut album, released in October 1973.
In her 2007 autobiography “Unzipped”, she tells the story of sending the album to her parents back home in Detroit and in a follow-up phone call telling them that she was in love with one of the guys in her band. Her dad said, “Suzie, please tell me it’s not the guy drinking the bottle of beer with his hand down his crotch”.
“Yep, that’s the one!”, guitarist Len Tuckey, they married in December 1976.
A full-page RAK Records ad for Suzi Quatro’s self-titled debut album, released in October 1973.
Poster by Arlene Wanetick for a production of Leonard Bernstein’s “Wonderful Town” at the Power Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, November 1-3, 1973.
Dennis Preston poster for America at the University Auditorium in East Lansing, Michigan, November 2, 1973.
Poster for Rare Earth with ZZ Top in Portland, Oregon, November 2, 1973.
On November 3, 1973, Michael Jackson premiered the “robot” dance to a mass audience. He had started performing the move in concert as early as March 1973, and in fact, had already performed it on TV, on the September 26, 1973 episode of The Bob Hope Show (but who watched that?).
Jackson did not invent the move, there is general agreement that the move traces back to mimes of the 1920’s, but setting it to music is credited to a Los Angeles dance scene in the early 1970’s, with specific credit either to Charles “Robot” Washington, and/or to dancer Don Campbell who invented “locking”, “…which basically means freezing from a fast movement and "locking" in a certain position, holding that position for a short while and then continuing at the same speed as before”. Campbell first busted the move to calls and shouts of “Do that lock, Campbell, do that lock” and for awhile the move was known as “Campbellocking” before going to the shortened form.
Michael Jackson, an avid student, would have caught the early examples on the “Soul Train” TV show, which although originating in Chicago, had moved operations to L.A. when it went into national syndication. And here, is the tape of that Jackson 5 performance on Soul Train in November 1973:
Jackson 5 – Dancing Machine (live on Soul Train TV show) (11/03/73)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJYzlGzTaZw&list=RDuJYzlGzTaZw&start_radio=1
An ad for an appearance by the Woolies at the “Hungry Icebox”, a carved-out corner of the Highland Appliance store in Lansing, Michigan, November 4, 1973.
Record company ad for REO Speedwagon with tour dates including at Masonic Auditorium in Detroit, Michigan, (third on the list) opening for Joe Walsh and Barnstorm, November 4, 1973.
Volume Nine - 1973 - continues - HERE
One String Sam, direct from the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival, leads off the line-up on October 30, 1973, at the Primo Showbar.
Newspaper ad announcing a sold-out show for America at the University Auditorium in East Lansing, Michigan, November 2, 1973.
Newspaper ads for Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention at Masonic Auditorium in Detroit, Michigan on November 2, 1973, with a second show added for November 14th.
A Capitol records ad for Grand Funk on the back cover of the November 1973 issue of CREEM magazine.
Poster by an unknown artist for the Bob Seger Group and Stretch Thomas at the Birmingham Theatre in Birmingham, Michigan, October 27, 1973.
Poster for "The Funkadelic" at Winston-Salem University in North Carolina, October 27, 1973. Mother’s Finest was a funk-rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. Unfortunately, we can find no information on the intriguingly-named Satan’s Error.
An ad and show preview with Brownsville Station opening for Black Oak Arkansas at the Allen Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio on October 27, 1973.
Poster by an unknown artist for Roberta Flack at the Grand Valley State Colleges in Grand Rapids, Michigan, October 28, 1973.
A poster for Gladys Knight & the Pips at the Empire Room in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, for a three-week engagement, October 28, 1973 through November 16th.
After more than six years with Motown, the group had left the company in February 1973, just as their final Motown single "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)" was on its way to becoming their highest charting single since 1967’s "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". Both records hit #1 on the R&B Singles chart and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Their biggest hit, however, would be their most recently released single on their new label, Buddah Records. Released in August 1973, "Midnight Train to Georgia" became the group's first single to top the Billboard Hot 100. It also won a 1974 Grammy Award.
Gladys Knight & the Pips – Midnight Train to Georgia (1973)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwbmufPphP0
A pair of Motown Records ad for the duet album “Diana & Marvin” by Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye, released on October 26, 1973. "My Mistake (Was to Love You)", the second single released off the album, was co-written by Gloria Jones, whose interesting life includes being the partner, both musically and romantically with Marc Bolan of T. Rex (they had a son together), having recorded the original version of the song "Tainted Love" in 1964, and being recognized as "The Queen of Northern Soul" in the UK.
Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye-My Mistake (Was To Love You) (1973)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SNtIOfuszg
Gloria Jones - Tainted Love (1964)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH4yq-goqiA
Record company ad for the Spencer Davis Group with tour dates including a show at Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan, October 27, 1973. It was the group’s fifteenth Michigan show, going back to 1967, Stevie Winwood had already left to form Traffic before the band’s first Michigan appearance and never performed with the group in the US, but they were obviously a popular group none the less.
Poster by Keith Warren Graphics for Dr. John at Ford Auditorium in Detroit, Michigan, October 27, 1973.
Poster/flyer by Gary Grimshaw for the band Detroit at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio on October 27, 1973.
An interesting poster/flyer by an unknown artist for the Michigan Palace in Detroit with a list of shows in October 1973, “…and then…the Halloween Howl” on October 26, 1973.
Ferocious poster by “DlC” (?) for The Dogs Rock & Roll Band, still holding down their two-month residency at The Circus in New York City, with Distance and Suicide, October 26, 1973.
Another flyer for the Dogs at The Circus in New York City, October 26, 1973, with Distance and Suicide.
Poster/flyer with Brownsville Station opening for the J. Geils Band and Wet Willie in Memphis, Tennessee on October 26, 1973.
A nice poster by an unknown artist for the Bowen Field House at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, with a concert by Chicago on October 26, 1973, followed by Arlo Guthrie on October 27th.
Impulse! Jazz on Tour, with a show at Ford Auditorium in Detroit, Michigan, October 26, 1973, with Pharoah Sanders, Gato Barbieri, and Keith Jarrett.
Pharoah Sanders, a frequent performer at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in Detroit, was found destitute on the streets of New York City in 1964 by Sun Ra, who gave him a pair of pants, a place to live, and a spot in Ra’s band. He later joined John Coltrane’s Quintet, making his first Detroit appearance as part of Coltrane’s band at the Drome Lounge in 1966. After leaving Coltrane to head his own band, Sanders recorded “The Creator Has a Master Plan” in 1969, co-written and performed with singer Leon Thomas, who would go on to join Santana in 1973. Sander’s 1971 album “Black Unity” featured one of the earliest recordings of bass player, Stanley Clarke.
Pharoah Sanders – The Creator Has a Master Plan (1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ6lB7FKxi8
Unbelievably cool handbill by an unknown artist for “The Great Halloween Howl” at the Michigan Palace in Detroit, Michigan, October 26, 1973, with Radio King, Lightnin’, the Chip Stephens Group (first time we’ve seen them since September 1972), Gnome (in their only known appearance), and Dybbuk. Also, “The Etherial (sic) Illuminati Proudly Brings You: Feltwerpi the Great, Fire Eater, Dave Miller, Joe Enochian, Martha Methodisto, Mistress of Zoological Illusion, Pontife Maximus and Solomon Trimosin and his divining rod for the amusement of all comers. Amen.” Now that’s a bill.
Poster for a concert by the Carpenters at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo on October 25, 1973. A show that is missing from the concert database, this would be the duo’s thirteenth Michigan show in two-and-a-half years, boosted by two five-night stands at Pine Knob in Clarkston, Michigan in 1972 and 1973.
No less an arbiter of hard rock as CREEM magazine praised the Carpenters’ greatest hits album in a review in their March 1974 issue that did not seem entirely tongue-in-cheek. The review concluded, that the Carpenters’ music embodied “A yesterday that goes on forever without the pending threat of an unknown future. That’s why America loves the Carpenters and cults love other bands. Cults come and go. The Carpenters will remain. Where other bands offer (threaten) the future, the Carpenters offer yesterday forever after. And remember, it’s no mistake that Tomorrowland at Disneyland is today the most neglected and least popular attraction on the lot, but it still covers the most acreage. And it’s also the safest place to get stoned, if you’re still inclined to do so. People get caught all the time. By the guards, and by themselves.”
Karen Carpenter’s contralto vocals, (the lowest female voice type) are undeniably beautifully sung, and the pair get extra credit points for signing as "Carpenters", without the definite article “The”, which was influenced by names such as Buffalo Springfield or Jefferson Airplane, which they considered "hip". Do we still hate “Close To You”? No, not as much.
The Carpenters – Close To You (live) (1974)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c11rFopSYmw
Dennis Preston poster for Loudon Wainwright III at The Stables in East Lansing, Michigan, October 25-27, 1973.
Dennis Preston ad for Doc Watson at Michigan State University in East Lansing, October 25-27, 1973.
An ad for the Troubadour in Los Angeles, California with Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson appearing on October 23-28, 1973.
Nick Ashford grew up in Ypsilanti, Michigan where he graduated from Willow Run High School. Pursuing a singing career, he met Valerie Simpson at White Rock Baptist Church in Harlem, NYC in 1964. The two of them developed two careers; one as a writing and producing team and the other as singers and performers themselves. Among their many compositions, they wrote "Let's Go Get Stoned" for Ray Charles which became a #1 R&B hit in 1966 and brought them to the attention of Berry Gordy who hired them to join Motown the same year.
They were paired with the vocal duo of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and they wrote and/or produced all but one of the late-1960’s Gaye/Terrell singles, including hits such as the original version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Your Precious Love", "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", and "You're All I Need to Get By".
They also wrote and produced almost all the songs on the first solo album by former Supreme Diana Ross in 1970.
They left Motown in 1973 after the albums that Simpson recorded for the label received poor promotion, and the company refused to release an album of the duo recording a collection of their most famous songs for other artists.
Soon after they would marry and go on to greater success as performers with hit singles "Found a Cure" in 1979 and “Solid” in 1984.
An ad for the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, California with Iggy & the Stooges making a quick return following their five nights the week before. The return engagement, October 24-28, 1973 was a fill-in for the cancellation of the Bachman Turner-Overdrive.
Meanwhile, down the strip, the Temptations were performing at the Roxy.
A full-page ad for the Detroit Spinners on tour with the Four Tops for 11 shows in the UK, October 21, 1973 through November 4th.
Poster by Hugh Surratt for BB King at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan on October 22, 1973.
Terry O’Connor poster for the Los Angeles, California band El Roacho in their only known Michigan appearance, at The Brewery in East Lansing, Michigan, October 22, 1973. Friends with T-Bone Burnett, who produced some of their songs, their only album, released in 1973, was titled “The Best of El Roacho’s Biggest Hits”.
Billboard magazine ad for the Fall 1973 tour of the British band ELO, as part of the tour the band performed at Masonic Auditorium in Detroit, Michigan, opening for Foghat on October 23, 1973. ELO had made their first Michigan appearance four months earlier, opening for Quicksilver Messenger Service at Pine Knob in June.
An ad for Sunrise Productions with Foghat and Robin Trower at masonic Auditorium in Detroit on October 23, 1973, and Dr. John with Sylvester & the Hot Band at Ford Auditorium on October 27th.
Record company ad in the October 20, 1973 issue of Billboard magazine for Lou Reed’s album “Berlin”. The album concept was suggested to Reed by producer Bob Ezrin as a further exploration of the song “Berlin” on Reed’s first solo album. Ezrin also brought in guitarists Steve Hunter (ex-Detroit with Mitch Ryder, ex-Chambers Brothers) and Dick Wagner (ex-Frost, ex-Ursa Major) for the recording.
Reed and Ezrin were planning to tour a stage adaptation of the album with a 30-piece band and twelve member chorus, but when the record was met with mixed reviews and poor sales, that planned was shelved. Instead, Reed asked Wagner to assemble a more conventional rock group to tour with.
Lou Reed – Berlin (album) (1973)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnxRK-ReOIE
Gary Grimshaw poster for Uprising at the Primo Showbar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, October 21, 1973.
The Uprising family tree.
Rainbow Graphics handbill for shows at the Primo Showbar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from October 21, 1973 through November 1st. Uprising, Radio King, Detroit, Law, Riot, Lightnin’, Radio King, One String Sam & Brooklyn Blues Busters, Mojo Boogie Band and Radio King, and Hound Dog Taylor & the Houserockers.
Meant to be heard, and seen, live, all raw and crunchy, here’s a clip of The Dog from the 1973 Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival.
Hound Dog Taylor & the Houserockers – Live in Ann Arbor (1973)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdXdsyDJC5Y
UAC/Daystar ads for B.B. King with Radio King at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan on October 19, 1973.
Poster by Chris Frayne (Ozone) for the Second Annual Ozone Homecoming Parade in Ann Arbor, Michigan, October 19, 1973.
Back side, and a more complete image of the front side, of the poster by Chris Frayne (Ozone) for the Second Annual Ozone Homecoming Parade in Ann Arbor, Michigan, October 19, 1973, with official entry form.
Dennis Preston poster for Lightning Hopkins at the Union Ballroom in East Lansing, Michigan, October 18-19, 1973.
Poster by Chris Frayne (Ozone) for B.B. King with Radio King & his Court of Rhythm at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan, October 19, 1973, followed by Judy Collins on October 20.
