Welcome to my Twin Cities Music Highlights page.  This is my attempt to gather information about the music scene that took place primarily in the mid-to-late 1960s in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, with an emphasis on connections to St. Louis Park, my home town. This has snowballed into a pretty lengthy document, but you can skip to various sections. I invite additions and corrections, so feel free to contact me at jeanneandersen@comcast.net.

Please Note:  I do not list local bands because there are just hundreds of them.  I do keep a card file on them, however, so information on bands is still welcome.  See PUBLICATIONS (below) for Tom Tourville's book about local bands that made records.  Also see http://minniepaulmusic.com/  and http://www.garagehangover.com/?q=taxonomy/term/140/9

TC MUSIC TIMELINE

TEENAGE DANCE SHOWS OF THE '50s AND '60s

TWIN CITIES ROCK ANTHOLOGIES

PUBLICATIONS

LIVE MUSIC VENUES

LOCAL DISK JOCKEYS OF THE '50s AND '60s

LOCAL ROCK 'N' ROLL STATIONS

MID-AMERICA MUSIC HALL OF FAME

INDIVIDUAL PAGES


TC MUSIC TIMELINE

In this section I try to list musical events that took place here in the Twin Cities.  The chronology generally stops at 1974, with a few exceptions, mostly for St. Louis Park-related people and events.  A big Thanks to Mark Karnowski, who sent me a list of State Fair Grandstand shows.  The list of Met Center shows comes from Lou Nanne's book on the history of the Northstars. 

El Patio/The Cotton Club

The building at 5916 Excelsior Blvd. in St. Louis Park, now known as Bunny's, has a long musical history.  Tax records show that it was built in 1920, the first year of Prohibition.  Although information on the early days is scarce, it first made its mark as the El Patio (pronounced el PAY-sho) Cafe and Dance Hall.  At the time it was out in the middle of nowhere - Highway 7 wasn't built until 1934 and Highway 100 in 1939.  During Prohibition it was probably a setup joint, where you brought your own liquor, although one long-ago waitress remembers serving "cold coffee."  One of the classiest establishments on the Boulevard, in the early days it catered to the Country Club and University crowds. In 1934, with the end of Prohibition, it became known as the Cotton Club, with those words written prominently on the roof.  It was owned by a group of Greek immigrants collectively known as "the Greeks."

The Cotton Club was run by Pete Koralis, a relative of one of the Greeks. In 1934 he brought in Boyd Atkins from Chicago to lead the band of local musicians he then presented at the Cotton Club. Among the local players were trumpeter Rook Ganz and tenor saxophonist Harry Pettiford. Atkins was a composer/arranger of some stature who also played reeds and piano. In 1935, Koralis brought in Lester Young to replace Pettiford. Young was with the Atkins band at the Cotton Club in 1936 when he received a telegram from Count Basie asking him to join his band back in Kansas City. Young made his seminal recordings with Basie that same year. Although there were local, white musicians, the club was known for featuring black musicians who were barred for performing in Minneapolis. Atkins led the Cotton Club band until 1940, when he moved on to lead a band at a club in Peoria, Illinois.
 

In 1939, an article described how the proprietors were fined $25 for staying open too late. The same article said that the "roadhouse was a favorite spot for jitterbugs and high school youths." In a Village council hearing about the matter, the indignant crowd and even the Mayor himself mentioned rumors about the place; one citizen was quote thusly: “It is a known fact that they have been catering to high school kids for years, serving near beer to be spiked.”

The club became the home of a progression of different restaurants through the years before becoming the "new Bunny's" in 1998.  For more information, see the web site of the St. Louis Park Historical Society and the book Joined at the Hip.

1946

Django Reinhardt played the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 13 1946 with Duke Ellington's orchestra. This was his only U.S. tour.  See a cool collage on Robb Henry's blog.

1947

The Ravens were a New York based R&B vocal group that included one Leonard Puzey, whose career began when he won an amateur talent contest at the Apollo Theater in 1946. The group was most famous for their song “Old Man River,” and recorded several classic songs until they broke up in 1955. Puzey joined other groups, but eventually found himself stranded in St. Paul. Incredibly, he decided he liked Minnesota and started driving a bus for Talmud Torah. He and fellow Raven Maithe Marshall lived at Menorah Plaza (Marshall died in 1989). The Ravens were inducted into the R&B Hall of Fame in 1991. Leonard Puzey passed away on October 2, 2007 at the age of 83.

1948

On May 18, the Doc Evans Dixie Five, Lonnie Johnson, and Jimmy Yancey played the blues at the Minneapolis Labor Temple.  See an ad on Robb Henry's Blog. 

Louis Armstrong appeared with Jack Teagarden at the St. Paul Auditorium on May 8 and the Minneapolis Auditorium on May 9.  See an ad on Robb Henry's blog.

Early 1950s

The Flame Jazz Club at 8th and Wabasha in St. Paul hosted many big name jazz acts in the early 1950s.  See a collage of ads on Robb Henry's blog. 

The Labor Temple sponsored national jazz acts in the early '50s.  See a collage of ads on Robb Henry's blog.

1952

There was some excitement in July 1952, when Johnnie Ray, the “Prince of Wails,” came to town for a week at the Radio City Theater. It seems Ray, his opening comic Gary Morton (Lucy’s husband?), and a “couple of thirsty local well wishers” were drinking heavily in his room on the 17th floor of the Radisson Hotel. According to his biographer, Jonny Whiteside, “Johnnie was inspired to pay a call at the gift shop in their hotel’s lobby. Naturally, he was drawn to the kiddies’ toy section – alcohol not only stimulated, it also seemed to regress him to his childhood. He obtained the perfect summer fun accoutrement: roller skates and water pistols for everyone in the party.” They proceeded to roller skate through the lobby and into the restaurant. Minneapolis detective/house dick Ray Williamson brought them to the station when they “squared off” when being asked to pipe down. They were charged with disorderly conduct, but his road manager bailed him out and they were released after about an hour.

1954

The place to go for records in St. Louis Park, as early as 1954, was Don Leary "Drive In" Appliances at Miracle Mile. In 1956, Variety rated Leary one of the top 20 record dealers in the country. In 1958, E.F. Sandberg bought Don Leary’s store for his son Don to operate, and it became Don’s Records and Hi-Fi. The Grand Opening, held on April 24-26, 1958, featured 12,000 records and offered orchids to the ladies and candy for the kids. (Men apparently never got anything at these Grand Openings.) Appearances were made by Disk Jockeys Roy Carr (WTCN), Jim Boysen (WLOL), and Stanley Mack (WDGY). Beverly Reinicke, who had worked for Don Leary for the last 3 years, was announced as an employee of the new store.

1956

May 13, 1956: Elvis, at the top of his form, performed two shows in the Cities and bombed. Bill Diehl reports that the 2:00 show at the St. Paul Auditorium drew only 800 fans, and the 8:00 show at the Minneapolis Auditorium drew a paltry 1,300. Mothers Day and tornado warnings kept the crowds away, and local booking agent T.B. Skarning lost his shirt. But three young reporters for the St. Louis Park H.S. Echo had nothing but good things to say about their hero, whom they got to hang out with before the concert. Sample interview: “He said he didn’t mind girls wearing jeans – ‘Ah just like girls.’” The set was only a half hour long, with nary a word to be heard above the screams, but according to our teenage reporters, everyone went away happy.  Elvis came back again in 1971 and 1976.

1957

On January 17, 1957, Alan Freed and the "musical" "Rock Rock Rock" appeared at the Tower Theater in St. Paul.  The show included the Moonglows, the Flamingos, Chuck Berry, Laverne Baker, and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.  The show was on the same bill as the movie "Naked Gun." 

At the Boulevard Beauty Shop at Minnetonka and Dakota, one could get an “Elvis Presley Haircut” for a mere $1.50. Described as “carefree, short, and brief – just like you. See it in Life Magazine.”

It was pandemonium when Ricky Nelson played the Minnesota State Fair.  He played to approximately 25,000 fans from a stage erected "a zip code away in the center of an enormous racetrack,." according to biographer Philip Basche. Also appearing were the Four Preps, who dressed in silver lame jackets in order to be seen, but all eyes were on Nelson, who wore a cream colored jacket, white and burgundy polka dot shirt, and a white tie.  With a limited repertoire, he also sang numbers by Elvis and the Everly Brothers. 

1958

On April  25, 1958, Alan Freed's Big Beat show rolled into Minneapolis.  On the bill that night at the Minneapolis Municipal Auditorium were 17 acts, including Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Chuck Berry, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, the Diamonds, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Frankie Lymon.  Tickets were $2.75.  In 2006, local musician Sherwin Linton sold a poster of the event to a collector for $20,000. 

Percy Mayfield performed at the Labor Temple on July 3, 1958.

In the fall of 1958, Pastime Arena manager Larry Tobin came before the St. Louis Park City Council to request permission to hold a public dance at the Arena on October 3 from 10-11:30. Only Councilman Jorvig voted nay. Subsequent dances were approved as well.

1959

On January 28, 1959, the ill-fated "Winter Dance Party" came to the Prom Ballroom in St. Paul.  In addition to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper, who died in a plane crash six days later, the show featured Dion and the Belmonts and Frankie Sardo.

In October 1959, one Rick London appeared before the St. Louis Park City Council to request a permit to promote a dance for young people in the area. The request was tabled.

Rollie Williams was a presence in St. Louis Park for many years. From November 1959 to November 1960, Northwest Guitar and Organ Studio (aka Northwest Guitar and Accordion) was located at 3699 Joppa “under personal supervision of Rollie Williams.” The company's Minneapolis office was located at 6436 Penn Avenue South. On November 18-26, 1960 the store had an open house at its new location at 4520 Excelsior Blvd., this time called Rollie Williams Music Company. It became R.W. Music Co., and was at that location until about 1974.

1960

"Muleskinner Blues," recorded in Minneapolis at SOMA, was released in May 1960.  On May 15, the Fendermen appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium with the Johnny Cash Show.  Other performers were Johnny Horton and Kitty Wells.  The Fendermen were booked at the last minute because of their skyrocketing popularity in the Twin Cities.  On June 11, they appeared on American Bandstand.  The Fendermen consisted of Phil Humphrey and Jim Sundquist, from Madison, Wisconsin.  Amos Heilicher was their agent.

The "Biggest Show of Stars" came through the Cities, with 10-12 acts including Frankie Avalon, the Paris Sisters, and Cliff Richard.

1961

Record Lane was the house record store at Knollwood in 1961-62, M. Swaetz, prop.

1962

In February 1962, Ray Colihan booked the Beach Boys at Big Reggie’s Danceland for $400, before anyone had ever heard of them. Between the time they were booked and the time they arrived, however, they had a big record out that was #1 on WDGY. Thousands of kids showed up, and Colihan was afraid they would tear down the roller coaster.

Acts at the State Fair Grandstand included Dennis Day, Jane Russell (did she sing?), and Jimmie Dean.

1963

On August 2, 1963, the Beach Boys played at the Prom Ballroom.

Acts at the State Fair Grandstand included Rosemary Clooney, the Smothers Brothers, and Buster Keaton.

In 1963, WDGY DJ Bill Diehl was the mc at a Halloween dance at the St. Louis Park Roller Rink featuring The Trashmen, who had released their national smash hit, “Surfin’ Bird” earlier that month. Expecting about 800 kids, an estimated 2,100 showed up. The enthusiastic crowd shattered the building’s glass front wall, and reinforcements were sent for from the local constabulary. Even at only $2 a head, money was made in bucketfuls, and presumably St. Louis Park teens enjoyed its night with their favorite local surf band. Notes on the Trashmen:

· Despite their landlocked situation, three of the four band members actually did go to California the year before, where they absorbed the Dick Dale sound and rode the waves. Writer Larry LaPole never went to California but wrote his songs (notably "King of the Surf," the best surf song of all time) from a pamphlet of surf terms.

· The famous album cover in front of the trash truck was taken at Lindahl Olds at 494 and 35W. The dealership was later Wally McCarthy Olds, where scenes from “Fargo" were shot. It’s now a Best Buy.

Johnny Mathis played the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 15, 1963.

1964

Bill Diehl coordinated the WDGY Winter Carnival Spectacular, which drew 20,000 people: 16,000 inside the St. Paul Auditorium and 4,000 outside. It was the largest crowd in the auditorium's history. Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs was one of the acts.

Timothy D. Kehr began his career as a booking agent, music reviewer, record producer, magazine publisher, and more.

Beatlemania hit big when the Fab Four crossed the pond and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.  Local reviewers in the TV Times could hardly think of enough synonyms for "trash."  But some got on the bandwagon; in the February 22, 1964 edition of the TV Times there were extensive ads for Beatle wigs at two drug stores and a Ben Franklin in Wayzata.  Plus there was a coupon for 50 cents off on said Beatle wig. 

1964 was the breakout year for the Chancellors, which included two members from St. Louis Park:  David Rivkin and John Hughes. (the other members were Mike Judge and Dan Holm).  In October 1964 the band recorded their famous version of "Little Latin Lupe Lu" and also "YoYo" at Kay Bank Studios.  Rivkin was associated with three major Twin Cities bands, starting with four years with the Chancellors.  In 1965 David left the Chancellors to join the High Spirits In late 1968, David moved to join Stillroven. Now known as David Z, he had two brothers:  born Robert Rivkin, Bobby Z is a musician and producer, most famous for being Prince's drummer as a member of the Revolution. Steven E. Rivkin is a film editor and producer. 

On April 10, 1964, the St. Louis Park dance team the Parkettes hosted the River City Talent Tournament at the Minneapolis Auditorium. Professional acts included Jimmie Rodgers and the Big Three, a group from Greenwich Village featuring Cass Elliot. The Castaways (pictured right) placed first in the rock and roll category, beating out the Blazemen from North High.

The Castaways consisted of Richard Robey, Robert Folschau, Roy Hensley, Jim Donna, and Denny “Ludwig” Craswell. They won the $50 prize with “(Turn On Your) Love Light.” This big win led to professional jobs, press interviews, and more, essentially launching their career. The band went on to have one huge monster national hit (“Liar Liar,” #12, written by Jim Donna and Denny Craswell and produced by Timothy D. Kehr), and one bubbling under (“Goodbye Babe,” #101), both in 1965. The momentum of “Liar Liar” was huge, and in '65 they went out to California to appear on "Where the Action Is," "The Lloyd Thaxton Show" and "American Bandstand." In 1967 they were even in a beach movie called “It’s a Bikini World.” (Only afterwards did the Beach Boys advise them never to do a beach movie.) The group performed on many rock 'n' roll TV shows - when they played on "Hollywood a Go Go," Roy Hensley ruptured a tonsil. 

In the Spring of 1964, Dove Recording Studio was opened by Don Peterson and Darold "Arv" Arvidson.  This was strictly a recording studio, not a record label.  At first it was located in St. Louis Park, on Lake Street, diagonal from the High School in a small office building (where exactly?).  The Novas recorded "The Crusher" there.  Another band that recorded there was the Surfers (although Robb Henry of the Surfers remembers recording in a small house south of Minnetonka Blvd. between Texas and Louisiana in 1966-67.)  The facility proved to be too small, and in early 1965 it was moved to 98th and James Ave. in Bloomington.  Rival studios were Candy Floss and Kay Bank.  Dove closed its doors in 1970, selling the equipment to Warren Kendrick, who started Audio City studio.  A compilation of unreleased Dove recordings called "Free Flight" was issued by Get Hip Records in 1998.. 

Jayne Malana, an assistant to Dick Shapiro remembers:

In (I think) 1964, although I don't remember the date, the Beach Boys played the Armory. After the show, we (the five band members -- Brian, Carl, Dennis, Mike and Al, and their manager, who I think was their father, and I) went to dinner at Giovanni's on Hennepin Avenue. They were staying at the Inn Towne Motel near the Greyhound Station. I dropped them off there that night and went home like a good girl. The next morning I picked them up and drove them to the airport in my mom's '53 Plymouth. There must have been another car, too, but I don't remember it. I still have a picture strip of Dennis Wilson and me in a photo booth at the airport that day. Dennis left his sport coat in the car and I kept it for years. My mother finally got rid of it.

June 12, 1964: The Rolling Stones performed at Danceland.  There are so many versions of this story that I've made a separate page for the event. 

In 1964 Danny Stevens and his band (Danny and the Night Sounds) entered into a battle of the bands contest at Minnesota's Teen State Fair. Competing against 400 other groups, Danny and the Night Sounds took first place in the massive contest. Later that year, Danny started a new band, this time calling it "Danny's Reasons."

Dayton's Department Store's teen concerts got so popular that it formed a "Top Ten Teen Club."  Mark Riley remembers: 

It required a "membership card;" it definitely existed in Spring 1964 (height of Beatlemania); it was a Saturday event held in the Dayton's auditorium; it probably offered record-purchase discounts for "members;" it may have had a WDGY disc jockey on-site during the show (possibly even live broadcasts OF the show); it definitely distributed "current chart" information, possibly the 'DGY chart of the week.

 

What I'd LIKE to know is: whose idea was this club -  Daytons' (or WDGY)? How long did it last? Just '64 or longer? Any personal or publicity-photos of events to which you may have access? Was it a "success" for Daytons in terms of record or other retail sales traffic? What brought it to an end?

Anyone know the answers?  Contact me!
 

In July 1964, WDGY brought Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs ("Sugar Shack") to Danceland.

The state fair included a Teen Fair for the first time.  The first live band to play was called the Casualties, who started out with "Hello Josephine."  The Casualties eventually became the Sir Raleighs.  The Lancers and Michael's Mystics also played at the Teen Fair that first year.  Acts at the Grandstand included the New Christy Minstrels on the same bill as Anita Bryant, and Al Hirt with John Gary.
 

On December 16, 1964, religious radio station KUXL changed its programming to Rhythm and Blues. See Radio Stations below.

1965

Local group the Escapades played their first job on New Year's Eve, opening up for Chuck Berry at the St. Paul National Guard Armory. The Escapades pretended to be British.

1965 saw the High Spirits become major players in the local music scene. Over the lifespan of the band, it included up to six residents from St. Louis Park. Click for detailed information about this (mostly) St. Louis Park band.

January 9, 1965: The Novas debuted their seminal recording, “The Crusher.” 230 lb. lead singer Bobby Nolan lived on 44th Street, just over the St. Louis Park line in Edina. The band had been previously known as the Avons. The record was distributed on the Parrot Label (same as Tom Jones) and reached number 88 on the charts, appearing on the radar for three weeks. Apparently some in-fighting resulted in this genuine masterpiece not reaching #1.  The real Crusher was wrestler Reggie “The Crusher” Lisowski, who hailed from Milwaukee and performed on "All Star Wrestling," straight from the Calhoun Beach Hotel on Channel 11.

Larry O'Connell says the best Battle of the Bands took place at Aldrich Arena during the summer of '65:  noon to midnight!

The Beatles came to town on August 21, 1965 and had a terrible time.  See their separate page for the details.Meanwhile, out here in the suburbs, Archie Walker had a Beatle wig (made by Hoigaard’s out of dyed mops) placed on the revolving Beetle at his Volkswagen dealership in homage to the visiting moptops.  That summer you could get imported British clothes at J.W. Stephens in downtown Minneapolis.
 

The appearance of the Beatles created a huge market for guitars at local music stores, as every guy suddenly wanted to become a rock ‘n’ roll star, mostly for the chicks. At B-Sharp, guitar sales quintupled, jump starting the local music renaissance here in the mid 1960s. See a poster for B-Sharp on Robb Henry's blog.

The second Teen Age Fair was held at the Minnesota State Fair. Grandstand shows included an odd pairing of Dixieland and Motown with Pete Fountain and Mary Wells.  Roger Miller also appeared with the Ray Charles Singers, who were not to be confused with the Raelettes.  Their hit was the lovely "Love Me With All Your Heart."

Horror producer William Castle made an unlikely appearance at a party at the Cascade 9 to celebrate the premier of an unnamed movie at the State Theater, according to Nancy Nelson's column in the Twin City a-Go-Go magazine, August 1965.

Dan Holm of the Chancellors reports that the band provided backup for Jan and Dean in a 1965 show at Danceland.  The group was given the wrong key, but because of their professional musicianship they were able to adapt onstage.

Little Stevie Wonder appeared at Carleton College in August.

Think of Wolfman Jack and you may think Mexico, but Bob Smith as the Wolfman had several ties in Minnesota.  In January 1965, the Wolfman made his first appearance in the Twin Cities when he and record store owner/record label owner George Garrett bought radio station KUXL AM  1570.  The Wolfman did not appear on the air, but he managed the station and from there he recorded his oldies shows he broadcast from border radio station XERF in Mexico.  He didn't own his share of the station for long, leaving the next year.  But in 1974, with newfound fame, he came back and bought a house in Minnetonka.  He made a deal with KDWB to broadcast live shows and also do a syndicated radio show.  That arrangement ended in January 1975.  He was back in 1980-82 to do occasional oldies shows on  station WWTC.  The Wolfman died in July 1995.

R&B station KUXL sponsored an appearance by Ike and Tina Turner at the Marigold Ballroom on August 1, 1965. The appearance brought 5,000 fans, apparently mostly black teenagers.  On September 12, the station sponsored BB King, and also in September the Four Tops, all at the Marigold Ballroom.  See below for more information about KUXL.

The Sir Douglas Quintet played the Prom Center on September 10, 1965.

The Byrds performed in St. Paul in August/September.

The Miss Teenage Twin Cities Pageant aired on September 28, 1965 on Channel 11.

Dee Dee Sharpe and Dick and Dee Dee performed at the Prom in September.  Dee Dee Lee/Sperling was born in Minneapolis.

A new shop called The Losers was opened up downtown next to Music City at Seventh and Hennepin.  Twin City a' GoGo reported "you won't believe it when you walk into the place.  They sell everything!  Contemporary greeting cards, tiki gods, lighters the size of a boulder, rare coins, and they even have an art gallery.  The proprietor is as unique as his establishment.  His name is Hal Krieger and he states that the motto of The Losers is, 'Where madness is a way of life.'" 

The Strangeloves and the McCoys appeared at the Prom Center in St. Paul.

Billy Joe Royal performed at the Prom the first week of October 1965, but attendance was low because there were a lot of homecomings that weekend. Backing Bobby were local act the Marvelous Marauders.

Bob Dylan appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 5, 1965. The Twin City a' Go Go reviewer was not impressed, calling the music "tedious, uninspired, and harsh."

On November 19, 1965, the "KDWBeach Boys" performed at the Minneapolis Auditorium.  Also appearing were the Gentrys, the Strangeloves, and the Castaways.  Ticket prices were $2.50, $3.50, and $4.50.  Roland Anderson reports that the concert was great and sent us this radio commercial for the event.
 

A December 1965 issue of the Westwinds newspaper of Westwood Jr. High reports that Granny dresses, though not exactly functional, are one of the fashion statement one sees lately.

1966
 

The Kingston Trio performed on January 18, 1966.

WDGY sponsored a WDGY Spectacular on Sunday afternoon, January 30.  It was held at the St. Paul Auditorium as part of the 1966 Winter Carnival. Performing were the McCoys, Bobby Goldsboro and an Indiana group called the Boys Next Door.  Also on the bill were the Marvelous Marauders.  Marauder Jerry Cadwell is looking for information about the event, including newspaper accounts, other performers, and anyone who might have been directly involved with organizing the show.   

Dudley Riggs moved his Brave New Workshop to 2605 Hennepin in late '65/early '66.  The satire repertoire group was started in 1961.  In a Twin City a' Go Go interview, Riggs revealed that he had opened a coffeehouse in 1958, but in 1959 it became a haunt of beatniks, to Riggs' consternation. 

An April 1966 issue of the Westwinds newspaper from Westwood Jr. High in St. Louis Park announced that paper dresses were in this spring.  Not available in stores yet, these wild colored dresses could be had through the mail. 

Marcia from Marcia and the Lynchmen reports that they were one of the teen bands highlighted in the St. Paul Pioneer Press Pictorial Magazine, June 5, 1966, “Those Teen Bands.” The article was entitled “Behind the Twang of the Guitar” and the text was by Bill Diehl.

June 10, 1966 was the fifth annual "School's Out Spectacular" at Aldrich Arena in St. Paul.  Over 5,000 kids attended the event, dancing to eight bands, including the Ides of March and Dee Jay and the Runaways.  Funds raised went to the Ramsey County Jr. Sheriff''s Patrol for rain coats, hats, and safety signs.

In the summer of 1966, Dayton's sponsored a month-long "Youthquake Explosion" series of concerts in their 12th floor auditorium.  On Saturday, May 7th, 1966 (1:30-2 & 3:30-4pm)  Lou Christie was one of the performers of that series, backed by the Marvelous Marauders.  Marauder Jerry Cadwell reports that it was the first time he ever saw a man put on makeup (the dressing room was in the employee's men's room) and it kind of freaked him out! The Seeds and the Electric Prunes also played at Dayton's that year.

The Animals and Herman's Hermits played the Minneapolis Auditorium in July 1966, written up by Dave Mona in the Minneapolis Star/Tribune.  The opening act was the local band The Marvelous Marauders. 

The National Ballroom Operators Association awarded citations to the Castaways, the Hot Half Dozen, Michael's Mystics, and the Underbeats for being outstanding, neat and danceable bands. 

The Young America Center was featured at the State Fair.  Chad and Jeremy walked out of the Fair after finding out their performances would be in the teen pavilion rather than in the Grandstand. They found they were booked to play three shows a day in a hastily-erected tent, on the bill with local groups, to teenagers who got in for free. The graphic at right was found in the negatives of WCCO-TV, leading us to believe it was a pretty big brou ha-ha.  The real Grandstand shows were the Supremes with Jerry Van Dyke, and the Smothers Brothers with George Kirby.

"Where The Action Is" came to Minneapolis for the Aquatennial in July 1966. 

Jeff Lonto:  "I have a video clip (from a kinescope) of a segment showing a turtle race at Lake Calhoun, and the band Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels performing at Lake Calhoun (probably just lipsyncing their hits, as they sound exactly like the record and it was a Dick Clark production)." Paul Revere and the Raiders were the victims of an airplane strike and were stranded in Minneapolis for two days after filming.  Their song "The Great Airplane Strike" resulted. 

In the August 22, 1966 issue of Newsweek, Dayton's was named the Swingingest spot in Minneapolis due to the series of "Super Youthquake" back-to-school concerts in the 8th floor auditorium.  Performers included Simon and Garfunkel, the [Chad] Mitchell Trio and the Yardbirds on August 5.  See an ad for the show in the '60s chapter of a book about Dayton's.  Also see a collage of pictures about the Yardbirds on Robb Henry's blog.

Simon and Garfunkel were spotted at the Triangle Bar after a concert at Dayton's, some time in the fall of 1966.  A correspondent from Norway says he visited Minnesota in the summer of 1966 and saw S&G at a shopping mall.  Could this have been the same instance?
 

In an October 1966 interview with the Underbeats in In-Beat magazine there is a telling paragraph:

"The group agreed that the rise of quality pop music has revived this country's interest in rhythm and blues but their interest is not desegregated. They pointed out that, ironically, it is difficult for Negro R and B bands to get jobs in the Twin Cities. This, they said, was because many places in the Twin Cities won't serve or hire Negroes. 'A lot of really good Negro musicians can't even get in groups because the group is afraid that if they take them, they won't get jobs.'"

The Temptations played the Marigold Ballroom on October 16.

The Mamas and Papas played the Minneapolis Auditorium on October 19.

The Cyrcle appeared at the Prom Ballroom on November 2.

Ray Charles played the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 6, 1966.

The Lovin' Spoonful played the Minneapolis Convention Center on November 27, 1966.

December 26, 1966 was billed as the "Biggest Dance in History," held at the Minneapolis Auditorium, Convention Center.  On the bill were the Fabulous Flippers, the Electras, the Underbeats, the Del Counts, T.C. Atlantic, the Castaways, Michael's Mystics, the Accents, and more.

Sonny and Cher were scheduled to perform at the Minneapolis Auditorium on December 30.

1967

Acts at the WDGY Spectacular (in conjunction with the Winter Carnival) included Paul Revere and the Raiders, Roy Head, Tina Mason, Steve Alaimo, and Keith Allison - most from the show "Where the Action Is."  Emcees were Johnny Canton and Scott Burton.




WCCO-TV aired this picture of Gary Lewis and his new wife, so we presume the happy couple were in the Cities on March 11, 1967, but there's no guarantee.

The Raiders may have returned to the Cities during the weekend of March 24-26.

James Brown - "Mr. One-Man Riot" - played the Minneapolis Auditorium on April 25.

The Turtles played the Prom on May 3 and August 16.

The Surfers - local band with members from Hopkins and Minnetonka - made a record in a private home studio in St. Louis Park.  See Robb Henry's blog for a brief history of this short-lived band.

Vice President and Mrs. Humphrey attended a Minneapolis Symphony Ball on May 6 in Southdale's Garden Court.  "For the swinging ball-goers there was more lively dancing to the Underbeats in a separate room," reports The Music Scene.

An article in the Music Scene commented on how Twin Cities audience don't applaud performers.  One guess is that the Scandinavians don't want to bring attention to themselves.

On May 20, 1967, Dayton's Department Store sponsored a second "Sensations '67" show. Local heroes the High Spirits appeared with the likes of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band (which included Elvin Bishop on guitar and Mark Naftalin - son of Mpls. Mayor Naftalin - on keyboards). Music Scene promised that the psychedelic show would transform Dayton's 8th Floor Auditorium into an "'environmental envelope' of another time, space, and place." Shows were at 12, 2, and 4.

May 22, 1967 was the date of the first Connie Awards, thought up, organized by, and named after Connie Hechter, jazz drummer and editor of the  T.M.C. (later Connie's) Insider. 325 industry insiders attended the formal ceremony at the Sheraton-Ritz Hotel in Minneapolis, emceed by Charlie Boone. The nominees for best band were Danny’s Reasons, T.C. Atlantic, the Underbeats, the Hot Half Dozen, and the Del Counts. Winners were determined by the Midwest Academy of Contemporary Music. The Del Counts won best band that first year. Here's a U Tube Del Counts recording of "With Another Guy."  Also see pictures.
 

In May, the “Psychedelic Sound-Burst” took place at Aldrich Arena. The show, emceed by KDWB’s Charlee Brown and Earl L. Trout, featured the Grasshoppers, the Del-Counts, Danny’s Reasons, the Chancellors, the Hot Half Dozen, the Litter, the High Spirits, the Youngsters, and the Happy Days. The concert promised the world's best light show - the Fillmore Light Show.

Tommy James and the Shondells played the Prom Ballroom in June.

Danny's Reasons appeared on Bill Carlson's show "This Must be the Place" on June 10, 1967.  On the show Danny crowned "Miss 16:" are you out there Miss 16?  Here are some pictures of the band on the show, courtesy of the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting.

                                                                                                                                      
A third "Sensations '67 was scheduled for June 17. This may be the show Rich Hanson planned as “School’s Out Book Burning Blast.”

On June 25, the Beatles appeared on a BBC program "Our World," which was broadcast to 31 countries and an estimated 500 million people.

Ike and Tina Turner hit the stage on July 10 at the Minneapolis National Guard Armory.  Danny's Reasons was one of the bands on the 5 1/2 hour show. 

Marcia and the Lynchmen were one of the opening bands at the Buckinghams concert when they played in Minneapolis on July 12, 1967.

WDGY persuaded Sonny and Cher to perform as an Aquatennial event at the Minneapolis Convention Hall on July 14.  Stillroven and the Del Counts opened.  From Johnny Canton:

Frankly, It was I who convinced Sonny to appear sans Cher at WDGY's Minneaplis Auditorium concert July 14th. Cher had just suffered a miscarriage a few days prior to our concert and Sonny was reluctant to appear without her, much less leave her. The night before he was to fly to Minnesota, I was on the phone with Sonny at their home. The doctor was with Cher and both Cher and the doctor convinced Sonny it would be OK for him to do the show. I applied some pressure and he acquiesced and came to Minnesota. In order to cover for Cher, I put Sonny on the air and we appealed to our female listeners to "audition" to sing with Sonny at the concert. We had several viable singing candidates and it turned out to be one heckuva show with that twist. It was the first time Sonny had ever appeared without Cher. I nearly experienced suffering from an ulcer considering it was a well-promoted WDGY show and had Sonny not appeared we would have had much egg on our faces.

WDGY sponsored a show by Aretha Franklin at the Minneapolis Auditorium on July 19. Johnny Canton introduced her.

KDWB and the Aquatennial sponsored "Happening '67" at the Minneapolis Auditorium. It was a "three day psychedelic feast," held on July 19-21.  Sheets of brilliant silver mylar and colorful fabrics decorated the auditorium.  Performers were Jefferson Airplane, Buffalo Springfield, the Electric Prunes, and the Shadows of Knight. 

Trestman Music Center's 2nd Annual Battle of the Bands drew 64 bands.

It was the summer of 1967, and the Chancellors were playing at Danceland.  Bandleader Dan Holm remembers that in the middle of "Wipeout," they saw "a group of dancers on the left of the stage, about 20 feet out, suddenly all fall down.  It wasn't at first apparent what had happened.  Dancers around the fallen continued dancing, pointing and laughing.  It turned out that a section of the dance floor had slumped about three feet and everyone who was dancing on it lost their balance and tumbled down. They got up.. and continued dancing.  After a few minutes, Big Reggie came out and had a look at the floor, then asked Dan to please announce for kids to stay off the area in case it collapsed some more.  The band finished the set and the night as if nothing happened.  It was no big deal."  Another version of the story says that the floor fell 11 feet into the basement!

Race riots and curfews in Milwaukee and Detroit brought the Monkees to Minneapolis a day early, so KDWB arranged for them to take over the airways on the afternoon before their concert at the St. Paul Auditorium.  Mike Nesmith had fun making fun of all the ads, including sacred Dayton's.  Peter Tork played some groovy tunes and B-sides.  Davy Jones was on for a nanosecond, and Mickey Dolenz was MIA.  It is now 15 Monkee Minutes past the hour.

A huge Battle of the Bands took place at the Mower County Fair, August 7-13.

KDWB presented "Super Sunday," starting with their third annual Drag Race Festival at Minnesota Dragways on August 20.  That night, they presented Herman's Hermits, the Blues Magoos, and the Who.  Ticket prices ranged from $3.25 to $5.25.  Also featured was a grudge match between Jimmy Reed and Tac Hammer.

The KDWBeat Magazine, August 26, 1967:  "KDWB - Where The Action Is!  For three nights the Jefferson Airplane, Buffalo Springfield, Electric Prunes and Shadows of Night filled the flour city with their flower music.  'Happening '67' was a total experience.  Each group wished they could have stayed longer, but about 11:30 each night, some guy would come in and yell, 'Hey, they're rolling up the sidewalk!'  On Friday all the groups were taken out to Lake Minnetonka for an afternoon on the largest boat on the lake.   Even though most of the people were from California, they were truly impressed.  The groups said they really hated to leave the twin cities. The Jefferson Airplane said that they wished they could have stayed longer, but they had to get out to the airport because someone had written 'Spirit of St. Louis' across the fuselage.  The Electric Prunes asked, 'Is St. Paul really putting Minneapolis on?' And then they were gone."

 

The Young America Center at the State Fair was the place to be, with performances by the Fabulous Flippers, the Kingsmen, the Sandpipers, and the Jade Set - an Oriental pop-variety group.  Performances ran from August 26 to September 4.  Grandstand shows included the Baja Marimba Band with George Kirby, and Bob Newhart with the Young Americans ("Western Union.")

The Byrds performed at the Marigold Ballroom in Minneapolis (and also in Mankato), some time between September 10 and November 10, 1967.

Spanky and Our Gang performed in August at Dayton's 8th Floor Auditorium, and returned on September 21 to perform at the U of M.

In 1967 and '68, Timothy D. Kehr wrote a music column "Musically Yours" for the local TV Digest.

The Everly Brothers played the Prom on October 6.  Also Chicago's The Mob, and the Cities' System.

Nancy Sinatra and the Fifth Dimension participated in a Rat-Pack-type show with Frank Sinatra at the St. Paul Auditorium on October 8.

Simon and Garfunkel appeared at Augsburg College on November 10.

Dionne Warwick appeared at the Dayton's Skyroom on November 20.

The Young Rascals played the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 24, fronted by the local band the Nickel Revolution.  NR member Kent Saunders says:  "They were a great bunch of guys, and very supportive of our comparatively rookie status. I even have a Gene Cornish guitar pick, with his name on it, as a memory."  For an eyewitness account, see the Nickel Revolution's blog.

The Shadows of Knight came to the New City Opera House on December 9.

Sergio Mendes and the Brazil '66 and Glen Campbell came to the new Metropolitan Sports Center on December 16.   Mendez had been here previously in the spring of 1966.

Stillroven, the Castaways, and the Litter played a show at the Mayo Auditorium in Rochester.  Part of the Stillroven set was filmed in 8 mm but with no sound.

KDWB presented a Christmas Concert series that featured area high schools on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Each school presented a half hour concert. 13 schools participated.

Magoo's/New City Opera House hosted two New Year's Eve Party extravaganzas that featured eight local bands:  Litter, Grasshoppers, C.A. Quintet, T.C. Atlantic, Xpressmen, Happy Dayz, Love Express, and the Nickel Revolution.




1968

Ravi Shankar performed at the Guthrie on January 11, 1968.  The next day, the Lemon Pipers came to the New City Opera House and Magoos's. 

Buck Owens and his Buckaroos appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on February 17.  Now you may say that Buck Owens isn't rock 'n' roll, but the show was advertised on my February 10, 1968 WDGY 30 Star Survey, so here it is.  Also on the bill were Freddie Hart, Tommy Collins, Kay Adams and Wynn Stewart. 

In the February 24, 1968 issue of The Beat, "KDWB Asks YOU To Help Bring The Beatles Back to U.S."  Earl Trout III spearheaded the letter writing effort to get the Beatles back.  At issue was the promise of the audience to be quiet so the music could be heard.  The goal was to send Trout to London with a million cards, letters, and petition signatures.  Alas..
 

On March 8, 1968, WDGY sponsored "Super Scene '68."  The show was at the Metropolitan Sports center and was mc'd by WDGY DJs JJ Bowman, Jerry Brooke, Scott Burton, and Johnny Canton.  The list of performers was impressive:  Wilson Pickett, the Hollies, Strawberry Alarm Clock, and many local acts including the Nickel Revolution, Del Counts and Michael's Mystics.  Read an account of this monumental event on the Nickel Revolution's blog.

The Temptations played the Minneapolis Armory on April 7, 1968.

An Easter Fair took place April 9 to 14, 1968 at the Minneapolis Auditorium, and featured the Electric Prunes and Blue Cheer, two of the noisiest national bands running.  Another band was The Mob, and local groups the Underbeats and Perspectives were slated to appear.  Also there were the gentler Buffalo Springfield -- and Pat Paulson.

Cream performed at the New City Opera House on May 5, 1968. The show was fraught with problems – the band was late, the equipment didn’t work, the show was less than an hour, and one report was that the musicians made out like they were doing the audience a big favor – but the music was superb. Our reviewer said the show was “worth the agony: the ecstasy was delicious.”  They may have jammed at Magoo's after the show.

Herb Alpert, Blue Cheer and the Castaways (an odd grouping to say the least) played Williams Arena at the U of M on May 11, 1968.  Nearly 17,000 attended.

Other May 1968 shows were the First Edition at the Carleton and Peter Paul and Mary at the Minneapolis Auditorium.

May 27 was the date of the 1968 Connie Awards, emceed by Bill Carlson of WCCO TV. Best band nominees were the Underbeats, Grasshoppers, Stillroven, Del Counts, Litter, TC Atlantic, and South 40. If you've never heard of the Grasshoppers, it's because they never really recorded.  The group was fronted by Jiggs Lee who went on to front Cain.

Local musician and man-about-town Arne Fogel recorded a song back in ’68, kind of a Simon and Garfunkel/Chad and Jeremy type ditty called “I Once Had a Dream“ (aka “December Song”), recorded at Dove Studios with fellow singer/songwriter Steven Longman. The record never made it to the big time, but is available from Get Hip Records on a Dove Records compilation called "Free Flight." Arne started his singing career when he was 17, and made his mark singing over 1,500 commercials and jingles. He owns every Bing Crosby record ever released, and shares his record collection on various radio shows.

Not exactly rock 'n' roll, but Tony Bennett appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on April 28, 1968.  Zane reports that he was accompanied by Duke Ellington and Orchestra. 

The Beach Boys played the St. Paul Auditorium on July 9, 1968. Also on the bill were Gary Puckett and the Human Beinz.

Muddy Waters played the Guthrie on July 14, 1968.  See an ad on Robb Henry's blog.

Frank Sinatra and the Four Seasons played a benefit concert for the Citizens for Humphrey Committee at the Met Center on July 16, 1968.

Aretha Franklin appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on July 19, 1968 as part of the Aquatennial Teen Spectacular, sponsored by WDGY. Also on the bill were the Mystics and Things to Come. The Blues Cube, formerly Marcia and the Lynchmen, were also scheduled to appear, but Marcia was in a car accident on her way home from a gig in Eau Claire and was in the hospital for a month so they were unable to perform.  The Blues Cube played their final gig at the Prison in Burnsville on August 24.

The Temptations and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas played the Minneapolis Armory on August 6, 1968.

Simon and Garfunkel played the Minneapolis Auditorium on August 20, 1968.

On August 23, 1968, the Vanilla Fudge was scheduled to do a show at the Minneapolis Armory, but never showed up.  Local Group the Nickel Revolution opened the show, followed by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.  Next came bubblegum act 1910 Fruitgum Company, which overcame its nursery rhyme image to pull out a performance that satisfied the crowd screaming for Vanilla Fudge.  Read a great account of the event on the Nickel Revolution's blog.

The First Edition (presumably with Kenny Rogers) played the State Fair Young America Center.  Grandstand shows were decidedly less hip:  The Fifth Dimension with Frank Sinatra, Jr. and Ballet America; Marty Robbins, Sonny James, Hank Williams, Jr., and Connie Smith; and Jack Jones with the National Ballet of Mexico.

Tiny Tim played the Metropolitan Sports Center on October 18, 1968.  David Hicks remembers:  "I was an usher for Bob Sims (who had the ushering concession) from 1966 to 1971 and I saw many of these concerts. The Tiny Tim concert at Met Center was sort of neat to me. He entered the stage (the stage was not at the end of the arena but on the side right in front of the hockey benches) with the lights out from one of the entrances for the hockey team and I was asked to escort him to the stage. He had a wireless microphone which was quite new at the time, and was talking to the crowd in an eerie voice as we entered the arena. There I was walking with Tiny Tim escorting him by the elbow from the dressing room to the stage. For a 17 year old kid it was quite a thrill."  Local band the Sir Raleighs opened up the concert, which also included Joe Tex; Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, and the Young Rascals as the headlining act.

David Hicks again:  "Also in 1968 election night HHH had his election party at the hotel Leamington which had Tommy James and The Shondells playing at one side of the grand ballroom and Sonny and Cher playing at the same time on the other side of the ballroom. What a night. I was about 10 feet in front of the stage when HHH gave his [ever optimistic] speech at about 2:30 in the morning."  Humphrey officially conceded the next day.

A jazz festival at the Minneapolis Auditorium featured Hugh Masekela and Herbie Mann on November 29, 1968.

Andy Williams and Roger Miller played the Met Center on December 6.  Johnny Canton remembers:  "One of WDGY's largest concerts/shows starred then-popular Andy Williams along with Roger Miller at Met Center. It was our Christmas Concert and we filled Met Center. Of course, Andy was the pride of network TV at the time with his weekly show. Miller was no slouch either having had several hit songs. The entire WDGY air staff had a chance to take the stage and emcee. Great evening!"

The Brothers Four appeared at Melby Hall, Augsburg College, on December 7, 1968.  Bass player Bob Flick is now married to Minnesotan Loni Anderson. 

Jimi Hendrix was slated to play the Minneapolis Armory on August 11, 1968, but the date was moved to November 2.  See a collage of tickets and photos on Robb Henry's blog. 

In his November 18, 1968 column "Musically Yours" in the TV Digest, Timothy D. Kehr writes of the group H.P. Lovecraft. Was this local? Can't find it anywhere. But Howard Philips Lovecraft was a poet and novelist.

The Doors played the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 20, 1968.

Joe Cocker braved a snowstorm to perform at the Prison (at the Burnsville Bowl) in December. Tom Barbeau reports:  "There couldn't have been more than 2-300 hundred people there. Part of it was certainly the weather, but he was also a total unknown at that time. That was a small crowd in that room, as I recall a lot of empty space. My group of 6 or 7 guys who made the trip (packed into a '53 Ford coming from St. Paul, through a snow storm), had no trouble getting to within 20 to 30 feet of the stage with lots and lots of empty space behind us. Everything he had at Woodstock the following August, he showed us there, that night, and the crowd was totally blown away."

1969

Local Rock 'n' Roll Disk Jockey Barry McKinna started his career in radio in 1969 at KDWB.  His real name is Barry Siewert, and he is a 1965 graduate of Park High.  He's still on the air under his own name on KQQL 108.

The Labor Temple opened as a rock venue and hosted several concerts in1969.  See a collage on Robb Henry's blog.

The Grateful Dead on February 2
Jethro Tull and Rotary Connection on February 9:  Warren Walsh remembers:

As I recall it was another one of those nasty cold Minnesota nights. It was a Sunday night and there couldn't have been more then a couple of hundred people there. Jethro Tull was just releasing their 1st album and nobody knew who they were. We didn't care much for the Rotary Connection but it beat sitting around on a Sunday evening. We sat on the floor about 10-20 feet from the low stage. Can't remember the Rotary Connection but Jethro Tull took our heads off! During the break Ian Anderson just stepped down and mixed with the crowd. I remember him sharing some cigarettes with a few of us stand near the front.

Other Labor Temple Shows:

Spirit and Mother Earth on February 26
Procul Harum on February 23
Buddy Miles Express with South 40 on March 2
Savoy Brown and Pacific Gas & Electric on March 9
Jeff Beck on March 23
Ten Years After and the Litter on March 30
Aorta, Mojo Buford, and Koerner, Ray and Glover on April 6
Muddy Waters and Sweetwater on April 20
Deep Purple on May 18

’69 was also the year that Dale Menten and Frederick Gaines wrote and produced the rock musical “House of Leather.” It was a big hit here in Minneapolis, but closed after its only night in New York: March 18, 1970 at the Ellen Stewart Theater (off-Broadway).

Blood, Sweat & Tears appeared at the Guthrie as their eponymous album came out that February.  Warren Walsh:  "I was disappointed as I expected the Al Kooper line-up but quickly forgave them when David Clayton-Thomas powered up." 

The Mystics were crowned Best Band at the 1969 Connie Awards. Their song “Pain” made it up to 116 on the national "Bubbling Under" Billboard charts.

Vanilla Fudge played the Metropolitan Sports Center on April 11, 1969.

Led Zepplin played the Guthrie on May 18, 1969 and it was reported to be an Amazing Show.

Johnny Winter and the Holy Modal Rounders played the Guthrie on June 29, 1969.  See a poster on Robb Henry's blog.
 

The Who played the Guthrie, shortly before Woodstock.  They had to add a second show as the 7 pm show sold out immediately.

Steppenwolf played the Minneapolis Armory on August 8.  Rod Wallace remembers:  "I was at that concert and it was the 1st time I heard a headliner mess up the sound system for the opening act. I'm not sure who it was but their sound was terrible. Then before Steppenwolf came on stage they announced that the keyboard player was out sick. So I was expecting a bad set from them also; but when they started playing the sound 'magically' got perfect, and they sounded better than their records."  Also on the bill were the bands Skin Trade and Danny's Reasons.

Something must have gone wrong, because in the next Connie's Insider, it was announced that KDWB was refusing to accept advertising for Danny's Reasons.  From Danny's web site:  "Following a show that the band played with Steppenwolf on August 8th, 1969, KDWB Radio pulled all advertising that had anything to do with Danny's Reasons. This was decided after the The Reasons performed '... Songs which were highly suggestive of off color material...' Club owners and operators grew increasingly nervous; if they couldn't advertise the band that was already booked to play their nightclubs and concert halls attendance would plummet. Though KDWB took a very harsh stance, (going so far as forbidding any employee of the radio station to even attend a Danny's Reasons show) it ultimately had the opposite effect: using the image of 'banned in Boston', the band's popularity continued to sky rocket."

Sound 80 was founded in 1969; it became the first multi-track digital recording studio.

All-girl band the 19th Amendment played at the Teen Fair at the Minnesota State Fair. The Grassroots and the New Colony Six played after their performance.  Grandstand shows continued to be middle-of-the-road (or perhaps even off road):  Buck Owens, Susan Rye, and Billy Walker; Lesley Gore with George Kirby; The Johnny Cash Show with the Statler Brothers; Porer Wagoner, Dolly Parton, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lynn Anderson, Speck Rhodes, and Conway Twitty (whew!); and Pattie Page with Kids Next Door and Don Rice III.

Ray Charles played the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 19.  The show was billed as a WDGY Thanksgiving Holiday Spectacular, promoted by Arnie Sagarsky of A & A Enterprises.  Sagarski was the force behind the "Purple Cigar" teen dance hall in St. Louis Park.  See Dance Venues below. 

Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass played the Met Center on November 21. 

Janis Joplin played the Minneapolis Armory on November 22 to a crowd of 8,000.  Opening acts were local bands Crow and Danny's Reasons.

1970

Much music in 1970:
The New Christy Minstrels performed at Northrup Auditorium
The Grateful Dead at the Guthrie
The Band at the Guthrie
Elton John at the Guthrie supporting his first release.  Warren Walsh remembers:  "The first set was just him on the piano. The second set included the full band. What a show."
Leon Russell at the Guthrie
Chuck Berry at the Guthrie (1969 or '70)
Crazy World of Arthur Brown at the Minneapolis Auditorium
The Mothers of Invention at the Cedar Village Theater and the Labor Temple
Johnny Winter (with Edgar) at the Labor Temple on March 22, opened by Thundertree
Doug Kershaw at the Cedar Village Theater
Glenn Yarborough at Augsburg College
Gordon Lightfoot at the Guthrie
Peter, Paul and Mary at the Minneapolis Auditorium

Stephen Pfeiffer recalls a memorable concert from February 1, 1970 at the Labor Temple:  John Hammond Jr. with the Allman Brothers. "It was an ungodly frigid Sunday night (-30 below).  Only around 100 people made it to the show to see an unknown southern rock band play their first show in Minneapolis. John opened, then the Brothers, with the third set featuring both acts jamming together. I do remember having to lock my car with the engine running to ensure my getting home after the show. In the late '60s I was attending the School of Associate Arts on Summit Avenue in St. Paul, and made extra cash by working as a freelance artist. I did some poster art for the Labor Temple, as well as ads for the early Electric Fetus when it was at its original location at 514 Cedar Ave. Because of my 'connections,' I was often able to score tickets to music venues across the Twin Cities. Being a starving artist, it was about the only entertainment available at the time, but it has made for some fond memories."  Thanks for sharing them, Stephen!

Blood Sweat & Tears at the Minneapolis Auditorium.  Bob Mikkelson was at the Blood Sweat & Tears concert and remembered that John Denver opened and no one cared. When Denver said it was his last number the place cheered. Denver just replied that he was as excited as the rest of us to hear BS&T.

Rod McKuen appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on April 17, 1970.  Bonnie Usan, journalist for the St. Louis Park Echo, found McKuen's work "melancholy, dejected, and lonely."

A rock festival was held at the Met Sports Center on March 20, 1970. Featured acts included Canned Heat, Grand Funk Railroad, Buddy Miles, the Amboy Dukes (Ted Nugent), the Litter, Brownsville Station, and the Stooges (Iggy Pop). In all, there were 12 groups that went on for 8 hours, despite decidedly bad acoustics.

Concerts at the Met Center in 1970 included B.J. Thomas, Roy Orbison, and the Four Tops (February 6), Led Zeppelin (April 12), Crosby, Stills, and Nash (July 9), Tom Jones (July 19), Iron Butterfly ( November 13), and Grand Funk Railroad (November 22).

The Depot opened on April 3 and 4, 1970 (see below under venues). An estimated 2300 people came to the club over the first two days to see the Mad Dogs and Englishman tour headlined by Joe Cocker. Johnny Canton was the emcee, and appeared in the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" film that was made of the event.  That same month, the club hosted the Butterfield Blues Band and Poco. Mojo Buford opened for several shows at the Depot in 1970 - see ads on Robb Henry's blog.

The Sound Storm Rock Festival took place on April 24-26, 1970, featuring the Grateful Dead, Crow, and author Ken Kesey.

The Connie Awards presented the only non-musician award to producer and promoter Timothy D. Kehr.

In 1970, records could be found at the Musicland store at Knollwood. The Musicland chain opened in Minneapolis in 1956.

Jimi Hendrix played the St. Paul Civic Center on May 3.  The concert (the "Cry of Love" tour) was taped by a member of the audience; read about it here. 

Jefferson Airplane played at the Minneapolis Auditorium on May 15, with local – now national - band Crow playing warmup.

An Open Air Rock Festival was held on July 19, 1970, attended by 6,000 people. Despite a cold, foggy day, the participants enjoyed performances by White Lightning (a local group), Sly and the Family Stone (who supposedly called Minneapolis “worthless”), Illinois Speed Press (subbing for the Amboy Dukes), and Johnny Winter. 150 cops made 20 arrests for gate crashing, etc.

Steppenwolf appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on Sunday, August 9, 1970. 

Acts at the 1970 State Fair were: Jeannie C. Riley ("Harper Valley PTA"), Sonny James, Faron Young, and Jimmy Davis; Bobby Vinton with the Cowsills;  the Johnny Cash Show with the Statler Brothers; the Lawrence Welk Show; Petula Clark, Art Linletter, and the Golddiggers (Dean Martin's chorus girls); and Charlie Pride (with Fess Parker?).

The Judd Group formed in Rochester.  Lead singer Steve McLoone has lived in St. Louis Park since 1981.

Hank McKenzie recalls a memorable concert by Three Dog Night at the Minneapolis Auditorium in October 1970.  "It was memorable because while we were in enjoying the concert, there were a number of disgruntled fans outside who couldn’t get in and the police were called. When we came out of the concert we were confronted by police and told to move on. I explained that we were waiting for a ride home and were to meet our ride in front of the auditorium. The cop told me that I could not meet them there. We ended up walking into downtown to catch a bus back to Robbinsdale where my driver was extremely angry as my friends were 'under age' so to speak. All was smoothed out the next morning when the news came on about the riots at the concert the night before."  Thanks for the memory, Hank.  It's color commentary like this that makes this more than just a list of concerts!

The film "Airport" opened in 1970, starring our own WDGY DJ Johnny Canton!  Well, he had one line.  But without it, Maureen Stapleton wouldn't have known where the gate to Rome was.  The movie was filmed in Minneapolis, and also included local actress Nancy Nelson (billed as Nancy Ann Nelson) as Bunnie, the girl who sold the bomber his travel insurance.  Nancy was a hip chick in the '60s, costarring on "A Date With Dino" (see TV Shows below), writing a column and being the secretary for Twin City a-Go-Go (see Publications below), and doing a stint as the go-go booted "Saturday Night Weather Girl" just before Dave Moore's "Bedtime Newz."  Her debut on local TV was at age 3, where she sang "Good Night Ladies" on "Toby Prin's Talent Show."  While working on "Mel's Matinee Movie" she interviewed Don Stolz and started working as an actress at the Old Log Theater.  She was also “Princess of Prizes” on Don Dahl’s Bowlerama.  She spent a year as Miss Minnesota, and in 1970 she married local heartthrob Bill Carlson.  John Denver wrote "Follow Me" for them and sang it at the wedding (which I think is a little weird if you listen to the lyrics and think of a couple with two big careers).  Danny's Reasons also played at the event.  She and Bill had competing talk shows for awhile until she moved to Los Angeles, commuting home every weekend.  She later became the queen of infomercials, doing almost 100 of them.  She was inducted into the Museum of Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2009, where she declared that as a child she could never stop talking and could memorize anything. 

1971

Jethro Tull played at the Guthrie on January 4, 1971.

On February 20, 1971, the Met Center hosted Savoy Brown, with Small Faces and the Grease Band. 

“Hair” played sold-out performances at the St. Paul Civic Center Theater in February 1971, then the same cast returned for another engagement in May – the first show ever to be brought back to the Twin Cities for a second run in the same season. The February engagement broke box office records at the venue.

Two of three planned open air concerts were held in the summer of 1971.  The first featured It’s a Beautiful Day, the Allman Brothers, Little Richard, Richie Furay and Poco, and John Baldry. The M.C. was Dave Ray.

The second open air celebration was on June 26 at Midway Stadium and starred The Band.  Special guest stars were John Sebastian, Delaney & Bonnie, the Butterfield Blues Band, Crow, and Muddy Waters.  The concert was advertised on the June 4, 1971 WDGY "Listen List." 

The Jefferson Airplane was scheduled to perform at the Met Center on August 22, 1971, a show that was originally supposed to be the third open air concert. But the concert was cancelled  - by some accounts because the Mayor came out against it and the Bloomington Police refused to work it. There had been two previous shows at Midway Stadium in St. Paul, which were marred by gate crashers.  One of the promoters reports that it was cancelled because someone jumped off a high pole at the second concert.  The three promoters:  Timothy D. Kehr, Harry Beacom, and Walter Bush, had all their money tied up in the third concert and lost "tons of money." 

Elton John played the Minneapolis Auditorium on August 31, 1971.  That year, DJ Barry McKinna was the first person to play a song not on a record in the Twin Cities - a tape cartridge of Elton John's "Crocodile Rock."

Grandstand shows at the State Fair were:  the Carpenters, John Davidson, Della Reese, and the Harmonicats; Sandler & Young; Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Jack Green, Jeannie Sealy, and Roy Acuff; Liberace; Neil Diamond; and Charlie Pride.

On September 21, 1971 there was a Blues and Folk Marathon held at Memorial Stadium at the U of M. Featured performers were Leo Kottke, John Lee Hooker, Fred McDowell, Doc Watson and Son, and Charlie Musselwhite.

Concerts held in September – November 1971 featured John Baldry, the Allman Brothers, Roberta Flack, John Sebastian, Jeff Beck, and BB King.

Johnny Rivers and Fanny appeared at the Guthrie on October 16, 1971. Fanny, four girls featuring sisters Jean and June Millington, were known for their hit “Charity Ball.”

On September 9, 1971, a concert by the Doobie Brothers was performed in the Sound 80 studio and broadcast on WWTC-AM.

Howlin’ Wolf appeared with Chase on September 18, 1971 at the Minneapolis Auditorium.

Concerts held at the Met Center in 1971 include Three Dog Night (January 8), Savoy Brown & Grease Band & Small Faces (February 20), the Guess Who ( March 18), the Grass Roots (April 23), Tom Jones (June 3), the Who (August 15), the Jackson Five (September 8), the BeeGees (September 24), Three Dog Night ( October 15), Jesus Christ Superstar ( October 19), Grand Funk Railroad (October 27), Johnny Cash (October 29), and Elvis (see below).

Wolfman Jack was working with Three Dog Night, and Johnny Canton introduced him, presumably the night of the Met Center concert. 

Gate crashers surged every entrance at the Who concert at the Met (above), and the Bloomington Police Department used teargas for the first time.  Most of it blew in the cops' faces.

An ad indicated that Elvis was scheduled to appear at the Met Center November 5-8, 1971. That was probably a typo.  The book The King on the Road:  Elvis Live on Tour 1954 to 1977 indicates that he performed on November 5 at the Met Sports Center, and that the other dates were spent in Cleveland, Louisville, and Philadelphia.  The book was written by Robert Gordon (1996), St. Martin's Press, NY.  The only other times he came were in 1956 and 1976.

The Beach Boys (without Brian Wilson, of course) appeared at the Guthrie on November 21, 1971.

1972

Concerts held in 1972 at the Met Center include Deep Purple (January 21), Sly and the Family Stone (February 4), Joe Cocker (April 3), Ten Years After (April 19), James Brown (April 28), Credence Clearwater Revival (May 5), Jethro Tull (June 5), Rolling Stones (June 18), Three Dog Night (July 15), Osmond Brothers (August 19), Grand Funk Railroad (October 13), Moody Blues (October 29), Chicago (November 17), and Deep Purple (December 3). The Rolling Stones concert was marred by gate crashers and teargas, but the Stones were gentlemen. 

B.B. King entertained at the Minneapolis Auditorium on August 6.

Gentle Giant opened for Black Sabbath at the Minneapolis Armory on August 28.

State Fair Grandstand shows were:  Sonny and Cher with David Brenner; John Denver with Kenny Rogers and the First Edition; Sonny James, Lynn Anderson, Del Reeves, Tom T. Hall, and Tex Ritter; Bobby Goldsboro, Anne Murray, and George Kirby; Merle Haggard, Sammi Smith, and Waylon Jennings; Neil Diamond; and Up With People.

Leon Russell appeared at the St. Paul Civic Center in September.

On September 23, a show at the Mpls. Armory featured the Eagles, Gentle Giant, and Yes.

The Beach Boys appeared at the Minneapolis Armory on November 8, 1972. 

1973

In 1973, St. Louis Park resident Jack Volinkaty, 29, wrote the song “Satin Sheets,” which country singer Jeanne Pruett brought to #1 on the country charts for three weeks. The song was also recorded by Bill Anderson and Jan Howard. Volinkaty was an accountant for Univac and lived at 27th and Florida.

“Dueling Banjos,” a song that first hit the charts in the Metro area, was performed by New York musician Eric Weissberg and the group Deliverance at O’Shaunessy Audtorium on May 4, 1973. 31 years later he would recreate the moment, this time with Peter Oshtrushko at the Pantages Theater on February 3, 2004.

The Grateful Dead appeared at the St. Paul Auditorium on February 17.

Stevie Wonder appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium in June 1973.

State Fair Grandstand shows included:  Mac Davis with the Fifth Dimension; Tony Orlando & Dawn with the Brady Bunch Kids; Bill Anderson, Donna Fargo, Tommy Overstreet, Leroy Van Dyke, and Jerry Clower; and the Pat Boone Family, Rich Little, and Charley Pride.

Grand Funk Railroad appeared at the St. Paul Civic Center on October 20, 1973.  Kathy Larson remembers that the opening act that night was Ballin' Jack.

Johnny Winter appeared at the St. Paul Civic Center on December 27, 1973.

Concerts held at the Met Center in 1973 include:  Neil Young (January 7), Sha Na Na (February 3), the Guess Who (February 16), Santana (March 19), Grateful Dead (October 23), Allman Brothers Band (November 11), Loggins and Messina (November 16), Doobie Brothers (November 28), Emerson, Lake and Palmer (December 1), and the Guess Who and Poco (December 7).

1974

Frank Zappa came to the St. Paul Auditorium in January.

Led Zeppelin performed in around June.

Cat Stevens played the St. Paul Civic Center in July 1974. 

A reportedly off-key Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young performed in St. Paul on July 22.

Bob Dylan, unsuccessfully incognito, was spotted at a Ry Cooder/Ben Sidran concert at the Marigold Ballroom.

Joni Mitchell performed on July 28 at the St. Paul Civic Center.

The Jackson 5 performed on August 16 at the St. Paul Civic Center.  A review  indicates that they were not yet superstars.

On August 17, Santana and Leon Russell shared the bill at the St. Paul Civic Center.

State Fair Grandstand shows included:  Liza Minelli; Redd Foxx; Charlie Rich with Jim Stafford; Jerry Reed, Tanya Tucker, Jerry Clower, Judy Lynn, and Hank Snow; Bob Hope with Danny Davis & the Nashville Brass; Jim Nabors with the Hagers; Mac Davis with the Fifth Dimension; Roy Clar; and Helen Reddy with Jose Feliciano.
 

In September 1974, Bob Dylan recorded the tracks for his album "Blood on the Tracks" in New York.  During a visit home to Minneapolis, he was convinced that some of them needed to be redone, so his brother David assembled a group of local musicians.  That December, the Minneapolis musicians re-recorded several of the tracks, which were ultimately included on the album, albeit without any credit on the record jacket.  Those musicians were:  Kevin Odegard, Chris Weber, Billy Peterson, Gregg Inhofer, Bill Berg, Peter Ostroushko, and Jim Tardoff.  The Blood on the Tracks Studio Band has reunited several times, beginning with the Million Dollar Bash commemorating Dylan’s 60th birthday at First Avenue in 2001, a sold-out concert at the Pantages Theater in 2004, and its induction into the Minnesota Rock/Country Hall of Fame (now the Mid-America Music Hall of Fame) in 2005.  Also in 2005, British journalist Andy Gill and Kevin Odegard co-authored a successful book  A Simple Twist of Fate: Bob Dylan and The Making of Blood On The Tracks, distributed worldwide by HarperCollins, published by DaCapo Press/Perseus Books, Cambridge, MA. The book is available in local libraries or on websites such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  In 2009-2011, "Blood on the Tracks Live" shows have been presented at the Veterans' Memorial Amphitheater in Wolfe Park, St. Louis Park - and also in Maple Grove in 2011.  Throughout the years, numerous local musicians have joined "the family," giving Blood on the Tracks Live a constantly changing look and sound. The band has evolved into a Dylan tribute band, not restricting artist song selections to any one album. Songs from "Blood on the Tracks" were performed, along with songs from many other albums and periods of Dylan's career.

The Band came to the St. Paul Civic Center on September 1.

Elvis appeared at the St. Paul Civic Center in the fall of 1974.  Jon Rukavina remembers driving in from Excelsior and paying $7 for the ticket!

The Guess Who and War performed at the St. Paul Civic Center on August 8, 1974, the night Nixon resigned.  They played to 22,060 fans, the best-attended single concert at the venue. 

Concerts held at the Met Center in 1974 include Yes (March 5), Seals and Crofts (March 20), Bachman Turner Overdrive (May 11), Ten Years After (May 31), Cat Stevens (July 6), Uriah Heep (July 28), Mac Davis (2 shows August 4), Steppenwolf (September 29), and Deep Purple (December 9).

October 16, 1974 brought a package that included Golden Earring, Mahogany, and Rush to the St. Paul Civic Center.

We also heard from an anonymous source about Elton John at the St. Paul Civic Center, Oct 31, 1974, Halloween night. "That show is still brought up occasionally in local newspaper music columns. I was there. They sold the place out, probably 18,000, and then sold an additional 10,000 standing room I believe the week of the show or so. Almost 30,000 in the Civic Center that night. Someone having to do with the show got in trouble for fire code violation I believe and that was the last of doing standing room only tickets. It was a madhouse, everyone having fun. Kiki Dee was Elton's opening act."

At this point my chronology ends, except for the interesting tidbits below. 

1975

On October 3-5, 1975, radio station U-100 sponsored “Fantasy Park,” billed as the ultimate rock concert featuring over 40 “super rock stars.” Ads did not elaborate, but Scott Iwen remembered the event:  "It was quite the (semi) hoax. While most people realized that this 'simulcast concert' was in fact just a bunch of songs being played to mimic a three day rock festival, there were some people who were convinced that this sold out concert was really happening somewhere in the Twin Cities and were just trying to figure out where. Everyone from the Rolling Stones, to the Beach Boys, to you name it, was there. The climax of the whole thing was a bunch of clamoring backstage - and sure enough, a full impromptu Beatles reunion occurred! (Funny how everyone’s songs sounded exactly like the recorded versions, not some live set somewhere, oh well.) Turns out that this Fantasy Park Studio Production was making the rounds throughout the US. Each weekend some new, unsuspecting city would 'host' this event via a local radio station. The concert would always be halted due to rain on the Sunday morning to allow the locals to get in their regular (usually religious) programming and the whole event always ended promptly at 6 pm on Sunday. It was so popular in the Twin Cities that a return to Fantasy Park was held about a month later. Same radio station, same format, same songs. But everyone now knew there was no 'real' concert to be found.  One more item regarding that 'faux concert' – it was more than just songs being played on the radio, grouped by performer. Fantasy Park had their own MC and special reporters covering the weekend event giving you the 'play-by-play' details along with with some 'behind-the-scenes' updates. Of course there were no interviews, but a lot of 'unplanned' performances arose – for example, I recall the reporter exclaiming how John Sebastian just happened to be at the concert and was then coaxed onto the stage with a borrowed guitar. From a radio station point of view, it was probably a good way to give most of the regulars the weekend off."

Thanks for the clarification, Scott!

 
1976
According to the book The King on the Road (see 1971), Elvis performed at the Met Sports Center on October 17, 1976.  He came two other times, in 1956 and 1971.

Danny Stevens of Danny's Reasons hosted the "Halloween Party of the Year" at his spacious home at 1819 Mount Curve Ave.  Guest list included a number of musicians who were performing in town, including Hall and Oates, Neil Sedaka, John Denver, and Lou Rawls.  200 other guests rounded out the event. 

1977-80 were big years for the Sussman Lawrence band. Members were Parkite Peter Himmelman (lead vocals, guitar), Andy Kamman (drums), Eric Moen (sax, keyboards, guitar, vocals), Jeff Victor (keyboards and vocals) and Al Wolovitch (bass, vocals). The band was known for playing a taped educational message before each performance…just as a joke. Peter Himmelman went on to make a name for himself in the music industry. The band was featured (with other St. Louis Park band Future Legend) at "Spring Jam '80" on June 1 at the High School Auditorium.

In 1980, Eric Clapton was confined to St. Paul's United Hospital for several weeks for ulcers.  He was on his way to a show at the St. Paul Civic Center when he was stricken.  His manager and his wife, Pattie Boyd, were "stuck in a hotel in Minneapolis with ten feet of snow outside.  Minneapolis in winter is not the most exciting place.  The lake (sic) is frozen and the locals' idea of fun is to drive a car into the middle and place bets when it will sink."  (from Pattie's autobiography) So what's wrong with that, Pattie? 

On September 1, 1988, the Medina Ballroom was the site of a show called the 30th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll.  Among the 13 original artists were Otis Day and the Knights, Badfinger, the Coasters, Bobby Day, the New Seekers, Jerry Wallace, Danny's Reasons, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night, the Tokens, Al Wilson, Donnie Brooks, Spencer Davis, Blues Image, and Mike Pinero of Iron Butterfly.

In the 1980s, Cliff Siegel of the High Spirits worked for Warner Brothers, and at some point Prince stayed at his house in St. Louis Park near Cobble Crest.  Bandmate Owen Husney was Prince's manager, and Cliff got him his first big record deal. 

1990 marked the debut of singer, songwriter, and St. Louis Park resident. Dan Israel.

In 1998, Minneapolis band Semisonic has a #1 hit with "Closing Time."

TEENAGE DANCE TV SHOWS OF THE '50s AND 60s

The following is a list of TV shows that featured rock 'n' roll music.   If you have any more specific information, please contact me.  The list does not include shows such as Ed Sullivan, Hollywood Palace, and the many variety shows hosted by big stars. Thanks to the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting for the use of their TV Guide collection.  Also see www.thevideobeat.com.

"American Bandstand" premiered in the Twin Cities on August 5, 1957, Channel 11.  The first song played was "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" by Jerry Lee Lewis.  In the early days, it could be seen daily for two hours, from 3 to 5pm.  From October through December 1957, there was also a prime time version, airing on Mondays at 6:30.  From February 1958 to September 1960, the prime time "Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show" aired with the same format as "Bandstand."  "Bandstand" started as a local show in Philadelphia in 1952.  Dick Clark began hosting in 1956. In about 1961 it moved from Channel 11 to Channel 9.  Although the show was available to stations for1 - 1/2 hours, it was shown in the Twin Cities for only the last hour, from 4 to 5pm.  In 1963 it went to once a week on Saturdays.  In 1964 it moved to Los Angeles.  It ran until 1989.

"B-Sharp Beat" was sponsored by the B-Sharp Music Store.  It started sometime between July 1966 and April 1, 1967 (resources are limited).  It was broadcast on Saturday at 1:30, hosted by WDGY DJ Jimmy Reed.  Bands that performed on the show included the Still Roven, Hot Half Dozen, the Sir Raleighs, the System, the Underbeats and the Del Counts.  The Del Counts performed in April and on the last show, which was broadcast on June 10, 1967.  See an EXCELLENT, photo-filled page on B-Sharp Music on Jerry Lenz's blog on his band the Nickel Revolution.

"Bandstand" was the name of a show that ran from at least February 1959 to June 1960.  It was broadcast M-F at 5:00 on Channel 3 in Duluth, and hosted by Jim Rassbach.  It appears that many local dance shows took on the Bandstand name, although there was only one "American Bandstand."

Bill Carlson had a weekly show that featured local bands.  The debut was on Saturday, January 5, 1963, and was for 15 minutes at 5:15 pm on Channel 4.  The description in the TV Guide was:  "Bill Carlson - Variety.  Host Bill Carlson presents teen-age talent, guest recording stars and reports on Youth Activities on this weekly 15 minute variety show.  This week, The "Galaxies," a teen-age combo from St. Paul, are featured." The January 12 show featured the Rovers folksingers and a piece on the Minneapolis Auto Show.  Subsequent shows were not described in the TV Guide, but Dan Holm of the Chancellors remembers being on the show.  On Saturday, March 16, 1963, the show moved to 12:30 and expanded to 30 minutes.  Alas, "American Bandstand" also expanded to Saturday afternoons at the same time slot on Channel 9, and the Bill Carlson Show on Channel 4 apparently chose not to compete.  We don't know if Carlson's show was moved or discontinued. Bill Carlson also had a nighttime show called "This Must be the Place," and We see in January 1968 he had a ten minute show called "Something Special."

"A Date With Dino" was a local rock 'n' roll show that was broadcast on Channel 9 at 4pm.  It started twice weekly on October 13, 1964, and on January 25, 1965, the show went daily.  It ran the school year to June 7, 1965.  (See Upbeat #1 below.)  Day, nee George Murphy, had been a radio DJ.  The ad at right is from December 1964.

David Jass, vice president of Young Adult Productions, remembers:  "Bruce Goldstein and myself created the 'Date with Dino' TV dance show. We got kids from the local high schools to dance on the show. They would all show up outside the studio. Bruce and I would 'screen' them. The turnout was easily 10 times what we needed. Dino Day was hired to mc the show. Our proposal was for me to do the honors. Oh well, so it goes. We also pitched a 'Teen Tonight' show to channel 11. We got turned down."

The ad in the TV Times reads:  "Dino Day hosts television's swingest (sic) Dance Show...'live' from Channel 9 Studios... exciting top record stars perform their hit records... keep informed with Teen News International and Sports All-American."  Dino couldn't have been too "swingest:"  that's a Ray Conniff record behind him.  A teenage Nancy Nelson was in the cast doing teen news, as was Rod Person and Twins stadium announcer Bob Casey with "teen sports reports."    Someone with a very sad "Date With Dino" story remembered that Dino wore makeup and was not at all fond of "babysitting" his teenage costars.  Local bands performed on the show; Danny's Reasons and the Escapades were the first to do so, we learn from Danny Stevens.  Channel 9's studios were located at the Foshay Tower.

"Happening '68" was hosted by Mark Lindsay and Paul Revere of the Raiders.  It ran here from January 6 to September 14, 1968, airing at Saturdays at 12:30 on Channel 9 (ABC).

"Hi-Five Time" shows up in January 1958 on Channel 5, Monday - Friday at 5:00 -5:45, replacing the TN Tatters kids' show. Harry Zimmerman was the host on the show.  Since the "High Five" clap had probably not been invented yet, the name was probably derived from the Hi-Fidelity sets that teens played their music on, and the fact that the show was on Channel 5. 

Betsy Command and her brother Johnny Command were regular dancers on the show.  Betsy says "My brother Johnny Command and I danced on the show almost daily during that time. We even won a dance contest and received fan mail from kids from all over the channel 5 area. (I kept a lot of it). American Bandstand's Justine and Bob were contemporaries of ours. Harry used to pack the regulars up on a bus and take us to outlying teen dances for promotion of the show. My brother John Command became a professional dancer, director and choreographer, and toured with shows all over the country.  I married and had children."

The show was aired daily, at least until May 1958, perhaps much longer.  By January 1959 the show had been moved to Saturdays at 4:30 - their old M-F timeslot was taken by reruns of "My Little Margie."  It also shows up on December 31, 1959 at 4:30 Saturday on Channel 5 - notes say that the teens were visited by George Montgomery, in town for the Winter Carnival. But no sign of it could be founds in the few 1960 books we had. 

"Hollywood a-Go-Go" was a syndicated show based in Los Angeles and hosted by L.A. DJ Sam Riddle.  It featured the Gazzarri Dancers, from the nearby Gazzarri discotheque on the Sunset Strip.  The show ran in the Twin Cities from May 16, 1965 to June 4, 1966.  At first it was shown on Sunday at 7:30 pm, but then moved to Saturday at 3:30 pm, always on Channel 11.

"Hootenanny" was a folk music show from April 6, 1963 to September 12, 1964.  It was broadcast on Saturday nights on ABC.  Somewhere it says that the show honored the blacklist of the 1950s, so most of the big names (including the Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Joan Baez) refused to appear, but the TV Guide doesn't exactly bear that out.  The host was Jack Linkletter, Art Linkletter's son.

"Hullaballoo" was a big time rock 'n' roll show that mixed adult schmaltz with great rock performers.  It was widely known for its frenetic dancers, including go-go dancer extraordinaire, Lada Edmund, Jr.  The show went on the air on January 12, 1965 on NBC (Channel 5).  It was on Tuesday nights until September 1965 when it moved to Monday nights.  The last show was August 29, 1966.

One of the first shows aired by WTCN was "Jack's Corner Drug Store," hosted by Jack Thayer at 4:00 pm.. It started just days after WTCN-TV went on the air: September 7, 1953. From the TV Guide: “Jack Thayer, emcee. The scene is the replica of a drug store. High School and college students are invited to the show.” Another description went: “jivey teen-age dance get-together. Dance contest $180. Tangos, rhumbas, and other South American Favorites.” Thayer had been a DJ at WLOL and WTCN radio. During the summers of 1954 and 1955, the show was alternately called “Jack Thayer’s Beach Party” and “Jack Thayer’s Sun Fest.” TV Guide again: “Broadcast from the veranda of the Calhoun Beach Hotel, overlooking beautiful Lake Calhoun.” After the 1955 Sun Fest, the show was renamed “Record Hop.” This is probably different from the "Record Hop" that started in 1957 (see below). It went off the air (partly because of the Mickey Mouse Club) on October 28, 1955. Jack Thayer also had a Saturday night show, just called the Jack Thayer Show. It was broadcast at 10pm on Saturday nights on Channel 11. It ran from February 13, 1954 to June 25, 1955.

"Lloyd Thaxton's Record Shop" was a local show in Los Angeles that started in 1959.  In 1964 it went into national syndication via video tape.  It debuted here on September 7, 1964 and featured Frankie Avalon.  It was seen on Channel 5 at 4:30 daily.  At least at first, the show ran 55 minutes, with the last 5 minutes for "Doctor's House Call" before the evening news.  The last show locally was on December 30, 1965, replaced by "Cheyenne."  Thaxton can be heard on the LP "Lloyd Thaxton Goes Surfing With the Challengers," released in 1963.

"Lucky 11 Dance Time" was apparently a show hosted by Channel 11's Brad Johnson. TV Guides for that time are scarce; what we found was "Dance Show," hosted by Brad Johnson and featuring 20 teen age couples who danced at the Calhoun Beach Hotel. The only evidence  we have is in the May 29, 1961 volume of TV Guide. (It is not in the February 11 edition nor the July 1 edition.)  It aired on Saturday at 2:00.  Brad Johnson substituted at least once for Dick Clark on "American Bandstand," presumably when the show was still broadcast from Philadelphia.

"Midnight Discotheque" was aired at the strike of midnight, December 31, 1964.  It promised the latest in dancing, with hostess Mary Davies (aka Carmen the Nurse).

"Music Scene" was broadcast by ABC for 17 episodes, from September 1969 to January 12, 1970.  It was hosted by David Steinberg, with guest hosts.  It aired on Mondays at 6:30 pm on Channel 9 - curiously for 45 minutes.

"Platter Party" was a 15 minute show on Channel 4 in Fargo, hosted by Pete Evenson.  He could have been playing Elvis Presley or Montovani for all we know.  All we know about this is a listing of July 1957 in the northern edition of the Twin Cities TV Guide.

Shortly after "American Bandstand" went national in  August 1957, there was a show called “Record Hop” that appears to be a local teen show. Our records are spotty, but we see "Record Hop" with Jim Eddy listed in the local listings at 4:30 on Saturday on Channel 9, starting in October or November 1957. Jump to May 1958, and the host is Jere Smith. And in January 1959, Dan Anderson is the host.

"Shindig" was broadcast from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966 on Channel 9.  In the beginning it was broadcast at 7:30 on Wednesdays.

"Shivaree" began as a local Los Angeles-based program on KABC-LA. It became syndicated in April 1965 and aired in more than 150 markets in the U.S. and seven countries internationally. Shivaree was created and hosted by LA's top all-night DJ, Gene Weed, once a president of the Academy of Country Music.  As a senior VP at Dick Clark Productions, he produced many awards shows.  The show made its Twin Cities debut on Saturday, April 17, 1965, on Channel 11 at 9 pm.  At some point it moved to Sundays at 2:30 pm, still on Channel 11.  As far as we can tell, the last show was broadcast locally on May 15, 1966.

For one week in August/September 1964, there is a TV listing (presumably local) for "Teen Shindig," a special starring Jerry Smith (could this be Channel 9's Jere Smith?). The live, one-hour show featured teenage instrumental and folksinging groups - and five contestants for Miss Teen Northwest. By the end of the week, all the contestants were there, and one wonders whose shindig this is..

"Showcase '68" was a summer show that aired on Tuesdays at 7pm on KSTP.  Lloyd Thaxton was the host, and the show originated from a different city each week.

"Upbeat (#1)" came on in October 1965, hosted by Dino Day from "A Date With Dino" (See above.)  It was filmed on Friday nights at the Marigold Balroom, and aired on KMSP-TV on Saturday afternoons.  Some of the groups that appeared on the show at the end of 1965 were Cannibal and the Headhunters, Bobby Sherman, the Castaways, the Echomen, the Trolls, the Luvs. Also listed was Scott Burton, WDGY DJ.  The last broadcast was on February 19, 1966.

"Upbeat (#2)" was a nationally syndicated show out of Cleveland, hosted by Don Webster.  It went on the air here in the Twin Cities on June 11, 1966, on Channel 11, Saturday afternoons.  It ended on January 27, 1968.  (The show started in Cleveland in 1964 and ended there in 1971.)  Local group the Nickel Revolution performed their minor hit "Oscar Crunch" on the show in late November 1968 and the show aired that December.  See the Nickel Revolution's blog about the event and how they hated the bubblegum song they were forced to record.

"Where the Action Is" was a Dick Clark spinoff of "American Bandstand" that aired daily after school.   It debuted on June 28, 1965, and ran til March 31, 1967.  Locally it was aired at 3:30 on Channel 9, an ABC network show.  It was advertised as a show that "goes where the action is - on location to film big-beat performers."  On the first show they went to the beach (for the Beach Boys) and the Whiskey a Go-Go (for DeeDee Sharp-except she's from Philadelphia). Regulars on the show were Linda Scott, Steve Alaimo, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and the Action Dancers.  The show came to Minneapolis for the Aquatennial in 1966, and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels lip synched to their latest hits at Lake Calhoun. 

There were many local teen shows around the country, with names like "Shebang" (originated from Los Angeles and was hosted by Casey Kasem); Swingin' Time; and Steamroller.  We don't know if they were shown in the Twin Cities.


TWIN CITIES ROCK ANTHOLOGIES

This list pretty much centers on the Twin Cities area.  See Bird Dance Beat for tracks and pictures of the Minnesota Anthologies and a listing of outstate releases. 

Best of Metrobeat - Sundazed - 1990
Big Hits of Mid-America, Vol.1 and 2 (Soma)
Big Hits of Mid-America: The Soma Records Story 1963-67 (CD)
Bloodshot! Gaity Records Story, Vol. 1 and 2 - 1994
Changes - Import - 1980
Free Flight – Unreleased Dove Recording Studio Cuts 1964-69 (Get Hip) - 1998
Gathering at the Depot - 1970 (Beta)
Hipsville, Vol. 3: The Return of the Frozen Few - 1984
Hodad Hootenany
KDWB 21 All Time Dream Hits, Vol. 1
KDWB Disc/Coveries - @1961
KDWB – Solid Gold - 1972
Let’s Have a Ball: Early Rock ‘n’ Roll From the Midwest
Minnesota Rock-A-Billy-Rock
1968 Minnesota Rockers, Vol. 1
Minnesota Rock-A-Billy Rock, Vol. 1-5 - White Label
Minnesota Rockers, Vol. 1 - Holland - 1995
Midwest vs. Canada
Midwest vs. The Rest
Money Music – August Records - 1967 - probably the best and most collectible of the bunch, put out by Peter Huntington May
Monsters of the Midwest Vol. 1-4
When Time Ran Out (Italy)
Minnesota vs. Michigan Raw Cuts From 1965-67, Vol. 1]
Rockin’ Your Socks Off! Volumes 1 - 12
Root 66: The Frozen Few - 1982
The Scotty Story – Minnesota’s Legendary ‘60’s Rock Label! - 1993 (Arf Arf)
Soma Records Story Vol. 1: Shake it For Me - 1998
Soma Records Story Vol. 2: Bright Lights, Big City - 1998
Soma Records Story Vol. 3: A Man’s Gotta Be a Man - 1998
Surfin’ in the Midwest, Vol. 1-3
Top Teen Bands, Vol. 1 - Bud-Jet Records - 1965
Top Teen Bands, Vol. 2 - Bud-Jet Records - 1965
Top Teen Bands, Vol. 3 - Bud-Jet Records - 1966
WDGY Yesterhits from Yesterday, Vol. 1 and 2

From Johnny Canton:  It was my job to secure songs for these [WDGY] LPs. To get the good hits we had to agree we would not sell the albums. Since we were going to use them as a promo tool to give to our listeners, that was an easy concession. However, ABC Paramount/Dunhill records still sent me a 20 page contract to sign. They were an important label since one of the songs we wanted was by The Mamas & Papas - huge act at the time.

PUBLICATIONS
 

Here is a list of some of the local rock 'n' roll magazines and books of the 1960s.  Bird Dance Beat has a detailed list with pictures.

Beat Magazine:  John Pratt:  "I do remember Beat Magazine, which was a national publication that was sold through various top-40 stations around the country, with editions tailored to each station's markets. Here, it was KDWB Beat.  KRLA had the Los Angeles edition of Beat; [at right is] a cover photo of an October 1967 edition of KRLA Beat."  The address given is Beat Publications, 9125 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles.

We have copies of four issues of KDWB Beat.  Each has a "local" page centered on the station.  The local page from the August 26, 1967 issue ("Special Hippie History Issue") featured pictures of Twin Cities music industry folk with the Jefferson Airplane, the Electric Prunes, and the Shadows of Night during an outing on Lake Minnetonka.  (See detailed in chronology above.)

The local page from October 21, 1967 reports KDWB's Earl L. Trout III being "jailed" in a charity stunt. It shows him broadcasting live from the corner of 7th and Hennepin, and Minneapolis police "arresting" him and taking him to jail until enough money was raised for the Leukemia Foundation to "bail" him out.

The January 27, 1968 issue featured a silly "history" of KDWB going back to the cave men.    And the February 24, 1968 issue featured KDWB DJ Earl L. Trout III's national-but-futile letter-writing campaign to bring the Beatles back to the U.S.   

Flip Side:  Southern Minnesota Bands, 1955-1970; Jim Oldsberg


In-Beat Magazine ("That's What's Happening"):  This magazine was published monthly by Steven Kaplan out of his living room. Kaplan sold subscriptions at the Teen Age Fair at the State Fair [presumably August 66] for $2 - each subscriber got a free 45 rpm record, so the subscriptions were essentially free. In-Beat paid Twin City a Go Go (see below) $1500 not to compete. The first issue came out in September 1966.

Kaplan remembers:  "we were out only a few issues when we got some good national ads: Sprite automobiles and Clairol products among them. A coup for a small magazine.

"Also, a few months after we were out, the publisher of Where magazine called and wanted to meet. By this time our magazine was hot: I went from being a nerd to being hip in two issues (and back to being a nerd again after we stopped publishing). But we were hot and this publisher wanted us to associate our name with his, so he offered us an office — for free — and, this was

 the clincher, free meals every day at Luigi’s restaurant, which at that time was on the main floor of the Lumber Exchange, where Where was located (on the 12th floor). We took the office and were able to move out of my apartment. It was a big office and we always kept the doors closed because it reeked of marijuana fumes.

"One of our biggest coups came early in the season. Big names Chad & Jeremy (though, of course, no one today has any idea of who they were) were booked for the fair, but never showed up. It was an outrage and everyone — particularly the mainstream media — was trying to find out what happened. Chad & Jeremy called us, however, and sat down for an explanatory interview with us, the only interview they gave (and, perhaps, the last one anyone ever really cared about). [See 1966 above.]

"Our best time was with James Brown. He had come (maybe to the Flame Ballroom) and we made arrangements to photograph & interview him. Brown was my personal idol and I couldn’t wait to see him perform. We went to the concert and though it was sold out, there was hardly a white guy there: maybe 3 or 4 in the whole place (Danny & I were half of that). When the show was over we went back stage where Brown, who was indeed the hardest working guy in show business, was sitting at a chair with an attendant at both legs, each unlacing his high-laced boots. I started asking him my brilliant questions when he stopped me. “This is no place to do an interview,” he said, and, of course, he was right. “Why don’t you guys fly back with me to Cincinnati. That way we can do the interview on the plane, and it will be quiet and we won’t be rushed. After I’ll put you guys up in a hotel and in the morning we’ll tour King Records.” And that’s exactly what we did. We flew back in his Lear Jet, he, James Foxx, Danny & I. The plane’s interior was about as big as a restaurant booth, and the loudspeakers played Vivaldi."

The (final?) issue of In-Beat came out in August 1967.  Kaplan and friends went to San Francisco for the Monterey Pop concert in 1967, where hippies were in and teenage fanzines were out, and that was the end of In-Beat. Kaplan now edits the magazine Minnesota Law and Politics.

Insider:  The Insider began in about April 1966 as a mimeographed newsletter put out by Trestman Music Center, strictly a trade sheet for the burgeoning teenage musicians in the Twin Cities (one estimate was that there were 4,000 of them).  It had news about the groups, ads for TMC and band instruments, and featured an instructional column called "Drummers' Beat."  TMC issued the sheet until at least December 1967.  It was taken over by Colman “Connie” Hechter, a former publicist for Mercury Records. Connie's Insider published music industry trade news, and music, arts and lifestyle features for and about the people of Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin and the Dakotas.

Lost and Found: a '50s/'60s Rock & Roll 'Zine; Jim Oldsberg; 1993

     Volume 1:  Minnesota/Iowa
     Volume 2:  Minnesota/Wisconsin
     Volume 3:  Illinois/Minnesota
     Volume 4:  North and South Dakota
     Volume 5:  Northern Minnesota

Metanoia was a local arts magazine from the late '60s.
    
Minnesota Rocked!  The 1960s; Tom W. Tourville, 1966 (at least four subsequent editions). This is an amazing list of Minnesota bands and their recordings.

Music Legends: a Rewind on the Minnesota Music Scene; Martin Keller, D Media, Inc. 2007

In 1967, B Sharp Music published Music Scene, a competitor to the Insider. It had a wider audience than the first issues of the Insider, with bios of local and national musicians. The ninth issue was dated June, 1967; no information on how long it lasted after that. The newsletter was written by Timothy D. Kehr, who sharply criticized Connie Hechter for putting his name on the local Connie Awards. Kehr went on to publish the Insider that same year.

A Simple Twist of Fate:  Bob Dylan and the Making of Blood on the Tracks; Andy Gill and Kevin Odegard;  Da Capo Press, 2004.

Twin City a-GoGo ("The magazine for Twin City Young Adults on the Go"):  Editors were David Jass (vice-president of Young Adult Productions and son of Twin Cities television personality Mel Jass) and Bruce Goldstein (associated with Century Camera).  This was a jam-packed publication.  The first issue in May 1965 featured the Chancellors on the cover (see right).   Free subscriptions were available until October 1, 1965.  It grew to be a very popular publication:  In 1965 there were 3 staff members, and by January 1966 there were 30.

David Jass remembers: 

"We started all of this at the Teen Fair at the Minnesota State Fair [1965]. I think the teen fair only lasted that one time. We had a life-size display of the Beatles. Get your picture taken with the Beatles was a hit. It cost $.75. We also sold what we called go go hammers. The idea was to hit members of the opposite sex with them. It was a plastic hammer deal with accordion yellow ends that make a loud "pop" sound. We hired young ladies in swimming suits and tennis shoes to sell them. What a hit. By the 4th day of the Teen Fair we chartered an airplane to fly in more hammers. The last day of the fair I was in a cab going home. I had only one hammer left. Broken. The cab driver said his son had to have one. He paid me $1.75 for it. We also had kids sign up with name, phone, and address if they would be interested in a magazine for teens in Minnesota. Thus the list of finally 10,000 names.

"I have the original copy of a' GoGo . It is a small digest size mag of around 10 pages. Bruce and I wrote all the articles using pseudonyms. My fashion column "fling into spring" was my most memorable. We sold advertising to local businesses. Enough money was made to pay the rent for our office (above the Cascade 9 Bar and Grill in Mpls) and other expenses. Nancy Nelson was our secretary. We hired kids to call the rock n roll radio stations to plug our magazine. The radio stations started getting suspicious and stopped taking these calls. Kids would then call pretending some other "teen" topic and then slip in how much they loved Twin City A Go Go.

"When the Beatles came to the Twin Cities, I had a room one floor below them at some motel in Mpls. I met them, not much talking, but a thrill for me. I was 21 at the time. During their press conference one of our guys (Karnstedt) tossed some issues of our magazine (#2) at the interview table. The boys picked them up and started clowning around with them. Our 3rd issue shows them with our magazine. Kind of cool.

"I left the corporation shortly after this escapade. My partner Bruce Goldstein continued for maybe one more issue. He began selling our list of 10,000 subscribers. I think that he sold the magazine, which was to become InBeat.
 

"Well, lots of memories here. I' m now 64 years old. Have spent my working life as a teacher, social worker, and contractor. Have now lived in San Diego California for the last 30 years."

Thanks, David, for your memories!


Twin City Where was a nationally franchised magazine that published here in about 1966.  Howard Goldenberg was the editor.

Marcia from Marcia and the Lynchmen reports that they were one of the teen bands highlighted in the St. Paul Pioneer Press Pictorial Magazine, June 5, 1966, “Those Teen Bands.” The article was entitled “Behind the Twang of the Guitar” and the text was by Bill Diehl.

LIVE MUSIC VENUES

Dance and music venues in the Twin Cities and surrounding area included:

The Alps:  801 E.78th Street in Bloomington.  A new (1999) building sits there today.  Was originally supposed to be part Dixieland and part Rock, but the Dixieland was quickly dumped.  Had three levels and was frequented by stewardesses, pilots, and other airline folks due to its proximity to the airport.

Anoka Armory

Bamboo

The Barn:  494 and County Rd. 18 (now 169).  Phil Kitchen says it started out as the Barn and then became the Purple Barn to sound more psychedelic!  Bruce Glewwe thinks it was farther north than 494. "That whole area was probably farm land then. Went there only once…pretty freaky for a couple 16 year old guys from South St. Paul. The 'black lights' inside scared us off and we didn’t go in. We probably didn’t have the dollar or two it would have cost to enter either."  Jim Mattox says:  "I used to work with a local band called the soul package in the seventies. We played at the purple barn regularly - it was on the frontage road on the south side of 494 just west of 18."

Bashland: St. Paul dancehall owned by WLOL DJ Throck Morton. House band the String Kings.

The Bel-Rae Ballroom was located at 5394 Edgewood Drive NW in New Brighton. At one time, Tuesday nights featured Michael's Mystics.

Bill’s Roller Rink in Anoka

Bimbo’s was located at 243 Cedar Ave. - Seven Corners on the West Bank. It’s now the Theater in the Round. Did it move to Coon Rapids by 1973?

Bloomington Roller Rink:  94th and Lyndale Avenue So.

Bobby's:  Lexington and Highway 55 in St. Paul (Mendota Heights) owned by Bobby McCay.  Early teen club

The Bullpen in Hopkins

The Burnsville Bowl - separate entrance was The Prison

The Cabooze, located at 917 Cedar Ave. on the West Bank.  Still there.

Carpenter’s Hall in Anoka

The Cascade 9, located at 829 Hennepin, hosted the Del Counts.

Casino Royale was located in Fridley, just north of Moore Lake on the east side of Hwy 65.  Steve Nelson remembers listening and dancing to Joker's Wild in '68/'69.

CC Tap in Minneapolis

Mark Karnowski remembers:  "The Chisago City Community Center was rented by a couple of different promoters in the mid to late '60s. Both 'renamed' the building to suit their purposes. The first group called the location the 'Peppermint Club' (because the building was painted a hideous pink). The other group dubbed the place "The Hideaway." The groups that played their weekly included the Trashmen, Chancellors, T.C. Atlantic, High Spirits, Stillroven, Castaways, etc. The city stopped renting to the promoters because the events were marred by fights and other problems in the parking lot. I cut a deal with one of the promoters and put up flyers and posters in exchange for free admission."

Chubb’s Ballroom was located in Eagle Lake, Minnesota. Advertised in 1959 were “Teen Age Hops” at the Spring Lake Ballroom (west of Prior Lake on Highway 13), featuring the Jolly Musicians.

Club Kaposia in South St. Paul

The Coffeehouse Extempore was on the West Bank.

The Coliseum Ballroom was located at 2708 E. Lake Street. It was built in 1917 and is still there!

The Crystal Coliseum was one of the few dance halls in the Twin Cities area that booked rock 'n' roll bands on a regular basis in the 1950s and early '60s. The large Quonset hut styled building had a stage and a large hardwood dance floor and served no alcohol.  (a roller rink with a portable elevated stage)

Dania Hall was on the West Bank at 427 Cedar Ave. It was built in 1886 as a community center for the Danish community and hosted many cultural events.  It burned down on February 28, 2000.

Danceland. Excelsior Amusement Park, the site of many a Brookside School picnic and provider of Free Rides for Good Grades, opened on May 30, 1925, the brainchild of Fred W. Pearce, Sr., of Detroit. The streetcar that ran down 44th Street just south of Brookside took passengers from Minneapolis to the Park until 1932, when it was replaced by a bus from Hopkins. Danceland was the former casino from the Tonka Bay Hotel; it was acquired by Excelsior Park in 1928. Starting in 1961 it was run by Ray Colihan, aka "Big Reggie” and featured Big Reggie’s Dance Band.  (The then-rotund Colihan was named after a Reginald Van Gleason skit.) That gave way to “stomp” bands like the Trashmen. Danceland’s license was temporarily suspended from time to time for rowdy behavior: in 1966 the Minneapolis gang the “Suprees” mixed it up with a local with a baseball bat. The pavilion closed for good in 1968, and was used for boat storage until it burned to the ground on July 8, 1973. Arson was suspected.  The Park, still in the Pearce family, closed the weekend after Labor Day, 1973, and the carousel was sold to Valleyfair, which opened on May 25, 1976. The rickety rollercoaster was torn down.  Check out my separate page for the time the Rolling Stones came to Danceland.

Dayton's 1,500-seat 8th Floor Auditorium regularly sponsored dances by local bands.  “Dayton’s Top 10 Club” took place on Saturday afternoons (see 1964 above), hosted by DJ Bill Diehl. Bands may have played at Dayton's fashion shows on the 5th floor as well.  Dayton's also sponsored "Youthquake" series of concerts in 1966 that featured national and local talent.

The former Greyhound Bus Station at 29 North 7th Street downtown opened as the Depot, a new rock venue, on April 3 and 4, 1970. An estimated 2300 people came to the club over the first two days to see the Mad Dogs and Englishman tour, featuring Joe Cocker, 30 Englishmen, 2 kids, and a dog. The club featured a wrap-around screen and light show. There was a nominal cost to get in, but there was a $10 charge to sit down, with much poaching of seats going on. The original owners were Danny Stevens of Danny's Reasons, who had a liquor license from the Hotel Hastings, and Elizabeth Heffelfinger, who had to drop out because of illness.  Allan Fingerhut then stepped in with the financing.  Danny's brother Mickey and Skip Goucher were creative partners. Both "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" and "Purple Rain" were filmed in the facility.  

Perhaps the Depot was a little too popular, and got a reputation of being kind of rough. In 1972 it was franchised out to the American Events Company (AEC) from Cincinnati. In November 1972 AEC opened another of its Uncle Sam’s chain of discos. The enormous facility featured “famous movies and slides” for people to watch when the dancing got too dull. It had to be big to accommodate the newly-enfranchised 18-year old drinkers and the advent of Disco in 1976. In 1979 AEC returned the club to Fingerhut and Stevens, and at this point it may have been called Sam’s Danceteria. Club Manager Steve McClellan started booking live acts in a smaller part of the building that used to be the bus station’s restaurant – this was known as Seventh Street Entry. As the punk era approached in 1980, the live music moved to the big hall and on New Year's Eve 1981, the club became First Avenue.

Diamond Lil's:  Downtown Minneapolis.  Gregory LaLonde says that the band The Blue Fox played there on election night, November 1968 and that it was "quite a place."  See Times Square.

Eagle Lake Resort:  Maple Grove

Eaton's Dude Ranch:  Cedar Ave., 4 miles south of the Minnesota River.   Arthur J. Eaton was the owner of the Roller Garden in St. Louis Park from 1939 to 1957. 

In the liner notes of the Soma anthology, Ira Heilicher recalls hanging out at the 15 Club in St. Louis Park, but as far as anyone can tell, it was not a place but a group of people (men?) who got together, usually at Mr. Q's on Excelsior Blvd.  It's now Zip Printing.

Fifth Dimension:  Mankato

The Flame Jazz Club at 8th and Wabasha in St. Paul hosted many big name jazz acts in the early 1950s.  See a collage of ads on Robb Henry's blog. 

Flamingo Club:  University Ave., St. Paul

Ford Union Hall in St. Paul (1950s)

Fridley Armory

Frontier Club in Fridley (early '70s)

The Gables was located at Franklyn and Lyndale – now Rudolph’s.

Gibbon Ballroom

Green Door in Hopkins  (1950s)

The Grotto Ballroom was located in Winona. Was this the Ghora Kahn Grotto?

Herb's, Lyndale Ave.

Hideaway:  See Chicago City Community Center.  Bruce Glewwe remembers going to the Hideaway "and it was probably the High Spirits playing. The band put lighter fluid on the drums and lit them on fire with black lights and a strobe light flashing. WOW!"

His and Hers, in the basement of the Foshay Tower, was formerly known as King Solomon’s Mines, a popular Rhythm and Blues club.  1969

Home Bar

The Hullaballoo Teen Scene in St. Louis Park was the place to go in 1967.  This is so big, let's go to a separate page. 

Interlaken Ballroom, Farimount

Jewett's Point Ballroom in Faribault was owned by St. Louis Park dentist Irving Posnick.

Jordan Teen Town

The Kato Ballroom was a traditional Midwestern ballroom, located in Mankato.

King of Diamonds:  Small club in St. Paul

King Solomon's Mines was located in the basement of the Foshay Tower and featured rhythm and blues.  Became His and Hers in about 1969.

The Labor Temple (117 - 4th Street SE) was known for booking national psychedelic acts.  It opened on February 2, 1969 under the direction of Community News, a group that had run the light show at Dania Hall.  The first act was the Grateful Dead with local band Blackwood Apology performing their rock opera "House of Leather."  The club was run by local promoter David Anthony.  Concerts were presented on Sunday nights on the third floor of the hall.  Fire code issues forced it to stop hosting concerts in mid 1970.

The Lakeside Ballroom was in Glenwood, Minnesota.

Lake Marion Ballroom in Hutchinson

The Lion's Den on Frost Ave. in Maplewood by Lake Phalen (St. Paul?) was home to the Deacons and the Lancers.

The LoKates teen club in North St. Paul was run by Lowell Reiks.

Magoo’s Pizza was next door to Mr. Lucky's/New City Opera House at 29th and Nicollet.  In 1965, Magoo's had a 21 and over side that featured jazz and a teen side that featured local bands.  In 1966 it was owned by Bob Roosen.  Jerry Lenz of the Nickel Revolution remembered that "Magoo’s had a different feel. While New City Opera House was a rock club, Magoo’s was more laid back and the music wasn’t as loud. They served pizza and beer and had plenty of seating for the audience."
 

Maple Lake Pavillion was across from Maple Lake on Hwy 55 in Maple Lake, Minn. Owned and operated by Kay Schue.  It's now Maple Lake Antiques.

The Marian Ballroom in Bloomington showcased the High Spirits, Chancellors, Underbeats, Accents, and Gregory Dee and the Avanties, among others.

The Marigold Ballroom was at 1336 Nicollet. Lost Twin Cities says that it was built in 1919 as Marigold Gardens.  1965 ad:  "Hey! It's Upbeat!  Dance every Friday nite at the Marigold Ballroom to top local and national groups."  The Marigold Ballroom was the site of many acts that R&B station KUXL brought in.  The venue held up to 5,000 people.  It was demolished in 1974/5 and a Hyatt Regency sits at the spot today.

The Marquee Lounge, located in Spirit Lake, Iowa, was run by Tom Brown, late of the band the Gas Company.

Mattie’s Barbecue was located at 29th and Nicollet.  Mojo Bufordd played there in 1962.

The Meadowbrook Roadhouse was in New Brighton.

The Medina Ballroom was built in 1956 by brothers Bob, Cliff, and Joe Raskob (along with friend Norm Vansion) near their home. The Raskobs saw a need for a place to dance in Western Hennepin County. The entertainment complex also included a bowling alley. In 1959 it was advertised as the “new Medina Ballroom” featuring a Teen Age Dance. Also playing was Whoopie John. In 1961, the Rock-o-Tones played at the Teen Age Dance. On June 17, 1974, the facility burned to the ground, killing two including the daughter of an owner. It was rebuilt, and remains in the family to this day.

Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington hosted many concerts, the most memorable being the Beatles in August 1965 (see separate page).  It was torn down in 1985 to make way for the Mall of America. 

The Minneapolis Auditorium was demolished in 1989.

Mr. Lucky's: 2935 Nicollet at Lake.  "Home of the '65 Swingables"  Opened in December 1962 as the only local night club devoted exclusively to teenagers.  In 1965 it was open Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons.  In 1966 it and neighboring Magoo’s Pizza were owned by Bob Roosen.  It became the New City Opera House.

Mr. Nib’s was at 2609 – 26th Ave. So. in Minneapolis.

More Down Stairs, located (in the basement of the Roaring '20s) next to the Arcade clothing store at Fifth and Hennepin, was the showcase for Danny’s Reasons in 1968.

The Monterrey Ballroom in Owatonna was owned by St. Louis Park dentist Irving Posnick.

Myrt’s Café opened at Minnetonka Blvd. and Dakota in St. Louis Park in 1957, catering to the teen-age trade. It was run by Mr. and Mrs. Truman Hedwell. It created some controversy as to whether the police were enforcing the law (re: drinking, smoking, curfew) even handedly at Myrt’s.

The New City Opera House was located at 29th and Nicollet.  It was previously the old Mr. Lucky's, updated in about 1967. Magoo’s Pizza Parlor opened next door. In 1968, New City was advertised as “The Upper Midwest’s only Psychedelic House of Rock!” and “Minnesota’s Own Electric Circus.”

The New Munich Ballroom was one of many small town venues, this one located 30 miles north of St. Cloud.

Newport Teen Center

Oasis in Lino Lakes ('70s)

The Office Lounge at 217 South 6th Street featured Gary Nielsen and the Night-Caps. It was a 21 or older venue.

Padded Cell:  Hosted Peter, Paul, and Mary in the early '60s.

Pappa Joe's A-Go-Go was in Minneapolis in 1966.

Peppermint Club:  See Chicago City Community Center

Pink Pussycat:  1331 Hennepin Ave.

The Pla-Mor Ballroom was in Rochester. Jerry Lenz of the Nickel Revolution found this notice of its demise in December 2006:  “The Pla-Mor Ballroom, where Rochester area couples danced to live bands for more than half a century, now has disappeared into a pile of rubble and into city history. The 55-year-old building would have been too costly to restore.”
 

The Prison was at the Burnsville Bowl.  Bruce Glewwe:  "Also went to the Prison a number of times. There was a band there I think called Show Time. Their sets would start with the white guys playing probably a Temptations song and then the 'cool' black guys would stroll in and join the band and sing a dance song that would fill the floor."

Proaches Popular Ballroon in Ellsworth, Wisconsin.

The Prom Ballroom was at 1190 University in St. Paul.  Glenn Miller and his Orchestra played the grand opening in 1941; the ballroom held 6,000, and 3,000 had to be turned away.  Miller would be followed by other well-known artists including Count Basie, and Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. Swing, polka, jazz, and rock n' roll groups played the space, spanning such diverse musical acts from Lawrence Welk to Buddy Holly and Crickets, to The Police. The house orchestra was the Jules Herman Orchestra.  The Prom offered a 9000 square foot hard maple floor. Small booths and tables ringed the edge, where dancers could rest and order food. The ballroom met with the wrecking ball on September 29, 1987 and a fitness center occupies the former location on University Ave.  See a feature on the Prom on Lost Twin Cities II.

The photo on the right is from October 1958,  at some Oktoberfest no doubt, but it does give a peek inside

Pudge’s was located at 2155 Ford Parkway in St. Paul.

The Purple Barn:  see the Barn.

The Purple Cigar, which was apparently the successor to the Hullaballoo Teen Scene - see the Individual Page for more.

The Red Baron:  Downtown Minneapolis, @ 1970

River Road Club:  Mendota

Rochester Mayo Auditorium

Rodney's and Mine:  494 Strip in Bloomington, opened 1971

The Roller Garden, located at 5622 West Lake Street in St. Louis Park, started life in 1930 as an arena built for horse shows.  In mid-1943, Arthur Eaton installed a wooden floor and added roller skating to the offerings at the arena. In 1946, the facility was called the Pastime Arena Roller Rink – “One of the world’s largest rinks” – Music by Tommy Arsenault. Eaton sold the arena in 1957. The 1964 directory referred to it as just the Roller Garden, and the facility became a part time rock ‘n’ roll dance to venue. In 1969, the building was purchased by current owner, Bill Sahly.

The Royal Court at the King's Inn (Excelsior Blvd. and Highway 100 in St. Louis Park) offered live entertainment.  A duo called the Quasi Kinship performed there in August 1969.

The Rusty Nail was in Crystal.  Or was it in downtown Minneapolis?

Ryan's Ballroom

Owen Husney of the High Spirits remembers that "St. Louis Park High School also had music. I first saw Koerner, Ray, and Glover there in '63 in the auditorium.. The Chancellors, High Spirits, Novas, etc. all played dances there on Friday nights. It was the place to play."

St. Paul Civic Center had both a theater and an auditorium.  One source indicates that it operated for 25 years, from 1973 to 1998.  It was demolished in April 1998 to make way for a new hockey arena. 

The Safari Club was located at 2705 Highway 55, 2.5 miles south of the Mendota Bridge.  It was a young adult club on Thursday to Saturday nights.  A news article dated October 24, 1963, describes it as the Upper Midwest's first teen-age night club, to open November 15.  It was a "members-only key club," open to kids from 16 through 20.  Entertainment was to include folk singers, jazz combos, surfing music, and comedians.  A hootenanny was tentatively planned for every Sunday afternoon.  The Saturday night dress code was to be semi-formal.  Much was made of the code of conduct, including no alcohol; detectives would be on duty.   

Schlief's Little City in West (or was it South?) St. Paul.  See a picture of this polka place here.  Sandy Wilcox writes:  "This was a dance hall that I remember going to with my parents when I was young. People brought their families and all their children and sat at long tables and danced to the polka & waltz. It was like a big wedding celebration. They served beer and soda pop. When they did the polka, the whole building would bounce. It was a great family place to go on a Sunday afternoon. We could not even remember where this place was located; so I was searching the internet, but all I found was your website stating it was in West St. Paul and another website with the following un-answered question:  'Anyway, does anybody remember exactly where Schlief's Little City dance hall was and whatever happened to it? My foggy recollection (which could be way wrong) is that it was on Hwy 55 somewhere between the Mendota bridge and where MN 55 meets up with US 52/MN 56. Possibly somewhere near the intersection of Hwy 55 and Hwy 3. You could easily see its big-letter sign from the highway, and it was quite a landmark.'  I'm wondering what ever happened to it and when it closed up. Would appreciate any information. Thank you!"  Thank you, Sandy, for your memories and research.  Anyone out there have the answer?  Contact me!

Seventh Street Rec was located in St. Paul. Open Friday and Saturday night, ages 16-20.

Shakopee Teen Center

Showboat – Lake Benton – owned by Jimmy Thomas

Silver Skate Roller Rink in North St. Paul

The Skyway 12 Club was a run down tavern located at 15009 Wayzata Blvd. in 1964-65 - "Where the Action Is."  See info on this old roadhouse on Robb Henry's blog.

Someplace Else was located 'aha! In Robbinsdale.

Coffeehouses and other folkie hangouts were prolific as well, the most famous of which was the Ten O’ Clock Scholar in Dinkeytown, where Bob Dylan played for awhile early in his career. In a shrewd business move, the place was torn down to be replaced with a Red Barn burger joint, but they probably didn't make any money because the folkies boycotted and picketed. It is now a Burger King.

Terp Ballroom was located in Austin.

Times Square:  Formerly Diamond Lil's, bought by Danny Stevens and opened on New Years Eve, 1968.

The Tom Tom Room was at the Minnehaha Lanes bowling alley in St. Paul.
 

Tower Ballroom, Austin.

Treasure Inn:  Lost Twin Cities II describes this jazz club located just outside the St. Paul city limits on Rice Street.  It opened in November 1946, and existed for two and a half years.  It was owned by three African-American entrepreneurs, Richard Mann, Claude Mason, and Howard Brown.  A matchbook advertised its "Hot Sepia Dance Music."  It featured black musicians such as Lester Young, Oscar Pettiford, and Prince Rogers, Sr. and drew white college kids as well blacks.  A great ad reads "Whamp!  Dig this Nervous Opening!  Percy Hughes and his great dance band.  Let's Rock! Rock! Rock!  Let's Dance! Dance! Dance!  Let's Go! Go! Go!  Real Cool and Crazy!"  The dancing got so cool and crazy that the "nervous" owners had to shore up the floor to keep it from falling into the basement.  A contributor to its demise was a fatal shooting. 

Tri-Angle Bar was on the West Bank.

Uncle Sam’s: see Depot



Vincent Van Go Go?  Really?  Downtown Minneapolis.

Wakota Arena in South St. Paul was the venue for the 1967 dance featuring nominees of the first annual Connie Awards.

Whisky a Go Go was an over 21 spot located at 435 St. Peter in St. Paul.

The Whole Coffee House was in Coffman Union at the U of M

Windom Armory

YES Club in White Bear Lake (teen club)
 
LOCAL DISK JOCKEYS OF THE 1950s AND 60s

Some good web sites are:

http://www.twincitiesradioairchecks.com/twincitiesradiotapes.html

http://www.440int.com/440sat.html

The dates given are not exclusive - they may have been there before and/or after.  Corrections and additions are welcome!

Terry Allan (Terry Stripsky) - WAYL (1964), KQRS (1966-78)
Herb Oscar Anderson - WDGY (1950s)
Mark Anderson – KDWB
Preacher Paul Anthony (Ralph Hull) - KUXL, KDWB (1964)
Bill Armstrong - WDGY
Prime Minister Billy G. - KUXL
Sam Babcock - WDGY
Chris Bailey - KDWB (1969)
"Catman" Tom Barnard - WDGY (1960s), KSTP (1964), KQRS
Tal Bartell - WYOO
Bob Berglund - WWTC (1974), WDGY (1979)
Art Blaske – news – KDWB, WDGY
True Don Bleu – KDWB (1971)
Benny Blore (Bill Hartman) - WYOO (1973), KDWB (1974)
Chuck Blore - KDWB (1966)
Jay J. Bowman - WDGY (1968)
Gary Bridges - WDGY (1976)
Jerry Brooke - KDWB, WYOO
Charlee Brown - KDWB
Chuck Buell – KDWB
Scott Burton - WDGY (1965-70) 

From a 1970 ad:  The Solid Sound of Scott Burton starts out your day with his entertaining Burton 'n Eggs Show, morning from 6 to 9.  Road information, features, music.  A Touch of Taste.  Join the Call-In to Scott on the Good Morning Line, 827-9955.

Charlie Bush - KSTP
Johnny Canton – WDGY from 1966-77

From a 1970 ad:  Good Morning Twin Cities!  Johnny Canton takes the morning in easy stride.  A Touch of music, a few laughts, entertaiing you from 9 til noon.   Request your favorite song, hear it, and win it on Johnny's Phon-A-Song Line, 827-9955.

Scott Carpenter - WWTC
Captain Billy - WYOO
Joel Cedarholm - WYOO (1975)
Bob Chase - WYOO
Bob Christie (Jim Larkin) - KRSI
Steve Cochran - KDWB
Randy Cook – KDWB
B.J. Crocker - WWTC
Evan Curfew (Curt Lundgren) - KUXL
Dan Daniel – WDGY
Diamond Jim Dandy (James Brian Everts) – WDGY (1965) (b. Feb. 24, 1942, d. Oct. 20, 2010) (pictured below)


Bobby Davis - KDWB
Bob Dayton - WDGY (1971)
Gary DeMaroney - WYOO
Bill Diehl – WDGY, WCCO
Johnny Dollar - WDGY
Michael J. Douglas - KDWB, WYOO
Dick Driscoll – WDGY ("Dracula") (1958), WWTC (1980), KLBB (1987)
Don Duchene - KDWB
Paul Evans (Curt Lundgren) - KUXL (1966),WMIN (1968), WCCO-FM (1976)
Arne Fogel –WWTC
Charlie Fox - KDWB
Bob Friend – KDWB
Steve Gibbons/Steel - WYOO (1972)
Tony Glover - KDWB Underground
"Tuneful" Tommy Graham - KTCR (1970); KSTP, WYOO, WRAH (all 1972)
Jo Jo Gunne - WYOO
Smokin' Joe Hager - KSTP (1973), KDWB (1975)
Sammy Hale - WDGY (1961)
Brother Bob Hall - WYOO
Dick Halvorson - KDWB
Dan Halyburton - WDGY (1977)
Lance “Tac” Hammer – KDWB (66-69), KRSI (69-74), KQRS (1974), WLOL-FM
Dick Harris - KDWB
Paul Hedberg – KDWB
Dean Johnson - KDWB
Red Jones - WDGY
T. Michael Jordan - KDWB (1968)
Don Kelly – WLOL (1954), WDGY (1957)
Mesa "The Fox That Rocks" Kincaid - WYOO
King Michael - WDGY.  This is Mike Waggoner of the Bops!  From a 1970 ad:  Hold court with King Michael every morning, midnight to 6.  Serving up the sounds of today with royal taste!  Mike programs with you in mind.

Randy Kirschbaum - KQRS (early '70s).  Tom L. says "She was very soft spoken (kind of sounds like a public radio DJ) but sexy too."
Chuck Knapp - KSTP
Kevin Kollins - KDWB
Scott Kramer - KDWB
Bill Lake - WYOO
“Bullet” Bob Lange - KDWB
Jim Larkin – KRSI
Gene Leader - WDGY (1970)

From a 1970 ad:  Follow the leader!  That's Gene Leader, everyday from 3 to 7.  Keeping company with more people than a sold-out Twins game.  Gene's solid sound is excellent company going home. 

Denny Long – KRSI, music director at WCCO
Curt Lundgren - WCCO FM, WCCO AM (see Paul Evans and Evan Curfew)
Mike McCormick - WDGY (1965)
Pat McKay - WYOO
Barry McKinna (Siewart) – KDWB
Stanley Mack – WDGY
Mike McCormick - WDGY
Doug MacKinnon - WYOO (1972)
Donald K. Martin – KDWB (1964), WDGY (1969-77)
Peter Huntington “Hookshot” May – WDGY, KDWB, WCCO-FM  (also produced and managed Stillroven)
King Michael – WDGY (1970)

Ken Mills - KRSI-FM, WCCO-FM
Chucker Morgan - WYOO
Throck Morton – WLOL
Hal Murray – KDWB (1960)
Adam North - (nee Edward Van Cleve, Ph.D.) KDWB, KRSI
James Francis Patrick “Professor” O’Neill – KDWB
“Sweet Michael” O’Shea - WYOO
Lorrin Palagi - KDWB
Steve Perrun - KDWB, U100, KSTP
Rod Person – KRSI
Carl Peterson - WLOL
Brad Piras - WWTC
Ted Randal - KDWB
Hal Raymond - WDGY (1962)

Jimmy Reed – KRSI, WDGY.   Probably from a St. Louis Park High School Echo:  Jimmy Rud was from St. Louis Park and went to Brookside School. He got his inspiration to pursue broadcasting when Bud Kraehling came for career day. He got the idea for his double entendres from Laugh-In; it was so successful he was hired from KRSI to WDGY. From a 1970 ad:  "Jimmy Reed moves Hit Sound '70.  Putting it all together every night from 7 to midnight.  Come into Reed's world.  Much More Music is Jimmy's specialty."

Jack Reynolds (nee Reyelts) - KRSI
"Loveable" Lou Riegert - KDWB (1959) (became CNN anchor Lou Waters)
Jeff "Mother" Robbins - (Scott Wright) - WYOO (1974)
“Ugly” Del Roberts (Darrel Mulroy) - KDWB (1965), WWTC (1979) (d. March 16, 2003)
Chris Roberts – KDWB aka Harley Worthit, Lord Douglas
Ron the Rajah of R&B (Ron Samuels) - KUXL (1965)
Nancy Rosen - KQRS, WWTC
Jackson Ross – KDWB
Mike “Records” Ryan - WWTC
Jerry St. James - WYOO
Perry St. John – WDGY (1965) (d. Feb. 27, 1999)
Harry Scarbourough - WDGY (1967), KQRS (1967)
Bob Schuman - WYOO (1972)
Bob Scott (Bob Wittnebel) - KUXL (1966)
John Sebastian - KDWB (1974)
Mike Segal - KDWB
Barry Siewert - KDWB as Barry McKinna, KQQL
Bob Shannon - KDWB (1964, 1974)
Rob Sherwood - WDGY (1968), KDWB (1969), WYOO
Sam Sherwood – KDWB
Bob Smith - KUXL
Art Snow - WYOO
Gary Stephens - KDWB
Scott Stevens – KDWB, WWTC

Jim Stokes - KRSI
Dave Thomson - KDWB (1976)
Earl Trout - KDWB
“Cheerful Charlie” Van Dyke – WDGY (1970-71)
Fat Daddy Washington (Art Hoehn) - KUXL
Lou Waters (nee Riegert) – KDWB
Art Way - KDWB
Bobby Wayne – KDWB (1966)

Bob White (nee Montgomery) - KRSI
Wolfman Jack (Bob Smith) - KUXL
Tom Wynn – WLOL (1957), WDGY (1958), KRSI (1962), WLOL (1967)
George Young - WDGY (1970-71)   Was this his real name or did he take the name of the founder of WDGY, optometrist Dr. George Young?

From a 1970 ad:  The man with a smile!  That's George Young.  Keeping the afternoon pace light and lively everyday from noon to 3.  Call George's Phon-A-Song Line, 827-9955, to hear and win your favorite song.  George keeps women Young!"

LOCAL ROCK 'N' ROLL STATIONS

This is just a summary - see Twin Cities Radio Timeline for more info:

WLOL

WLOL was the Rock 'n' Roll station in the mid '50s.  They were out of the market by the mid '60s. Located at 1330 AM

KUXL

On December 16, 1964, KUXL, 1570 am, changed its religious format to Rhythm and Blues  The station sponsored dances at the Marigold Ballroom, and brought in the likes of Ike and Tina Turner, the Four Tops, BB King, Solomon Burke, Chuck Jackson, the Temptations, Jimmy Reed, Jr. Walker, the Impressions, and Fats Domino.  In the mid-1960s, the station was operated by Marvin Kosofsky, who hired Bob Smith (a.k.a. Wolfman Jack), who relocated from Del Rio, Texas, to run the station. Also at KUXL at this time were Art Hoehn (a.k.a. Fat Daddy Washington) and former KDWB personality Ralph Hull (a.k.a. Preacher Paul Anthony and The Nazz). It was this trio of broadcasters who took control of "border blaster" station XERB 1090, in Baja California, in 1965. They operated the "Big X" from Minneapolis initially, then relocated to Southern California in 1966.  KUXL went to all religious programming in the 1970s.  The call letters of KUXL changed to KYCR in 1988.  (From Wikipedia)

WMIN

WMIN played rock 'n' roll in the 1950s, but adopted an all news format in mid-July 1962. In November, call letters were changed to KWTN. They were changed back the following August.  In 1967 it took on the country music format it had dabbled with since 1964. In 1972, WMIN changed its call letters to KEEY, discontinued its country format, and began playing “Beautiful Music." In 1982 the call letters were changed once again, to KLBB.

WDGY

Optometrist George W. Young started a radio station in 1923 at 1130 AM.  In August 1927, WDGY’s transmitter was moved to Superior Blvd. and Falvey Cross Road [Wayzata Blvd. and Louisiana] in St. Louis Park. This was on the grounds of the U.S. Silver Fox Farm, at the very northern border of the Village. In late 1935 a new non-directional 226 Truscan Steel Vertical Radiator (tower) was erected at the site. In 1949, the station moved its transmitter and studio to a new multi-tower array at 102nd and Bloomington Freeway in Bloomington.

Todd Storz (Mid-Continent) purchased WDGY on Feburary 6, 1956. It was at this point that the station adopted the “Top 40” format that characterized Storz stations. (Storz died in 1964 at age 39.)  “Wonderful WeeGee,” home of the "boss jocks" like Johnny Canton, hit its stride in the ‘60s, competing neck and neck with KDWB. WeeGee tended to be a little more conservative than KD – reportedly even their staff wore suits and ties, but that has been disputed.  See Top 30 and Top 40 countdowns from 1966 on Robb Henry's blog.  From an ad from May 1970:  "WDGY...A Touch of Taste"

In the fall of 1977 the station changed its format to country, announcing the end of an era.

KDWB

The precursor to KDWB was founded in 1949 by the three Tedesco brothers in South St. Paul. One brother wanted to call it WPIG, another protested the barnyard connotation, but the third prevailed with WCOW. This was appropriate, since they played hillbilly music. The station was renamed WISK in 1957, and in 1958 it was moved to 630 kc (“Channel 63”). But the station was not exactly viable, and was sold to Crowell-Collier, owner of the legendary KFWB in Los Angeles. In 1961, when the KFWB was having labor trouble, the owner shipped some Minnesota DJ’s to LA to cover. Chuck Blore was Crowell-Collier’s national program director, and ran a disc jockey school that the DJ’s at KDWB attended.

KDWB, “the Good Guys,” went on the air on October 1, 1959 as a top 40 station. Don French was the first Program Director. John McCrae was the first General Manager, and original DJ Sam Sherwood held that position throughout the '60s. The FCC required that the station identify itself as “KDWB – Lake Elmo, also occasionally serving Minneapolis and St. Paul.”

Congress amended the FCC Act in September 1960 to provide penalties short of license revocation for violations of FCC rules. The first station in the country to receive disciplinary action was KDWB. The Twin Cities rock’n’roll station was fined in March 1961 for exceeding its authorized power in nighttime operations. Although authorized for only 500 watts from midnight to 4am, it had been broadcasting at full 5,000 watt strength since it went on the air in 1959.

The station's catch phrase was "KDWB-63 - That's easy to remember."  It had lots of crazy promotions, like the time Charlee Brown sat on a flagpole for 21 days at the corner of 9th and the Nicollet Mall. Brown also styled himself as the Emperor and threatened to take over the State of Wisconsin. A contest yielded the world's biggest Christmas Cookie, which was delivered in the back of a pickup truck and featured on the Tonight Show. The station was innovative in its promotions, had legendary DJs, features like Solid Gold Weekends, and at least two airings of "The History of Rock 'n' Roll," an all-encompassing "rockumentary."

In the July 2, 1967 edition of the TMC Insider, we learn that "KDWB went off the air last Friday when a 50-foot tower was blown down and fell on top of the station's studios.  As the tower hit, a light fixture fell and narrowly missed Bob Morgan, who was on the air talking about the weather." 

On August 13, 1968, KDWB started programming "underground music" from midnight to 5 am.

On November 30, 1969, fire spread through the KDWB studio, shutting it down for two days. See Rob Sherwood's blog for the whole story.

KRSI

KRSI Radio was located at 4500 Excelsior Blvd. in St. Louis Park from May 16, 1958 (at 7am) to October 1972. The station was five years in construction, delayed when its two towers in Eden Prairie fell. It was owned by Radio Suburbia, which was a subsidiary of Red Owl Stores, Inc., thus the call letters.  Here's a story from Jim Stokes:  "KRSI originated Red Owl Stores 'storecast' from their transmitter on what is called 'subcarrier.' You can look it up. It’s complex. So they had to have an engineer on duty at the KRSI transmitter to change the store announcements that interrupted the music. The music ran a slow speed on gigantic tape reels. The music was my kind of music, actually—other than classical music. It was Percy Faith type music. So if you went into a Red Owl store to shop, there would be a voice saying something like, 'Want to perk up family meals. Try some Red Owl green beans.' {blah blah)"

From the start the station played "Memory Music" - "the kind of music everyone likes to hear," according to an article in the St. Louis Park High Echo from June 5, 1958.  No rock 'n' roll, no raucous disk jockeys. Sometime in the '60s, Roy H. Park bought the station from Red Owl.  The request line was started in February 1968, with oldies – and not just the same old ones - being their mainstay. Every sixth song was current. This station was pretty freewheeling and one could hear Jimmy Dean in the same breath as the Supremes. An ad in the June 14, 1969 TV Digest pictures Tac Hammer, Rick Easton, Anthony Gee, Jim Reed, and Don Shore.  They look really young.  In 1971 the station moved away from the oldies and more toward the current music. In March 1973 the station became the first affiliate of Drake-Chenault’s automated “Great American Country” format and the studio moved out to Eden Prairie.

Jeff Lonto:  "AM station (950) was KRSI from the time they went on the air until January 1986. In their last year on the air they brought back Request Radio after a long secession of format changes.  The ratings started to go up and so ownership and management had the bright idea of pulling the plug on the whole thing, changing the calls to KJJO-AM, and simulcasting FM sister station KJJO-FM (104.1). KRSI personalities in their second Request Radio stint from 1985-86 included Don Thompson, Jerry Anderson, Mike Records Ryan, Ray Walby and Bill Hutchinson."  The AM station was never called KFMX.

"FM station (104.1) was KRSI-FM from 1962 or so until 1974. It was KFMX from 1974 to 1980, KRSI-FM again from 1980-1981 and then KJJO-FM from 1981 until the mid-90s.  After that they've changed calls as often as formats and that's pretty frequent."

LOL wins Mustang, 1966

 

KQRS

KQ 92.5 FM didn’t start out to be a rock station- more like beautiful music, but in 1967 it made its first foray with its “Night Watch” program, broadcasting R&B, jazz, and psychedelic sounds from midnight to 5 am. John Tollefson was at the controls in 1968.  By the end of the year, the entire station went over to free-form/progressive rock.  The station is now the premiere Classic Rock station in town.

WYOO/U100

980 AM was originally staid WPBC from 1949 to 1972.  At noon on November 2, 1972, WYOO signed on for the first time with "See You Later Alligator" by Bill Haley and His Comets.  In 1974, the oldies format became "boogie," with KDWB alumnus Rob Sherwood heading up a wild and crazy format as U100.  Sherwood and the rest were at their antic best, cooking up contests and announcing test answers to kids.  Be sure to read the story of this station, written by Jeff Lonto.  Also check out airchecks from the station.

KSTP-AM

Jeff Lonto:  Regarding KSTP as a rock station, they had been a "middle-of-the-road" music station for years, also carrying NBC news and NBC's "Monitor" on weekends. Steve Cannon was one of their personalities in their pre-rock era. In the summer of 1973 they entered the top-40 competition with Chuck Knapp and Charlie Bush in the morning, Machine Gun Kelly and others. The slogan was "15 KSTP--THE MUSIC STATION." John Hines replaced Knapp a few years later, and Rob Sherwood didn't go over there until 1976, after U100 was sold. He stayed until February 1978. The station started changing around the fall of 1979 when they went to more soft pop, and they also picked up Bob Allard's and Larry King's talk shows in the late evening. Soon they added Monday Night Sports Talk with Reusse and Soucheray but continued to play music until news and talk completely took over in August 1981. So the switch to talk was gradual over two years.

WRCR

The Twin City a' Go Go January 1966 issue mentioned this station (1010) and its DJs:   Dean Alexander, Dave Charles, Will Grassman, Myrna Jean, Oliver Towne, Don Riley, Bob Leonard, and Charles Conrad.  Jeff Lonto provides this info:  "The station became WJSW "Polka Power" around 1969, and they picked up the WMIN calls in November 1973 after being dropped a year earlier by 1400 AM. I actually have a WRCR pinback button that says 'I'M A TEN-TEN TUNER WRCR 10-10 ST. PAUL, MINN.'"

Aircheck sites:

http://radiotapes.com/

http://www.twincitiesradioairchecks.com/
http://www.reelradio.com/af/index.html#twwdgy61

MID-AMERICA MUSIC HALL OF FAME

The Mid-America Music Hall of Fame had its roots in 1999 when Doug Spartz and Gene Jurek put together a reunion of musician friends at the El Paso Club in St. Joseph, Minn., outside of St. Cloud.  Almost 600 people showed up, encouraging them to start an annual event.  The First Minnesota Rock and Country Hall of Fame Induction Show took place on Saturday, May 22, 2004 at the Medina Ballroom.  After a hiatus in 2009, the organization came back in 2010, renamed the Mid-America Music Hall of Fame in order to be inclusive of all kinds of music created by local artists and national artists with Minnesota ties. In addition to the annual induction ceremonies, which feature live reunion performances of the honorees, the Hall of Fame has put out eight volumes of local music called “Rockin’ Your Socks Off!” The following is a listing of the performers so honored (there was no ceremony in 2009).  The list comes the programs of the induction ceremonies and does not include all of the lifetime achievement recipients; for that list see http://www.rockcountryhall.com/recipients.htm  (Note:  the web site for the Hall of Fame itself is currently undergoing reconstruction.)
 

The Accents - 2010
Steve Adams - 2010
Adris Wells Ranch Pals - 2005
Mary Jane Alm - 2007
Amazers - 2008
Casey Anderson - 2008
Liz Anderson - 2008
Lynn Anderson - 2008
Andrews Sisters – 2006
Dave Anthony - 2010
Cleo Bee - 2007
Eddie Berger - 2007
Blackwood Apology - 2007
Blood on the Tracks Studio Band - 2005
Dave Brady and the Stars - 2007
Mojo Buford - 2005 - See also Robb Henry's blog
C.A. Quintet - 2008
Cain - 2010
Canoise - 2005
Paulette Carlson - 2007
Chuck Carson - 2005
Castaways – 2005
Baby Doo Caston – 2006
Chancellors - 2008
Charms - 2007
Marcene Church - 2010
City Mouse - 2007
Eddie Cochran - 2006
Anthony Cox - 2010
Crow – 2005
Curtiss A - 2008
Daisy Dillman Band - 2006
Jimmy Wells and the Dakota Roundup - 2005
Damon Lee and the Diablos - 2010
Danny's Reasons - 2007
Deacons - 2010
DeZurik Sisters
Dave Dudley - 2004
Dee Jay and the Runaways - 2004
Del Counts - 2006
Doc Holliday Band - 2008
Double Nickles - 2010
Dr. Mamb's Combo -2008
Bob Dylan
Jonathan Edwards – 2006
Elektras - 2010
Epicurians - 2005
Jay Epstein - 2010
Art Essery - 2007
Fendermen - 2005
Maury Finney - 2007
Richard "Dick" Fischer - 2010
Flamin' Oh's - 2007
Arne Fogel- 2008
Billy Folger - 2006
Don Robert Formanek - 2008
Free and Easy - 2008
Augie Garcia - 2005
Gestures - 2007
Jokers Wild - 2010
Jordan Gish - 2008
Mike Gleiden and the Rhythm Kings - 2008
Barry Thomas Goldberg - 2008
Jim Greenwell - 2008
Gregory Dee and the Avanties – 2006
Gypsy - 2007
Steve Hall and Shotgun Red - 2006

John Hautla - 2010
Haze - 2010
Amos Heilicher – 2006
Benny Heilman - 2010
High Noon - 2008
High Spirits - 2006
Hill-Dillies - 2005
Doris Hines - 2010
Ken Horst - 2008
Hot Half Dozen – 2006
Houle Brothers - 2006
Barb Huber – 2006
Jimmy Hyde - 2010
Ipso Facto - 2008
Slim Jim Iverson - 2005
Johnny Green and the Greenmen - 2004
Michael Johnson - 2008
Red Johnson - 2005
Phyllis Jones - 2007
Bill Jordan - 2010
The Judd Group - 2008
Kan Dells - 2008
Killer Hayseeds - 2007
KSTP Barndance - 2004
Lamont Cranston Band - 2010
Peter Lang - 2008
Jerry Lemire - 2008
Randy Levy - 2010
Sherwin Linton - 2004
Lipps, Inc. - 2007
Litter - 2007
Jim Lopezio - 2007
Mary Macgregor - 2008
Sue McLean - 2010
Magpies - 2007
Dean Magraw - 2010
Carole Martin - 2008
Marvelous Marauders - 2005
Kim Martin - 2007
Dale Menten - 2008
Middle Spunk Creek Boys -2007
Milwaukee Slim (Angelo Chambers) - 2010
Joey Molland - 2007
More-Tishians - 2008
Dennis Morgan - 2007
Willie Murphy - 1008
Mystics - 2006
Nielson White Band - 2010
Nite Train - 2010
North Sisters - 2005
Northern Light - 2007
Novas - 2007
Alex Parenteau and Silver Wings - 2007
Parrish Brothers – 2006
Passage - 2007
Gary Paulak - 2008
Peterson Family - 2008
Platte Valley Boys - 2007
Poor Boys - 2010
Marvin Rainwater - 2004
Steve Raitt - 2010
Rembrandts - 2010
Renowns - 2005
Rio Nido Band - 2007
Rockie Robbins - 2010
Rockin' Hollywoods - 2007
Sonny Rodgers - 2007
Charlie Ryan - 2005
Betty Rydell – 2006
Marilyn Sellars - 2004
Shadows - 2005
Kenny Schossow - 2008
Sensational Sleepers - 2010
Sangoya - 2010
Dick Shapiro - 2008
Shaw Allen Shaw - 2006
Showtime I and II - 2008
Gordy Singer - 2010
Sky Blue Water Boys - 2005
Big Walter Smith – 2006
Phil Solem - 2010
Sounds of Blackness - 2010
Stagebrush – 2006
Jan Stark – 2006
Peter Steinberg - 2008
Mick Sterling and the Stud Brothers - 2010
StillRoven - 2010
Bob and Dale Strength - 2008
Texas Bill Strength - 2006
Suicide Commandos – 2006
Joe Sun - 2005
T.C. Jammers - 2010
Titans - 2004
Tommy Lee and the Orbits – 2004
Tornados - 2004
Trashmen - 2004
Unbelievable Uglies - 2004
Underbeats - 2004
Bobby Vee - 2004
Larry Verne - 2006
John Voit - 2004
Frank Wagamon - 2010
Frank Wagamon Sextet - 2010
Mike Waggoner and the Bops - 2008
Willie Walker - 20008
Westbound - 2008
Johnny Western - 2006
Westside - 2010
Whiskey River - 2008
Irv Williams - 2008
Jo Jo Williams - 2006
Steve Wroe and the Furys
David Z - 2008
Keith Zeller - 2008


INDIVIDUAL PAGES

Very occasionally, if there is a critical mass of information, I create a separate page for a person, place or things.  Many of them have connections to St. Louis Park.  Here are links to those pages:

Beatles in Minneapolis

Chancellors

Bill Diehl

Amos and Ira Heilicher

High Spirits

Peter Himmelman

Dan Israel

Judd Group

Timothy D. Kehr

Rivkin Brothers

Rolling Stones at Danceland

Barry Siewert (McKinna)

TV's Hullaballoo Teen Scene/Purple Cigar