I'm Not Saying This Was The Best Musical Era Ever...

[Jim G.]

But I wouldn't argue against it;

[Hugh_Lebowski]

1. On top of the best era, that it was the best AREA for music

around that time ... and for many years after ... and probably still is

Been to all the venues except Winterland and SC Fairgrounds. Most of them quite a few times.

[Jim G.]

3. I Grew Up Around St. Louis

We had 3 or 4 great concerts every week back then. There was the Kiel Opera House, The Convention Center, The Arena (later The Checkerdome) & The Fox Theater which all had great concerts for $7 or less. Then all summer we had 'The Mississippi River Festival' at the SIU Edwardsville Amphitheater which had an additional 3 or 4 great concerts a week. And Busch Stadium even had concerts.

I went to an all day show at Busch with this lineup; Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes, Bob Segar & The Silver Bullet Band, Jeff Beck with the Jon Hammer Group, Fleetwood Mac & Jefferson Starship with Pappa John Creach. Tickets were $15 in advance, $20 the day of the show.

And we had some rock festivals in the Midwest that were unbelievable.

[EYESORE 9001]

4. Do you remember a 3-day festival on Bull Island in the summer of '72?

It was the closest I came to a ‘Woodstock’ experience.

[Jim G.]

7. I Was There...

And in Terre Haute earlier that same year too. Yeah, the mud at Bull Island after the rain was a mess!

[EYESORE 9001]

9. I didn't make it to Terre Haute

There was just too much going on that summer. I did see The Rolling Stones in Nashville, however.

[Jim G.]

10. Stevie Wonder Opened For The Stones In '72 In St. Louis

It sold out so fast they added a matinee. A friend of mine traded a pound of weed to a guy at the big local FM radio station for the entire middle section of row 12, so I got to see them twice that day.

Mick Jagger came out with a jean jacket over a purple jump suit with a long red scarf around his waist (that he used to great effect during 'Midnight Rambler' ) with a derby on, twirling a cane & playing with a yoyo. By the end of the show he was practically naked.

Stevie Wonder had at least 15 people in his band & he played practically every instrument.

And that was back when you could smoke at a concert.

[alfredo]

19. I saw that same lineup in Detroit. Damn good show.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

48. I too, saw this show in 1972 in San Diego

Was a jarhead, under 90 days to go, we stood the whole day and night, but then, I was all of 21 and could do that kind of thing.

[Jim G.]

21. Look At This!

It just popped up on my FB feed;

September 2, 1972-The Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival was held over three days on Bull Island, near Griffin, Indiana. The promoters expected about 50,000 music fans, but over 200,000 eventually attended. This event was poorly organized, so many acts pulled out, including Black Sabbath, the Faces, the Allman Brothers and Joe Cocker. Among the acts that did perform at the 3-day concert: the Eagles, Lee Michaels, Canned Heat, Black Oak Arkansas, Fog Hat and even Cheech & Chong...

[fwvinson]

34. In '74 saw that group, most of that group of bands, at a 3 day outdoor concert in Charlotte, NC.

[BigmanPigman]

49. The Doors in '72

Jim died in 71, did the rest of the band play without him? I never knew of this.

[Jim G.]

50. I Can Honestly Say I Don't Remember The Doors Being There

A lot of the bands scheduled didn't show up but a lot of bands did play there.

I do remember Ravi Shankar, Canned Heat & Black Oak Arkansas pretty distinctly.

I was there with my girlfriend & two other couples & there were about a dozen other people from my area that we knew camped close by. I remember some skinny dipping & experimenting with some mind altering chemicals & smoking an assortment of substances & wandering around a lot. A lot of it's pretty foggy now but I do remember I had a lot of fun.

[BigmanPigman]

51. I was born 15 years too late.

That has pissed me off my whole life...especially missing the music and chemicals. Playing "catch-up" is never the same and imitating the artists never really works well.

[carpetbagger]

71. They tried.

Put out a few albums, so-so, although the one with Morrison speaking poetry and them backing is worth a listen. Until Manzarek died, there was off and on attempts, But as I recall they would only consider a full Doors reunion then with Eddie Vetter.

[BigmanPigman]

72. I have that album, An American Prayer.

Eddie Vetter would have been a decent replacement for Jim.

[Ferrets are Cool]

62. Rory was SOOOOOOOOOOOO underappreciated.

And his bassist was the bomb.

[Pas-de-Calais]

31. Recall any of the places in the link below?

Special places. Worked at a few, bounced as well, partied as well.



https://www.stlmusicyesterdays.com/

[Jim G.]

32. Yes, Quite A Few Of Them

I was mostly on the east side, Stonehenge, Pops, Collinsville Park etc. but I went to a lot of clubs in St. Louis especially the big two on the riverfront, Mississippi Nights & Muddy Waters.

[DFW]

2. Some of those acts I saw at the time, some I saw within the last five years on Cape Cod

At the Payomet Performing Arts Center in Truro, Massachusetts, I saw Perry Miller (“Jessen Colin Young”), John Mayall (might have been as long as 10 years ago for him), and James Montgomery just two months ago.

[EYESORE 9001]

5. I would argue that it was the best musical era ever

I remember that period as a continual road trip, seeing top acts at a price I could afford on my $1.25/hour job.

[Skittles]

6. it was the best time to live in the big city 'burbs during high school

I know that

[Jim G.]

8. Yep...

I grew up in Southern Illinois 20 minutes from downtown St. Louis. The best of both worlds.

[TuxedoKat]

18. Me too

For a year -- Alton, IL, Godfrey IL area. Then years later moved back to the area for 8 years, lived in Chesterfield, MO. Love the Cardinals, and the midwest in general.

[2naSalit]

11. +1

Beantown was in the loop and it was just down the road a piece, like about 50 miles. We all had cars so going to concerts was our pastime for years, that and hunting down certain guitars (I was in a couple garage bands and we did that kind of thing).

[Hugh_Lebowski]

17. Agreed!

Esp. if that city was San Francisco

[2naSalit]

12. I like to think of it as the second wave of great music...

Of the 20th century, can't forget the early years and the rise of Jazz.

[Jim G.]

13. Can't Forget Jazz Or The Blues

They say country is just the blues with a twang. There's also a lot to be said about R&B & the Motown era. Prog rock was often classically influenced too.

But a lot of the music coming out of the late 60's through the 70's is just the most memorable for me.

[Mr.Bill]

39. I've always heard it said

Country and the Blues had a baby and they named it Rock and Roll.

I think that Who concert in the OP was the night Keith Moon was too drunk to do the show and they pulled a drummer out of the audience.

[Brother Buzz]

47. One could make the argument it's a little more complicated than that

The Blues kinda were a product of field/work songs meshed with a little gospel, while Country was a mesh of Gospel and Anglo folk music.

Now Jazz, it it's purist sense, was a some crazy sophisticated syncopation shit, and it spawned a couple of paths/bridges to Rock 'n' Roll; Jump blues, Rockabilly, Boogie woogie, and Rhythm and blues.

Note: All of the early Rock 'n' Roll drummers had a STRONG background in Jazz, an essential, but often misunderstood aspect of Rock 'n' Roll.

Earl Palmer, arguably the most recorded early Rock 'n' Roll drummer, was first and foremost, a Jazz drummer.

[Progressive Jones]

58. RE: Drummers. I've played in rock bands for the past 50 years, if you include the "garage days".

All of the best drummers I've played with had serious jazz chops, even in Metal bands I've played in.

[Brother Buzz]

59. Some famous R&R drummer, whose name I forget, once quipped....

"My top ten favorite drummers, growing up, all turned out to be Earl Palmer."

Note: Crazy man, Ginger Baker had some serious Jazz drummer chops, too.

Oh, a boatload of the early top tier session guitarists had a strong Jazz background, too; many of them didn't actually like R&R, but they knew knew the structure stone cold and loved the paycheck.

[Harker]

14. The 80s were great, too!

The 1780s, that is.

[Tikki]

15. Another great era in music history...

https://www.cbgb.com/about

...Founded on the Bowery in New York City by Hilly Kristal in 1973; CBGB was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and new wave bands like the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Misfits, Television, Patti Smith Group, The Dead Boys, The Dictators, The Cramps, and Joan Jett....

Tikki

[rsdsharp]

16. I haven't thought of Black Oak Arkansas in years.

In 1976 I was music director of an FM Top 40 station. They had recently switched to the MCA label from Atco, and the MCA record promoter called me and told me that he could bring them to the station for an interview when they were in town for a concert. Knowing they had a reputation for trashing hotel rooms (and other places), the program director nixed the interview. I called back and broke the bad news. “No problem,” he said. We’ll do the interview at your apartment!” That took some fast talking to get out of.

[alfredo]

20. Good story. I saw them open for David Bowie. Detroit

[twodogsbarking]

22. Joe Walsh and Nils Lofgren were great on their own.

I didn't like it when they joined bands. I must add that The James Gang
was ahead of their time. Joe Walsh.

[DEbluedude]

66. I loved Nils.

Had a bootleg album of his in 73 or 74 that got lost in one of my many moves. One of many albums that I played daily. What a great era!

[flying_wahini]

23. I saw 13 of these bands, Live.

[edbermac]

24. Nope, the decade before that.

[Boomerproud]

68. Yes.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

83. +1

🎸🎶👍

[USALiberal]

73. No!

[CCExile]

25. I was going to guess early 70's, then I saw the note at the top. I was lucky enough to

see many of these acts or individuals at Fitzgerald's in Houston in the first half of the 80's. Fitz's was a great place to see artists on their way up, and on their way back down, at a great price!

[jcgoldie]

26. ironic

Great schedule at Winterland and missing its signature house band!

[Picaro]

27. Very different than today

This era was the golden age of rock. No question about it.

Most pop music sounds alike because there are inly 4 top producers—all with similar sounds. The lyrical complexity is almost at a kindergarten level with the song Happy and other popular songs.

Musical drivel reigns supreme today. Musical genius reigned supreme in the 60’s and 70’s (in spite of disco).

[Jim G.]

28. There Are Still Great Artists Performing & Recording Today

The Tedeschi Trucks Band & Christone "Kingfish" Ingram come quickly to mind. And there were some pretty decent acts in the 80's & 90's & through the 2000's.

But "classic" rock is classic for a reason.

[fwvinson]

35. Disco, had some pretty good black groups, in my opinion. Some rocked.

[Demovictory9]

29. Any women ? How about racial diversity?

[Jim G.]

30. Seriously?

I see a few on the flyer in the OP, & I can think of a couple hundred examples off the top of my head.

[Crowman2009]

75. Santana & War are two examples of the later.

[Merlot]

85. Linda Ronstadt only woman.

[fwvinson]

33. The ones I have been to their concerts in '73-?

The Who, Neil Young, Electric Light Orchestra, Crosby, Nash, Peter Frampton, Loggins and Messina, Tower of Power, Joe Walsh/Barnstorm, Lynard Skynyrd, Santana, Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band (I am on the album cover,"What were once vices are now habits" in the crowed. Taken at Western Kentucky University). Great times. Just waiting for that kind of music to come back. Hope, Hope. Plus, many other great bands. In Nashville, Louisville, these great bands played every weekend. And, the price to see these bands was from $10 to $25. I saw a few bands free, I worked on the stage crew.

[Martin68]

36. I often call it "60s Music", but it really went from around 1964 to 1974, or thereabout.

[housecat]

87. yes I agree.

[wryter2000]

37. Tower of Power!

Okay, you convinced me.

[John1956PA]

42. +1

"So Very Hard To Go" stands out as a classic in my taste of pop tunes.

[bahboo]

55. and they are still killing it...

[wryter2000]

57. They are after 52 years

I was at their 40th anniversary concert at the Fillmore and their 50th in Oakland. I haven't seen them live since 2019. Damned covid.

[Ferrets are Cool]

61. One of my favorite bands

Never appreciated enough.

[msongs]

38. 1969 - Hendrix headlines at devonshire downs "newport pop festival" 3 day

event. a totally possibly the most diverse group of performers on the festival circuit.

so many LAPD helicopters u could hardly hear the music sometimes

https://rockandrollroadmap.com/places/where-they-played/los-angeles-area-venues/devonshire-downs-home-of-the-newport-69-pop-festival/

[Mr.Bill]

40. My crown jewell of concert-going

is I was at Winterland when parts of the Frampton Comes Alive album was recorded.

[LAS14]

41. Oklahoma! South Pacific! The Sound of Music! West Side Story!! nt

[AngryOldDem]

64. LOL

Honestly, that’s what I was expecting when I clicked on this.

Era was good for both concerts and musicals.

[USALiberal]

74. Lol, funny! Nt

[dharma boots]

43. Noteable Concert Experiences, Part One

(1966) Westview Park, Pittsburgh, PA . THE WHO . Tkts: $2.50
Actually, The Who didn’t invade the U.S. until 1967. In 1966, unbeknownst to us, we were enthusiastically shakin’ all over for The (phony) Who, four American Beatle-wigged frauds, faking Brit accents while festooned in flash London finery. We 200+ bunch of delirious and unsuspecting dupes danced, danced, danced with dizzy, unbridled joy outdoors during the scoundrels’ 20 minute set. A meager seven songs. Seven! “My Generation” and six rave-up R&B cover tunes. Ersatz Pete Townsend wiggled and wind-milled while counterfeit Keith Moon affectionately abused his terrified Ludwig drum kit. Woohoo. Won’t get fooled again

[Jim G.]

44. LOL!

In '66 the only live music I saw was local cover bands at dances & what they called "Street Dances", usually at some parking lot where you had to pay a buck to get in.

[twodogsbarking]

52. Note the bottom, Dylan and The Band at the Oakland Coliseum.

[Dgknute]

53. 70's vs 60's

That's only because your probably not old enough....you had to be there...The Beatles were all done by '70 fer god's sake.

[marble falls]

56. Riiiiiiigggggghhhhhhhttttt. Done.

[Ferrets are Cool]

60. One word: WOW!!

[AngryOldDem]

63. I'd pay good money to see those shows.

[Danascot]

65. I went to a big music festival in Texas

that took place shortly after Woodstock. I don't remember much of it or who played but I know I had a blast. Does anyone have any information about this event? It was probably East Texas because I drove west all day the next day and was still in Texas.

[Bucky]

67. ELO and ShaNaNa on the same bill? The mind reels

I honestly can't process that data

[Crowman2009]

76. ShaNaNa would be better suited for those 50's rock revival shows around that same time.

[Bucky]

77. Sha Na Na, my friend, has Woodstock cred. Does ELO?

[Crowman2009]

78. No, but later on Jeff Lynne worked extensively with the solo albums of three ex-Beatles.

Did Sha Na Na perform on the Xanadu soundtrack, I didn't think so!

[Jim G.]

79. I Saw Sha Na Na With Richie Havens At Wash. U In St. Louis A Few Months After Woodstock

That was a strange & entertaining bill.

[kentuck]

69. I feel like the music between 1971-73 was the best music of my lifetime.

I guess I thought music would always be great from that moment on? Now, I think that music peaked at that time and will never be replicated.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

70. Sorry, but the best era for music was the decades before and after 1800

Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven.

[sdfernando]

80. Well it was a dammed sight better than disco! /nt

[bluecollar2]

81. I moved to the City in 74

Moved from London and went to a year and a half of high school there...

Best music scene ever. Bay area concerts rocked!

[TrunKated]

82. I was born in 1979 ...

But I've listened to music from all the decades in the 20th century, and classical, and, of course, the 21st, and I think the 70s largely sucks for music.

After all, you had D I S C O, the worst crap since country music.

Let's see, also, the Beatles broke up.

And there is a vibe of molasses and brain damage to much of the decade. Slow... ponderous... a lack of freshness and energy.

If it wasn't for the beginnings of punk and New wave, the decade would be such a waste.

But that's just my humble opinion.

Well, OK, it's influenced by some older family members, but still...

[TomSlick]

84. Yeah well, I'll say it. It was the greatest era of popular music.

My opinion is perhaps not completely objective, it's the soundtrack of my misspent youth.

It's probably not the greatest era for orchestral music but that's not what you where talking about.

[housecat]

86. Yes best ever -- mid '60s to early/mid '70s from the Stones to Queen and everything between