Brennanleft the radio business for good in 1982. April 8, 1967: State Coliseum, Montgomery, AL with Electric Prunes, Buckinghams, Lou Christie, Brian Hyland and The Jokers, Tommy James and The Shondells, Royal Guardsmen, The Blues Magoos, The Casinos and others "WBAM presents Big Bam All-Star Spring Show" April 14, 1967: University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA with Freudian Slip Big Bam Show - Newspapers.com ", "Rolling Stones in Auburn '69," said James Robert Chambless. He founded his own company, Brennan Video Productions, in 1982and he continues to work there, transferring VHS tapes, old films and other retro footage to DVDs. Skynnard (not really a fan) opening for Wet Willie - 1972-73(?). I missed a bunch more, though!". But in the stations' 1960s heyday, shows usually kicked off on Fridays inMontgomery atGarrett Coliseum and moved to Birmingham on Saturdays at Municipal Auditorium (now called Boutwell Auditorium). We would always find the artists who were very popular with our audience, and we would try to get them, and we usually were successful.". Brennan and his wife, Clara, who handled ticketing, estimate that one-third of the tickets for any Shower of Stars datewere purchased on faith, before the lineup was ever announced. If possible, the Brennans liked to present the same lineup of artists in all three cities over a single weekend, offering three shows in Birmingham for the Shower of Stars, one in Montgomery for the Big BAM and one in Jacksonville for the Big APE. ", Also on his list: "Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, and Jesse Colin Young and The Youngbloods, Legion Field, sometime in the 70's. But in the minds of Alabama listeners, WVOK and WBAM ruled supreme, and the stations were closely linked by their concert series. Jerry Lee Lewis. WMSP - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia My personal favorite concert of all times was Billy Joel at the BJCC Concert Hall. Submit a request Contact us through a specially prepared form. Anybody else remember seeing Joplin in Tuscaloosa? Blue arcs of electricity knocked him unconscious and the show ended 15 minutes early. Reactions to these picks -- made by entertainment reporters Matt Wake, Lawrence Specker and Mary Colurso -- ranged from praise to anger, support to dismay. In the 1950s and '60s, Montgomery, Alabama, was ground zero for many of the major events central to the civil rights movement in this country. "I think the story about Buckingham Nicks is pretty interesting. Lindley. The following year 13 acts played in WVOKs Shower of Stars show at Legion Field in Birmingham. Its magic, said Beavers. During a recent show some ladies, obviously a few years older than him, recognized Grier from the early Gibraltar days. Flintstone House. Via a longstanding partnership with the Benns family, the Brennans also extended theirreach to Chattanooga, the home of WFLI-AM. Customer Help Desk 1984 at the BJCC. Formed: 1972, Tuscaloosa. Lead in groups were the James Gang with Joe Walsh, and a group that got booed called Frampton's Camel before Peter Frampton hit it big. The Righteous Brothers. Go to the Archives He recalls the popular hangouts for older teens and the legendary "Big Bam Shows" of the period. "And that made a big difference, because people didn't have the opportunity to turn on the TV set and see these artists, after they'd been buying their records. The Fabulous Shades Garrett Coliseum Montgomery Concert Setlists City Montgomery, AL, United States Add Montgomery venue Address 1555 Federal Drive Montgomery, AL 36107 USA Opened 1963 Web Official Website Garrett Coliseum on Wikipedia Info Located at he Alabama Agricultural Center. by Lenore Reese Vickrey: photos by the Brennan Family, Lenore Vickrey, As the arena began to fill up, you could hear the noise of the crowd from backstage. December 3, 1955-As an extra Bonus..here's the advertisement for sister station WBAM, Montgomery, AL, when the very young Elvis Presley appeared. He remembers the Kove days with Harvest/Harmony fondly, not only for the bands music but the people who came to see them. I told someone to lower the seat, and when I sat down, it went all the way to the bottom, he said, chuckling. The Beatles were paid a fee of $50,000 -- a hefty sum in those days, Brennan says -- and in the thick of the civil rights movement, the band's contract specified that they wouldn't perform for a segregated audience. By today's standards, his solution to the latter problemseems charmingly old-school. Keyboardist Mark Marvin will fill in for Eddie Wohlford who is unable to attend. That was one of my first big gigs - the Big BAM shows! White guys playing soul music!, Most of the stuff we played was music you could easily dance to, said Dupree. At the time, though, Brennan was simply doing his job, helping the family's radio stations to connect with listeners in a vivid, concrete way. His wild antics while playing the piano, including jumping on the keyboard, whipped the audience into a frenzy, making his act the most exciting at the time, Cyril Brennan added. So I went out and introduced Bobby Edwards, and he sang songs, and I came back about half an hour later, and I said, 'Now, here's Bobby Edwards!' He kicked it off with (what else?) All rights reserved (About Us). He was lead singer of the Rockin Gibraltars, formed in 1965 by a group of students at Lee High School. WVOK used Legion Field as a test case that spring, Brennan says, to see if the Shower of Stars could work at Birmingham's largest venue. ", From StolibGeezer: "Zevon played the Alabama twice. The Louvin Brothers. With no sound checks between acts, group would run on stage and begin playing almost immediately. recent post listing 31 of the greatest shows, according to this story by Madison Underwood, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Montgomery | Garage Hangover A buddy and I went down hoping for a miracle and some guy offered us two tickets for $10 bucks each which we gladly paid. I told Jimbo we should all come in with walkers, laughed Beavers. I remember some of them telling us they came to every show that whole year.". Tickets to these shows were typically $3 to $4. The venue? Alicia Mcleod - Vocals - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy If it's all right with him, it's all right with me. (His moniker on the air: Dan the Music Man. In the 1960s and early 1970s, the station sponsored a series of pop/rock concerts known as "Big BAM Shows" featuring acts ranging from Paul Revere and the Raiders, Lou Christie, and The Beach Boys to comedian Pat Paulsen. And so he gave them -- the only show in the whole country that did this -- we gave them a flat $50,000, which was pretty good in those days. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The early concert didn't begin until it was time for the second one, but it was worth the wait. "Eight Days a Week -- The Touring Years. "I felt that I was lucky to be able to have the kind of job I had," Brennan says. Readers shared fond memories of June Jam, the annual music festival that ran 1982-1997. For more, visit Rich's YouTube Channel . From what we can tell, she appeared there in 1970, but the story mentions Dec. 3, 1970, as the date of her show. Our four-piece horn section sets us apart, said Key. FUNK-ON. She came back a few minutes later and absolutely blasted a massive bongo solo. "It was a promotional thing for us. Tommy James Interview: Singer Discusses His Autobiography 'Me, the Mob "To go to the concerts was huge. "I'm so old. View the Full Page. The Big BAM was WBAM, the 50,000-watt AM radio station owned by the Brennan family, whose other Alabama station was Birminghams WVOK. The 7 p.m.show-- billedas a music battle between the England and the United States-- also includedtheRighteous Brothers, Marty Robbins, Sonny James, Skeeter Davis, Del Reeves, Archie "Rindercella" Campbell and Cannibal and the Headhunters. Brennan bid farewell to concert promotion in 1973 --a necessary business decision, he says -- and for Birmingham music lovers, it was the end of an era. He never asked forautographs. "We never had a flop," Brennan says, "but we had some shows that were a little bit bigger than others. Western European Countries, Italian Restaurants In Sandy Springs, Contemporary Music For All Coma, Ford Bronco Reservation Login, Panoplie Dragoeuf Dofus Touch, River Radio Station, Nice In Korean, How Did Tamerlan Tsarnaev Die, Den Of Behemoths Boss, "This was a daytime concert that seemed like a war zone with fireworks flying everywhere. Think it was 1977," says Craigmo. Respi Mee Sup Sabahiiat. We always had the feeling, said Dan Brennan, that it was more than just a job., It was the golden era of rock and roll, said Moody. Canned Heat. The Fabulous Shades, 1965. [Montgomery native and fellow Robert E. Lee graduate Tommy Shaw came back from Chicago to join the group, staying six months until getting a call to join Styx, who needed a replacement for a guitarist whod left as they were about to go on tour. The Hollies. WMSP - Wikipedia . ", From Jeremy Don McCollough: "Guns N' Roses played the Birmingham race course, it was a muddy mess. They responded, swiftly and passionately, to a recent post listing 31 of the greatest shows at venues throughout the state. Local garage bands (they practiced in their parents garages or living rooms) were found in almost every town in the United States in the mid-to late 60s, and the Montgomery area was no exception. Pitiful (Otis Redding) sound so much better with real horns.. 9781603060554: The Other Side of Montgomery: Growing Up White in the We rode up the . WBAM Big Bam Shows Remembered - YouTube By the summer of 1975 hed joined singer and keyboardist Eddie Wohlford and drummer Tommy Beavers to become part of Harvest, the precursor to the group Harmony at the Kove that spawned two major talents who made it big nationally: Tommy Shaw and Beth Nielsen Chapman. BB King's penultimate show at the Alabama (sitting but still playing and not drifting into non sequitur land). Big Bam Show . But with two hotshot rock bandson the bill at Legion Field, the twangier acts faced a tougher crowd and some of the musicians felt like underdogs. Lou Christie was huge in Montgomery. Rinoplastia; Blefaroplastia How Sonny and Cher Went From TV's Power Couple to Bitter Exes - Biography BOBBY GOLDSBORO. In most cases, the concertswere multi-act affairs, featuring the hottest names the radio stations could secure. Can you say Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?". Fans would mail their orders to the station, requesting a specific showtime, and the envelopes often included suggestions for artists they'd like to see. We had a fabulous time.. From au92536: "June Jam in Fort Payne - I know it's country BUT. It was great! One of the best concerts ever for Blues in Birmingham. He showed up about five minutes before his show was to go on. It was important to us.". Peter (Asher) and Gordon (Waller), Big BAM Show. Members: Original members John Key, David Headley and Bob Corley plus David Langford, Mike Mobley, Larry Hughes, Bobby Johnson and Rick Roper. WMSP is a radio station licensed to serve Montgomery, Alabama, United States. Id never seen anybody get an audience so excited, Dan Brennan remembered. The audience was huge, sold out, 10,000 or more. The Carpenters. Brennan also remembers that Starr requested reinforcements to the stage area near his drum kit, because strong gusts lingered after the hurricane. Tickets were priced at$1.50-$5.50 per show, Brennan says, and artists' fees usually ran about $300-$7,500 per act. The station is locally owned and operated by Bluewater Broadcasting Company, LLC. Read reviews from world's largest community for readers. We'd get hamburgers and bring them back, with someone always holding our place. Date:Sun, 5 Jun 2005 09:12:45 -0400 I'll tell you a story about that WBAM show in Montgomery. Elton John played three different years and drew over 40,000 total. But the moment was indelible for one of his daughters, Debbie Brennan Bartoletti. WBAM FM - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia He would tear up the piano, Moody said, We couldnt find anyone to provide a piano, but he would put on a show. The Animals. "People were going crazy, and you couldn't hear anything because the girls were screaming so loud," Bartoletti says. In the 1950s and '60s, Montgomery, Alabama, was ground zero f. The Other Side of Montgomery book. ", From ghostreader: "Springsteen, mobile civic center theater may 1976. He and his wife live north of Prattville in a 1930s shack, have three grown children and are expecting their first grandchild. The Who played there. ", From GmanGent: "Alice Cooper Von Braun in 1974's Welcome to my Nightmare Tourone of the most successful tours financially up until that time. truly historic happening. I tried to get us all to dress up as the Fruit of the Loom guys but no one wanted to., For musicians who played together for years, there wont be a need to practice much, if at all. Cyril Brennan, who received a Top Program Director award from Billboard Magazine, is retired and lives in Pike Road. ", From David Hester: "Eagles at Von Braun Civic Center in Huntsville in 1975. The football stadiumposed a few extra challenges, Brennan says, from seating assignments to sound quality to weather preparation. It was the summer after my senior year, said Grier, who was joined by Keith Brewer on bass, Bobby Dupree on drums, Rusty Crumpton on guitar, Ronnie Monroe on trumpet and Ed Sanford on keyboards. Chuck Berry was an intro-act, great show he put on. We came along at just the right time.. He wants to go on late in the show.' As a result, Captain and Tennille declined ABC's offer to do a second season. ", Looking back on it, Brennan realizes that bringing the Beatles to the Gator Bowl was a milestone event -- one firmly enshrined in Beatles lore and noted by Ron Howard in his 2016 documentary, "Eight Days a Week -- The Touring Years." on. It was a clear channel station that covered over 90 counties in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, and could be heard everywhere. It feels good. "It was rewarding, because people seemed to respond to some of the things I was doing. "What's that Frank Sinatra song? ", Jerry Tavin/Photo courtesy of Everett Collection, From mcarter3: "Uhh. Where's Jimi Hendrix's concert at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa in 1969? THE 5 BEST Upcoming Concerts & Shows in Montgomery - Tripadvisor The . HOW COME PAUL GODDARD PUSHES HIS GLASSES UP THE BRIDGE OF HIS NOSE? I've seen so many good shows in Birmingham over the years! Several members still play in other bands for private parties, or solo at local restaurants, and on June 9, several members of Harmony plan a reunion show at the Blue Iguana in Prattville. We get young people, folks our age, and older folks, he said proudly. "Put You Down" was written by lead guitarist Max Kendrick and vocalist Rich Gainer. The show is a spin-off from MTV 's Jackass, in which Margera and most of the main cast appeared. "Times have changed so," said a wistful Peek, the Shower of Stars devotee. ), "I remember we used to have people come out to our station on the Bessemer Superhighway," Brennan says, "and they would tell us that our transmitter -- we had a 50-kilowatt transmitter, and it was pretty close to their homes -- and they said, 'Well, I'm picking you up on my coffeepot.'". Big Bam Show. WVOK Shower of Stars | Flickr ", From Don Haley Benson: "Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA! porsche cayman 987 bodykit; efficiencies for rent in riverview, fl. Although he admits to anoccasional pang of longing, looking back on his previouscareer, Brennan is far from retired. ", From Larry Gilbreath: "I know it's been a long time ago but not one single June Jam in Fort Payne on the list unbelievable." Four dates per year were standard -- in winter, spring, summer and fall -- and total attendance topped out at 15,000 people for each three-show stint in Birmingham. Herman's Hermits. Thomas, joined by John Kay (solo after leaving Steppenwolf), the Grass Roots and others. I always was impressed about how well the bands performed when they were live, even though the Coliseum acoustics werent so good.. At least 25 people tried to jump the stage during the concert and were knocked backward into the crowd by gigantic stage bouncers! The primary reason for the shows was to keep a personal relationship with the listeners, said Dan Brennan, 81, former general manager at WVOK. Competition was evident between the two bands, Brennan says, as the Beach Boys returned for their splashiest date at the Shower of Stars, and the Stones made theirBirmingham debut on their first U.S. tour. The Temptations and The Supremes, The TCB Tour, Auburn University, 1972. "Bill" Brennan, Billy Benns (Jr.) and Mrs. Luella B. Aldridge. Big Lots Prattville: Furniture, mattress & home product store in "I always had an idea about saving memories for people, and using the media that was becoming available, and that's what led me into this.". Dan Brennan, center, backstage at the Shower of Stars with with Paul Revere & the Raiders. The WMAQ slogan came from a contest where winners would have to answer the phone "WMAQ's gonna make me rich," so you had people using the phrase anytime. Thats not to say Montgomery area favorite bands cant be seen any more. "Tuscaloosa Memorial Coliseum 1972," said Randy Palmer. The 8:30 p.m. show -- which happened in the windy aftermath of Hurricane Dora-- came courtesy of WAPE-AM, a radio station owned by the Brennan family. "There was a little office backstage, and I remember seeing my father and uncles back there with a security guard," Bartoletti says. at 3126 Jasmine Road, was built in the early 1960s by William J. Of all the concerts I've been to in my lifetime, this one was the most memorable. The entire show was magic, beginning with The Stranger and of course included many of the unknown Joel early songs. Gobs of people have asked us when were going to do another reunion. And they accepted it, but we did get the total amount of the gate that came in. The Rockin' Gibraltars, Montgomery, 1960s. ", From bhamboost: "Parliament Funkadelic Mothership Connection 1976. 6 places sorted by traveler favorites Clear all filters 1. Skyping with a Hermit The band also played Birmingham in May 1977, according to this story by Madison Underwood. As Brennan recalls it, the Beach Boys were paid $7,500 for their performance, and the Rolling Stones received $5,000. The detailed map shows the US state of Alabama with boundaries, the location of the state capital Montgomery, major cities and populated places, rivers and lakes, interstate highways, principal highways, railroads and major airports. It was just before his popularity exploded. "Lynyrd Skynyrd, after Montrose featuring Sammy Hagar July 4th, 1975 at Rickwood Field," said Bamabadger62. That way I could see the stars and hear the music better. One of the Beach Boys told me it was the biggest talent show hed ever been in!. Mountain 1971," said Billy Bromberg. Beavers and Jones will be joined by former members Kelvin Holly, who works in the recording industry in Muscle Shoals and tours with Neil Young, and Bill Hinds, who tours with the Paul Thorn Band. Men. It was electric. While Gator Bowl officials relented to a desegregated audience for the concert, two other venues Epstein had chosen were problematic. It was the most important thing in our lives. In 1964 the Brennans booked the Beatles for a concert in either Legion Field in Birmingham, or Garrett Coliseum or Crampton Bowl in Montgomery. WBAM Big Bam Shows - YouTube The father of six and grandfather of two currently lives in Montgomery and plays with the Bama Breeze Band. ", "I don't know if it has been mentioned yet, but for the Alabama Theater I would definitely include Warren Zevon's show in, what?.1986 or '87?, said earman1. Solid show during a year held in very high regard by a large number of Deadheads. WBAM-FM - History - Historical Videos