Events: 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, sporting Beatle wigs and accents. Fellow musicians weren’t fooled but their fans were – at least for awhile.
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.
Louis Armstrong worked hard at the Upper Midwest Auto Show, doing two shows a day for ten days, January 8-17, 1965. Tickets were $1.50, but available for half price at Super Valu stores.
Bob Reed’s journal shows the Trashmen performing at the Walker Art Center on February 6, 1965, and at the Prom on February 27, 1965.
An epic blizzard prevented Bobby “Blue” Bland from making a KUXL-sponsored dance at the Marigold Ballroom in March 1965, but a local musician was found to substitute, admission price lowered, and the event still drew 2,600 people.
The Trashmen played a rare local gig at a Hawaiian Surfari at Coffman Union at the U of M. With special entertainment: exotic dancer LaLoni! Prizes for the Swingingest Hula Dancer, Brightest Shirt, Brightest Muu Muu. April 30, 1965.
Larry O’Connell says the best Battle of the Bands took place at Aldrich Arena during the summer of ’65: noon to midnight!
Why not? Jonah and the Wailers and the Inmates were at the Shoreview Roller Rink on June 19, 1965.
Peter, Paul and Mary, with Dave Brubeck, appeared at the Met Center on June 23, 1965. Well, this isn’t true, since the Met wasn’t built yet. We’ll call this a placeholder.
Dizzy Gillespie and his Quintet, including James Moody, performed at Davy Jones’ Locker at the Downtowner Motel in July 1965 and got a heavenly review from Don Morrison in the Minneapolis Star.
The Trashmen came to the Marigold Ballroom on August 20, 1965.
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.
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.
Paul Revere and the Raiders came to the Minneapolis Armory on August 19, 1965.
The Byrds performed in St. Paul in August/September.
Local dates for the Trashmen in September 1965 were:
- The University of Minnesota, September 20
- The Prom, September 24
The Miss Teenage Twin Cities Pageant aired on September 28, 1965 on Channel 11.
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.'” An item says that Danny Klayman, a comedian from St. Louis Park, was appearing at “The Losers,” a well-known downtown daytime spot – same place?
According to Bob Reed’s journal, the Trashmen played the Minneapolis Auto Show on October 16 and 17, 1965.
In an October 17, 1965, article in the Minneapolis Tribune about the success of “Liar Liar,” band booker and record producer Dick Shapiro estimated that there were “350 rock ‘n’ roll bands in the Twin Cities area that are ‘good enough to get away with a dance job.'”
The Northwest Skiing and Winter Sports Fair, a/k/a Ski-a-Go-Go, was held on October 22 at the Minneapolis Exhibition Hall. Performing were the Del Counts, the Fables, and the Deacons.
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.
Sonny and Cher were scheduled to perform at the Minneapolis Auditorium on December 30, 1965.