Minneapolis Auditorium: 1968
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.
The Righteous Brothers appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on March 10, 1968 – new time and date from a previous booking.
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, who was running for President for the first of six times.
Johnny Cash and folks were at the Minneapolis Auditorium on April 20, 1968.
Not exactly rock ‘n’ roll, but Tony Bennett appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on April 28, 1968. The show also featured Duke Ellington and His Orchestra and comedian Jack E. Leonard. The show was Bennett’s only Midwest appearance and was presented by Ken Roberts.
Gladys Knight and the Pips appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on May 12, 1968, which was Mothers Day.
There is an interview of sorts with Peter, Paul and Mary in the May 22, 1968, Park High Echo, in conjunction with their appearance at the Minneapolis Auditorium.
Aretha Franklin, headlining “The Aretha Franklin Revue,” 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 latter described by Barry L. Peterson in his review in the Minnesota Daily as a “coffe-house fisaco”). Peterson found the build-up to be too much and the first part of Aretha’s show to be “vaguely unsatisfying. “It wass not until she sat down to do ‘Night Life’ and I felt the audience around me lean forward sucking in their breath as though it were her words, that her music reached me. We wandered out – feeling empty but not at peace – we had been aroused, but left unsatisfied.”
WDGY jocks in the program were Scot Burton, Johnny Canton, Jay J. Bowman, Perry St. John, and Jerry Brook. Entire production under the supervision of Arnie Sagarsky, A&S Enterprises, Inc. and under the direction of Richard Shapiro, Central Booking. Floor direction by Patrick Devine!
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, 1968. (Thanks, Mark Karnowski)
Because of rioting that followed the Torchlight Parade in 1967, organizers were considering cancelling the parade in 1968. Instead, they encouraged African-Americans to play a more active role in the 1968 festival. The Citizens’ Patrol, made up of both blacks and whites, helped with crowd control during the parades and the Aretha Franklin concert.
Simon and Garfunkel played the Minneapolis Auditorium on August 20, 1968.