Events: 1967
The group We Five appeared at Northrop Auditorium on January 14, 1967. The concert was the finale to Greek Week at the U of M, and proceeds went to scholarships for Indian students.
KUXL hosted the Impressions at the Marigold Ballroom on January 22, 1967. Also appearing were the Amazers.
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.
Did I get my first record player on my birthday in 1967? I don’t remember, but it was white, and not quite a Close ‘n’ Play.
March 26, 1967, saw the invasion of Paul Revere and the Raiders, and their co-stars of the show “Where the Action Is,” including Tina Mason, Steve Alaimo, and Keith Allison. Also appearing were Roy Head and a back-up band called Flash and the Board of Directors. The show took place at the St. Paul Auditorium Arena. Emcees were Johnny Canton and Scott Burton.
James Brown and his 18 Piece Orchestra appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on April 25, 1967, presented by Toby Zeno of Metro Attractions. An ad, apparently from the Minneapolis Spokesman, called this “The Largest Twin Cities Rhythm & Blues Concert Ever Scheduled in the Twin Cities Area. (A Show for the Entire Family)” Oddly enough, despite the popularity of Brown and his previous appearances in the Twin Cities, there doesn’t appear to be any publicity for this performance in the Minneapolis Star or Tribune. It may be due to the fact that trouble broke out in conjunction with Brown’s concerts in 1966 in Los Angeles and Kansas City?
Connie Hechter, in the TCM Insider (April 29, 1967), found Brown to be “TOO MUCH!” but perhaps for lack of publicity, the crowd was small.
When an artist of this caliber comes through, the house should be packed. It’s not often you can watch this type of “action” show in person. We have to support these acts, gang, if we want more of them!
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 by JoJo Esko in the May 1967 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.
May 22, 1967, was the date of the first Connie Awards.
Some of the kids around Lake Minnetonka were apparently not happy with the action at Danceland, and formed the Lake Area Student Association (LASA) to sponsor dances at the Surfside Club in Mound. The students were from Wayzata, Minnetonka, and Hopkins High Schools. LASA got its start after a party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cook got out of hand. The Cooks helped organize the group; Mrs. Cook said, “We wanted to hold the dance in a nice place. The kids’ dignity is hurt by some of the places they must go to dance.” Attendance at the first dance was not as much as expected but was deemed a success. (Minnetonka Herald, June 22, 1967)
On June 25, the Beatles appeared on a BBC program “Our World,” which was broadcast to 31 countries and an estimated 500 million people.
Trestman Music Center’s 2nd Annual Battle of the Bands drew 64 bands. It took place June 28-30 and July 5-7 in Richfield. Contestants had to be ages 13-17 and non-professional. First place went to the Defenders.
Donald K. Martin played soul sounds on his overnight show on KDWB.
In June 1967 the Star’s Forrest Powers interviewed Jan Melchior of WDGY and Sam Sherwood of KDWB and both agreed that they stuck to the standard Top 40 format:
From 6 a.m. till 9 a.m., the dic jockey is a “conservative swinger,” playing to both the teens and the young aduluts who are up and about at the time. The pitch grows a bit softer from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the housewives make up the main audience, bu the tempo begins to “really swing” thereafter when the teen-agers start arriving home from school.
Melchoir and Sherwood were also asked about Gordon MacLendon’s charge that “tunes glorifying dope addition and immorality in general are being pushed for radio play.” Both stations said that they check the lyrics before they play a song and ask the publisher to send the words if they are hard to understand. Which doesn’t explain “White Rabbit.”
A Preservation Hall concert featuring Kid Thomas and His 8 Algiers Stompers was presented on July 12, 1967, in the Grand Crown Ballroom of the New Hopkins House in Golden Valley.
Marcia and the Lynchmen were one of the opening bands at the Buckinghams concert at the Minneapolis Armory on July 12, 1967. Leader Tim Lynch of Edina would be drafted that October, serving in Vietnam until 1970. He died of cancer in 1997 at the age of 49.
WDGY sponsored a show by Aretha Franklin at the Minneapolis Auditorium on July 19, 1967. Johnny Canton introduced her. Marcia and the Lynchmen were scheduled to be an opening act, but Marcia was in a car accident just before the concert.
Jimmie Rodgers had an extended engagement at the Manor Restaurant in St. Paul. Later that year, on December 1, 1967, he suffered traumatic head injuries after the car he was driving was stopped by an off-duty police officer near the San Diego Freeway in Los Angeles. He had a fractured skull and required several surgeries. Initial reports in the newspapers attributed his injuries to a severe beating with a blunt instrument by unknown assailants. He recovered but his career was over.
A new booking agency called Uphill Productions, based in St. Louis Park, announced its startup in July 1967, with a wish to give new groups a start.
The Monkees played the St. Paul Auditorium on August 4. See the Individual Page on the Monkees in Minnesota.
On August 10, 1967, Dayton’s St. Paul sponsored a Back to School event that featured the Litter and Danny’s Reasons.
Denny Waite remembered that the Litter invited the Who (but not the Hermits) over for a party after the concert, but only Pete Townsend showed up and he was incredibly shy.
Robert Wilkinson remembers,
I was at this concert. It was awesome. We went to the Downtowner Motel afterward and hung out with them for a bit. All the doors of the rooms were open and various members of all the bands were wandering around from room to room drinking and partying. My favorite era of the Who, or anything before Tommy.
Spanky and Our Gang came back on September 21, 1967, to Northrop Auditorium.
In October 1967 KDWB sponsored a cheerleading competition where cheerleaders from 20 schools submitted tapes and kids called in to vote for their favorite school. On the last night there were so many calls that they spilled into other exchanges.
Not sure I understand this one: On October 27, 1967, “WWTC Radio Presents First Twin City Appearance. Live and Direct from Palmer’s House. Imogene (The Horse) and Fritz (The coach driver). See Them at Jennings Red Coach Inn, 11 am to 6 pm.”
The Byrds performed at the Marigold Ballroom (and also in Mankato), some time between September 10 and November 10, 1967.
Tom Pinkert was a freshman living in the dormitories at the U of M 1967-68. “My circle of friends used to go over to the West bank and see a local band called The Paisleys. They performed in a fire trap called Dania Hall circa 1967-68. There was always a psychedelic light show. I just found a clip on youtube from a slightly later era which captures the spirit.”
Simon and Garfunkel appeared at Augsburg College on November 10, 1967.
The Young Rascals played the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 24, 1967. The show was opened 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. Also advertised to be on the bill were Dave Brady and the Stars and the Seraphic Street Sounds (formerly the Escapades). WDGY’s Scott Burton was the emcee.
The Shadows of Knight came to the New City Opera House on December 9, 1967, inaugurating a new policy of presenting national acts.
Sergio Mendes and the Brazil ’66 and Glen Campbell came to the new Met Center on December 16, 1967. Mendez had been here previously in the spring of 1966.
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.
KQRS’s George Donaldson Fisher did a progressive rock show in the winter of 1967.
KUXL featured an Oldies show on Saturdays from 5-6:30, with DJ Bill Blast.