Events: 1968
The Lemon Pipers appeared at the New City Opera House on January 12, 1968.
Julian “Cannonball” Adderley appeared at Northrop Auditorium on January 20, 1968. His Quintet also included his brother Nat. Guitarist Wes Montgomery and vocalist Jean Dushon were also on the bill.
On January 29, 1968, Donald Broas’s application to turn the Chanhassen Body Shop into a teenage night club was unanimously turned down by the village council. “Fears were expressed as to the adequacy of parking facilities, whether the village could handle the influx of some 500 additional teenagers, the traffic problems which would arise and proper policing of the dance hall.” Damn teenagers! (Minnetonka Herald, 2/8/1968)
Al Hirt, with Pee-Wee and the Young Set, appeared at Northrop Auditorium on February 10, 1968.
In the February 24, 1968, issue of The Beat, “KDWB Asks YOU To Help Bring The Beatles Back to U.S.” Earl Trout III spearheaded the letter writing effort to get the Beatles back. At issue was the promise of the audience to be quiet so the music could be heard. The goal was to send Trout to London with a million cards, letters, and petition signatures. Alas..
SUPER SCENE ’68
On March 8, 1968, WDGY sponsored “Super Scene ’68.” The show was at the Metropolitan Sports Center in front of 6,000 fans. It was co-sponsored by WDGY, and the station’s DJs Scott Burton and Johnny Canton cut fine figures in their Oleg Cassini Nehru suits (the “Raja” model), courtesy Kieffer’s. Also appearing were JJ Bowman and Jerry Brooke. The show was produced by Dick Shapiro and the list of performers was impressive:
- Wilson Pickett (the Insider said the band used the gig for practice)
- The Hollies
- Strawberry Alarm Clock (Insider said “disappointing”)
- The Mystics
- The Del Counts
- The Sir Raleighs
- The Nickel Revolution. Read an account of this monumental event on the Nickel Revolution’s blog.
Connie’s Insider noted a “shortage of Negroes” at the show, wondering if they knew that Pickett was on the bill.
Minneapolis Star, March 4, 1968
Ticket image courtesy Jerry Lenz, Nickel Revolution
Joan Baez appeared at the St. Paul Auditorium on March 12, 1968. Also appearing were anti-war activist Daniel Berrigan and Spider John Koerner.
Them and the Litter appeared at the New City Opera House/Magoos on March 15 and manager Gary Jorgensen said it was the biggest crowd in two years.
KRSI sponsored its third annual Hawaiian Holiday from March 23 to April 7, 1968. “Spend two fabulous weeks in sun-drenched, blue-skied, sandy-beached Hawaii! Join the KRSI ‘Hawaiian Holiday’ that’s strictly for Suburban swingers! Program Director Tom Wynn will be your happy host. Plan now!”
The Temptations played the Minneapolis Armory on April 7, 1968. Members were David Ruffin, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, Eddie Kendricks, and Otis Williams. Martha Reeves and the Vandellas may have also been on the bill.
Checker recording star Little Milton, with local band Maurice McKinnis and His Fabulous Blazers, appeared at a dance at the Minneapolis Armory on Friday, April 12, 1968. The show was emceed by KUXL’s Jack Harris and Billy G. Little Milton’s hits were listed in an ad in the Insider as “We’re Going to Make It,” “Blind Man,” and “More and More.”
Duke Ellington, Tony Bennett, and comedian Jack E. Leonard appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on April 28, 1968. Ellington brought a 15-piece band. Leonard’s jokes were on and off-color.
Cream performed at the New City Opera House on May 5, 1968. Here’s a link to a story about this epic event!
Herb Alpert, Blue Cheer and the Castaways (an odd grouping to say the least) played Williams Arena at the U of M on May 11, 1968. Nearly 17,000 attended.
May 27, 1968, was the date of the Second Annual 1968 Connie Awards.
Local musician and man-about-town Arne Fogel recorded a song back in ’68, kind of a Simon and Garfunkel/Chad and Jeremy type ditty called “I Once Had a Dream“ (aka “December Song”), recorded at Dove Studios with fellow singer/songwriter Steven Longman. The record never made it to the big time, but is available from Get Hip Records on a Dove Records compilation called “Free Flight.” Arne started his singing career when he was 17, and made his mark singing over 1,500 commercials and jingles. He owns every Bing Crosby record ever released, and shares his record collection on various radio shows.
St. Louis Park High Junior Barb Friedman got the chance to made a demo of her songs in New York in June 1968. Besides singing, Friedman played guitar, piano, drums, tambourine, bongos, harmonica and recorder. She played for school clubs, community organizations, and at local places like Big B’s Pizza at Texa-Tonka Shopping Center. She also played at the Cafe Extempore and with an Aquatennial traveling group. She taught guitar at Park Music.
The Beach Boys played the St. Paul Auditorium on July 9, 1968. Also on the bill were Gary Puckett and the Human Beinz.
Frank Sinatra and the Four Seasons played a benefit concert for the Citizens for Humphrey Committee at the Met Center on July 16, 1968.
By August 13, 1968, Jonny Matthews was playing “Underground Music” on KDWB, 11 pm to 5 am.
On August 20, 1968, Simon and Garfunkel appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium at 8 pm.
On August 23, 1968, the Vanilla Fudge was scheduled to do a show at the Minneapolis Armory, but never showed up. Local Group the Nickel Revolution opened the show, followed by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. Next came bubblegum act 1910 Fruitgum Company, which overcame its nursery rhyme image to pull out a performance that satisfied the crowd screaming for Vanilla Fudge. Read a great account of the event on the Nickel Revolution’s blog. Promoter Arne Sigarski had to provide refunds for that show.
The Spokesman advertised a free concert in Loring Park featuring the Marvelettes on August 30, 1968. It was sponsored by the Mayor’s Council on Youth Opportunity.
The St. Paul Police Historical Society’s web site reports: “During the evening of August 30, 1968, violence erupted in Stem Hall of the St. Paul Auditorium when police officers attempted to intervene in a fight between patrons. An officer responding to the call for assistance was wounded by gunfire. The incident sparked a full-scale riot that rapidly spread to the streets, where large numbers of citizens hurled bottles, rocks and other debris at police lines. Extensive vandalism and property damage was reported from area businesses and private citizens in the area of the riots. The severity of the violence led to a total recall of the Department’s sworn personnel. After reinforcements arrived and the unruly crowd dispersed, rioting continued in the Selby-Dale area well into the early morning hours. The disorder continued for the next 24 hours, eventually resulting in the wounding of three officers by sniper fire.
Lawrence Welk played the Met Sports Center on September 3, 1968.
THE RASCALS
The Rascals performed at the Minneapolis Armory on September 18, 1968. Bruce Arneson remembers that the opening act was the local band Seraphic Street Sounds, a short lived, amazing combo, with each member a lead singer in their own right. Michael O’Gara ended the set with the Jay and the Americans’ song “Cara Mia,” holding that ‘big note’ at the end like a true ‘Opera Star.’
Photo copyright Mike Barich
The New Christy Minstrels appeared at the Hamline University Fieldhouse on September 24, 1968. Where magazine described them as “a lively group of eight young singers.. which combines banjo music with folk singing and a great deal of enthusiasm.”
Harry Belafonte headlined a show at the Minneapolis Auditorium on September 24, 1968. The show also included Dolores Hall, Kim Weston, and the Belafonte singers and orchestra.
Donovan appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on October 13, 1968.
Flatt and Scruggs appeared at the Guthrie on October 13, 1968.
JOE TEX, BOYCE & HART, RASCALS, TINY TIM
Joe Tex; Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart; the Young Rascals, and Tiny Tim played the Met Center on October 18, 1968.
Local group the Sir Raleighs were the opening act. According to MinnesotaFunFacts.com, the Moody Blues first U.S. concert appearance was scheduled for Minneapolis that night, but their equipment was held-up in U.S. Customs in Boston. The show was a benefit for the newly-formed Robert Kennedy Institute for Social Advancement, an organization formed to “develop better understanding between the general public and the American Indian.” (Minneapolis Tribune, October 13, 1968)
David Hicks remembers:
I was an usher for Bob Sims (who had the ushering concession) from 1966 to 1971 and I saw many of these concerts. The Tiny Tim concert at Met Center was sort of neat to me. He entered the stage (the stage was not at the end of the arena but on the side right in front of the hockey benches) with the lights out from one of the entrances for the hockey team and I was asked to escort him to the stage. He had a wireless microphone which was quite new at the time, and was talking to the crowd in an eerie voice as we entered the arena. There I was walking with Tiny Tim escorting him by the elbow from the dressing room to the stage. For a 17 year old kid it was quite a thrill.
Photo courtesy minniepaulmusic.com
Baritone John Gary appeared at Northrop Auditorium on November 2, 1968, as part of a Celebrity Series under the University Artists Course.
A strange pairing of Eddy Arnold and the Cowsills appeared at the Met Sports Center on November 3, 1968.
In his November 18, 1968 column “Musically Yours” in the TV Digest, Timothy D. Kehr writes of the group H.P. Lovecraft. Was this local? Can’t find it anywhere. But Howard Philips Lovecraft was a poet and novelist.
Pianist Van Cliburn appeared at Northrop Auditorium on November 19, 1968.
A jazz festival at the Minneapolis Auditorium featured Hugh Masekela and Herbie Mann on November 29, 1968.
The Four Tops appeared at the Minneapolis Armory on December 3, 1968.
ANDY WILLIAMS, ROGER MILLER
Andy Williams and Roger Miller played the Met Center on December 6, 1968 at the WDGY Holiday Spectacular. Johnny Canton remembered:
One of WDGY’s largest concerts/shows starred then-popular Andy Williams along with Roger Miller at Met Center. It was our Christmas Concert and we filled Met Center. Of course, Andy was the pride of network TV at the time with his weekly show. Miller was no slouch either having had several hit songs. The entire WDGY air staff had a chance to take the stage and emcee. Great evening!
The Brothers Four appeared at Melby Hall, Augsburg College, on December 7, 1968. Bass player Bob Flick later married Minnesotan Loni Anderson.
Blue Cheer appeared at the New City Opera House on December 8, 1968, in front of a small crowd of 200-300 people. Also on the bill were Happy Dayz and White Lightning. “They were too damn loud,” one reviewer complained. Michael on Facebook remembers: “Saw that Blue Cheer show. Super loud, total noise until they stopped and sang the phrase ‘ain’t no time for the summertime blues.’ Then total noise again …”
GRAND OLE OPRY
A Grand Ole Opry Show show came to the Met Center on December 28, 1968, starring:
- Jeannie C. Riley
- Dave Dudley
- Billy Grammer
- Bobby Lord
- The Compton Brothers
- Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys
- Comedian Red Murphy