Oh, and some guy named David on slide. Big Bam Show. Big Bam Show . "Tuscaloosa Memorial Coliseum 1972," said Randy Palmer. "Play It All Night Long." ", From dassani: "I was there Could not have been better! ", From cj75: "Grateful Dead, 5/17/77 in Tuscaloosa. It gave them a voice. "Fairgrounds Bham. Respi Mee Sup Sabahiiat. ", From bhamboost: "Parliament Funkadelic Mothership Connection 1976. Jerry Lee Lewis. Bell. 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. I believe that city has a particular significance to you. The station is locally owned and operated by Bluewater Broadcasting Company, LLC Many of the artists told me these were the biggest shows theyd ever done.. Tommy James & the Shondells. A story by Ben Flanagan of AL.com, looking back at concerts at the coliseum, also mentions Joplin. "Two guitars and a stool. In the 1950s and '60s, Montgomery, Alabama, was ground zero f. Home; My Books; Browse . Several readers made fond mention of multi-act shows presented by WBAM-AM, a sister station to Birmingham's WVOK-AM, during the 1960s and early '70s. These are just a few of the acts presentedby the Brennans during the 1950s, '60s and early '70s. He also helped to choose and line up some of the concert talent. "It was a promotional thing for us. The original investors in the company were William J. The Beatles in Alabama? The other name band on the show was the Allman Brothers, they had just released their first album. ", From GmanGent: "Alice Cooper Von Braun in 1974's Welcome to my Nightmare Tourone of the most successful tours financially up until that time. More on the Grateful Dead's 1995 shows in Birmingham, from AL.com's "Lost Stories" series. Thanks to Donnie Brennan for the Elvis photos. ", From Will-I: "Bruce Springsteen in Auburn in 1975. From:"Rodney Justo" To:"robert register" Subject:Re: HEY EL NIXO! He was replaced by Johnny Townsend from Tuscaloosa, who was living with Duane and Gregg Allman in LA. 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. Roy Orbison. The chips were glued into Dianes scrap book between photos of the Beatles. And the Brennans knew how to put on a show.. 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). In 1964 the Brennans booked the Beatles for a concert in either Legion Field in Birmingham, or Garrett Coliseum or Crampton Bowl in Montgomery. I always got seats on the floor for the shows. FACIAL. Can you believe it? With an amazing backing band, he proceeded to entertain the entire evening. Once solo and once with a band. We stayed at the same hotel as them. I just went to the Coliseum for the music. He kicked it off with (what else?) . There are still a lot of local bands out there, said Sonny Grier, lead singer with the Rockin Gibraltars. ", 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." ", Several readers mentioned Lynyrd Skynyrd as a given, pointing to various concerts throughout the state. The Big BAM Shows. Instead, the concert was held at the Gator Bowl under the auspices of the Brennans Jacksonville station WAPE, the Big APE. From kwe: "The best I've seen are all of the Big Bam shows during the '60s in Montgomery, Garrett Coliseum; Eagles, 1977 in Mobile: Fleetwood Mac, 1977 in Bham CC; Atlanta Rhythm Section, 1978 in Troy Sartain; Heart/America, 1985 in Montgomery CC; Stevie Ray Vaughn/Joe Cocker, 1986 in Bham Oak Mtn; Rolling Stones, 1989 in Bham Legion Field; John Fogerty/Willie Nelson, 2006 in Bham Oak Mtn; Chicago, 2011 in Mtgy MPAC. The Big BAM was WBAM, the 50,000-watt AM radio station owned by the Brennan family, whose other Alabama station was Birminghams WVOK. This might have swelled a lesser man's head, but for Brennan, it was all about connecting with the listeners. the tall man aboriginal spirit; metadata api request failed: component conversion failed: file_ended; caleb foote sandlot ", Jerry Tavin/Photo courtesy of Everett Collection, From mcarter3: "Uhh. Where's Jimi Hendrix's concert at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa in 1969? ", From Ken Cole: "I was at Jerry Lee Lewis in Boutwell in the mid '60s when I was a kid. 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. I've got to change clothes and everything.' ", From REDSEA: "While I was going to UNA back in 81, I worked on the Stage Crew on these concerts at UNA: Atlanta Rhythm Section (pictured), Jimmy Buffett, Tom Petty, Hotel, Crystal Gale. Beavers has played drums for various bands, including Doc Severinson, Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett, winning a Grammy Award for Best Performance by Duo or Group in 1994 while a member of Asleep at the Wheel. Many who danced the night away to the Rockin Gibraltars or who nursed a beer and smoked a cigarette listening to Harmony, recall those days with particular fondness and with nostalgia for a time that wont likely return. We were the opening act and it was the biggest crowd we had ever played before, nearly 30,000 people. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and the broadcast license is held by Cumulus Licensing LLC. We had enough left over that, for a lot of our promotions after that, people would get free raincoats.". I can sing as good or better now than I did then, said Grier. They agreed to do it, but they were on one end of it, and the Beach Boys were on the other end of it. Anybody remember that one? Inicio Quines somos? So we had another beer. WBAM-FM/98.9 ("Bama Country 98.9") is a country music formatted radio station that serves the Montgomery Metropolitan Area, broadcasting on the FM band at a frequency of 98.9 MHz and licensed to Montgomery, Alabama. "There was a little one, and a big one, and we didn't know which was which," Brennan says. It was just before his popularity exploded. I'm sure they were totally confused.". ", From Shapeshiftinhmojo: "Jimi Hendrix played Alabama twice in both Tuscaloosa and Auburn in 1968 or 69. The station is locally owned and operated by Bluewater Broadcasting Company, LLC. The football stadiumposed a few extra challenges, Brennan says, from seating assignments to sound quality to weather preparation. "Elviswas an opening act," Brennan says. Nothing else necessary. "I remember the Rolling Stones came up to me, and they said, 'You don't really expect us to get into the same RV that the Beach Boys are in, do you?' The most entertaining act? Some of the concerts took place in a single location -- most often, Jacksonville. A license for the station was issued in 1952. Garrett Coliseum, in contrast, could hold 10,000+ for a single performance in Montgomery. White guys playing soul music!, Most of the stuff we played was music you could easily dance to, said Dupree. ", Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. "We all felt very privileged," Bartoletti says. The station is locally owned and operated by Bluewater Broadcasting Company, LLC. 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. Or Nirvana at Boutwell in 1993?Or Roger McGuinn at Merrimack Hall in 2014? Most of the clubs have gone to a single performer, or a duo or karaoke. So they both sang a few bars of the song, 'You're the Reason I'm Living," and we still couldn't decide which one was the real one. Big Bam Fall Spectacular has had 1 concert. By today's standards, his solution to the latter problemseems charmingly old-school. Iron Butterfly. "I felt that I was lucky to be able to have the kind of job I had," Brennan says. The band also played Birmingham in May 1977, according to this story by Madison Underwood. He didn't insist onphotos. Top (l-r), Keith Brewer, Ed Sanford and Sonny Grier. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Moody remembers the group mysteriously disappeared after one show and had to be retrieved to play their second gig (lead singer Peter Noone was known to enjoy a party.). "I'm so. Because it was so big, we ran on stage as soon as we were introduced, grabbed our instruments and started playing before the applause died down. Originally licensed in 1953 as WBAM, the station broadcast contemporary and country music before turning to sports talk under the WMSP callsign in 1995. . ), "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.'". The concertlater gained a secure foothold in Alabamamusic history -- fans here still ooh and aah about it -- but it wasn't a money-making proposition. J. Frank Wilson, and The Webs. From Brian Willis: "Any of Alabama's June Jams. Sonny Grier is another longtime Montgomery band member who still plays music. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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.". He must have played an hour and 20 minutes or more. We do everything from Jerry Jeff Walker to the Grateful Dead to Van Morrison, says Pappas. (L-R) Bob Corley, David Headley, Cary Green, Jeffery Johnson, Bob Pike, John Key. I told someone to lower the seat, and when I sat down, it went all the way to the bottom, he said, chuckling. [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. Hello? Originally licensed in 1953 as WBAM, the station broadcast contemporary and country music before turning The entire show was magic, beginning with The Stranger and of course included many of the unknown Joel early songs. So we had to delay the start of the show about 15 minutes or so while the carpenters came out and put these rails together. Dan Brennan had the honor of introducing the Beatles. In spirited retaliation, Paul Revere and the Raiders march in lock step across the stage behind performers Jan and Dean. The Who played there. Chuck Berry was awesome and the Stones in their early days were unbelievable.". ", "Rolling Stones in Auburn '69," said James Robert Chambless. Those two days in Alabama left a lasting impression on us because it was how we measured the rest of our gigs.. It was a clear channel station that covered over 90 counties in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, and could be heard everywhere. Dupree served with the Army in Vietnam, worked as an engineer in Muscle Shoals, and has been an electrical engineer for the Alabama Legislature for 27 years. His current band, The Soul Crackas, does many of the same soul hits the Rockin Gibraltar performed. 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. The most popular group, both Brennan brothers agree, was Hermans Hermits (see sidebar below). Tickets cost $3 apiece. "Times have changed so," said a wistful Peek, the Shower of Stars devotee. The Carpenters. "Billsaid, 'Well, if anybody makes any money out of it, it's going to be me.' Some of the items will go on exhibit starting Thursday at the Alabama. Music lovers would line up at each venue, some arriving hours in advance, then rush inside to secure their favorite general-admission seats. "To go to the concerts was huge. ", "Leo Kottke, Foster Auditorium, UA campus, about 1974," said 57939names. Dan Brennan at the mic introducing the Beatles at their Gator Bowl appearance in Jacksonville, Florida. Butspeaking in general terms, each also hada specialty: Bill the visionaryentrepreneur, Cyril the tech-mindedpioneer, Dan the key concert producer and a smooth, recognizable voice at WVOK. Submit a request Contact us through a specially prepared form. TheRolling Stones were closing the gap quickly, though, with a tougher, bluesier songbook that included "The Last Time," "Play With Fire" and "Time Is On My Side." It was just the coolest thing.". December 3, 1955-As an extra Bonus..here's the advertisement for sister station WBAM, Montgomery, AL, when the very young Elvis Presley appeared. We put on a heck of a show, said Grier. Moody remembers Roy Orbison being one of the nicer, more polite performers, and the Grass Roots, Paul Revere and Buckinghams being easy to work with. 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. It would be tough going back to ballrooms and small clubs after this.
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