Thursday, November 10, 2016

1959 Caravan of Stars - Update II



UPDATE - Here is a combined update for the Fall 1959 Caravan.  still looking for a few dates to make it complete.

With such overwhelming success, Clark engaged GAC to book a tour headlined by Paul Anka and also starring Lloyd Price, Annette Funicello, Duane Eddy, Jimmy Clanton, Laverne Baker, Coasters, Drifters, Skyliners, Bobby Rydell, and Phil Phillips. Arthur Dover was hired as the MC for shows where Clark did not appear. Irving Feld was the tour's promoter.

 No sooner did GAC book a full tour from September 18 through November 8 with the Caravan's debut in Baltimore than problems arose.  The Boston Garden, site of the Caravan's second show was being used for a hockey game earlier in the afternoon and GAC decided that they didn't want to go through with the show under those circumstances.  Instead, Tim Gale of GAC booked a replacement show in Scranton, PA.  Boston was a lucrative stop for any rock 'n roll show in the 1950s so the loss was not looked upon as a good omen.






9/18/1959 Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, MD

Single show at 8 p.m.


9/19/1959 Boston Garden, Boston, MA

This show is cancelled when it is impossible to switch stages after a hockey game.
 
9/19/1959 Scranton, PA


9/20/1959  Forum, Montreal, Canada


9/21/1959  Maple Leaf Garden, Toronto, Canada

9/22/1959 War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, NY



9/23/1959 Westchester County Center, White Plains, NY


Despite the demand for additional tickets, only one show is performed.

9/24/1959 Sports Arena, Hershey, PA

A single show at 8:30 p.m.

9/25/1959 Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, PA

Two shows at 7:30 and 10:30 p.m.








9/27/59  The Mosque, Richmond, VA


Two shows at 7 and 10 p.m.

 

9/28/1959 Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, NC



9/29/1959 Memorial Auditorium, Greenville, SC


9/30/1959 Coliseum, Charlotte, NC


10/1/1959 Township Auditorium,  Columbia, SC

Two shows at 7:30 and 10 p.m.


10/2/1959 Municipal Auditorium, Charleston, WVA


Two performances


10/3/59 State Fairgrounds, Louisville, KY
 
10/4/1959  Nashville, TN


10/5/1959 Gardens, Cincinnati, OH  


10/6/1959 Memorial Auditorium, Canton, OH
10/7/1958 Lorain, OH
 



















10/7/1959
Arena, Lorain, OH


10/8/1959 Veteran’s Building, Columbus, OH


Two shows performed at this venue.

10/9/1959 Sports Arena, Toledo, OH 


10/9/1959 Toledo, OH
10/10/1959  Civic Auditorium, Grand Rapids, MI 

10/11/1959  Elkhart, IL

10/13/1959 Fort Wayne, IN


10/14/1959 Hobart Arena, Troy, OH 

10/15/1959 Indiana Theater, Indianapolis, IN

Two shows at 7:15 and 9:45 p.m.


10/16/1959 St. Louis, MO




10/16/1959
Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, MO
 
Two performances at 8 and 11 p.m.
 




10/17/1959   Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, MO


The Caravan gains its first negative notoriety when midway through the show, fights break out amongst the 12,000 plus audience and police moved in to break up the melee.  In all, 49 men were arrested ranging in age from 17 to 50 for disturbing the peace and public drunkeness.  Although Dick Clark was not at the show, his association with the show drew lots of press and he held a news conference in New York to defend the Caravan.  He denied that the performers were responsible for what happened and said, "What happened was certainly unfortunate, but it only reflects the attitude of a few of the thousands of people there."

10/18/1959  Forum, Wichita, KS

10/20/1959  Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, TX 


10/21/1959  Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, TX 


10/22/1959  Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, TX


10/27/1959  Omaha, NE



The cast hosted an on-stage birthday celebration for Annette Funicello.  Although San Antonio had an additional 25 officers on hand, there was no trouble.



10/24/1959 Municipal Auditorium, Oklahoma City, OK




Two performances




10/25/1959 Auditorium, Wichita, KS



10/27/1959 Auditorium Arena, Omaha, NE



10/28/1959  Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN



Police Chief Milton Winslow cancelled this show in the aftermath of the KC arrests.  Minneapolis had encountered four violent rock 'n roll shows in the past year.  "I am certain violence will occur again," he told the Associated Press.

10/29/59  Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium, Des Moines, IA 


10/31/59 Arena, Milwaukee, WI


I now have confirmation that the Caravan ended in Milwaukee despite earlier press notices that the tour ran until November 8.  If you have any additions or corrections, please let me know.
 



Friday, July 22, 2016

1967 "Where the Action Is" Tour - Spring Edition

 
 
 
The final "Where the Action Is" tour is booked for the spring of 1967 with a hot new artist as the headliner, Neil Diamond.  Clark also signed P.J. Proby, along with tour regulars, Tommy Roe and Keith.  This unit focused primarily . on the south for a very short run.  The ability for a package tour such as the Caravans to earn money had run its course.
 
 
 
 


3/29/67 Alumni Coliseum, Western Kentucky University, Richmond, KY
Talent: Neil Diamond, P.J. Proby, Tommy Roe, Keith, Billy Joe Royal, Keith Allison, Hard Times, Don & the Goodtimes, Men of Action



3/30/67  Civic Theatre, Akron, OH
Talent: Neil Diamond, P.J. Proby, Tommy Roe, Keith, Billy Joe Royal, Keith Allison, The Hard Times, Don & the Goodtimes

3/31/67  ISU Arena, Terra Haute, IN
Talent: Neil Diamond, P.J. Proby, Tommy Roe, Keith, Tommy James & Shondells, Billy Joe Royal, Keith Allison, The Hard Times, Don & the Goodtimes

4/2/67 Fieldhouse, Muncie, IN
Talent: Neil Diamond, P.J. Proby, Tommy Roe, Keith, Billy Joe Royal, Keith Allison, Dale Wright, Men of Action, Hard Times, Soul Spectacular, Action Kids
 
4/3/67  Lone Oak High School, Paduka, KY
Talent: Neil Diamond, P.J. Proby, Tommy Roe, Keith, Billy Joe Royal, Keith Allison, Dale Wright, Men of Action, Hard Times, Soul Spectacular, Action Kids
 
4/6/67  City Auditorium, Birmingham, AL
Talent: Neil Diamond, P.J. Proby, Tommy Roe, Keith, Billy Joe Royal, Keith Allison, Dale Wright, Men of Action, Hard Times, Soul Spectacular, Action Kids
 
4/7/67   Bell Auditorium, Augusta, GA

 Talent: Neil Diamond, P.J. Proby, Tommy Roe, Keith, Billy Joe Royal, Keith Allison, Dale Wright, Men of Action, Hard Times, Soul Spectacular, Action Kids
 
4/9/67  Virginia Beach Dome, Virginia Beach, VA
Talent: Neil Diamond, P.J. Proby, Tommy Roe, Keith, Billy Joe Royal, Keith Allison, Dale Wright, Men of Action, Hard Times, Soul Spectacular, Action Kids

4/19/67  Robinson Auditorium, Little Rock, AR
Talent: Neil Diamond, P.J. Proby, Tommy Roe, Keith, Billy Joe Royal, Keith Allison, Freddie Cannon, Dale Wright, Men of Action, Hard Times, Baby Ray and the Precious Few, Action Kids

4/20/67  Fairgrounds Coliseum, Nashville, TN
Talent: Neil Diamond, P.J. Proby, Tommy Roe, Keith, Billy Joe Royal, Keith Allison, Freddie Cannon, Dale Wright, Men of Action, Hard Times, Baby Ray and the Precious Few, Action Kids

4/23/67 Indiana
Talent: Neil Diamond, P.J. Proby, Tommy Roe, Keith, Billy Joe Royal, Keith Allison, Dale Wright, Men of Action, Hard Times, Soul Spectacular, Action Kids

Last show of the 13-city tour


Sunday, March 20, 2016

Biggest Show of Stars of 1957 Spring Edition




Promoter Irving Feld puts another compelling package out in the spring of 1957 headlined by Fats Domino.  This gathering of talent focuses on black performers in an attempt to avoid the problems encountered in 1956.  It didn't always work as the racial tensions remained in the south.  In addition, Fats Domino goes AWOL for some shows when it approaches his home in New Orleans and has to be forced back on the tour.  Booked for 45-dates, the tour is so successful that repeat dates are booked in several cities.
 



Talent: Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Lavern Baker, Bill Doggett, Clyde McPhatter, Five Keys, Ann Cole, Moonglows, Five Satins, Charlie Brown, Eddie Cooley & Dimples, Schoolboys, Paul Williams Orchestra

 


 
February 15, 1957 Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, PA
 
Two sell-out shows pull in a gross of $22,700.
 
February 16, 1957 Olympia, Detroit, MI
 
February 18, 1957 Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Canada
 
February 19, 1957 Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, NY
 
February 21, 1957 Indiana Theater, Indianapolis, IN
 
February 22, 1957 Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY
 
February 23, 1957 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, MO
 
Both houses were sold out and the demand for tickets was so high that another show is booked in April.
 
February 24, 1957 Municipal Auditorium, Topeka, KS
 
February 25, 1957 Civic Auditorium Arena, Omaha, NE
 
February 27, 1957 Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, UT
 
March 3, 1957 Coliseum, Spokane, WA
 
One show at 7:30 p.m.

 
March 4, 1957 CPS Fieldhouse, Tacoma, WA
 
March 5, 1957 Memorial Auditorium, Portland, OR
 
March 7, 1957 Orpheum, Seattle, WA
 
March 8, 1957 Portland, OR
 
March 10, 1957 Auditorium, Oakland, CA
 
March 11, 1957 Civic Auditorium, San Jose, CA
 
March 13, 1957 Sports Arena, San Diego, CA
 
March 14, 1957 Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, CA
 
March 17, 1957 Sports Center, Tucson, AZ
 
Fats Domino is late for his performance and when he does finally show, he has laryngitis and is unable to sing.  Domino's manager takes him to the hospital where doctors order him to rest.
 
March 18, 1957 Coliseum, El Paso, TX
 
March 19, 1957 Armory, Albuquerque, NM
 
March 22, 1957 Heart of Texas Coliseum, Waco, TX
 
March 23, 1957 Memorial Coliseum, Corpus Christi, TX
 
March 24, 1957 Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, TX
 
March 25, 1957 Gregory Auditorium, Austin, TX
 
This appearance was cancelled.
 
March 25, 1957 Sportatorium, Dallas, TX
 
March 27, 1957 Little Rock, AR
 
Domino leaves the tour and flies home, still sick.  He promises to return the next night.
 
March 28, 1957 Ellis Auditorium, Memphis, TN
 
Two shows today - segregated audiences with whites in the afternoon and blacks in the evening.  5,134 shows up at the first show.  Fats Domino fails to show, claiming to still be sick.  With the news that Fats was not going to show, only 2,500 show up for the evening show.
 
March 29, 1957 Loyola Field House, Loyola University, Baton Rouge, LA
 
Fats Domino shows up tonight, but still complains that he isn't feeling well.  Howard Lewis, the promoter of the shows in the South decides to scare Fats with a gun but it backfires when Domino disappears again.
 
March 30, 1957 Mobile, AL
 
Fats Domino is again absent and Allan Bloom takes a plane to New Orleans and stakes out Domino's house.  Bloom corrals him going out and they head back to the airport.  Unfortunately, they miss their return flight and instead fly to Atlanta.
 
March 31, 1957 Atlanta, GA
 
April 4, 1957 Coliseum, Charlotte, NC
 
April 5, 1957 Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC
 
April 7, 1957 The Mosque, Richmond, VA
 
Two sell-out shows tonight leads to the promoter rebooking the package for May 5.  As they head out to Washington DC, a car carrying some of Fats Domino's band catches fire and is destroyed.  Luckily, injuries were minor.
 
April 9, 1957 Municipal Auditorium, Charleston, WVA
 
April 10, 1957 Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, PA
 
April 11, 1957 Onondaga County War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, NY
 
April 13, 1957 Boston Garden, Boston, MA
 
April 14, 1957 Bushnell Auditorium, Hartford, CT
 
April 15, 1957 Mosque Theatre, Newark, NJ
 
April 16, 1957 Arena, New Haven, CT
 
April 18, 1957 Auditorium, Ottawa, Canada
 
April 19, 1957 Indiana Theatre, Indianapolis, IN
 
The package returns for a second date in Indianapolis.
 
April 20, 1957 Kiel Opera House, St. Louis, MO
 
A return to St. Louis as two shows are booked for 8:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
 
April 22, 1957 Roberts Stadium, Evansville, IN
 
April 24, 1957 Garden, Cincinnati, OH
 

April 27, 1957 CYC, Scranton, PA
 
April 28, 1957 Forum, Montreal, Canada
 
April 30, 1957 War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, NY
 
May 5, 1957 Mosque, Richmond, VA
 
The package returns to Richmond for another two shows tonight.