notes from early 1970s midtown Atlanta
- southern music venues, performers, insiders, peripherals
- counterculture media, movers, shakers, dubious characters
- truth, myth, anecdotes, confessions, evidence, ephemera
- (Timespan reflects personal experiences, mostly 1971-1974, along with some backstory for context. Information included is not meant to be an all-encompassing record.)
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Barry Manilow & Country Joe
Yes, this actually happened. In April 1974, Barry Manilow opened for Country Joe McDonald at the Great Southeast Music Hall.
Great Southeast Music Hall display ad, The Great Speckled Bird, Vol. 7, No. 14, April 8, 1974
I did sound and lights for these shows. Strangest combination of artists and patrons we ever had. Country Joe had morphed into "marshmallow consciousness" and sang tragic protest songs with sideman Barry Melton. Manilow was the opening act - an unknown outside of the bath houses in NYC -where he was Bette Midler's arranger and band leader. He had just signed with Bell Records, who basically underwrote his tour. The Music Hall paid Manilow $500 for the week. He came with something like an 11-piece ensemble that barely fit on the stage. His 3 female backup singers were named "Play, Lay, and Stay". The icing on the cake was the bubble machine at the crescendo of each set. His fans consisted of very well dressed and fun-loving gay guys who took off after Manilow's set - leaving a half-full Music Hall of genuinely baffled stoners and Vietnam Vets Against the War - who stayed for Country Joe.
I did sound and lights for these shows. Strangest combination of artists and patrons we ever had. Country Joe had morphed into "marshmallow consciousness" and sang tragic protest songs with sideman Barry Melton. Manilow was the opening act - an unknown outside of the bath houses in NYC -where he was Bette Midler's arranger and band leader. He had just signed with Bell Records, who basically underwrote his tour. The Music Hall paid Manilow $500 for the week. He came with something like an 11-piece ensemble that barely fit on the stage. His 3 female backup singers were named "Play, Lay, and Stay". The icing on the cake was the bubble machine at the crescendo of each set. His fans consisted of very well dressed and fun-loving gay guys who took off after Manilow's set - leaving a half-full Music Hall of genuinely baffled stoners and Vietnam Vets Against the War - who stayed for Country Joe.
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