Donnie McCormick & Eric Quincy Tate

Eric Quincy Tate was the first band I saw perform in a club when I was old enough for admission. But before ever hearing Eric Quincy Tate [EQT], I visited Donnie McCormick's Atlanta apartment on Greenwood with my cousin, his friend. Entering Donnie's home was a total immersion in artwork. Creations and found objects adorned each and every wall and surface. Central to the living room was a large wooden cable spool used as a coffee table. It was not uncommon in its use as furniture, but in Donnie's case the central spool had a few slats removed and electricity was wired into the inside space created. (I wish I'd photographed it.) The small interior was furnished as a tiny room with an overhead light. In the center was a old crone doll seated in a little rocking chair. In her lap was a miniature airplane liquor bottle. She was The Whiskey Woman.

Donnie McCormick's Greenwood Avenue apartment in Atlanta;
the undersea mural (below, right) covered all walls of a bedroom;
other two photos are living room walls. [personal photos]

Donnie commandeered the living room from an antique wooden wheelchair. Pabst Blue Ribbon was the beverage of choice. When it was time for another he wheeled into the kitchen to fetch a fresh cold one. When EQT's 1972 Capricorn Records LP Drinking Man's Friend was released, the music fit perfectly in context with Donnie's visual art. "Whiskey Woman Blues" was storytelling with an insider twist.

Eric Quincy Tate
(clockwise from bottom left) Joe Rogers, Donnie McCormick, 

Wayne "Bear" Sauls, Tommy Carlisle, David Cantonwine

A simple Google search leads to much online documentation about Donnie McCormick and Eric Quincy Tate. Capricorn Records producer Paul Hornsby said:

"Donnie was a star waiting to happen in the '70s. Eric Quincy Tate was the greatest bar band I ever heard. Donnie blew me away every time, as a drummer and as a singer."

Like too many posts, this one also closes with a passing. Donnie's health failed over a long period of time. He succumbed to chronic pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure on January 11, 2009, at age 64. He was loved by many and lived a life of art and music all his days (and nights.) The mold was broken.

Sources:
"Donnie McCormick: Soul Survivor Beats to a Different Drum," by Candice Dyer, GeorgiaMusic.org, July 29, 2005
"Donald Eugene 'Donnie' McCormick," by Holly Crenshaw, The Atlanta Constitution, January 18, 2009

The Sports Arena

• 310 Chester Avenue SE, Atlanta GA
  "Only 8,020 Feet East of State Capitol on Memorial Drive"
• Owners: L.C. "Pop" Warren created the venue in the 1930s; sold to Clyde Darby during WWII; in 1965 bought by wrestling promoter Paul Jones
• Capacity: 3600 

The Sports Arena was designed to host wrestling and boxing matches. It was also home to AAU "semipro" women's basketball team The Atlanta Blues. Musical events were interspersed, wherein the wrestling ring was adapted for performances. Early on, square dances were held several times a week, the main moneymaker of the time. Musical prodigy Brenda Lee performed there when she was just 9 years old. Elvis Presley played the Arena at age 20 on December 2, 1955, as his popularity was beginning to surge. Sports events at the venue were phasing out by the mid-1970s. In the mid-1980s the building was demolished. 

Photo by Steve Deal, staff photographer,
Atlanta Journal, October 28, 1983

"The Arena is a ramshackle building [without air-conditioning] long used for local wrestling, boxing, country music, and square dances. Inside, the atmosphere is one of wood and honest corruption, not steel, concrete, and hydraulic hype. Outside, the feeling is, well, like the industrial part of town, you know, warehouses, steel mesh fences, truck loading docks, cotton mill buildings, and even some plain red dirt road dear to the heart of a country boy."
--The Great Speckled Bird, Vol. 3, No. 5, February 2, 1970, article by Cliff Endres

1970

• Fleetwood Mac, Hampton Grease Band, Radar, River People - January 25
• The Kinks, Osmosis, Booger Band, Brick Wall (Kinks cancelled day before; replaced with Pacific Gas & Electric) - February 22
• Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, The Glass Menagerie - March 8
• Spirit, River People, Ruffin - March 22 (Spirit cancelled less than 24 hrs before show; Hampton Grease Band and What Brothers added)
• John Mayall, Hampton Grease Band, Chakra - April 5
• Johnny Winter, Radar, Georgia Power Kompany - April 12
• Canned Heat, The House - April 19 
• "Rock and Roll Marathon" - Hampton Grease Band, Radar, Stump Brothers, Axis, Perpetual Motion, Brick Wall, Georgia Power Kompany, What Brothers, Ruffin - April 26 (9 hour benefit for The Midtown Alliance and Community Center)
• Grateful Dead, Hampton Grease Band - May 10 (members of the Allman Brothers Band joined Grateful Dead for an extensive jam; The Dead had borrowed the ABB's equipment as theirs was stuck in Boston)

1971

• Captain Beefheart, Ry Cooder, Booger Band - February 4
• Quicksilver Messenger Service, Brewer & Shipley - March 21
• Spirit, Trapeze, Radar - April 18
• John Mayall, Stonehenge, Randals Island - May 9
• Goose Creek Symphony, Chakra - May 23
• Steve Miller Band - June 10
• Buddy Miles and the Buddy Miles Express, Sugarloaf, Florida's Fabulous Tropics - June 20
• BB King, East Side Blues Band - June 27
• Chuck Berry, Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes, Sunday Funnies - October 17
• Fanny, Hydra, Orpheum Circuit, Phat Max - November 14
• The Guess Who, Peace Corps - December 2

1972

• John McLaughlin & The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Hampton Grease Band - May 7
• Edgar Winter, Groundhogs, Eric Quincy Tate - June 11
• Procol Harum, Eagles, Radar - July 13*
• Uriah Heep, John Baldry, White Trash - July 19
• The Byrds, Eric Anderson, New Riders of the Purple Sage - August 2
• T. Rex - August 21
• J. Geils Band - September 1
• Cheech & Chong, Hampton Grease Band - September 28
• John Mayall, Delbert & Glen - November 5

1973

• Mom's Apple Pie, Silverman, Joy - January 28
• Trapeze, Hydra - May 24
• Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie, Mose Jones, Eric Quincy Tate, Greg Scott & Eddie Terrill Band - July 1 (benefit for C.A.R.E.)
• Joe Walsh - August 19
• Fleetwood Mac, Jambalaya, Dixie Grease - November 4

*Conflicting tour databases put Procol Harum and Eagles at both Atlanta's Sports Arena and The Warehouse in New Orleans July 14, 1972. Eagles opened several times for Procol Harum on their 1972 tour, promoting the May 1972 release of their debut single "Take it Easy." A couple of online accounts of Sports Arena attendees place both bands in Atlanta on July 14. Promoter Howard Stein advertised only the July 13 concert in The Great Speckled Bird's July 10 and 17, 1972 issues. I will stick with the 13th as evidenced in the display ads. Joe Roman's definitive concert review in the July 24, 1972 issue of The Bird also nails the event to Thursday the 13th.

Sources:

"Arena of Memories," by Sam Heys, staff writer, Atlanta Journal, October 28, 1983

www.thestripproject.com/the-sports-arena

Just for Fun: the Story of AAU Women's Basketball, by Robert W. Ikard, published by The University of Arkansas Press, 2005

Piedmont Park Free Concerts

By Spring 1969 midtown Atlanta's Piedmont Park had become the primary setting for free concerts, usually on Sundays, from the afternoon into the evening. The central location drew local and regional talent, most memorably the Allman Brothers Band, who had recently relocated from Jacksonville FL to Macon GA. Atlanta had yet to open any substantial rock clubs, therefore the park became a key venue for musicians to showcase material to a large audience. 

Piedmont Park, Atlanta, 1969
Photo by Carter Tomassi

Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks recalled:

"After several weeks of work learning this new material we were busting to get out of that [Macon] warehouse and play it for people. So... we loaded ourselves and our equipment into our Econoline and what other rides we could glom and headed to Atlanta (later to be renamed Hotlanta, I believe we coined this term but can't prove it). We went straight to Piedmont Park and found a perfect spot to set up. It was a rather large flat space at the top of some stairs with some electrical outlets within reach. We didn't ask permission, we just set up and started pouring out all of this music we had only played for ourselves up to that time.... When we finished some people were so transfixed they simply laid down and spent the night there. Others made sure that the place was cleaned up. Of course the next Sunday we went back and there was a shit load more folks than were there the week before as well as a couple of other Atlanta bands that wanted to play. This grew into a weekly event that went from that little place to a big flatbed stage set up on the end of a very large field that someone provided complete with a massive generator. Plus many more bands. The crowd grew to the level of around 10,000 after a few weeks and I don't recall a single incident of violence in all the months that this magical thing continued."

Duane Allman, Piedmont Park, Atlanta, May 11, 1969
The Great Speckled Bird, Vol. 2, No. 10, May 19, 1969
Cover photo by Bill Fibben

According to Duane Allman:

"Playing the park's such a good thing because people don't even expect you to be there. About the nicest way you can play is just for nothing, you know. And it's not really for nothing. It's for your own personal satisfaction–and other people's–rather than for any kind of financial thing."

UPDATE, APRIL 2018: Glenn Phillips (guitarist, composer, co-founder of the Hampton Grease Band) left a comment 4/4/18 on my 1/19/15 Discovery, Inc. post. Here's an excerpt in which he pinpoints the essential birth of the Piedmont Park free concerts. (For full context, click the Discovery label in the right column, then read the comments section.):

"The [Hampton] Grease Band's spontaneous Piedmont Park shows started [...] in the spring of '68 when I discovered there was a live outlet in the pavilion [...]. We started playing there pretty much every week and did shows there by ourselves on the grass by the pavilion, in the pavilion, in the tall brick gazebo off to the side of the pavilion (which also had a live outlet at the time, but was a pain in the ass to carry our equipment up to), and on the stone steps (which is where the Allman Brothers first appeared with us on May 11, 1969, when Phil Walden called the Grease Band personally to see if it was okay if the Allman Brothers played with us that day)."  

1969

• Hampton Grease Band, Crust, Smoke, Nail, Little Phil & The Night Shadows, Toni Ganim, Anne Romaine - March 29 (The Great Speckled Bird first birthday celebration)
• "BE-IN. Atlantis Rising festivities in the park. Music, food, etc." - April 20
• "BE-IN. Atlantis Rising festivities in Piedmont Park, all afternoon, music, rapping etc." - April 27
  
• "ROCK CONCERT/BE-IN. Celebrate opening of Atlantis Rising community trade fair, six rock groups" - May 3
• Allman Brothers Band, Hampton Grease Band - May 11
• Allman Brothers Band - May 18
• Booger Band - May 25 (during Atlanta Arts Festival)
• "BE-IN. Nexus House sponsors a be-in with bands, 2 pm, community supper, 5 pm" - June 22 
• Brick Wall, The Bag, Jim Cross, Semore, Barry Bailey, John Ivy - June 28 ("Grand Opening Be-In" for Atlantis Rising)
• Grateful Dead, Chicago Transit Authority, Spirit, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, It's A Beautiful Day, Allman Brothers Band, Hampton Grease Band - July 7 (Monday concert following July 4th weekend's Atlanta International Pop Festival in Hampton GA, arranged by festival promoters)
• The Unpolished Brass - August 10
• Solid Blues - August 24 ("Socialist politics, folksingers, rock music, and guerrilla theatre... Jenness for Mayor rally")
• "Free Grease Job - Labor of Love" - Hampton Grease Band, Robin - August 31
• Allman Brothers Band - September 14
• "Mini-Pop Festival" - Allman Brothers Band, Hampton Grease Band, Brick Wall, Sweet Younguns, Booger Band, Radar, Hand Band - September 21 (rally for firebombed Atlantis Rising trade mart; 23 arrests made, initiated by disclosure of undercover narcotics officers; police used tear gas and batons on crowd, some of whom threw rocks; GSB photographer Bill Fibben arrested for taking pictures of police action, "interfering with arrest")
• Allman Brothers Band - September 27
• "Piedmont Music Festival" - Allman Brothers Band, Mother Earth with Tracy Nelson, Billy Joe Royal, Joe South, Boz Scaggs, Second Coming, Royal Blues, Hand Band, Boogie Chillun, Lee Moses - October 17-19
• Community Council of the Atlanta Area, Inc., meeting in the park with free music - November 2

1970

• "Free Music In The Park" - February 28-March 1 (sponsored by Universal Life Church)
• "Free Music In The Park" - March 7-8 (sponsored by Universal Life Church)
• Axis, Handle, Chakra, Paul Hanson & Pat Alger - March 20
• Screaming Yellow, Shayde - April 19
• "Spring Peace Festival" - Stump Brothers, Axis, Ether, Celestial Voluptuous Banana, Country Pye, Eric Quincy Tate, Light Brigade, Eros, Robyn, Perpetual Motion, Ruffin, What Brothers, Stuff, White Lie, Stonehenge, Last Era, Bremrod, Booger Jam, Total Electric, Corn Cobb Jam, Pegasus Lantern Light Show - June 6-7
• Allman Brothers Band, Majester Ludi, Chakra, Ether - June 14
• "Peace Festival" - Stump Brothers, Axis, Celestial Voluptuous Banana, Eric Quincy Tate, Nancy Harmon & The Victory Voices, Robyn, Twelve Eyes, What Brothers, White Lie, Pegasus Lantern Light Show - June 21 
• Hampton Grease Jam, Chakra, Milan, Flint - June 28
• Brewer & Shipley - July 19
• "Free Music" - July 26
• 15 Minutes, Joel, Buckwheat, What Brothers, Malford Mann, Babylon - August 9
• Duckbutter, Axis, Hydra, Flint, Joel, Ewing Street Times - August 16
• Younguns, Perpetual Motion, Hydra, Plymouth Rock, Interprize - August 30
• Sunrise, Horizon, Milkweed, Chakra, Street Explosion - September 13
• Radar, Younguns, Booger, Perpetual Motion, Chair - September 20
• Allman Brothers Band, Hampton Grease Band, Eric Quincy Tate, Avenue of Happiness, Stump Brothers, Chakra - September 27
• Stonehenge, Jelly Roll, Crossover, What Brothers, August, Underground Balloon Corporation, Kaleidoscopic Light Show - October 4
• "Women's Festival" - Anne Romaine, Ruthie Gordon, Carol & Barbara, Esther LeFevre, The Ribs - October 10
• Sweetwater; Warm; Looney Tunes; Red, White & Blue(grass); Chair - October 18
• Hydra; Red, White & Blue(grass); Younguns - October 25
• Joe South, Glass - October 30
• Avenue of Happiness - December 23

1971

• Stonehenge, Chakra - March 28
• Stump Brothers, East Side Blues Band, Horse Roscoe - April 3
• Wet Willie; Alex Taylor, Friends & Neighbors - April 4
• Thunder, What Brothers, Smooth's Barn Dance, Perpetual Motion, John Flynt, Flood - April 11
• Hydra, Flint, Foxes - May 23
• Goose Creek Symphony, Sunrise, Kudzu, Signal, Gladstone, David Harris (speaker) - May 30
• Allman Brothers Band - May 31
• What Brothers, Kudzu, Howling Bull - June 13
• Milkweed, Hansen & Alger, Fox Watson, Doris Abrahams, Vince Quinn, Jeff Espina - June 20
• Hydra, Duckbutter, A Man Called Joad, Glass Menagerie, Perpetual Motion - July 4 (12th Gate benefit)

Sources:
thebutchtrucks.blogspot.com/2011/08/piedmont-park.html
The Great Speckled Bird, Vol. 2 Nos. 6, 7, 11, 15, 16, 24
The Great Speckled Bird, Vol. 3 Nos. 9, 25, 29
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_International_Pop_Festival_(1969)
www.allmanbrothersband.com
www.hittinthenote.com/first_mountain.asp
Midnight Riders, by Scott Freeman, published by Little, Brown and Company, 1995
Skydog, The Duane Allman Story, by Randy Poe, published by Backbeat Books, 2006, 2008.

Note: Entries in quotes are from The Great Speckled Bird calendar pages.

The Headrest

• 114 Ponce de Leon Avenue (at Juniper), Atlanta GA
• Opened: August 1972
• Closed: February 1973
• Note: The Headrest opened under the management of Gary Rothman, who had previously been running Funochio's nearby on Peachtree Street. In summer of 1972 Georgia's drinking age was lowered to 18, the first change since being set at age 21 post-Prohibition. In this context, still a teenager, I worked at Funochio's for a couple of weeks before being tapped to be part of the team to open The Headrest. An artist, I was enlisted to paint a series of large murals for the club, particularly the floor-to-ceiling portraits of rock musicians which lined the front entrance hall. When I went to collect payment for the work I had done, the huge thug of an assistant manager (I believe called "Doodles") pulled a gun out and laid it on top of his desk. I stood there speechless, then turned and left the office. Needless to say, I was never paid for the work. Few were surprised the club closed only six months after opening.  

1972

• Chambers Brothers, Hampton Grease Band - club opening, mid-August 
• Roadapple, Mother's Son - August 17-19
• Boot, Lynyrd Skynyrd - August 31-September 2
• Smokerise, Cotton - September 4-9
• Bacchus - September 11-13
• Keys, Bacchus - September 14-16
• Keys, Bandit - September 18-23
• Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes - September 25
• "reopened - mASSell loses a round" (The Great Speckled Bird, Vol. 5, No. 40, October 23, 1972, referring to Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell)
• Keys, Joshua - October 19-21
• Keys, Boot - October 23-28
• Lynyrd Skynyrd, Keys - November 2-4
• Chambers Brothers, Bandit - November 6-8
• Albatross, Bandit - November 9-11
• Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes, Blackfoot - November 13-15
• Eric Quincy Tate, Blackfoot -November 16-18
• Mose Jones, Applejack - November 20-25
• Kudzu, Clouds - November 27-December 1
• Kudzu, Eric Quincy Tate - December 2
• Squeeze, New Days Ahead - December 4-9
• Shayde - December 9
• Papa Doc - December 11-13
• Eric Quincy Tate, Papa Doc - December 14
• Lynyrd Skynyrd, Papa Doc - December 15-16
• Mose Jones, Micropolis - December 18-23
• Hydra, Brother Bait - December 26-27
• Kudzu, Brother Bait - December 28
• Hydra, Brother Bait - December 29-30 

1973

• Bob Seger System, Lynyrd Skynyrd - January 1-3
• Blackfoot, Lynyrd Skynyrd - January 4-6
• White Trash, Kudzu - January 8-10
• Brother Bait, Kudzu - January 11-13
• Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes, Keys - January 15-17
• Micropolis, Keys - January 18-20

Funochio's

• 845 Peachtree Street (at 6th), Atlanta GA
• Self-titled "Atlanta's Original House of Rock"
• Opened: December 1971
• Closed: September 1973
• Note: Source material for early days of Funochio's is scarce. An article in the December 20, 1971 issue of The Great Speckled Bird [GSB] about the band Flood indicates that owners of Funochio's would not purchase ad space until the newspaper had given the club significant press coverage. The same article refers to Funochio's as "a new place," inferring they had only recently opened. First evidence of ad placement was in the GSB February 14, 1972 issue, text only, in the free club listings of the Calendar page. (Discovery, Inc., an agency that booked and managed much of Atlanta's talent, frequently purchased display ads for their bands' appearances at Funochio's, given the club's early unwillingness to invest in marketing.) Funochio's first purchase of GSB display ad space was for the November 27, 1972 issue, promoting the club's first anniversary in early December.

1971

• Hydra - December
• Birnam Wood - December 
• Flood - December

1972

• Hydra - January 3-8, 10-15
• Stonehenge - February 14-19
• Hydra (with Clear, February 25) - February 21-26
• Kudzu - February 29-March 4
• Orpheum Circuit - March 6-11
• Brother Bait - March 13-18
• Lynryd Skynyrd - March 2o-25
• Taxi - March 27-April 1
• Hydra - April 3-8
• Stonehenge - April 10-15
• Eric Quincy Tate - April 17-22
• Boot - April 24-29
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - May 1-6
• Kudzu - May 8-13
• Macbeth (with Cisco, May 18) - May 19-20
• Flood - May 22-27
• Brother Bait - May 29-June 3
• Birnam Wood - June 5-10
• Papa Doc - June 15-17
• The Motion - June 17 (3pm jam)
• Hydra - June 19-24 (Deep Purple jammed)
• Orpheum Circuit - June 24 (3pm jam)
• Stonehenge - June 26-July 1
• Boot - July 3-8, 10-15 (Al Kooper jammed)
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - July 17-22 (first encounter with Al Kooper)
• Brother Bait - July 24-29
• Wellington Arrangement - July 31- August 5
• Stonehenge - August 7-12
• Hydra - August 14-19
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - August 21-26
• Free Love - August 28-31
• Wet Willie - September 1-2
• Kudzu - September 4-9
• Circus - September 11-13
• Hydra (with Albatross, September 15) - September 14-16
• Stonehenge - September 18-20
• Eric Quincy Tate - September 21-23
• Stonehenge - September 25-28
• Stonehenge, Al Kooper - September 29-30
• Whalefeathers - October 2-7
• Buster Brown - October 9-14
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - October 16-21
• Buster Brown - October 23-25
• Eric Quincy Tate, Buster Brown - October 26-28
• Hydra - October 30-November 4
• Brother Bait - November 6-11
• Kudzu - November 13-18
• Papa Doc - November 20-25
• Eric Quincy Tate, Albatross - November 27-29
• Albatross, Law - November 30-December 2
• Hydra - December 4
• Brother Bait  - December 5
• Mose Jones - December 6
• Armon, Mose Jones - December 7
• Armon, Eric Quincy Tate - December 8
• Armon - December 9
• Whalefeathers - December 11-16
• Hydra, Law - December 18-20
• Hydra - December 21-23
• Al Kooper, Mose Jones - December 26-27
• Mose Jones - December 28-30

1973

• Eric Quincy Tate - January 1-6
• Boot - January 8-13
• Lynyrd Skynyrd, Smokestack Lightnin' - January 15-20
• Mose Jones, Sweet Rye - January 22-27
• Whalefeathers, Sowbelly - January 29-February 3
• Kudzu, Sowbelly - February 5-10
• Law, Orpheum Circuit - February 12-14
• Law, Maelstrom - February 15-17, 19-24
• Eric Quincy Tate, Cotton Small - February 26-March 3
• Blackfoot, Hooker - March 5-10
• Lynyrd Skynyrd, Armon - March 12-17
• Mose Jones, Papa Doc - March 19-24
• Boot, Brown Dog - March 26-31
• Caliban, Scald Cats - April 2-7
• Fat Chance, Mushroom Jones - April 9-14
• Sun Country, Cisco - April 16-21
• Eric Quincy Tate, Cisco - April 23-28
• Caliban, Slick - April 30-May 5
• Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mason - May 10-12
• Orpheum Circuit, Kudzu - May 14-19
• Lynyrd Skynyrd, Traktor - May 21-26
• Brother Bait, Albatross - May 31-June 2
• Ritual, Mudcrutch* - June 4-9
• Brown Dog - June 14-16
• Hydra, Target - June 18-23
• Roadapple - June 25-30
• Eric Quincy Tate - July 2-7
• Birtha, Eric Quincy Tate - July 4-5
• Mose Jones - July 9-14
• Birtha - July 12
• Kudzu - July 12-15
• Birnam Wood - July 16-21
• Whiskey Train, Armon - July 26-28
• Kudzu, Nation Road - July 30-August 1
• Kudzu, Papa Doc - August 2-4
• Micropolis, Scald Cats - August 6-11
• Papa Doc, Catfish Hodge - August 13-16
• Papa Doc, Cisco - August 17-18
• Target, New Day Ahead - August 20-25

*Mudcrutch was Tom Petty's Gainesville, Florida, band prior to formation of the Heartbreakers. The group included Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell, who stayed on as members of the Heartbreakers. Mudcrutch signed with Shelter Records in 1974 and released one single before breaking up in 1975. >>January 2017 update: In August 2007, Tom Petty invited original members Randall Marsh and Tom Leadon to reform Mudcrutch along with Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell. They have since recorded two studio albums, toured extensively, and released a live album as well. Their last concerts were in June 2016 as of this update. 

The 12th Gate

• 36 10th Street NW, Atlanta GA
• Founder: Robin Feld, in conjunction with Methodist church (non-profit)
• Capacity: 150
• Opened: 1968
• Closed: January 1974 

1971

• Eric Quincy Tate - January 1
• Radar - January 2
• Avenue of Happiness - January 3
• Eric Quincy Tate - January 7-8
• Younguns - January 9-10
• Little Feat, Stump Brothers - January 11-13
• Fox Watson, Stump Brothers - January 15
• Fox Watson, Jim Rhyne - January 16
• Shayde - January 17
• Stillbrooke - January 21
• Shayde - January 22-23
• Doc Fields & Friends - January 24
• Radar - January 28-29
• Eastside Blues Band - January 30-31
• Captain Beefheart, Ry Cooder, Booger (12th Gate benefit at Sports Arena) - February 4
• Avenue of Happiness - February 5
• Wet Willie - February 6-7
• Younguns - February 11-12
• Booger - February 13-14
• Rev. Pearly Brown, Anne Romaine - February 17
• What Brothers - February 18-19
• Wet Willie - February 20
• Stump Brothers - February 21
• Hampton Grease Band - February 25-27
• Henley Walton's John - February 28
• East Side Blues Band - March 4-5
• Scald Cats - March 6
• Leonda - March 7
• Robin Conant - March 11
• Radar - March 12-13
• Fox Watson - March 14
• Scald Cats - March 18
• Wet Willie - March 19-21
• South - March 25
• Booger - March 26
• Milkweed - March 27-28
• Sylvia & Bart, Deborah Emerson, Foxes, Jim Rhyne - April 2
• David & Judy Doke, Dan English, Pan Handle - April 3
• Buddy Moss, Jimmy Hartz - April 4
• David & Judy Doke - April8
• Radar - April 9-10
• Uncle Lumpy - April 15
• Booger - April 16-17
• Foxes - April 18 
• Dan English - April 22
• East Side Blues Band - April 23
• Hansen & Alger - April 24
• Avenue of Happiness - April 25
• Hampton Grease Band - April 29-May 2
• Goose Creek Symphony - May 6
• Hansen & Alger - May 7
• Fox Watson - May 8
• Vince Quinn - May 9
• Little Feat - May 11-13
• Ever Wind - May 14
• Buddy Moss - May 15
• Frank Luther - May 16
• Archie; Michael & Kevin - May 20
• Scald Cats - May 21-22
• Doris Abrahams - May 23
• Steve Dempsey - May 27
• Booger - May 28-29
• David & Judy Doke - May 30
• Henley Walton's John - June 3
• Wet Willie - June 4-6
• Milkweed - June 10-12
• Avenue of Happiness - June 13
• East Side Blues Band [J Geils dropped in & played a set June 18] - June 17-18
• Buddy Moss - June 19
• Frank Luther - June 20
• David & Judy Doke - June 24
• Doris Abrahams, Vince Quinn - June 25-27
• Jeff Espina - July 1-3
• Bull - July 4
• Binoogah - July 8
• Foxes, Legal Tender - July 9-11
• Milkweed - July 15-17
• Bull - July 18
• Hampton Grease Band - July 22-25
• Legal Tender - July 29
• East Side Blues Band - July 30-31
• Bull - August 1
• Salmon & Dale - August 5
• Vince Quinn - August 6-7
• Rhino Country - August 8
• Perpetual Motion - August 12-13
• Foxes - August 14
• Bull - August 15
• Wet Willie - August 19-21
• Sunday Morning - August 22
• Jeff Espina - August 26-28
• Bull - August 29
• Sundance - September 2-3
• Scald Cats - September 4
• Doke - September 5
• East Side Blues Band - September 9-11
• Dan English - September 12
• Hampton Grease Band - September 16-18
• Dawn Workshop - September 19
• Radar - September 23-26
• Bull - October 3
• Prometheus Unbound - October 7
• East Side Blues Band - October 8
• Hampton Grease Band - October 9-10
• Sundance - October 14
• Gershon Freidlin, Pat Alger - October 15-16
• Gershon Freidlin, John Young - October 17
• Doris Abrahams - October 21-23
• Vince Quinn - October 24
• Milkweed - October 28-31
• Lawton Singh, Iskon - November 1
• Radar - November 4-6
• Bull, Frank Luther - November 7
• East Side Blues Band - November 12-13
• Foxes - November 14
• Salmon & Dale, Summerwhisk - November 18-19
• Robin Conant - November 20
• Bull - November 21
• Hampton Grease Band - November 25-27
• Buddy Moss - November 28
• Jeff Espina - December 2-4
• Bull - December 3
• Milkweed - December 9-11
• Suggins County String Band - December 12
• Salmon & Dale - December 16-17
• Doke - December 18-19
• Eric Quincy Tate - December 21
• Radar - December 22-24
• East Side Blues Band - December 25-26
• Silverman - December 28-29
• The Avenue of Happiness - December 30
• Robin Conant & Pat Alger - December 31

1972

• Suggins County String Band - January 1
• Bull - January 2
• Salmon & Dale - January 6
• Milkweed - January 7-8
• Prometheus Unbound - January 9
• Suggins County String Band - January 1
• Bull - January 2
• Hampton Grease Band - January 13
• East Side Blues Band - January 20-22
• Jazz with Bull - January 23
• Suggins County String Band - January 27-28
• Radar - January 29-30
• Doke Family - February 3
• Salmon & Dale - February 4
• Jeff Espina - February 5-6
• Silverman - February 10-11
• Milkweed - February 12-13
• Hampton Grease Band - February 24-26
• Rick Anderson - February 27
• Wet Willie - March 2-4
• Stonehenge - March 5
• David Olney - March 9-11
• The Motion - March 11
• Forty Fingers - March 16
• Radar - March 17-19
• New Avenue of Happiness - March 23
• Hampton Grease Band - March 24-25
• Sherry King & The American Beauty Rose Band - March 26
• Forty Fingers - March 30
• David Olney - March 31-April 1
• Solid Senders - April 6-7
• Rev. Pearly Brown - April 8
• Buddy Moss - April 9
• Gershon Freidlin & Matty O'Hare - April 13-16
• Jeff Espina - April 20-22
• The Starving Braineaters - April 23
• Flood - April 27
• Suggins County String Band - April 28-30
• Vince Quinn - May 4
• Milkweed - May 5-6
• American Beauty Rose Band - May 11-13
• Bull - May 14
• The Starving Braineaters - May 18-19
• Radar - May 20-21
• Wet Willie - May 25
• Hampton Grease Band - May 26-27
• Leon Bass & John D. Young - May 28
• Solid Senders  June 1-2
• Forty Fingers - June 3-4
• The Atlanta Electric Farm Band - June 8
• Robin Conant, David Olney - June 9
• Stump Brothers - June 10
• Bull - June 11
• The Starving Braineaters - June 15-16
• Jeff Espina - June 17-18
• Millard Archibald - June 22
• Zoot Cooter - June 23-25
• Faith Illusion - June 27
• Radar - June 29-July 1
• Bull - July 2
• Pat Alger - July 6
• Pat Alger, Robin Conant - July 7
• Silverman - July 8-9
• Hampton Grease Band - July 14-15
• Bull - July 16
• Chappaqua - July 20-22
• Albert & Newman - July 23
• Shuffling Hungarians - July 27
• Susan Miller - July 28-29
• The Dokes, Geiger Rock - July 30
• David Olney - August 3-4
• Suggins County String Band - August 5-6
• Forty Fingers - August 10-11
• East Side Blues Band - August 12
• Hampton Grease Band - August 18-20
• Starving Braineaters - August 24-26
• Bull - August 27
• Pat Alger - August 31-September 1
• Buddy Moss - September 2-3
• Stump Brothers - September 7-8
• Jeff Espina - September 9-10
• Stillwood - September 14-15
• Suggins County String Band - September 16-17
• Larry Coryell - September 26-October 1
• Hampton Grease Band - October 6-7
• Bull - October 8
• Zoot Cooter - October 12-15
• Fletcher & The Piedmonts - October 19
• Buddy Moss - October 20-21
• Starving Braineaters - October 22
• Fred Cale - October 26
• Jeff Espina - October 27-29
• Leg Of Otis, Snat Brothers - November 3-4
• Bull - November 5
• Arc - November 9
• Pat Alger - November 10-12
• Suggins County String Band - November 16-17
• Joe da Roach - November 18-19
• Hampton Grease Band - November 24-25
• Doris Abrahams - November 26, November 30-December 2
• Element - December 3
• David Ezell - December 7
• Leg Of Otis - December 8-9
• David Olney - December 10
• Nancy & Jeremiah - December 14
• David Olney - December 15-16
• Leg of Otis - December 21
• Starving Braineaters - December 22-23
• Weather Report - December 26-28

1973

• Hampton Grease Band - January 4-6
• Bull - January 7
• Forty Fingers - January 11-12
• Flood - January 13-14
• East Side Blues Band - January 25-28
• Weather Report - January 29-31
• Ellen McIlwaine, Bill Sheffield - February 1-2
• Ellen McIlwaine, Pat Alger - February 3-4
• Stump Brothers - February 8
• Buddy Moss - February 9-10
• Bull - January 11
• Jim Ryne - February 15
• Jeff Espina - February 16-18
• Leg of Otis - February 22-24
• Bull - February 25
• Breakfast Special - March 1-4
• Smith & Scrapper - March 8-9
• Starving Braineaters - March 10-11
• East Side Blues Band - March 15-18
• The Cummings Brothers - March 22-24
• Bull - March 25
• Big Mama Thornton, George "Harmonica" Smith, East Side Blues Band - March 27-April 21
• (closed for remodeling) 
• McCoy Tyner Quartet ("Grand Reopening") - May 1-5
• John Herald & The Honkies - May 7-12
• Bill Evans Trio - May 14-19
• The Elvin Jones Ensemble - May 21-26
• Pat Alger, Will Boulware, Mike Holbrook, Al Nicholson - May 28
• Buddy Moss, Sparky Rucker - May 29-June 2
• East Side Blues Band - June 4-9
• Pat Alger, Jeff Espina - June 12-16
• Townes Van Zandt - June 18-23
• Bill Braynon & The Soundsationals, Wahoo - June 25-30
• Silverman - July 2-7
• Rahsaan Roland Kirk & The Vibration Society - July 9-12
• Time - July 13-14, 16-21
• Keith Sykes, Pritchard Avenue Band - July 23-28
• Gary Bartz, NTU Troop - July 30-August 4
• Pat Alger, Robin Conant - August 7-11
• Lifeforce - August 13-18
• Silverman - August 20-23, 25
• Friends & Neighbors - August 24
• Elements - August 27
• Mose Allison - August 28-September 1
• Big Mama Thornton, George "Harmonica" Smith - September 3-9
• Breakfast Special - September 15-18
• Oregon - October 4-7
• Taylor & Francisco - October 8-13
• Pharoah Sanders - October 16-21
• Silverman - October 22-27
• Mad Mountain Mime Troupe - October 30, November 1-3
• Protrudamus - November 6-11
• John Hammond - November 12-18
• McCoy Tyner Quartet - November 20-25
• Malombo - November 26-December 1
• Ellen McIlwaine - December 4-9
• Oregon - December 11-16
• Gary Bartz, NTU Troop - December 18-23
• Mike Greene Band - December 27-30

The Great Southeast Music Hall

The Great Southeast Music Hall, Emporium & Performing Arts Exchange Inc.

• Broadview Plaza Shopping Center, 2581 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta GA
• Owners: Bob Dulong, Maurice "Mo" Ehrlich
• Capacity: 530
• Opened: Monday, October 30, 1972
• Note: The Great Southeast Music Hall is probably most remembered for hosting the very first American performance of the Sex Pistols, January 5, 1978.

1972

• Jeff Espina, Pat Alger, Silverman - October 28 (preview)
• Jonathan Edwards, Pat Alger - October 30-November 5
• Tim Hardin - November 7-12
• Harry Chapin, Jeubal - November 14-19
• New York Rock Ensemble, Suggins County String Band - November 21-26
• Johnny Nash, Rogue's Gallery - November 30, December 2-3
• Al Kooper, Rogue's Gallery - December 1
• Joe Walsh, The Barnstormers, Doris Abrahams - December 5-10
• Hampton Grease Band, Jeff Espina - December 12-17
• Arthur, Hurley & Gottlieb; Alan Beck - December 19-24
• Silverman, Ray Whitley - December 26-31

1973

• Edmonds & Curley, Joe da Roach - January 2-7
• The Earl Scruggs Review, Pat Alger - January 9-14 
• Odetta - January 16-21
• Radar, Fletcher & The Piedmonts - January 19-20 (at midnight)
• Len Chandler, Morris Dudley - January 23-28
• Flood, Sweet Rye - January 26-27 (at midnight)
• Townes Van Zandt, Banks & Shane - January 30-February 4
• Roadapple, Doke House Blues Band - February 2-3 (at midnight)
• Dion, Steve Ferguson - February 6-11
• Hydra, East Side Blues Band - February 9-10 (at midnight)
• Oliver, Tunesmith - February 13-18
• Eric Quincy Tate, Maelstrom - February 16-17 (at midnight)
• Buddy Moss, Joab, Jeff Espina - February 22-25
• Fletcher & The Piedmonts, Starving Braineaters - February 23-24  (at midnight)
• Danny Cox, Doris Abrahams - March 2-5
• Hampton Grease Band - March 2-3 (at midnight)
• John Hartford - March 6-11
• Atlanta Rhythm Section, Devil's Advocate - March 9-10 (at midnight)
• Odetta, Smith & Scrapper - March 12-18
• Brother Bait, Caliban - March 16-18 (at midnight)
• Doc Watson, Breakfast Special - March 20-25
• Scald Cats, Sweet Rye - March 23-24 (at midnight)
• Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys - March 27-April 1
• Mose Jones, Protrudamus - March 30-April 1 (at midnight)
• Lily Tomlin - April 3-7
• Kudzu, Stump Brothers - April 6-8 (at midnight)
• James Cotton Blues Band, Ellen McIlwaine - April 12-15
• Harry Chapin, John Herald & The Honkies - April 17-22
• Lynyrd Skynyrd, Traktor - April 20-21 (at midnight)
• Looking Glass - April 24-28
• Howdy Doody Revival with Buffalo Bob, Tom Waits - May 1-6
• Atlanta Rhythm Section, Mason - May 4-6 (at midnight)
• Charles Lloyd - May 10-13
• Eric Quincy Tate, Elements - May 11-13 (at midnight)
• Goose Creek Symphony - May 15-18
• Will Boulware, Mike Holbrook, Al Nicholson - May 19
• Wheatridge - May 19-20
• Leo Kottke, Jimmie Spheeris - May 22-27
• Eric Weissberg & The Dueling Banjoes - June 8-10
• The Dillards, Silverman - June 12-17
• The Earl Scruggs Revue - June 19-24
• John Prine - June 28-30
• Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - July 1-2
• Tom Rush - July 3-8
• Pat Paulsen - July 10-15
• Al Kooper - July 12
• Phil Ochs, The New Grass Band - July 17-22
• The Great Speckled Bird Benefit Concert: Al Kooper, Mose Jones, Birtha, Phil Ochs, Bill Sheffield, Small Drink, Corrinne Smith, Pat Alger, Robin Conant - July 23
• Doug Kershaw - July 24-29
• Procter & Goodman - July 31-August 5
• Jim Croce - August 8-11
• Al Kooper - August 12 (benefit for friends of James and Julian Bond)
• Albert Hammond, Lori Jacobs - August 14-18
• Steve Goodman - August 19
• Chuck Mangione - August 21-26
• Melissa Manchester - August 29-September 2
• Eric Anderson - September 5-9
• Kinky Friedman - September 11-12
• Goose Creek Symphony - September 13-16
• Linda Ronstadt - September 18-23
• John Stewart, Wheatridge - September 25-30
• Red, White & Blue(grass) - October 2-4 
• Red, White & Blue(grass); Heartwood - October 5-7
• Lightnin' Hopkins - October 9-13
• Commander Cody - October 15
• Doc & Merle Watson - October 16-21
• Harry Chapin - October 23-28
• New Riders Of The Purple Sage - October 29
• Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - October 30-November 4
• The Dillards - November 6-11
• Procter & Bergman - November 12
• Mason Williams - November 13-18
• Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Sherman Hayes - November 20-25
• Taj Mahal - November 26
• Doug Kershaw, Lee Clayton - November 27-December 2
• Jerry Jeff Walker - December 4-9
• Loudon Wainwright III, Lori Lieberman - December 11-16
• Silverman - December 18-23
• The Country Gentlemen - December 26-30
• Bluegrass Jamboree - December 31

1974

• The Committee - January 2-6
• Sopwith Camel, Franklin Ajaye - January 10-13
• Waylon Jennings - January 15-20
• Earl Scruggs Revue - January 21-23
• Cheech & Chong - January 24-27
• Goose Creek Symphony - January 31-February 3
• Oliver - February 6-10
• Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffet - February 12-17
• Jonathan Edwards - February 19-24
• John Hartford - February 27-March 3
• Tom Rush - March 5-10
• Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Steve Martin - March 12-17
• David Bromberg, Aztec Twostep - March 19-24
• Doc & Merle Watson - March 26-31
• Roger McGuinn, Pillmore & Hatcher - April 2-7
• Brewer & Shipley - April 8
• Henry Gross, The Talbot Brothers - April 9-14
• BW Stevenson - April 8
• Country Joe McDonald, Barry Melton, "special guest Barry Manilow" - April 16-21
• The Committee - April 23-28
• Ry Cooder - April 29
• Buffy St Marie - April 30-May 5
• Tim Weisberg - May 6
• Ace Trucking Company, Orphan - May 7-12
• Goose Creek Symphony - May 13
• Eric Weissberg & Deliverance - May 14-19
• Melissa Manchester, Martin Mull - May 21-25
• Martin Mull; Travis Shook & The Club Wow - May 28-June 2
• Doug Kershaw - June 3-5
• Dr Hook & The Medicine Show - June 6-9
• Uncle Josh Graves - June 11-16
• Hampton Geese Band, Buddy Moss - June 17
• Rick Cunha, Wendy Waldman - June 18-23
• Mad Mountain Mime Troupe - June 24
• The New Grass Revival & David Allan Coe - June 25-30
• Mike Greene Band, Pat Alger - July 1-3
• Paul Davis, Pyramid, Pat Alger - July 4-7
• Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - July 8-9
• Lightnin' Hopkins, Murray McLauchlan - July 10-14
• Wendy Waldman - July 15-17
• Weather Report, Steven Grossman - July 18-20
• Janis Ian, Larry Gatlin - July 22
• Earl Scruggs Revue, Larry Gatlin - July 23-28
• Doc & Merle Watson, Sammy Walker - July 29
• Esther Phillips; Barbara Barrow & Mike Smith - July 30-August 4
• The Incredible String Band - August 5-7
• Rahsaan Roland Kirk, David Pomeranz - August 8-11
• Steve Martin, Mimi Farina - August 15-August 18
• John Hammond, Muledeer & Moondog Medicine Show - August 20-25
• Tracy Nelson & Mother Earth, Norman Blake - August 27-31
• Josh Graves, Norman Blake - September 2-4
• Josh Graves, Rainmaker - September 5-7
• Leo Kottke, Madhouse Company of London - September 9-11
• Madhouse Company of London, Leon Redbone - September 12-15
• JJ Cale - September 16
• Oregon - September 17-18
• Jimmy Buffett - September 19-22
• Jonathan Edwards, Mad Mountain Mime Troupe - September 23-24
• Charlie Byrd, Mad Mountain Mime Troupe - September 25-29
• Return to Forever featuring Chick Corea - September 30
• Goose Creek Symphony, Michael Collins - October 1-5
• Tom Rush, Orphan - October 7
• Paul Davis, Pyramid - October 8-12
• John Hartford; Red, White & Blue(grass) - October 14-16
• Red, White & Blue(grass) - October 17-20
• Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Gallagher & Lyle - October 21-23
• Sammi Smith, Claire Hamill- October 24-27
• John Fahey, Sam Parsons - October 28
• Tim Weisberg, Sam Parsons - October 29-30
• Dr Hook & The Medicine Show, Sam Parsons - October 31-November 3
• Don Everly, Willis Allen Ramsey - November 4-7
• Taj Mahal, Ron Douglas - November 8-9
• Chuck Mangione - November 11-13
• Robert Klein, Tom Waits - November 14-17
• Dan Fogelberg - November 18
• Doc & Merle Watson, Dick Feller -November 19-24
• Gino Vanelli - November 25
• Doug Kershaw, Gove - November 26-30
• Darius Brubeck Ensemble, Ed Begley Jr - December 2-4
• David Bromberg - December 5-8
• The Dillards, Sam Leopold - December 9-11
• McCoy Tyner - December 12-15
• Ramsey Lewis Trio - December 16
• Severin Brown - December 17-22
• Tim Weisberg, Mike Williams - December 31-January 4