Alexander Memorial Coliseum

• 965 Fowler Street NW, Atlanta GA (on Georgia Tech campus)
• Capacity: approx. 8600
• Note: In 2010, the arena received $45 million facelift, which included additional seating expanding the capacity to over 9100. Upon completion, the facility was renamed the Hank McCamish Pavilion. It continues to be home court for Georgia Tech's basketball teams.

Alexander Memorial Coliseum

1970

• The Guess Who - April 24
• Allman Brothers Band, Smith - May 9
• Blood, Sweat & Tears - 

1971

• Judy Collins - April 17
• Steppenwolf - May 14
• Chicago - October 28 (benefit for Voter Education Project)

1972

• Bread - January 22
• Richie Havens - January 29
• The Beach Boys - March 30
• Ten Years After, Wild Turkey - April 22
• Stephen Stills & Manassas - May 15
• West, Bruce & Laing; Edgar Winter; Mose Jones - October 26

1973

• Yes, Poco, Les Moore - April 19
• Uriah Heep; Earth, Wind & Fire; Tucky Buzzard - September 21
• Loggins & Messina, Mark-Almond, Shawn Phillips  - October 24
• J. Geils Band, Foghat - October 28
• Sly & The Family Stone - November 1
• Black Oak Arkansas, Spooky Tooth - November 22
• Emerson, Lake & Palmer - November 28
• The Isley Brothers - December 8

1974

• Yes - February 11
• Traffic - April 23
• Blue Oyster Cult, Manfred Mann, Hydra - May 4
• Kool and The Gang, Eddie Kendricks, The Bar-Kays - May 5
• Doobie Brothers, Henry Gross - May 11
• Earth, Wind & Fire; Richard Pryor; Chambers Brothers - May 25
• Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hydra - September 20
• Seals & Crofts - November 16
• Black Oak Arkansas, Trapeze, Kiss - November 23

Honorary Locals

In the early 1970s, some out-of-town musicians became so ubiquitous in Atlanta that they may as well have been locals. Those who had settled in Macon (e.g., Allman Brothers Band, Wet Willie, Cowboy) were already part of the family, but others hailed from further afield. They played Atlanta clubs and concert venues frequently, and built devoted followings in the city. South Carolina's Marshall Tucker Band and Florida's Lynyrd Skynyrd are maybe most obvious, but these others gained an early toehold in Atlanta as well. Club venues ranging from the tiny 12th Gate to the larger Richards drew the best. Part of the draw and interaction within those clubs was the physical layout: an approachable open stage adjacent to tabled seating, devoid of extreme risers or other off-putting barriers. In contrast, a venue like Alex Cooley's Electric Ballroom, though technically a club, created a distinct division between audience and performer with a high elevated stage, seating at a distance, and a deafening* barricade of PA equipment flanking the performers. It was simply not very friendly to spontaneous, organic interaction.

Little Feat at the 150-seat 12th Gate in 1971,
for only ONE DOLLAR.

California's Little Feat spent a lot of time in Atlanta early on, as their longtime fans know. In January 1971 they were playing the cozy 12th Gate on 10th Street; by October 1974 they were opening for Traffic at The Omni coliseum. In between were numerous bookings at Richards and return visits to the 12th Gate.
Country rock jamband Goose Creek Symphony hailed from Arizona and Kentucky. After appearing with Bobbie Gentry on The Ed Sullivan Show, they joined Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers at the 1970 Atlanta International Pop Festival. They played for free in Piedmont Park, and also became familiar from bookings at the 12th Gate, The Great Southeast Music Hall, and Richards. (Update 3/23/15: In late 1971, the band actually pulled up roots and moved to Atlanta.)

May 1973, Cactus was booked at Richards.
Johnny Winter and Gregg Allman dropped in.

Texas bluesman Johnny Winter would pop up everywhere in Atlanta. He frequently was booked in the city for concerts, but he was also one who loved to jam and would just show up in clubs unannounced. It is undeniable that altered states were part of the musical chemistry of the time. I recall Winter laid out flat on his back on the stage floor of Richards late one night playing brilliantly unbounded blues solos while sitting (or lying) in. (Might have been that week in May 1973 when Cactus–the Mike Pinera/Duane Hitchings incarnation–headlined. Gregg Allman also sat in that week.)

Charlie Daniels (right) onstage with Leonard Cohen c. 1971

Another familiar drop-in was Charlie Daniels, a Nashville fixture originally from North Carolina. By 1970 Daniels was already renown and respected for his songwriting and musicianship across multiple genres, especially country and bluegrass, working with the likes of Bob Dylan, Marty Robbins, The Youngbloods, Leonard Cohen, and many others. He stepped quite naturally into the arena of Southern Rock as it evolved. Anyone who's ever been around him knows the formidable presence of the man: a tall mountain brimming with big-heartedness. Like Johnny Winter, he would show up unexpectedly in a club to spontaneously jam, no matter the genre. The most interesting impromptu collaboration I ever witnessed was the time Daniels stepped onstage at Richards to jam with British rocker Terry Reid, who appeared as surprised as everyone else. Charlie Daniels towered over elfin Reid, and brought out his fiddle to accompany Reid's reflective folk/blues/rock from his then-new River LP that verged at times on jazz abstraction. I wish there was a photo in existence of the unlikely duo. Their strange musical mesh worked, though, and lifted the room to someplace entirely new.

Bonnie &  Delaney Bramlett with Duane Allman

Icing on the cake was the camaraderie of the musicians themselves. It was still a time when love of music prevailed and contract restrictions were much looser than today. Also key was that the time period was pre-handheld devices, pre-social media, and pre-paparazzi. There was more freedom of movement and more respect for privacy. The players showed up for each other, and late-set jams became the stuff of legend. Credit must be given to Duane Allman, too. During his time as a session player in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, he drew many musicians to Georgia, including California-based Boz Scaggs and Delaney & Bonnie Bramlett. (Even after the spouses split in 1973, Bonnie Bramlett, on her own, was booked frequently in Atlanta.) There was no shortage of talent, no matter which direction you turned.

*I permanently lost hearing in my right ear there during a Bill Bruford performance in August 1979 while taking photographs from stage right. 

Bill Lowery, Studio One & The Atlanta Rhythm Section

Studio One was a key locale during the 1960s-70s advent of Southern music. The production facility was enabled by the support of Bill Lowery, aka "Mr Atlanta Music." Lowery is most remembered as a prominent music publisher, but his career spanned many aspects of the industry. Born in Louisiana in 1924, he became a disc jockey while a teenager in Tennessee. In 1945, Lowery became the youngest radio station manager in the nation. While still in radio, he relocated to Atlanta, and added program host to his credits, showcasing local and regional talent. In 1951, he founded Lowery Music Company, his publishing company which achieved significant success in multiple genres of music.

Bill Lowery (right) with (L-R) Ray Stevens,
Jerry Reed, and Little Jimmy Dempsey

Lowery expanded his business to include management and recording services in addition to publishing, and named it collectively the Lowery Group. From the 1960s into the 70s, major hits were achieved by Ray Stevens, Gene Vincent, Jerry Reed, Tommy Roe, The Tams, The Classics IV, and Joe South. The Beatles covered "Mr Moonlight," one of the company's songs by Roy Lee Johnson. Billy Joe Royal, Lynn Anderson, Deep Purple, Mac Davis, and others extended the company's winning streak. The Lowery Music site provides an extensive list of affiliated artists and songs.

Studio One in the northeast Atlanta suburb of Doraville was the creation of audio engineer Rodney Mills. Bill Lowery backed the project and made Mills' vision possible, along with producer/songwriter/manager Buddy Buie and musician/songwriter J.R. Cobb. The facility opened in 1970 and attracted a diverse roster of clientele, including: Al Kooper, Mose Jones, Lynyrd Skynryd, .38 Special, Joe South, Billy Joe Royal, Bonnie Bramlett, Dickey Betts, Journey, Stillwater, B.J. Thomas, and The Outlaws. The studio's in-house musicians were former members of Dennis Yost's Classics IV [songwriter Buddy Buie and guitarist J.R. Cobb] and Roy Orbison's Candymen [singer Rodney Justo, keyboardist Dean Daughtry, and drummer Robert Nix.] Local bassist Paul Goddard and guitarist Barry Bailey also joined the crew.

The Atlanta Rhythm Section
(L-R) Dean Daughtry, Ronnie Hammond, Barry Bailey,
Paul Goddard, Robert Nix, and J.R. Cobb
"New York's fine, but it ain't Doraville."

Between sessions the studio musicians literally banded together to create their own music, and thus was born The Atlanta Rhythm Section [ARS]. They secured a record deal with MCA/Decca and released their eponymous first album in November 1971. When lead singer Rodney Justo left to pursue a solo career, Ronnie Hammond took his place. (Hammond was already onsite at Studio One as assistant engineer to Rodney Mills. He was skilled on various instruments, and it was discovered that he also had a remarkable singing voice.) It wasn't until 1973, after the release of their second LP Back Up Against The Wall, that ARS could leave the studio to tour in support of their albums. Their next record, Third Annual Pipe Dream, finally expanded their regional base, began to climb the charts, and the single "Doraville" became their first Top Forty hit.
ARS continued to record and garner extensive popular success through the rest of the 1970s. They navigated a softer pop ascension parallel and, perhaps, in contrast to the grittier, bluesier rock paths of the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynryd during the same period. Like their musical brethren, the Atlanta Rhythm Section survived loss and change, and continues to tour and honor their roots.

Sources:

Bill Lowery (1924-2004), by Laura McCarty, New Georgia Encyclopedia, September 8, 2006

Atlanta Rhythm Section, www.atlantarhythmsection.com

Stonehenge, Mose Jones & Al Kooper

I kept crossing paths with Jimmy O'Neill over a twenty year period. The last time I saw him he was handling sound for a small independent film we were both working on in Atlanta. That was around 1994-95. Before then, while I still worked for Turner, we'd run into each other in the TBS studio. (I believe he was freelancing, probably sound engineering.) He worked on a CNN project I was art directing, a VHS series on Desert Storm, the first Gulf War (1991.) It was always a treat to see Jimmy. He was talented, funny, and unfailingly had something good to say. He excelled at many things, but first and foremost, he was a superb musician.

(L-R) Bryan Cole, Jimmy O'Neill, Randy Lewis, Clay Watkins

During 1972, I met Jimmy when he was guitarist for Stonehenge, a popular rock band originally from Florida that had moved to Atlanta in 1970. [Stonehenge lineup: Bryan Cole/drums/vocals, Jimmy O'Neill/guitar/vocals, Randy Lewis/bass/vocals, Clay Watkins/keyboards.] I first heard them play live at Funochio's. They maintained a faithful following in the city, were well-respected by their peers, and clubs were always packed when they played. Funochio's was also where producer/musician Al Kooper met the band. As covered in earlier posts, Kooper descended upon Atlanta in summer 1972, scouting bands to launch his Sounds of the South label. (He had secured a distribution deal with MCA Records.) In late July, he extended a contract offer to Lynyrd Skynyrd after his Funochio's encounter with them. During his lengthy wait for a response from Skynyrd's manager, Kooper latched on to Stonehenge during their week at the same club in August. The band changed their name to Mose Jones (in honor of Mose Allison and a family dog) and signed with Kooper, making their group the first on his new label. They were also the first into the studio (i.e., Studio One in Doraville), and theirs was the first album released on Sounds of the South. While Mose Jones was working on Get Right, that first album, keyboardist Clay Watkins left and was replaced by the band's longtime friend Steve McRay, who had just completed a tour-of-duty with the US Army in Vietnam.

Mose Jones with Al Kooper and friends, 1973
(Jimmy O'Neill, far left; Bryan Cole, center, in jacket, kneeling; 
Al Kooper fourth from right, in white jacket;
 Steve McRay, second from right; Randy Lewis, far right)

The "firsts" continued. Atlanta rock club Richards opened its doors February 1, 1973, and Mose Jones was the first band to anoint the room with live music. They opened for Elephant's Memory, John Lennon's backup band at the time. Get Right dropped in May, while Skynryd's first LP was in the pipeline for an August release. Kooper hosted his Sounds of the South launch party at Richards July 29, 1973, showcasing the two bands to radio and music industry honchos, along with the press.
Sheer luck and timing landed Lynyrd Skynyrd the opening slot on The Who's 1973 American tour. Mose Jones traveled extensively, playing gigs such as Max's Kansas City in NYC. Their second album Mose Knows was released in 1974. Large-scale success was elusive. The band's career fell into the shadow of Lynyrd Skynyrd's trajectory, and by 1975 Mose Jones splintered, then disbanded.
I had left Atlanta by the time a second incarnation of Mose Jones was formed in 1977. Randy and Steve reunited and brought in two new players. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Bryan had moved to Nashville to work as songwriters for a music publisher. They subsequently joined the Vassar Clements Band, recording and touring. Google reveals much more about the various paths of the original Mose Jones members. My own research discovered the sad passings of Randy, Jimmy, and Bryan since the turn of the century, all way too young.

IMHO:
It's sometimes hard to pinpoint why one talent soars while another falters. There are a multitude of factors. With Mose Jones, online recollections of their Sounds of the South studio sessions reflect some dissatisfaction with the experience. Al Kooper had a "product" in mind which perhaps did not reflect the true musical goals of the band. Like most stories there are two or more sides to consider. With Kooper, too, it may have been a matter of focus. He traveled on The Who tour (1973) to mix sound for Skynyrd, perhaps micromanaging while other label members fell off his personal radar. Sounds of the South signed only two other groups: Elijah, a horn band from (technically Southern) California, and Kooper's early band The Blues Project, from nowhere near the South. In 1974, Kooper moved from Atlanta and relocated to Los Angeles. After Skynyrd's second album (recorded at the Record Plant in LA) was released, Kooper's relationship with MCA began disintegrating. MCA Records ultimately absorbed Sounds of the South. It ended badly and is a story well told in Kooper's aptly titled autobiography Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards. Supremely talented, visionary, and productive, Al Kooper might these days be diagnosed with ADD. Just a guess. He left an extraordinary trail of projects in midstream (e.g., The Blues Project; Blood, Sweat & Tears; Sounds of the South) some which continued to thrive, some not so much. Nevertheless, he remained a savvy businessman, always on the prowl for the next new thing, and resolute about doing things his way. No disrespect.

Sources:
Remembering Mose Jones, www.java-monkey.com
In Memoriam: Bryan Cole, by Scott Freeman, www.artsatl.com, January 11, 2013
Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, by Al Kooper, published by Billboard Books, 1998, and Backbeat Books, 2008
Mose Jones Interview with Bryan Cole, by Luc Brunot, Sweet Home Music, www.sweethomemusic.fr

Discovery, Inc.

Booking agencies have always navigated the often tricky waters of coordinating artists with promoters and venues. In Atlanta's late 1960s and early 70s, there were several operations handling such business. Discovery, Inc., founded by Steve Cole in 1968, within a few years became the busiest and largest of the local agencies, at least in the rock-and-roll marketplace. Cole was part of the Atlanta music scene from which emerged the Southern Rock genre. He played a key role in mobilizing the legendary Piedmont Park free concerts (which propelled the Allman Brothers Band), and supplied clubs, colleges, and other settings throughout the Southeast with talent as required. Big name national tours, when in the region, often turned to the local talent pool for opening acts. Discovery provided.

Steve Cole (left) and promoter Alex Cooley at Piedmont Park, Atlanta GA,
photo by Carter Tomassi

From the outset, Discovery marketed the agency's presence, profile, and mission. They also promoted their bands' appearances, bolstering any advertising that club and concert promoters might provide. By 1974, Discovery handled about 20 acts. The Hampton Grease Band was with them from the beginning and, in 1970, landed a recording contract with CBS/Columbia. Discovery represented Lynyrd Skynyrd early in the band's career, also Mose Jones (formerly Stonehenge). In 1972, those two bands became label-mates for Al Kooper's Sound of the South, the first acts Kooper signed. Hydra likely logged the most road miles of any band in Atlanta back in the day, and signed with Phil Walden's Capricorn Records by early 1973. A point could be reached when range and volume of requests for a band outgrew the size of the agency. As happened with those mentioned, the time came when an agency with larger reach and capability was required. It was a good problem to have, and reflected success for both artists and agency.

Discovery, Inc., 1973 roster sample,
(click to enlarge)

In 1974, Discovery, Inc., merged with Holliday Group, another agency in the city. They retained the Discovery name and secured their standing as largest agency in Atlanta. Search results past the merger return very little information. A posting at thestripproject.com indicates that Steve Cole has since passed. Longtime Atlanta musician Darryl Rhoades wrote that Cole "understood the possibilities of the music scene way before other promoters actually acted on it. He predicted that one day bands would be playing huge venues to packed audiences." Atlanta's musical past owes much to Steve Cole.

Steve Cole, Discovery, Inc.,
photo from Billboard, May 24, 1974

Acts represented by Discovery between 1968 and 1974 include: Albatross, The American Cheese, Applejack, Armon, Atlanta Vibrations [later, Vibration], Avenue of Happiness, Axis, The Bag, Booger Band [later, just Booger], Brick Wall, Brother Bait, Buster Brown, Caliban, The Celestial Voluptuous Banana, Choice, Clear, The Coconut Confetti, The Daze After, Dear John, Dogwood, East Side Blues Band, The Electric Collage Light Show, Fifth Order, Flint, Foxes, Gingerbread, Glass Menagerie, Hampton Grease Band, Heat, Hydra, Interprize, Kudzu, Leviathan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Micropolis, Milkweed, The Mud Child, The New Explanation, The Night Shadows featuring Little Phil, Orpheum Circuit, Pale Paradox, Papa Doc, The Peppermint Confederacy, Perpetual Motion [later, The Motion], Protrudamus, Radar, Resurrection, Rude-Frye, Russian Butt Broil, St George and the Dragonlite Show, Scald Cats, Smokestack Lightnin', The Soul-Jers, Soul Support, The Spontaneous Generation, Stillbrooke, Stonehenge [later, Mose Jones], Stump Brothers, Sweet Fire, Sweet Younguns [later, just Younguns], Traktor, Warm, and West End.

I promise I did not make up any of these names.

Sources:

"Bookers See Southern Bands Still to Be Recorded, Allman Brothers Success a Continuing Momentum," Billboard, May 24, 1974
"Inside Track," Billboard, October 26, 1974
The Great Speckled Bird, advertisements, 1968-1974

Lynyrd Skynyrd & Sounds of the South

"Along come Mister Yankee Slicker, sayin', 'Maybe you're what I want.'"
-- Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Workin' for MCA," Second Helping

(follow-up to 12/31/14 post)
In Summer 1972, Al Kooper was working with his back-up band Frankie & Johnny at Studio One in Doraville, just outside Atlanta. Session-work during the day, downtown club scene at Funochio's into the night. (A fellow childhood summercamper ran the place.) First week of his visit, Boot was playing. Kooper sat in. The second week, July 17-22, a band from Jacksonville FL was booked. They were a familiar presence at Funochio's, having already played week-long gigs there in March and May that year.

Lynyrd Skynyrd at Funochio's, 1972, Atlanta GA,
view from the upstairs bar;
photo by Carter Tomassi

Kooper's initial encounter with the no-nonsense music of Lynyrd Skynyrd in the edgy, volatile* environment of Funochio's was a pivotal moment. He'd been on the prowl for "three-chord" bands to fill what he perceived as a void in the prog-rock-laden music environment of the early 70s. At the same time, he was well aware that Phil Walden was onto something, and that Walden, at the time, pretty much had a monopoly on the emerging genre of Southern Rock. In his autobiography, Kooper recalls:

"My business plan was thus: No record company but Phil Walden's Capricorn Records based in Macon, Georgia, understood that something was going on in the South. If Capricorn turned a band down, they were pretty much doomed, because no other label understood this phenomenon. I decided I would start my own label as an alternative to Capricorn and base it out of Atlanta." 

By the end of that week, Al Kooper was sitting in with Lynyrd Skynryd at the club. On Saturday night he offered them a recording deal which included him as producer. Without any commitments in place, he then managed to convince MCA Records in LA to distribute his yet-to-be-launched "Sounds of the South" label. Kooper settled into his new home in Sandy Springs, another suburb of Atlanta's sprawl. At last, Lynyrd Skynyrd's manager contacted him. Small world, their manager was none other than Alan Walden, Phil's younger brother. Capricorn had already passed on signing the band. It took a couple of months, but a deal was eventually hammered out. In the meantime, Al Kooper signed his first band for Sounds of the South: Mose Jones, a popular, well-respected, extremely talented Atlanta group. (They changed their name from Stonehenge in 1972.) Kooper had a plan:

"In my mind, stylistically speaking, Mose Jones were my Beatles, and Skynyrd were my Stones." 

Mose Jones was first in the studio, and first released. (Another post will discuss their story.) On July 29, 1973, Al Kooper hosted his Sounds of the South launch party at Richards, Atlanta's famed club-of-the-moment. The label's first two signings were showcased to radio, press, and industry honchos. Lynyrd Skynyrd's first album (Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd), produced at Studio One in Doraville, was released two weeks later on August 13, 1973. "Free Bird" was the closing track.

For Skynyrd, timing and luck intervened when Kooper ran into Pete Townshend and The Who's manager Peter Rudge at MCA. Kooper sold them on Lynyrd Skynyrd as opening act for their upcoming North American tour promoting Quadrophenia. It was a huge leap of faith for all involved, being Lynyrd Skynyrd's first experience in such enormous venues. Kooper stepped in to mix their sound in the quirky context of The Who's unusual set-up. The band and crew were fine with that, and everyone rose to the occasion. According to Kooper:

"Somehow it all fell into place, and Skynyrd began to do what no opening band for The Who had ever done–they got encores!"

Previous bookings for small venues were cancelled as the band's popularity and record sales surged. The Atlanta club scene became a receding image in Lynyrd Skynyrd's rearview mirror. The rest, as they say, is history. Enormous success was commingled with enormous tragedy, a story well-documented elsewhere. 

*Business as usual included a couple of stabbings, a couple of shootings, open drug use, rivalrous drug dealers, and drunken bad behavior of all sorts. I once witnessed a drag queen at the downstairs bar beating up a guy with a shoe.

Sources:
The Morton Report, "New Music for Old People: Rarities From the Sounds of the South Label," by Al Kooper, September 14, 2012
Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, by Al Kooper, published by Billboard Books, 1998, and Backbeat Books, 2008
Rolling Stone, 100 Greatest Artists, 95/Lynyrd Skynyrd, by Al Kooper

Al Kooper in Atlanta

By the early 1970s Al Kooper was well known in the music business not only for his musicianship and songwriting talents, but also as a skilled, influential producer. He had been a founding member of The Blues Project and Blood, Sweat & Tears. He released solo projects as well, but Kooper was perhaps most revered for his collaborations with Mike Bloomfield, Stephen Stills, and Shuggie Otis, along with a goldmine of backup players. (Famed illustrator Norman Rockwell notably created the double portrait for 1969's "Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper," a personal favorite.) Atop all these credentials, Kooper is cemented in music history for not only having played organ on Bob Dylan's pivotal "Like A Rolling Stone," but for presenting Lynyrd Skynryd to the world along with eternal chants for "Free Bird."

The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper
Columbia Records, 1969

In March 1972, Al Kooper was in Atlanta for performances at The Music Connection in Underground Atlanta. He caught up with friends there, musicians who had been members of Roy Orbison's back-up band The Candymen. The group, known and respected for their quality session work, had recently stepped out front to present their own music as the Atlanta Rhythm Section [ARS]. They worked out of Studio One, their own recording facility in Doraville, an Atlanta suburb they would make famous in song. Kooper sat in with ARS one night at the studio and, suitably impressed, booked a month's time at the facility that summer to record his own backup band Frankie & Johnny. In a 2014 interview with Huffington Post he recalled:

"In 1972, I had been in the studio in Atlanta for several weeks with another band, working really hard during the day and then going out with the guys at night to unwind... We were going out pretty regularly to this place called Funochio's and there was this band there."

"This band" was Lynyrd Skynryd. 

I was already immersed in the Atlanta music community by the time Al Kooper showed up at Funochio's. Admittedly, I was a fangirl. The Blues Project had played the Christmas dance my sophomore year in high school. I'd been collecting his albums ever since, so when I saw him at the upstairs bar in Funochio's, I walked right over and asked how his sister Alice was doing. I deserved the unamused smirk in return. In the last week of his Studio One session work, Kooper decided to stay in Atlanta. He sent for his things in NYC and began steps toward launching his own label to compete with Phil Walden's burgeoning, only-game-in-town, Capricorn Records. [Will write more about Sounds of the South in another post.] Time passed. Goals were accomplished. In 1974, Al Kooper pulled up roots again, this time headed for LA. I was happy to attend the small going-away party that Richards' management threw for him. As a parting gift, they gave him the latest hi-tech toy of the time: a slimline pop-up Polaroid camera with leather details. 
Then *poof*, Kooper was gone.  

Sources: 

www.huffingtonpost.com/billrobinson/backstage-pass-two-stones_b_4324840.html

Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, by Al Kooper, published by Billboard Books, 1998, and Backbeat Books, 2008

The Omni

• 100 Techwood Drive, Atlanta GA
• Opened: October 14, 1972
• Demolished: May 11, 1997; replaced by Philips Arena, opened 1999 
• Capacity: 15-16,500
• Note: The Omni Coliseum was created primarily to serve as home arena for the Atlanta Hawks (NBA) and the Atlanta Flames (NHL).

The Omni Coliseum

1972

• Cat Stevens, Ramblin' Jack Elliott - October 30
• Bob Hope with Mark Spitz, Vic Damone, Roberta Flack, "and special guest stars"  - November 3
• Elton John, Family - November 15
• Isaac Hayes - November 20

1973

• Flip Wilson, Wilson Pickett, The Friends of Distinction, José Feliciano, Linda Hopkins, The Jimmy Castor Bunch - January 15 (benefit for Martin Luther King Center)
• Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt - January 31
• Lawrence Welk - March 5
• Santana - March 11
• Alice Cooper, Flo & Eddie - March 23
• "Rock & Roll Revival" - April 6
• Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Mother's Finest - April 11 (Muscular Dystrophy Association fundraiser) 
• Sonny & Cher, David Brenner - April 17
• The Temptations - April 30
• "Rock & Roll Revival" - Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Bobby Comstock, The Shirelles - May 19
• Jethro Tull - May 20
• Allman Brothers Band, Marshall Tucker Band - June 2
• Al Green - June 9
• Deep Purple - June 14
• Elvis Presley - June 21, June 29-30, July 3
• Three Dog Night, T. Rex - July 29
• Isaac Hayes - July 16
• Grand Funk Railroad - August 9
• Jackson 5 - August 11
• The Osmonds, Springfield Revival - August 13
• Jerry Butler - August 16
• Mandrill, Osibisa, Funkadelic - August 19
• Seals & Crofts - August 25
• Faces "featuring Rod Stewart" - September 14
• Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Gladys Knight & The Pips - September 16
• Moody Blues - November 6
• Focus, Spencer Davis Group - November 18
• Al Green, The Stylistics, The Independents, Osibisa, Walter Heath - November 25
• The Who, Lynryd Skynyrd - November 27
• Grateful Dead - December 12

1974

• Mandrill, Ohio Players - January 13
• Sly & The Family Stone, Ramsey Lewis, The O-Jays, Maxine Weldon - January 14 (benefit for Martin Luther King Center)
• Bob Dylan, The Band - January 21-22
• Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Stray Dog - January 24
• Black Sabbath, Spooky Tooth - February 7
• Johnny Winter, Brownsville Station, Thunderhead - March 4
• Deep Purple, Savoy Brown, Tucky Buzzard - March 11
• Humble Pie, Spooky Tooth, Montrose - March 18
• Joni Mitchell - April 6
• James Brown - April 11
• Frank Sinatra - April 13
• J. Geils Band, Poco - April 23
• Marvin Gaye - April 24
• The Temptations, The Spinners - May 3 (benefit for United Negro College Fund)
• Cat Stevens, Linda Lewis - May 15
• Seals & Crofts - May 16
• "Rock & Roll Revival" - Little Richard, The Coasters, The Crystals, The 5 Satins, Danny & The Juniors, Freddie Cannon, Lloyd Price - May 18
• Ten Years After, Golden Earring, Argent - May 22
• James Brown - June 7
• Grateful Dead, Maria Muldaur - June 20
• Edgar Winter, Robin Trower - June 25
• Uriah Heep, Manfred Mann's Earth Band - July 7
• Cat Stevens, Linda Lewis - July 14
• Joe Walsh & Barnstorm, Eagles - July 31
• Eric Clapton, Yvonne Elliman, Jamie Oldraker, Carl Radle, Dick Sims, George Terry, Ross - August 1
• ZZ Top, Atlanta Rhythm Section - August 30
• The O-Jays, Richard Pryor, Rufus - September 6
• Santana, Golden Earring - October 2
• Stevie Wonder & Wonderlove - October 6
• Traffic, Little Feat - October 16
• Sly & The Family Stone, Rare Earth - October 28
• Jefferson Starship, Triumvirat, Fleetwood Mac - October 31
• Elton John - November 10
• George Harrison & Friends - November 28
• Yes, Gryphon - November 30
• David Bowie - December 1
• "Rock & Roll Revival" - Wolfman Jack, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Shirelles, Bobby Rydell, The Drifters, The Clovers, Lloyd Price - December 7

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

spellcheck: Funochio's, Funocchio's, Finocchio's,...

Assorted spellings exist for the name of self-proclaimed "Atlanta's Original House of Rock." Resources, most pertaining to the 1972 first encounter of Al Kooper and Lynyrd Skynyrd, present varied alternate spellings, including Finocchio's, Funocchio's, Funnochio's, versions of these without apostrophes, Finokeose, and more. "Funochio's" is correct, evidenced in the club's display advertising. Fun, one "n", one "c," with an apostrophe.

Funochio's display ad,
The Great Speckled Bird, Vol. 6, No. 9, March 12, 1972
Note: street address was actually 845, not 875, Peachtree

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 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