Atlanta Municipal Auditorium

• 30 Courtland Street SE (at Gilmer Street), Atlanta GA
• Capacity: 5000
• Note: The building, built 1909, was sold to Georgia State University in 1979.

Atlanta Municipal Auditorium
Photo: Special Collections Department,
Pullen Library, Georgia State University

1970 

• Steppenwolf - January 10
• Jerry Lee Lewis - January 17
• "WPLO Shower of Stars" - Merle Haggard, Bonnie Owens, The Strangers - March 14
• James Brown - March 16-17
• Santana, Allman Brothers Band, Insect Trust - March 19
• Allman Brothers Band - March 26
• B.B. King, Judy Clay, Wild Man Steve & His Revue - April 6
• Johnny Winter - April 12
• Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Norman Greenbaum - April 30 (D&B refused to play, blaming sound system; Norman Greenbaum performed for small crowd, for free)
• Pink Floyd, The Guess Who - May 12
• Van Morrison, Sabudi, Shelly Isaacs - May 14 (partial benefit for Community Center bail fund)
• The Who - June 22
• Steppenwolf, Chakra - August 3
• Fleetwood Mac, Hampton Grease Band - August 20
• Jefferson Airplane, Radar, Glen McKay's Head Lights - August 24
• Mountain, Mylon LeFevre, Joel Osner - October 8
• Ike & Tina Turner Revue, Chakra, David Kennedy & Fire Power - October 22
• Bloodrock, Hydra, Rusha - October 31
• "WPLO Shower of Stars" - Sonny James & his Country Gentlemen, Ray Price & his Cherokee Cowboys, Compton Brothers - November 28
• Ten Years After, Stonehenge - December 1
• The Band - December 10
• The Temptations, Carla Thomas, The Bar-Kays - December 19
• The Amboy Dukes, Bob Seger System, MC-5 - December 29

1971

• Allman Brothers Band, Hampton Grease Band - January 16
• James Taylor, Carole King, Jo Mama - March 2
• Eric Burdon & War - March 11
• "WPLO Shower of Stars" - Conway Twitty, Bill Anderson, Tom T. Hall, Bobby Bare, Jan Howard, Bobby Johnson & The Swinging Gentlemen - March 13
• Blood, Sweat & Tears - March 25
• Small Faces "featuring Rod Stewart," Savoy Brown, The Grease Band - March 30
• Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes, Brownsville Station - April 1
• Jethro Tull, Brethren, Younguns - April 13
• Judy Collins - April 17
• Mountain, Procol Harum, Hydra - April 29
• Johnny Winter, Booger - May 15
• "Super Heavy Blues Express" - Big Mama Thornton, John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Joe Turner, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Al Hibbler - May 16
• Elton John, Mark-Almond - June 8
• Edgar Winter's White Trash, Mott The Hoople, J. Geils Band - June 17
• "WPLO Shower of Stars" - Conway Twitty & The Twitty Birds, Loretta Lynn & The Nashville Tennesseans, Dave Dudley & The Roadrunners, Anthony Armstrong Jones - June 26
• Melanie, Janey & Dennis - June 30
• Black Sabbath, Blues Project - July 7
• Allman Brothers Band, Cowboy (7:30pm), Hampton Grease Band (2:30pm) - July 17 (2 shows)
• Bloodrock, Savage Grace, Robert Savage Group - July 22
• Mother Earth, Doobie Brothers - August 2
• Emerson, Lake & Palmer; Humble Pie - August 4
• Faces "featuring Rod Stewart," Southern Comfort - August 5
• Ten Years After - August 11
• John Sebastian, Savage Grace - August 12
• James Gang, Mylon, Smoo's Barn Dance - August 17
• Leon Russell, Freddie King - August 18
• Savoy Brown - September 2
• Alice Cooper, Lee Michaels - September 11
• Long John Baldry, Cactus, Savoy Brown - September 23
• It's A Beautiful Day, Boz Scaggs - October 16
• Traffic, Fairport Convention - October 18
• Mountain, J. Geils Band, Stray Dog - October 27
• Cat Stevens, Mimi & Tom - November 10
• Grateful Dead, New Riders of the Purple Sage - November 11
• David Cassidy - November 13
• Emerson, Lake & Palmer; Yes - November 22
• The Who - November 23
• "WPLO Shower of Stars" - Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton, Sonny James & The Country Gentlemen, Freddy Weller - November 27
• Canned Heat, Gary Wright, REO Speedwagon - December 15
• Bloodrock, Spirit, Crabby Appleton - December 20

1972

• Alice Cooper, Redbone, White Witch - January 8
• Smokey Robinson, Georgia Prophets - January 20
• Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Malo featuring David Santana - January 24
• Allman Brothers Band, Alex Taylor - January 25
• Traffic, J.J. Cale - January 31
• Melanie - February 16
• Ike & Tina Turner Revue, Wet Willie - February 19
• "WPLO Shower of Stars" - Waylon Jennings & The Waylors, Freddie Hart, Jim Ed Brown & The Gems, Stonewall Jackson & The Minutemen, Barbara Mandrell & The Mandrells - March 11
• Joe Cocker - March 21
• Emerson, Lake & Palmer - March 28
• The Guess Who - April 5
• Humble Pie, Alexis Corner, Edgar Winter - April 6
• Jethro Tull, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - April 27
• Jackson 5 - May 8
• Chicago - May 15
• Black Sabbath - June 19
• The Staple Singers, Joe Simon, Stylistics- July 13
• "Rock & Roll Revival" - Bill Haley & The Comets, The Coasters, Chubby Checker, Gary U.S. Bonds, Freddie Cannon, Bobby Comstock & The Comstock Ltd - July 15
• Rare Earth - July 18
• Leon Russell - July 20
• Black Sabbath - July 22
• Badfinger, Bloodrock, Kindred - August 3
• Jackson 5 - August 7
• James Gang, Captain Beyond - August 14
• Deep Purple, Fleetwood Mac, Silverhead - August 28-29
• Allman Brothers Band, Wet Willie (8/30), Eric Quincy Tate (8/31) - August 30-31
• The Al Green Review, The Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose, Herb Jubrit - September 16
• T. Rex, Doobie Brothers - September 23
• Yes, Eagles - September 30
• Brother Bait, performing "Tommy" - October 10
• Ten Years After - October 12
• B.B. King, Bobby Womack with Peace, Eric Quincy Tate - November 6
• The Hollies, Raspberries, Danny O'Keefe - November 8
• New Riders of The Purple Sage, Eric Quincy Tate - November 14
• "Bluegrass Music Spectacular" - Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse, Ralph Stanley, Lewis Family, Jimmy Martin, Mac Wiseman, Reno-Harrell, James Monroe, Clyde Moody, Curly Seckler - November 18 (12 hours!)
• The Supremes, Jackson 5 - December 1
• Humble Pie - December 14
• Edgar Winter, Wild Turkey - December 16

1973

• Rare Earth - January 20
• Charley Pride, Freddie Hart - January 27
• The Delfonics - February 10
• Traffic, John Martyn, Free - February 14
• Johnny Rivers, Brewer & Shipley - February 15
• Stephen Stills & Manassas - February 17
• Uriah Heep, Silverhead, Spooky Tooth - February 22
• Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention, Dr Hook & The Medicine Show - February 26
• "WPLO Shower of Stars" - George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings - March 10
• Pink Floyd - March 24
• Loggins & Messina, Doobie Brothers - March 29
• Stephen Stills & Manassas - April 2
• Wishbone Ash, Vinegar Joe, Dr Hook & The Medicine Show - April 26
• Chi-Lites, The O-Jays, The Main Ingredient, Detroit Emeralds, Moments, Millie Jackson - May 2
• David Gates & Bread - May 3
• Waylon Jennings - May 12
• Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge - May 28
• George Carlin - June 21
• Ike & Tina Turner - July 12
• Black Oak Arkansas, Jo Jo Gunne - July 14
• Beck, Bogert & Appice; Dr John - July 16
• Curtis Mayfield - July 19
• "CTI Summer Festival" - Esther Phillips, Milt Jackson, Hubert Laws, Hank Crawford, Johnny Hammond, Eric Gale, Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette, Bob James, Ralph McDonald, CTI Strings, Frankie Crocker MC - July 21
• Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton, Speck Rhodes & The Wagonmasters - July 28
• Cactus - August 3
• Kool and The Gang, Ebony - August 5
• Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - August 11
• Roger McGuinn - August 22
• Sha Na Na, Wet Willie - August 23
• Roy Buchanan - September 6
• Al Green, Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose - September
• ZZ Top, Albert King - September 29
• Yes, Eagles - September 30
• Mott The Hoople, Aerosmith, New York Dolls - October 4
• Pat Boone - October 9
• Ten Years After - October 10
• Joe Walsh, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, REO Speedwagon - October 11
• Steve Miller Band - October 17
• Arlo Guthrie - October 21
• John Denver - October 25
• Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn - October 27
• John Mayall, Ballin' Jack - November 1
• Freddie King, Tower of Power, Sylvester & The Hot Band - November 14
• John McLaughlin & The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Argent, Papa John Creech - November 21
• "Shower of Stars" - Hank Williams, Barbara Mandrell, Tom T. Hall, Johnny Rodriguez - November 24
• David Crosby & Graham Nash, David Blue - November 28

1974

• Slade, Brownsville Station - January 16
• Emerson, Lake & Palmer - January 24
• Billy Preston - February 14
• Dave Mason, James Gang - February 21
• B.B. King, Bobby Blue Bland, Ann Peebles - February 25
• Foghat, Maggie Bell, Frampton's Camel - March 27 
• Beach Boys - April 11
• King Crimson, Grin - April 13
• Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Climax Blues Band - May 6
• Procol Harum, Renaissance - May 8
• Slade, 10cc, Brownsville Station - June 5
• "Guitar Battle of the Century" - Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes, Cactus featuring Mike Pinera - July 26
• Foghat, Brownsville Station - August 5
• Choice, Stories, Brother Louie - August 19
• Mountain - August 21
• New York Dolls, White Witch - September 7
• Joe Cocker - September 9
• Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt - October 31
• Lou Reed - November 7
• Dave Mason, Poco - November 16

The Fox Theatre

• 660 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta GA
• Opened: 1929, as a "movie palace"
• Capacity: 4675
• Note: In 1974, a massive campaign saved the building from demolition. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

The "Fabulous" Fox Theatre

1971

• Grateful Dead - March 18
• Emerson, Lake & Palmer - August 4

1972

• "Live entertainment on a regular basis is projected for the Fox Theater under plans announced today. The first offering under this new format will be rock concerts by both Humble Pie and the J. Geils Band." --Atlanta Journal, by Scott Cain, Friday, October 27, 1972
• "Cin-A-Rock Show" - motion picture Free, with live music - Dr John with The Meters, Wet Willie, Buckwheat - November  29-December 5
• Humble Pie, J. Geils Band, Marc Benno - December 14

1973

• America, "introducing John David Souther" - March 1
• Procol Harum, Doobie Brothers, Tranquility - April 26
• Johnny Winter, Foghat - May 16-17
• The Dells, The Detroit Emeralds, Jackie Moore - July 26
• Clint Holmes, Southside Movement, The Bacchanal, Bro' Malcolm & The Peoples - August 31
• Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie, Dalton & Dubarrie - November 2
• Steve Miller Band - November 30
• Blue Oyster Cult, Brian Auger's Oblivion Express - December 7
• Jo Jo Gunne, REO Speedwagon, Montrose - December 27

1974

• New Riders of The Purple Sage, Commander Cody - February 15
• Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - March 1
• Genesis - March 8
• Gregg Allman, Cowboy, Boyer & Talton - March 19-20
• Hawkwind & Man present "1999 Party," Liquid Len & The Lensmen (lightshow), DJ Andy Dunkley - March 29
• Todd Rundgren's Utopia - April 25
• War - April 29
• James Taylor - May 16
• Mott The Hoople, Queen - May 17
• David Bowie - July 1
• Mountain - August 23
• Hawkwind - October 4
• Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Charlie Daniels Band, Bob Seger - October 8
• Marshall Tucker Band, Cowboy, Boyer & Talton - October 11
• Billy Joel, Roger McGuinn Band - October 18
• America - November 1
• Graham Central Station, Mother's Finest - November 9
• Dickey Betts American Music Show, Elvin Bishop - November 19
• Todd Rundgren's Utopia - November 21
• La Belle - November 23
• Manfred Mann's Earth Band; Souther, Hillman & Furay - November 27
• Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge, Billy Swan - November 30
• Gregg Allman, Cowboy, Boyer & Talton - December 31

Bill Fibben, 1944-1999

Bill Fibben lived on Seal Place during the early 1970s. We met after I moved into a house down the street with mutual friends. Bill was a photojournalist working with The Great Speckled Bird at the time and witness to many transformative events of the era. I never saw him without a camera in reach. His photography was integral to The Bird's documentation of the period.

Bill Fibben in Piedmont Park
Photo by Carter Tomassi
(Seated behind Bill is sound engineer/musician/photographer Mike Hatchett, 
in striped shirt. He also lived in the Seal Place neighborhood.)

After several years with The Bird, Bill joined the Atlanta Gazette, another alternative city paper run by Rick Brown, who was also formerly with The Bird and lived on Seal Place, too. In the early 1980s, Bill entered Georgia's film production industry. He contributed sound recording to over forty motion pictures. In that context I would run into him during the 1990s while working in film, too. He was always kind and welcoming with his unforgettable smile, no matter how much time passed in-between. Cancer took Bill Fibben's life in 1999 when he was only 55. His body of work remains a gift for us all.

The Allman Brothers & The Grateful Dead

Several acts from the 1969 July 4th weekend Atlanta International Pop Festival stayed in town to participate in a free concert Monday, July 7th, in Atlanta's Piedmont Park. (These included Spirit, Chicago Transit Authority, It's A Beautiful Day, and Delaney & Bonnie & Friends.) Macon's Allman Brothers Band had not performed at the pop festival, but joined the roster for the Monday concert. The Grateful Dead, also not at the festival, played the free concert, too. It was the first meeting of the two bands, and, by the end of the day, their first jam together. The history of both bands would come to include their shared propensity for extensive jams. The Allmans, in July 1969, were already familiar with The Dead, having seen them at the December 1968 Miami Pop Festival. The Allman Brothers Band formed in early Spring of 1969, and by July they drew substantial crowds for their spontaneous Sunday performances in Piedmont Park. Their local following had become well-rooted, and the band commuted weekends from Macon to Atlanta to showcase what they'd worked on during the week. Their eponymous first album would be released in November that year by Phil Walden's Capricorn Records.

Jerry Garcia, photo by Bill Fibben
The Great Speckled Bird,
Vol, 3, No. 20, May 18, 1970

May 10, 1970, the Grateful Dead were booked to perform at Atlanta's Sports Arena. Their equipment was stuck in Boston, the fault of their airline. The Allman Brothers generously loaned them their gear to ensure The Dead could fulfill their engagement. (The ABBs had played the Georgia Tech coliseum the night before.) It helped that the two bands were of a similar configuration. One photo, taken by Bill Fibben of The Great Speckled Bird, confirms the story. The Allman Brothers Band was not on the bill, but Duane, Gregg, Berry Oakley, and Butch Trucks joined The Dead in a legendary jam to close out the show, including "Will The Circle Be Unbroken."

The Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers continued to cross paths and share stages for years. 

Al Kooper & Duane Allman on Free Concerts: Point/Counterpoint

On June 24, 1969, Don Speicher of The Great Speckled Bird interviewed musician/producer Al Kooper prior to the first Atlanta International Pop Festival. Kooper was one of the performers booked for the July 4th weekend event. 

Their conversation included discussion of ticket pricing, corporate sponsorship, and their divergent attitudes regarding free concerts.

DS: There's some talk of sometime during that weekend trying to do a free thing in the park, with some local people and anyone else who might be interested.

AK: No one will do it. No one will do it just because they can't. I mean really. If I'm in a big group and I'm sitting in New York and someone wants us to do a free gig in Atlanta in the park and you're gonna reach about a hundred thousand people I'd say groovy, how are we gonna get there? Where are we gonna stay? Who's doing the sound? How are we gonna transport the equipment? You can't just go up.

...

DS: ...to me, free things in the park, with local bands, are much more of the whole total experience and a lot more overwhelming a lot of times than like a rock festival.

AK: Yeah, but you don't understand that we can get Coca Cola to foot the bill for Blood, Sweat & Tears to come to town. And they got to be groovier than any local band you got. And they're paying the bill for you to lie in the grass and get high and have a good time. Now if that's wrong, then you're wrong.

...

DS: Yeah, but there's this really big hangup about hitting Coca Cola to give us some music because Coca Cola....

AK: You already got the wrong approach. 

DS: I'm not so sure. Coca Cola is like all the evil there is, sitting on Atlanta, Georgia.

AK: You got to trick them. Now, what you're saying is that you want Coca Cola to bring you some music. 

DS: No. No, we don't. I dig that, but it's whether you want to play that game at all.

AK: That's not a game, man, that's a means to an end.

Atlanta disproved Al Kooper's theory on the Monday after the pop festival, when the festival's promoters staged a free concert in Piedmont Park. The Grateful Dead, Chicago Transit Authority, Spirit, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Allman Brothers Band, and Hampton Grease Band played for free for a huge crowd of fans. [The park by that time had become a popular venue for local and regional musicians. The Allman Brothers were major forerunners.] Duane Allman gets the last word on the subject:

"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."

Sources: 
The Great Speckled Bird, Vol. 2 Nos. 10, 17
Skydog, The Duane Allman Story, by Randy Poe, published by Backbeat Books, 2006, 2008.