KC Star's Randy Mason gave the KC Rock History Project a look inside venerable Memorial Hall for this story, pegged to its 100th anniversary. In return, we shared some images he used in the accompanying video and some stories we'd heard, including the one about John Bonham passing out during Led Zeppelin's infamous second show at their first KC concert in 1969 at Memorial. I've tried to use The Star's new "gift link" function to get you around the paywall. Let's see how that works. And … [Read more...] about Memorial Hall turns 100
Bands
Did Chuck Berry play a KC synagogue?!
Most ardent KC rock fans have heard about the 1967 concert The Who played at Shawnee Mission South High School. But did you know Chuck Berry headlined a private casino-night party staged by the Kehilath Israel Synagogue Sisterhood in 1956? It’s true, thanks to the late booking agent and KI Synagogue member Allan Bell. If you Google “inventor of rock and roll,” Chuck Berry’s name and face pop up. Bell had a relationship with Berry and/or his manager, and booked him around town several times, … [Read more...] about Did Chuck Berry play a KC synagogue?!
Brewer & Shipley doc features lots of Good Karma
St. Louisan Kathy Corley’s new documentary film “One Toke Over the Line … and Still Smokin’ " gives folk-rock pioneers Brewer and Shipley their due, highlighting the creative peak they hit while living and working in the Kansas City area during the late 1960s and early ’70s. Corley wisely truncates the infamous clip of Lawrence Welk covering the title song (“a modern spiritual by Gail and Dale”) and gives extended focus to what came before and after. Brewer, from Oklahoma, and Shipley, from … [Read more...] about Brewer & Shipley doc features lots of Good Karma
Where did the name ‘Volker Park’ come from?
By Tommy Greene -- I can’t recall anyone, even within the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department, ever calling Volker Park by its formal name, the Frank A. Theis Memorial Mall. Oh, the name certainly would have been in city documents and perhaps even appeared in The Kansas City Star when it was dedicated. But the area and its immediate environs were simply referred to by all as the name of its delightfully whimsical Volker Fountain situated on the site’s lowest ground. Perhaps with … [Read more...] about Where did the name ‘Volker Park’ come from?
Golden greats: 50 years of Brewer & Shipley
Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley arguably represent the high point of Kansas City rock ‘n’ roll. True, they were and are folkies at heart. But Brewer & Shipley made major-label records with backing from the top rock musicians of the era. They played every venue in town, from the Vanguard coffee house to Cowtown Ballroom to Arrowhead Stadium (opening for Elton John). They helped foster the scene in other ways. Above all, their Top 10 hit from 1971, “One Toke Over the Line,” puts them at the top of the … [Read more...] about Golden greats: 50 years of Brewer & Shipley
Between two worlds
It is 1979 Troost Street, downtown KC, Upstairs is the Tavern.... A down on the luck dive. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s blaring from the jukebox, accompanied by the crunch of peanut shells cracking under the pointy, scuffed boots of Coors Light-drinking, red-necked cowboys in plaid collared shirts alongside disheveled, skid-row drunks, their shoulders hanging over their cocktails, all lining the bar like hopeless vultures, Pool balls clacking under a blinking and buzzing fluorescent light … [Read more...] about Between two worlds