Among the places about which I am sorely lacking information - photos, ticket stubs, etc. - is Freedom Palace, the former Pla-Mor Ballroom at 3140 Main St. As noted in this item (at left) from The Westport Trucker, during its 1970-72 lifespan, Freedom Palace played host to such acts as The Who, Sly & the Family Stone and It's a Beautiful Day. Please leave a comment comment below with your Freedom Palace memories, or contact rick@kcrockhistory.com directly if you can help with artifacts! … [Read more...] about Need info on Freedom Palace, 1970-72
World’s Happiest Broadcasters
I got a chance to talk to a boyhood idol this past weekend: Phil Jay, formerly the #2 on-air personality on WHB-AM, Kansas City's dominant #1 radio station during rock's golden era of the 1960s. As Phil and many other reference works tell it, WHB owner and Omaha, Neb., native Todd Storz was the inventor of Top 40 radio. WHB was one of the first to employ the format 24-7, starting soon after Storz bought the station in 1954. Phil Jay joined top dog … [Read more...] about World’s Happiest Broadcasters
Punk/new wave posters
Here are some posters I saved from the early 1980s punk/new wave scene. My faves, the Embarrassment, are represented with a poster from the same general time frame as the photos in the post below. Some of the other key punk venues are here, too: the VFW Hall, Louis Craig Post #18, 3027 Walnut St.; Parody Hall, upstairs at 811 W. 39th St., near Southwest Trafficway; and Lawrence, Kansas' fabled Outhouse, carved out of a corn field three miles west of the city limits. (See map detail on how … [Read more...] about Punk/new wave posters
The Music Box
This little club at the southeast corner of 47th and Troost was the home of the punk movement in KC. Here are a series of photographs of Wichita's great The Embarrassment playing there. Click on pix to embiggen. If you have memories of the Music Box, or its neighbor to the south a few doors, the Downliner, please share them by commenting below. … [Read more...] about The Music Box
Classmen meet the NewBeats
Drew and Doug Dimmell were in high school when they formed the Classmen. The NewBeats had the nation's #1 record, "Bread and Butter," when they came to town in 1962, looking for a group to back them in two concerts. … [Read more...] about Classmen meet the NewBeats
Welcome to KC Rock History
This website is designed to become the home for rock history in the Kansas City area; a place to share memories and memorabilia. In 2010, I began researching the topic with an eye toward publishing a book. I need lots of help, though, so please share your memories here in the comments section -- no registration necessary. And if you have some groovy artifacts that help to tell the story, please contact me at rick@kcrockhistory.com. … [Read more...] about Welcome to KC Rock History