Barrett Strong Window Card 1960 “Money” Motown Legend

Posted on November 18, 2015 by postercentral

A very scarce and wickedly cool Barrett Strong concert poster hailing from 1960 with the hit song “Money” on it, the same year that record was released.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of “Money,” which was quickly picked up by The Beatles across the Atlantic and eventually released on their second EMI Records LP three years later.

The other reason this Bill Doggett & Barrett Strong placard is so important is because the latter became the first musician to ever release a record on (what would become) Motown Records.

He teamed up with Berry Gordy, Jr. on the famous song, and although the actual Motown label hadn’t been formed yet, it’s definitely Gordy’s first record-company release.

I love the simple design of red, black & white on this Barrett Strong in-person poster. Notice also the very subtle design technique of bringing that black slice into the poster between their names… tilting both names a little bit.

It’s fun little graphic elements like this which make old concert-poster collecting so much fun, for many (including me).

Humorously, this Barrett Strong window poster actually gets the name of his big important record wrong, by one word.

Instead of “Money (That’s What I Want),” it says, “Money (That’s All I Want),” a one-word slip-up but carrying a world of difference!

Now let’s not forget the headliner of this Bill Doggett & Barrett Strong billboard. Doggett gets a bigger photo, bigger name with nice black outlining, two song titles and one album title.

“Honky Tonk” was actually a killer hit for Bill… a #1 R&B record for three months in 1956.  Three months!

But I still consider this fun collector’s item to be a Barrett Strong event poster because A) Barrett hardly ever appears on an old poster, and B) Bill appears all the time on old concert posters.

Doggett was almost always a headliner on his vintage concert posters, which may have been his management’s strategy: no headlining status, no tour.

This cardboard Bill Doggett & Barrett Strong poster board is discussed in great detail for you by Pete Howard, long-time musicologist and collector.  Yes that’s me, and I can be reached thru (805) 540-0020 or by emailing pete@postercentral.com. Please know that I pay the VERY BEST PRICES IN THIS HOBBY, PERIOD, for vintage rock ’n’ roll and R&B window displays like this.

And in fact, to see a few more, just move over one page right here on my site: http://www.postercentral.com/rocknroll.htm

Posted in **All Posters, 1950s Rock ’N' Roll, Boxing-Style Concert Posters, Soul and R&B, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Bob Dylan 1963 Concert Poster CORE Presents – Genuine & Reprint Compared

Posted on November 17, 2015 by postercentral

Today I show you both a genuine original and an oft-reproduced bootleg version of this important, early Bob Dylan window card.

It was used to sell tickets for Dylan’s show at the University Regent Theatre in Syracuse, NY on Sunday, Nov. 3, 1963.

The reproductions of this Bob Dylan broadside have been made for a long, long time, so many of them look quite old in themselves, making it all the more important to be able to tell the difference.

And luckily, I don’t just work with photos here… I had real-world examples of both versions to show you, and explain the difference.

This is a noted Bob Dylan placard because it combines great looks with an important cause: the Congress Of Racial Equality.

It states, “CORE presents” in the upper left-hand corner, above Dylan’s name.  1963 was a key year for Civil Rights in the country, and Dylan’s songs were an important part of the movement.

This Bob Dylan window poster – at least, the original one – measures 14 by 20 inches and was printed on thin cardboard stock.

As I explain in the video, the boots were made slightly smaller, so it is possible to tell with a ruler whether you have a pre-concert printing or not.

And you just have to live the main type font used on this Bob Dylan event poster… it just looks so great. Many Dylan posters of this era used just plain block lettering, so this one really stands out.

But it wasn’t unique… this style was actually used, on & off, over the course of a year or two by his management.

Another unusual thing about this Bob Dylan show placard is its horizontal orientation… it’s very catchy, and different.

Most concert posters of the day were oriented vertically, in order to easily be stapled to wooden telephone poles, etc.

But this Bob Dylan concert sign was surely displayed in store windows, on bulletin boards and so forth, so thin telephone poles weren’t really needed.

It’s simple black & white appearance is very striking as well, and just plain works.  It would not have been worth the money to add any colors to it.

This bit of vintage Bob Dylan concert memorabilia is shown to you today by first-generation fan Pete Howard, of California. I can be reached either through pete@postercentral.com or by phoning [805] 540.0020.  As a fan and collector since the ’60s, I can assure you that I pay the very best prices in the hobby, period, for old Bob Dylan tour placards like this.

And if you’d like to see a few more outstanding examples of Bob Dylan concert announcements in the form of posters, just slide your mouse right over here: http://www.postercentral.com/bobdylan.htm

Posted in **All Posters, *Bob Dylan, Boxing-Style Concert Posters, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“The Tempting Temptations” 1967 Concert Window Card in Day-Glo Orange

Posted on November 16, 2015 by postercentral

A large, very attractive vintage Temptations concert poster advertising a show that took place on Friday, November 24, 1967 down in Charlotte, North Carolina.

This collectable show poster is highlighted by its size, 22 x 32”, and its amazing bright florescent red-orange coloring – which hasn’t faded a bit with time.

This cardboard Temptations poster board was designed and manufactured to last for only a few weeks… first to advertise the show, then to be discarded right afterwards.

So it’s with great pleasure that collectors find these decades later in decent shape… because such a high percentage of them were simply thrown away.

One thing you can say about this Temptations tour poster… it wasn’t easily missed. With this size and brightness, it would’ve been easy to spot across the street.

It’s remarkable that the Day-Glo inks used by its printer, the Globe Poster Company out of Baltimore, did not fade over time… they look as bright today as they did back then.

This Temptations billboard was a ‘tour blank’… used over the course of an entire tour. It’s a good thing this wonderful design wasn’t ‘wasted’ on just one city.

This particular stop was for Charlotte, but the tour played many other cities in the South as well. For instance, I’ve also seen this poster from the very next night, in Winston-Salem.

And I shouldn’t neglect the other acts on this Temptations in-person poster… how about The Marvelettes on there? What a Motown bonus!

All they did was score Motown’s very first-ever Number One pop hit, back in 1961 with “Please Mr. Postman.” And it is so cool that this important song title is also on the poster, under their name.

Then The Catalinas round out the opening act on this Temptations window display. They barely caused a ripple, sorry to say, and the song given for them didn’t even chart.

That’s the way it often is for these vintage soul-music concert signs… an act or two whose music you know well, and then a bottom-billed local band that most of us never heard of. It’s all good.

This Temptations concert placard was probably used for a good month or two, with thousands printed ahead of time, but maybe only 25-100 customized for each city.

That’s an educated guess on my part; unfortunately, the printing records of Globe Posters are not available for public scrutiny, if they even exist at all any more.

This original Temptations boxing-style concert poster is shown to you today by myself, Pete Howard, of San Luis Obispo, California. I’ve been a serious collector of old music concert posters since the early 1990’s. If you wish to reach me, just write pete@postercentral.com or call (805) 540-0020. I pay the very highest prices in the hobby, period, for old cardboard concert advertisements like this.

And to see a few more exquisite examples of Sixties-era colorful concert tour posters, just slip right over to this page: http://www.postercentral.com/multi-act_1960s.htm

Posted in **All Posters, Boxing-Style Concert Posters, Soul and R&B | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Tribute to Ming the Merciless Flyer 1965 Family Dog

Posted on November 15, 2015 by postercentral

An early, psychedelic concert handbill for A Tribute to Ming the Merciless, a November 1965 dance-concert in San Francisco, CA.

The event took place at Longshoremen’s Hall in the Fisherman’s Wharf area of San Francisco.

There was also a Tribute to Ming the Merciless window card made of a larger size, but this item is the typical flier size of 8.5 by 11 inches.

It was only run on white paper, by the way; not yellow or blue paper, like some other early Family Dog handbills were.

If you’re a collector seeking out the Tribute to Ming the Merciless window poster, you may have a lot of trouble locating one, because they were handmade, not machine printed like this flyer.

In fact, notice the printer’s union bug down in the lower left-hand corner of the Tribute to Ming the Merciless appearance sheet in my video. The poster doesn’t have that; it was handcrafted by Amy Magill, whose name I was careful to give credit to. But she never signed her posters.

Alton Kelley had designed his Tribute to Dr. Strange handbills with Amy Magill’s help; it was a co-production. Then Kelley alone did the Tribute to Sparkle Plenty artwork for the handbill.

But it was Magill alone who designed this Tribute to Ming the Merciless show bill. I hope it was with tongue in cheek that Ms. Magill misspelled “Berkeley” and “tickets may be gotten at” in the lower left-hand area!

Then again, those misspellings may have simply been an anti-establishment stance she was taking. If you know of Amy Magill’s whereabouts, please put her in touch with me!

Keep in mind that this Tribute to Ming the Merciless flier was one of the very first pieces of psychedelic advertising ever to appear in the bay area, or for that matter, the world.

The regular series of Family Dog and Bill Graham posters would not start appearing until the following year… early 1966.

This early piece of Family Dog dance memorabilia is shown to you by me, Pete Howard, of San Luis Obispo, CA. I’ve been a big music fan all my life, and collector since the late 1960s. You can reach me either by using pete@postercentral.com, or 805-540-0020. Please know that I pay the very best prices in the hobby, period, for any 1965 or very early 1966 Family Dog concert pieces like this.

If you’d like to see my video blogs on the other two “Family Puppy” items, as I call them, just find these right here on my Web site: https://blog.postercentral.com/2015/03/10/family-dog-dr-strange-1965-window-card-walton-kelley-unique-hand-coloring/ for A Tribute to Dr. Strange, and https://blog.postercentral.com/2013/07/18/a-tribute-to-sparkle-plenty-family-dog-concert-flyer-1965/ for A Tribute to Sparkle Plenty.

Posted in **Psychedelic Posters Only, Handbills & Flyers | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fats Domino 1957 Concert Poster with Blueberry Hill, Ain’t That a Shame

Posted on November 14, 2015 by postercentral

A really fun, collectable Fats Domino concert window card from the 1950’s, advertising a show of his in Tucson, Arizona.

This was a ‘tour blank,’ meaning the main design part of it was used for years over the course of many many shows. In this video, I explain with a couple of other examples from other cities (and even other years).

This Fats Domino in-person poster was made of cardboard and measures approximately 14×22”, the standard size for window cards of the day (and all time, actually, up to the current day).

It is peppered with five song titles and five different colors, making for a striking presentation.

This Fats Domino show placard is discussed educationally for you by myself, Pete Howard, a music collector all my life. If you desire to reach me, just write to pete@postercentral.com, or call me on (805)-540-0020. Please remember that I pay the best prices in the hobby, period, for vintage rock ’n’ roll posters like this.

And to see a few more awesome Fifties rock ’n’ roll telephone-pole concert posters, including a different one for Fats, just slip over to this page here on my site: http://www.postercentral.com/rocknroll.htm

Posted in **All Posters, 1950s Rock ’N' Roll, Boxing-Style Concert Posters, Soul and R&B | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment