FD-2 King Kong Memorial Dance Poster 1966 Family Dog Presents

Posted on November 13, 2013 by postercentral

Today I show you a vintage, authentic 1st printing of the Family Dog Great Society concert poster known as FD2, from February 26, 1966.

Legendary San Francisco poster artist Wes Wilson co-designed this King Kong Memorial Dance concert poster, along with Family Dog chief Chet Helms. But Eric King’s excellent reference book, The Collector’s Guide to Psychedelic Rock Concert Posters, informs us that Wilson contributed the new Family Dog logo only, which makes its debut in the upper left-hand corner.

So it was Helms who did the “King Kong Memorial Dance” lettering in the upper right corner of this FD2 concert poster, even though it’s reminiscent of Wilson’s rolling, psychedelic style.

This FD2 King Kong poster advertised four bands on this night: The Great! Society, Big Brother & the Holding Company, The Grass Roots and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

It’s fun to note that the Great Society released their only record the very same month as this Fillmore King Kong poster… “Somebody To Love” b/w “Free Advice” on North Beach Records, a subsidiary of Tom Donahue’s Autumn Records. Unfortunately, the single flopped.

On first blush, the uninformed might mistake this Family Dog King Kong poster as a Janis Joplin concert poster, but no… it would be a few months before she joined Big Brother & the Holding Company.

Wherever his inspiration came from, promoter Chet Helms just clipped his ape image from a photo-page out a news magazine to form the basis for his King Kong Memorial Dance show poster. I show that clearly in my separate video blog on this poster’s unique, original paste-up artwork.

Wes Wilson actually had an entirely different concept for how the Family Dog’s second dance-concert poster would look. Rather than producing the Family Dog King Kong Memorial Dance poster we know and love, Wilson initially came up with “A Salute to Hongo Ishi,” a nod to Big Brother & the Holding Company’s guitarist James Gurley’s new son. But the story goes that Helms turned down that concept in favor of King Kong.

It’s interesting to note that Helms’ lettering separated “Quicksilver” into two different words, “Quick” and “Silver,” on his King Kong Memorial Dance event poster. It’s a good guess that QMS was so new, nobody knew exactly how their name was to be spelled out yet. Or else Helms just goofed a little.

To help draw attention to the headliner, a fancy, antique font was used for Grace Slick’s band on this Great Society Fillmore poster. It sort of invokes the feeling of Virginia City’s Red Dog Saloon, which the Family Dog members had spent a lot of time at the previous summer.

Another interesting choice Helms made on his King Kong Memorial Dance window display – albeit a minor one – is the use of starbursts, rather than periods, in abbreviating “February” and “Auditorium.”

Some may wonder why the Great! Society has that freestanding exclamation point in the middle of their name on this Family Dog King Kong show poster, because that punctuation mark eventually disappeared. Perhaps all forms of media got lazy and just stopped using it, or maybe it was an official band decision to drop it.

I shouldn’t take for granted that you know the Family Dog was run by Helms and a man named John Carpenter in early 1966. Helms was also the manager of BBHC, and Carpenter the manager of the Great Society – two of the bands featured at this concert. So there may have been some conflicts of interest here & there, but I’m guessing nobody cared too much back in the early, innocent days of S.F. rock.

In addition to this Family Dog King Kong event poster, Mr. Wilson designed the first 10 posters in Chet Helms’ Family Dog series, and about 45 of the first 50 Bill Graham concert posters in 1966-67.

You can tell just by looking at this Family Dog King Kong window display that big, or even medium, business hadn’t entered the scene yet… there is so little information on it. Most obviously, there are no directions on where to buy tickets or how much they cost!

This Great! Society gorilla concert poster harkens back to a time when the Family Dog and Bill Graham were getting along well, sharing the Fillmore back & forth. This friendly arrangement didn’t last for very long, and some say that Graham was just soaking up all of the FD’s knowledge and contacts before breaking free from them.

As far as how to tell the first printings of the Great Society King Kong poster from the reprints, the originals were printed on colored paper (yellow or tan, depending on your viewpoint), and the reprints were printed on white paper. All you have to do is turn the poster over and there’s your answer.

In addition, the pre-concert printings of this Family Dog King Kong dance announcement have no writing in the yellow border down at the bottom, whereas the repro’s have some fine print down there, including “2-2” in the lower right.

Although we assume that things were moving along at a good clip by this point in S.F. rock history, an entire month would pass following this Family Dog Great Society ape poster before the canine collective returned to the Fillmore for its next dance. The result of that was another wonderful dance-concert poster: FD-3, advertising the Paul Butterfield Blues Band at the Fillmore on March 25, 26 & 27, 1966.

In another interesting timeline observation, this Great Society King Kong concert poster is positioned three weeks after Bill Graham’s first Fillmore dance-concert poster (BG-1, the Jefferson Airplane) and three weeks prior to his second one (BG-2, known as Batman).

Like most such posters of the day from the S.F. ballrooms, all printings of the yellow Fillmore gorilla poster have dimensions of 14 x 20”.

One funny aspect of this King Kong Fillmore concert poster, which isn’t usually pointed out: the gorilla on here doesn’t exactly resemble the athletic type who could climb to the top of the Empire State building!

This fun, scarce, collectible rock concert poster is displayed and discussed by music memorabilia collector Pete Howard (pete@postercentral.com or 805-540-0020).  I will pay TOP DOLLAR for this Kong Memorial Dance or any interesting, psychedelic early SF rock concert posters.

If this poster whetted your appetite, go see a few more Fillmore-era sixties psych concert posters on this page right here on my Web site: http://www.postercentral.com/psychedelic.htm

Posted in **All Posters, **Psychedelic Posters Only, Fillmore Auditorium | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beatles Window Card 1966 Cleveland – In-Person Ticket Poster

Posted on November 10, 2013 by postercentral

An original, genuine Beatles concert poster for their Aug. 14, 1966 concert at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.

The most unusual aspect of this Beatles Cleveland boxing style concert poster is that it wasn’t made to be posted here, there & everywhere, like most concert posters… it was strictly an on-site ticket-sale advertising piece.

That’s the reason this Beatles Cleveland concert placard gives no locations where you could buy ducats… it doesn’t need to, they’re on sale right “here”!

And boy, those ticket prices are sure printed in big text across this Beatles Cleveland billboard. Only the two lines that say “Beatles” use a bigger type font. That’s very unusual.

This Beatles Cleveland appearance poster carries dimensions of 14.5 x 20”, a little bit smaller than the standard 14×22” usually used.

In my humble opinion, it’s not a drawback that this poster is in B&W, just like their famous movie A Hard Day’s Night was. I think it’s actually a strength of this Beatles Cleveland placard – it just works.

I just love the way, by sheer design coincidence, that the words “Live – In Person” appear directly beneath John Lennon’s face on this Beatles Cleveland show poster. It almost looks like it was planned that way, but then you realize that surely it wasn’t (singling out Lennon for special treatment).

The picture of John, Paul, George and Ringo on this Beatles Cleveland window display is a common publicity still used throughout their 1966 North American tour.

Since this poster was printed up to be used for just a few weeks and then discarded after the event, this Beatles Cleveland advertisement is a fun collector’s item that would look nice framed on anyone’s wall.

The promoter must’ve been somewhat embarrassed when this Beatles Cleveland poster came back from the printers and The Cyrkle were misspelled as “The Cyrcle” – and they had the #2 hit in the country at the time! (“Red Rubber Ball”)

At least this Beatles Cleveland broadside got the spelling right for The Remains and the Ronettes. (smile)

Speaking of the Ronettes, one of the reasons they’re on this Beatles Cleveland in person poster is that they had actually met the Liverpool lads back in England before the boys ever came to America.

It’s too bad that Barry & The Remains are listed as only “The Remains” on this Beatles Cleveland sign. Group leader Barry Tashian went on to write a book about his experience on this tour, opening for the world’s most popular act.

But if you think Barry was shortchanged, how about poor Bobby Hebb? Mr. Hebb is not even listed on the Beatles Cleveland tour placard, but he was definitely one of the “Other Exciting Acts.” And yet his huge hit “Sunny” was no less than #2 in the country at the very time of this show!

I’m guessing that Hebb was perhaps a last-minute booking, which would explain his absence from this Beatles Cleveland event poster. Cleveland was only the third date of this North American trek.

Notice that “All Seats Reserved” is stated on this Beatles Cleveland show placard. Even though the grassy field would’ve accommodated thousands of General Admission chairs, the results could’ve been disastrous.

It’s highly unusual that “Rain or Shine” is proclaimed on this Beatles Cleveland concert announcement. This is the only Beatles American concert poster to ever state that. The promoters in Cincinnati probably wish they had that policy in place, too… their show a week later, on August 20, was indeed postponed due to heavy rains.

The final words down at the bottom of this Beatles Cleveland tour poster are “Don’t Miss this Historic Show!” What nobody knew at the time was that it would be historic simply because it was their last. If you ever see a Beatles ticket poster with a declaration like that, it’s a total bootleg. I’ve seen lots of pirated Candlestick Park concert posters which say something like, “Their last show ever!” The problem is, nobody knew that at the time, with the possible exception of the boys themselves, but even they were unsure, according to their biographies.

People just assume the Fabs always sold out their concerts, but that was not the case in 1966, when they played the biggest stadiums and arenas they could find. The sole reason this Beatles Cleveland street sign was printed up was to help the promoter sell tickets, period. In the 1960s, it was either radio announcements, newspaper ads or concert posters that would effectively get the word out.

That’s why there were only three Beatles concert posters made for their first two U.S. tours combined. For ’66, however, this Beatles Cleveland fence poster is actually one of five cities that needed a poster to help move tickets.

Jontzen, a local Cleveland company, is credited at the bottom of this Beatles Cleveland telephone pole poster as the printer. And the usual printer’s union bug is on there as well.

This Beatles Cleveland street poster is shown to you with great enthusiasm by long-time collector Peter Howard, who can be reached by E at pete@postercentral.com or by phone at (805)-540-0020. That’s me, and I will pay TOP DOLLAR! for this (or any) Beatles 1960s concert poster!!

To see a collection of more original Beatles concert posters, take a glance at this page right here on my Web site: http://www.postercentral.com/beatles.htm

Posted in **All Posters, *Beatles, Boxing-Style Concert Posters, British Invasion | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Charlie Parker Concert Poster 1950s Boxing Style Globe Placard

Posted on November 7, 2013 by postercentral

An original, authentic Charlie Parker window card from 1951 for a show at the Mosque Auditorium in Richmond, VA.

Globe Posters of Baltimore designed and printed this Charlie Parker show poster; Baltimore is only about 150 miles from Richmond.

If you’ve watched my video blogs before, you’ll know that this Charlie Parker concert announcement is referred to in the hobby as a “tour blank.” The basic poster design was used over & over, with only the venue information up at the top changing from city to city.

This Charlie Parker broadside has dimensions of 22 x 28 inches, one of the two most common sizes used consistently for concert posters.

Globe used only a couple of colors in creating their Charlie Parker tour poster – blue and yellow – but obviously used them to great affect, as it’s a very colorful & catchy poster.

This Charlie Parker placard finds the saxophone legend playing alongside Les Brown and his Band of Renown, plus opening act June Christy.

Because of Bird’s legendary status, most jazz buffs would refer to this as a Charlie Parker poster, disregarding the other two acts. But Brown was no slouch… he managed to place 21 records in Billboard magazine’s Top 20 hits chart during the 1940s.

One of the reasons this Charlie Parker in-person poster is collectible is that Bird (his nickname, short for Yardbird) doesn’t turn up on concert posters very often. He didn’t tour much, and he passed away at the young age of 34.

Bird fans will surely notice that “his orchestra and strings” appears underneath his name on this Charlie Parker billboard. Bird always had a keen desire to record and play with an orchestra, and fulfilled that wish just the year before with his latest album, Charlie Parker with Strings.

A slightly hidden but delightful design element of this Charlie Parker telephone pole poster is the white crown above his photo, containing the words “King of the Alto Sax.”

I also love the ticket prices down in the lower-left corner of this Charlie Parker boxing style concert poster… $1.25, $1.65 and $1.95. Even the top ticket price wouldn’t buy you a bottle of water at a show today!

You can’t help but notice the damaged condition of this Charlie Parker show placard… that’s due to the fact it was found inside a wall in an old abandoned building in Richmond, covered up for decades by sheet rock, plaster, etc.

Because of that, this decrepit Charlie Parker sign is very brittle, and can’t be flexed like most old cardboard concert posters… it would risk cracking.

Notice that way down at the bottom, June Christy is mentioned as an “Extra Added Attraction” on this Charlie Parker event poster. Christy had gained a little fame as the singer for Stan Kenton’s band in the 1940’s.

The ticket locations given on this Charlie Parker window display – obscured somewhat by paint on this copy – include three record shops. Stand-alone record stores were not that common at the mid-century mark, but the south was somewhat of a pioneer in that area.

Anybody notice the fourth entertainer mentioned prominently on this Charlie Parker tour placard? Yes, it’s none other than comedian Bob Hope plugged up by Les Brown’s photo.

We can be thankful that this Charlie Parker ticket poster includes a picture of Bird, because they didn’t use one for June Christy. On many of these old posters, only the headliner was granted that honor.

You can’t miss the fact that a chunk of cardboard is missing from the upper right-hand corner of this Charlie Parker advertisement. That’s always a bit unfortunate, as it takes away part of the “22,” but a professional restorer would have no trouble restoring it.

It’s a bit of a shame that this Charlie Parker street poster doesn’t use the word “be-bop” anywhere, because Bird was a pioneer of that format. Perhaps that was because he was into his “strings” phase.

In addition, I would’ve loved to see some song titles on this Charlie Parker fence poster.  Prime candidates would’ve been Les Brown’s two biggest hits, “Sentimental Journey” and “My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time.” Both of those discs topped the charts for about two months apiece.

You have to smile at the marketing approach that Globe took on their Charlie Parker concert placard… the headline “Triple Feature Concert.” That just means there were three musicians on the bill.

This Charlie Parker street sign is drooled over and explained by long-time music collector Peter Howard (pete@postercentral.com or 805. 540-0020).  Being a serious collector, I will pay TOP DOLLAR for really old, genuine concert posters along these lines, especially the Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker concert poster from Carnegie Hall on November 14, 1952.

And to view a few other rare, collectible jazz concert posters, check out this great page of images on my web site: http://www.postercentral.com/jazz.htm

Posted in **All Posters, Boxing-Style Concert Posters, Jazz & Big Band | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bob Dylan – America’s Most Compelling Folk Artist Store Display 1963

Posted on November 4, 2013 by postercentral

An original “Bob Dylan America’s Most Compelling Folk Artist” 1963 Columbia Records promotional retail store display.

There were actually two versions of this Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan promo poster produced… a two-flap version, shown here in person, and a three-flap version, which I display and describe for you via photograph.

Both sizes of this display were designed to stand up by themselves on any flat surface, due to their heft and shape. Neither one needs to be propped up.

This Bob Dylan – America’s Most Compelling Folk Artist promo stand-up was manufactured on thick, durable cardboard to assist it in standing up easily on its own.  By comparison, most of Dylan’s other 1960s cardboard store displays had easels on the back to help them stand up.

One thing you can’t deny about this Bob Dylan America’s Most Compelling Folk Artist advertising poster… it commands a room. And back in 1963, there weren’t a lot of record stores in the land… LPs and 45s were most commonly sold in department stores and such. So any retailer must’ve had quite a time finding room for this.

The three-panel version of this Bob Dylan – America’s Most Compelling Folk Artist display includes reproductions of his first two album covers: Bob Dylan and The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.

Those two LP jackets on this Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan promo display are presented in their full-color natural state, whereas the two-panel version of this display gets away with being just black & white – which some people prefer (see below).

This Bob Dylan America’s Most Compelling Folk Artist point-of-purchase poster measures two feet wide on the two-flap version and three feet wide on the bigger one. Both of them are 25 inches in height.

Here is the exact wording, just as it reads on the display. First there’s the right-hand B&W panel:

BOB DYLAN – AMERICA’S MOST COMPELLING FOLK ARTIST

Joan Baez: “I feel it, but Dylan can say it. He’s phenomenal.” Peter, Paul and Mary: “The most important folk singer today.” On Columbia Records.

And on the larger version, these words appear over on the color, left-hand panel:

Includes his great hits, “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” (below The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan LP cover)

“Dylan performs with a zest and vigor few will resist.” – Saturday Review (underneath 1962’s Bob Dylan album cover)

The bigger version of this Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan promo stand-up would have been useable for all of 1963, right up until mid-January 1964, when Dylan’s third album, The Times They Are A-Changin’, was released. At that point people would have said, “Where’s that album cover?”

You gotta love the way 26 song titles are listed on the three-flap version of this Bob Dylan America’s Most Compelling Folk Artist merchandising poster / sign. For me, that’s a plus.

But I’ve heard people say that the smaller, more compact two-flap version of this Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan promo sign is preferable… it’s less cluttered, and it’s not dated like the three-panel version is. The two-panel version could literally be used all the way up until the spring of 1965, when Dylan released Bringing It All Back Home, ditching pure folk and becoming a rock star.

Another big plus to the two-flap version of this Bob Dylan – America’s Most Compelling Folk Artist point-of-sale poster is that it withstands years of florescent lights (in stores) and direct sunlight without fading. The three-flap version, with its rich colors, is much more susceptible to fading.

Don Hunstein, a Columbia Records photographer who shot Dylan’s first two album covers, took the lovely photograph that comprises an entire panel of this Bob Dylan America’s Most Compelling Folk Artist countertop display.

There’s a funny aspect about the wording on this Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan merchandising display. One could take issue with the caption below The Freewheelin’, which proclaims, “Includes his great hits, ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ and ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.’” You definitely can’t call those “Dylan hits.” Those were the A- and B-side songs of Dylan’s second Columbia Records single (4-42856), and it didn’t sell a whit. However, as the world knows, Peter, Paul & Mary took both songs to the moon in 1963.

Regarding the two quotes over on the right-hand panel of this Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan store display… the Baez one sounds pretty authentic, but I gotta take issue with the PP&M one. How can three different people say one six-word sentence? It’s obviously a crafted PR statement. It’s no coincidence that Albert Grossman was Dylan’s and PP&M’s manager at the time, so you can bet that he just had a publicist generate that quote.

This Bob Dylan – America’s Most Compelling Folk Artist large, heavy cardboard promotional store window display is shown off and described with glee by Pete Howard, a major Dylan collector since the late sixties. That’s me, and I can be contacted through pete@postercentral.com or by phone at 805.540-0020. Please be aware that I will pay TOP DOLLAR for either the three-flap version or another copy of the two-flap one.

To oogle a few more Bob Dylan cardboard posters from the 1960s with envy (grin), just pop over to this page here on my Web site: http://www.postercentral.com/bobdylan.htm

Posted in **All Posters, *Bob Dylan, Promo Posters & Displays | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Acid Test Concert Poster 1966 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco

Posted on November 4, 2013 by postercentral

An authentic, vintage Acid Test event poster from January 8, 1966 for a stop at San Francisco’s legendary Fillmore Auditorium.

This Can You Pass the Acid Test? placard was actually printed in a 17 by 22-inch block shape, not the tall, thin strip you see here. But the poster gives instructions at the bottom on how one could cut their Acid Test show poster in half, place one part on top of the other, and by results create the tall, thin Can You Pass the Acid Test? announcement which is shown in this video.

This action would convert it into an Acid Test telephone pole poster, so that it could be taped up around town on objects like fence poles and streetlights.

But funnily, the poster also presents the holder with an option:

“Or it can be left as it is!”  So that means the Can You Pass the Acid Test? broadside could simply be posted as it was originally printed, without taking scissors to it.

Additionally, this Can You Pass the Acid Test? concert poster was run off in three different colors… goldenrod, white and blue.  In this video blog, you see the blue version of the Acid Test window card.

So who got so crazy and drew up this wildly eccentric Acid Test street poster? That un-credited poster artist is usually considered to be Norman Hartweg, a Merry Prankster.  However, other Pranksters, such as Paul Foster or Gretchen Fetchen, may have had a hand in its design as well. You gotta figure that if every Merry Prankster contributed artwork to the Further bus, then why not the Can You Pass the Acid Test fence poster?

In collector’s parlance, this Acid Test tour poster is known as a “tour blank,” because it had a little blank square down in the lower right corner where each individual event’s specific information could be written or printed in. This Can You Pass the Acid Test? window display had a short lifespan, however… it was used just a few scant times over the course of less than a month.

The exact specimen you’re seeing here has the following information written in the small box: Filmore [sic] Aud., Sat. Jan. 8, 9:00 until ?, Filmore [sic] & Geary, San Francisco.

None other than Grateful Dead founding member PigPen scribbled that venue information in his own writing, greatly adding to its coolness. And this Can You Pass the Acid Test? show placard was Pig’s very own personal copy, and fell into his brother’s hands when Ron passed away in the early ’70s.

The entertainers name-checked on this Acid Test advertisement number half-a-dozen: The Merry Pranksters (naturally), Neal Cassady, The Grateful Dead, The Fugs, Allen Ginsberg and Roy’s Audioptics. This is in addition to other little things mentioned, such as “movies.”

This Can You Pass the Acid Test? tour placard made its debut on December 11, 1965, either at Muir Beach – which was a last-minute replacement for Stinson Beach – or in Palo Alto, at the Big Beat club. There is some debate as to which town got the event first, with the follow-up Acid Test occurring on December 18, 1965.  All locations, of course, were around the San Francisco area.

In addition to those dates, this Acid Test billboard may have been used for the Portland, Oregon acid test, which allegedly took place on either December 24, 1965, or perhaps a week later at Portland’s Beaver Hall on January 1, 1966.  I would be very grateful if anybody with any information on these shaky dates would contact me.

And then, as shown in this video, this Can You Pass the Acid Test? concert placard was used for the last time on January 8, 1966 for the Fillmore engagement – a month before Bill Graham started his famous series of regular concerts there.

Previously in this video blog, I have shown you the uncut goldenrod version of this Acid Test sign.  Coming up before long, I will blog the white one as well. However, neither of those were cut and assembled like this one was.

This Can You Pass the Acid Test? street sign is cheerfully displayed and discussed by me, Pete Howard, enthusiastic collector; I can be contacted at pete@postercentral.com or via 805-540-0020.  As a serious collector, I will pay TOP DOLLAR, PERIOD for any Can You Pass the Acid Test original concert poster – any color, any shape, any condition. If you have one, please get in touch.

And to see a few more psychedelic posters and artwork, I invite you to drop by this page right here on my Web site: http://www.postercentral.com/psychedelic.htm

Posted in **All Posters, **Psychedelic Posters Only, *Grateful Dead, Fillmore Auditorium | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment