Amos Milburn Window Card 1949 – The Chicken Shack Boogie Man!

Posted on July 21, 2013 by postercentral

An old, authentic post-war Amos Milburn concert poster for his appearance at The Sunset in Indianapolis, IN on December 11, 1949.

This Amos Milburn placard immediately jumps out at you with a lovely purple-pink color, giving it very special eye appeal.

Not only that, but the highly stylized design of this Amos Milburn show poster really comprises its attractiveness… look at the elegant way his last name flows through the middle section in such graceful fashion.

But probably the catchiest element of this Amos Milburn tour poster is the piano keyboard, which shoots down from his name. Closer examination reveals an entire grand piano underneath all the action!

Also, it’s my opinion that this Amos Milburn poster has an exceptional photo of Amos on here… in addition to his handsome, smiling face, the pic has a background of splashy light rays or palm leaves that greatly enhance the whole look. Very nice.

As for the venue info up above, I kinda wonder why it states only “The Sunset” on this Amos Milburn tour placard, because in the fine print in the same area, it says “the Sunset Terrace Café” – and I’ve also heard this venue referred to as “the Sunset Terrace Ballroom.” Something for me to investigate further.

Speaking of the venue information, it is amusing how this Amos Milburn showcard  displays the date in such gigantic letters, and the ticket prices in such tiny ones!

As for its dimensions, this Amos Milburn broadside measures 14 by 22 inches, pretty much the standard size for window cards of the day.

As usual, this Amos Milburn billboard was manufactured on sturdy cardboard, not paper, allowing it to withstand the fall weather in the Midwest.

Collectors love to find an Amos Milburn boxing-style concert poster like this, because the majority of them were torn down and discarded not long after the gigs happened.

It’s not surprising that “Chicken Shack Boogie” is listed twice on this Amos Milburn concert placard, because it was a #1 rhythm & blues hit for a full month the previous year.

Poster-printing company Woolever Press of L.A. printed this Amos Milburn In-Person poster… a well-known printer from the era.

In fact, the small print across the very bottom of this Amos Milburn event poster gives not only the poster’s printer (Woolever), but also Milburn’s management company, along with their full contact information.

So now, here is the full wording found on this Amos Milburn window display, exactly as it reads from top to bottom:

(White venue area at top): The Sunset – Sunday Night Dec. 11 – (and in extremely small print, barely readable): Advance $1.40 – Tax Included – At Door $1.60 – Make Table Reservations In Person at Sunset Terrace Café

(Now into the colorful portion of the poster): In Person… That Sensational Singing, Piano Playing Chicken Shack Boogie Man – AMOS MILBURN and His Big Little Band

Exclusive Aladdin Recording Artists (star) Creators of “Hold Me Baby” – “Chicken Shack Boogie” and “Bewildered

(And the tiny credit line in the bottom margin): Exclusive Management: Federal Artists Corp., 8734 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 46, Calif. – CR. 5-5251.  Woolever Press – Los Angeles

Fans of vintage R&B might be a little disappointed that this Amos Milburn show placard has no opening acts on it… frequently, these things included two or three musicians. Then again, sometimes it’s fun to have an important artist like Amos dominate the whole poster by himself.

I guess it would be asking too much for this Amos Milburn telephone-pole poster to have no grammatical mistakes on it… they were just so prevalent on old posters. So sure enough, the second quotation mark was left off the song title “Bewildered.”

It would have been nice if this Amos Milburn sign had the hit “Roomin’ House Boogie” listed on it as well; it was a #1 R&B hit for Amos right around this time, probably just entering the charts when this poster was designed.

In fact, this Amos Milburn announcement could’ve worked in a lot more song titles… he charted 19 straight Top 10 R&B singles during his career, although granted, many of them came after this (early ’50s).

One has to wonder if R&B legend Fats Domino happens to have an Amos Milburn ticket poster in his collection? Because Fats credits Amos as a major early influence on his own career.

This authentic, vintage Amos Milburn concert poster is very enthusiastically discussed by veteran collector Pete Howard (pete@postercentral.com, or, 805-540-0020). I will pay THE VERY BEST PRICES for this poster or any & all 1930s-50s R&B / jump blues window cards, if they’re not bootlegs.

To see some more scarce and collectable post-war R&B window cards from this era, just slide on over to this page right here on my web site: http://www.postercentral.com/rhythmnblues.htm

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

A Tribute to Sparkle Plenty – Family Dog Concert Flyer 1965

Posted on July 18, 2013 by postercentral

An original A Tribute to Sparkle Plenty concert flyer, advertising the 2nd San Francisco dance-concert thrown by the nascent Family Dog organization in late 1965.

This Family Dog Lovin’ Spoonful herald has a pretty cluttered appearance, but in fact it advertises only two rock groups and two MC’s, and the rest is razzle-dazzle graphics.

In this video, I actually show you two versions of this Family Dog Tribute to Sparkle Plenty handbill… the first one is on yellow paper, and the second is on blue.

I’ve never heard if one version is rarer than the other, the yellow Tribute to Sparkle Plenty flyer or the blue one.

Both versions of this Tribute to Sparkle Plenty concert flier were printed with black ink; I believe, however, that some of them were colored-in by hand by the Family Dog people to make them more attractive and catchy.

It’s interesting to note the way two comic book characters were used for this Family Dog Lovin’ Spoonful concert flyer, undoubtedly without any permission obtained… Dick Tracy and, much smaller and less obvious, Sparkle Plenty herself. Don’t blink or you’ll miss her!

I assume it shows up on this video that the yellow Family Dog Tribute to Sparkle Plenty flier was once folded down into thirds for a #10 envelope, and shows those horizontal creases. The blue one, however, has no such creases.

Legendary poster artist Alton Kelley created the artwork for this Tribute to Sparkle Plenty appearance sheet. He was one of the four original Family Dog founding members.

You might notice that Kelley used a number of “exploding” visual affects on his Family Dog Lovin’ Spoonful concert flier, about seven in all.

One has to wonder why Kelley put the show’s October concert date, “24,” in quotation marks on his Family Dog Lovin’ Spoonful flier?

It’s really puzzling how this Family Dog Tribute to Sparkle Plenty leaflet doesn’t use the important words “dance-concert” anywhere, making me think it must’ve been an oversight. After all, that was a key selling point for the three late-1965 Family Dog events… they finally allowed music fans to get up and boogie!

This size of this Family Dog Lovin’ Spoonful slinger is about standard for a regular sheet of paper, roughly 8.5 x 10”.  The Tribute to Sparkle Plenty poster runs much larger.

This Tribute to Sparkle Plenty herald claims that advance tickets were available only at Sherman Clay (which, oddly, is called “Shermen and Clay”), a well-known piano and music store in San Francisco.

It’s hard to imagine that tickets for this early, important event were sold only at a piano store and the door, and that’s all.  That is, if this Family Dog Tribute to Sparkle Plenty slinger is to be believed.

Russ “The Moose” Syracuse was the sole emcee at the Family Dog’s first dance-concert, A Tribute to Dr. Strange, but Larry Hankin of The Committee got co-billing with him on this Family Dog Tribute to Sparkle Plenty concert leaflet.

I know it’s a picayune point, but this Family Dog Lovin’ Spoonful handout has a common mistake often found on concert advertisements… it refers to midnight as “12 P.M.” in the date line up at the top.

And speaking of picayune, take note of the printer’s union bug down in the lower right-hand corner of this Tribute to Sparkle Plenty concert handout… it’s a key way to ascertain the originals from some of the bootlegs one can assume are out there.

I’ll just go ahead and run the entire wording of this Tribute to Sparkle Plenty concert herald, just as Kelley penned it, from top to bottom:

Sunday October “24” – 8 till 12 P.M. – (Dick Tracy appears) The Family Dog Presents A Tribute to Sparkle Plenty (and she appears)

Lovin’ Spoonfull [sic; misspelled] and The Charlatans; Larry Hankin with Russ The Moose Syracuse

Longshoremen’s Hall = Fisherman’s Wharf. Tickets $2.50 – Shermen and Clay [sic], and at the door. (Union bug.)

You might notice that only two rock groups played on this night, according to this Tribute to Sparkle Plenty concert slinger.  That’s odd, because four bands had played at the Tribute to Dr. Strange dance the previous weekend.

That might have been because of the Spoonful’s rising national prominence at the time, as they raced up the charts with “Do You Believe in Magic,” their first hit record. That’s also probably why Kelley made their name larger and more prominent on this Family Dog Tribute to Sparkle Plenty concert handbill.

You have to love the way The Charlatans’ name is displayed in the band’s original logo form, instead of in new Kelley psychedelic lettering, on this Family Dog Lovin’ Spoonful flyer.

In a mistake that was probably made frequently throughout the band’s entire career, the name of The Lovin’ Spoonful on this Family Dog Tribute to Sparkle Plenty handout is misspelled with two “L’s” as “Lovin’ Spoonfull.” Sorry, but as a former editor I just had to point that out!

Even though he’s not credited by name on this Family Dog Lovin’ Spoonful appearance sheet, light-show maestro Bill Ham had just started doing his popular light-show projections at the time of this event.

Kelley decided it wasn’t necessary to put “1965” on his Family Dog Lovin’ Spoonful leaflet, because almost no concert posters and handbills did so… it was just a given.

This Family Dog Lovin’ Spoonful handbill is happily lectured about by music-memorabilia collector Peter Howard (either phone 805-540-0020 or write pete@postercentral.com). I will pay the very best price for this flyer or any of the early Family Dog concert advertising materials.

I don’t have a Web page for psychedelic handbills, but to see a few cool psych ’60s concert posters, just trip over to this page right here on my Web site: http://www.postercentral.com/psychedelic.htm

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

The Ventures Concert Poster 1960s Corte Madera, CA (Marin County, Bay Area)

Posted on July 12, 2013 by postercentral

A vintage, authentic Ventures window card from Corte Madera, CA (up in the northern Bay Area) from Dec. 14, 1962.

This Ventures tour poster is called a “tour blank” in collector’s circles.  The bottom few inches of the poster (everything in green ink) would be changed from date to date, whereas everything above that on this Ventures poster remained static, just plugging their records and such.

Anyone who collects old concert advertising posters would have to agree that this Ventures In-Person poster has it all… really strong eye appeal, three different color inks, thick cardboard instead of flimsy paper, a great picture of the band, some fun wording at both the top and bottom, and a ton of song titles.  Sweet!

This Ventures broadside was designed to withstand the elements of weather, being made of cardboard like it was, with an eye toward posting it outside on fences, etc.

It’s pretty funny the way this Ventures announcement yells the group’s name in big red letters at the top of the poster, twice… a little overkill, gentlemen?  But that’s OK, I think it’s pretty cool.

I also get a big charge out of the way this Ventures show placard actually lists the entertainment that occurred during the intermissions… I think that’s a first for me, out of all the old posters that I’ve seen.

In that very section, this Ventures telephone-pole poster lists Miss Chris Clark as one of the entertainers, but she’s buried in small print. That’s funny because before long, she would become the girlfriend of Motown’s Berry Gordy Jr., and headline her own concerts in the area.

And how about that “Mystery Guest” listed on this Ventures tour placard… anybody out there attend this show and know who that might have been?

This Ventures billboard is as cluttered with words as any old concert poster you’ll ever see, but that’s OK, no complaints from me… I think it all adds to the eye appeal.

This Ventures show poster was designed and printed by Tilghman Poster Press in Oakland, only about 20 miles from where the show took place.  Safe to say the posters were hand-delivered!

I guess it would be redundant to label this a Ventures boxing-style concert poster, because as far as I know, there was never a psychedelic concert poster made for this band in the ’60s – it just wouldn’t fit the music.

I’m afraid there are some significant goofs in the photo caption of this Ventures concert placard. In the four names under the musicians, a couple of them are misspelled and a couple are interchanged, incorrectly… sort of an unforgivable sin in concert-poster layout. (I explain in detail during the video.)

I think it’s a hoot the way this Ventures event poster says at the top, “From Hollywood…” – a bit of show-biz pizzazz that was typical in the early ’60s. Since this was before the arrival of the Beatles and the San Francisco psychedelic music scene, they had to try extra hard to stir up excitement.

In case you can’t tell in the video, this Ventures window display was bigger than the standard 14×22-inch size of most Tilghman posters… it’s a couple of inches bigger all the way around.

I love the way this vintage Ventures placard has red, blue and green colors melding together from top to bottom, an effect known by printers as “split fountain.”

I saved the cutest thing for last: the “No Jeans or Capris” admonition on this Ventures ticket poster… is that hilarious, or what?

This Ventures sign is lectured about in professorial fashion by poster collector Peter Howard (pete@postercentral.com, or, 805.540.0020). I will pay top dollar, the best prices, for old vintage concert-poster advertising signs like this.

To see a few more authentic & colorful pop-concert window posters of the era, just surf over to this page right here on my Web site: http://www.postercentral.com/rock.htm

Posted in **All Posters, Boxing-Style Concert Posters, Surf Music | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Family Dog King Kong Memorial Dance Concert Poster – Original Paste-Up Artwork!

Posted on July 9, 2013 by postercentral

A highly unusual look at the unique, original paste-up artwork for FD2, the Family Dog’s popular “King Kong Memorial Dance” concert poster from the Fillmore Auditorium in Feb. 1966.

Surprisingly, this original artwork piece is much smaller than the posters for which it was used to print… it measures about 7 by 10”, whereas the posters were the standard Fillmore size of 14 by 20”. So the artwork’s image was enlarged, not reduced, to make the posters.

This camera-read artwork was put together primarily by Chet Helms, the promoter who had just assumed the Family Dog name. Poster artist Wes Wilson, who had designed the Family Dog’s first FD1 poster a few weeks prior, was originally going to design this FD2 poster, too. But Helms rejected his idea, came up with the King Kong concept and Wilson contributed only the company’s brand new logo, which doesn’t appear here but was on the final product.

Helms literally cut this gorilla image out of a magazine of the day to create the basis for his poster. You can see it when I turn the piece over in this video blog… it was cut out of National Geographic, the Saturday Evening Post, Life magazine or one of those popular periodicals from the sixties.

So it’s pretty surprising when I flip this original artwork over and you see that the back has more of the same. Naturally, the photographer was never credited, and we’re left to wonder if they ever found out that their gorilla photo was used for this seminal S.F. concert poster.

As for the poster’s lettering, it’s easy to see how Helms carefully applied each individual letter to form his words – sort of like criminals used to do with ransom notes. (In the video, I accidentally state that the lettering was done by Wilson.)

When it came time to make the posters, rather than just shoot their paste-up in true colors, Helms and Wilson chose to print it with B&W ink on beige paper.

To see the final, printed King Kong Memorial Dance concert poster, and therefore learn a lot more about it, please see my other video blog on the poster itself.

This FD-2 King Kong Memorial Dance poster original artwork is enthusiastically shown and talked about by Pete Howard, vintage poster collector (pete@postercentral.com or cell phone 805-540-0020). I pay the BEST PRICES, period, for original vintage pieces of early San Francisco psychedelic poster art.

I’m afraid don’t have a Web page with other poster artwork to show you, but to see some cool psychedelic concert poster images, just roll your mouse over to http://www.postercentral.com/psychedelic.htm

Posted in **Psychedelic Posters Only, Fillmore Auditorium | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Big Joe Turner Window Card – 1950’s Boxing-Style Beauty

Posted on June 29, 2013 by postercentral

Today I show you a ’50s vintage Big Joe Turner concert poster used to get the word out about his concert on April 25, 1958 in Sheffield, Alabama.

The legendary blues shouter had a career which spanned the 1920s up to the 1980s, but the career-timing for this Big Joe Turner ticket poster was perfect, because he is best remembered as helping to pioneer rock ’n’ roll in the ’50s.

Old blues and R&B posters, including this Big Joe Turner window display, are sought-after by collectors because the majority of them were torn down and thrown away right after the concert – few people ever thought of keeping them for posterity back then.

A very familiar printer, the Murray Poster Printing Company out of New York City, manufactured this Big Joe Turner show poster, most likely between 4 and 8 weeks before the show.

Murray manufactured this Big Joe Turner tour poster on cardboard material, not paper, as was standard practice of the day.

Notice that Murray’s in-house designer used just one primary color – blue – on this Big Joe Turner poster… but they got great results from just the one color. When combined with black ink and white background, it became a very handsome three-color advertisement.

I’ve seen quite a few other Turner posters over the years, but this Big Joe Turner broadside is special because it lists three song titles under his name, including the essential “Shake, Rattle & Roll” – his landmark 1954 hit.

Another minor element of this Big Joe Turner billboard, but one worth mentioning, is that it names his record label – using the words “Atlantic Record Star,” which he most certainly was.

This Big Joe Turner in-person poster is referred to in the hobby as a “tour blank”… meaning the entire blue portion down below stayed the same, with only the venue information at the top changing from date to date and city to city (and different ticket prices & locations, etc.).

The design of this Big Joe Turner boxing-style poster is a strong selling point… Murray’s designers did an absolutely beautiful job, with great usage of the black & blue color scheme, all the sharp angles and stars floating about, and both musicians smiling nicely and looking in different directions, producing a symmetry of sorts.

I shouldn’t forget second-billed Choker Campbell and his Orchestra, which is depicted on this Big Joe Turner concert placard with a picture of Campbell cradling his saxophone.  And likewise, headliner Turner is holding a harmonica, his primary instrument of choice.

The small print found at the bottom of this Big Joe Turner event poster gives credit to both the Shaw Artists Corporation (which booked Turner’s shows) and the Murray Poster Printing Corp. of New York, New York.

If you can’t quite see the fine print in the upper white area, the admission price on this Big Joe Turner show placard was $2.00 in advance and $2.50 when purchased at the door. Such a deal!

I won’t go into all the locations where tickets could be purchased on this Big Joe Turner telephone-pole poster, but included are such smile-invoking places as Jack’s Chicken Shack, the Brown Derby and the Peacock Café.

Interesting to note how this Big Joe Turner tour placard states in huge letters “DANCE” at the top, with no mention of “concert” at all.  Most shows in the 1950’s like this were called “dance-concerts,” where you could either sit and observe or get up and dance.

This Big Joe Turner placard has dimensions of 14 by 22”, the common size used for such posters of the day… and in fact, continuing to this very day.

This Big Joe Turner display sign is happily shown off by vintage boxing-style poster collector Peter J. Howard (pete@postercentral.com or 805-540-0020). I will pay top dollar for any 1950s vintage R&B, rock ’n’ roll or blues concert window cards such as this one.

To see some more of these old, collectible R&B concert posters from the 1950s-60s, just jump over to this page right here on my web site: http://www.postercentral.com/rhythmnblues.htm

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