1963 Concert Ad

[lockhartgary]

I saw this ad today on Facebook and thought I'd share here.
20279

[stingbeelee]

Wow...I wonder how long was this kind of thing printed, when you go to the rock and roll history books, they usually print things like this from the 1950's. I wonder where this "Armory" was located.

[lockhartgary]

Wow...I wonder how long was this kind of thing printed, when you go to the rock and roll history books, they usually print things like this from the 1950's. I wonder where this "Armory" was located.
It is/was located in the city of Jackson, TN...my current city of residence. I don't know if it still exists but I will try to find out.

[DWSheffer]

So eye opening today when you see something from the era with "white and colored" concerts separately......

[lockhartgary]

So eye opening today when you see something from the era with "white and colored" concerts separately......
Yes, absolutely.

I was not expecting to see the Marvelettes amongst the acts listed; the top 3 listed are of course Cameo-Parkway acts. And the 4 Seasons way on the bottom!?

[motony]

1962, still Jim Crow Laws in the South. In Miami in 1962 I met the whole Motortown Revue at Sir Johns, a '"colored" hotel/;lounge while my Mom waited oustside in the car. Nobody said a dam thing. It was on a major road.The Revue was actually playing the Harlem Square Club which was real big.

[WaitingWatchingLookingForAChance]

I know it happened. My parents lived through it. And still, it's oddly jarring to see "White People" "Colored People" in print. On a poster. Wow.

[daviddesper]

I am sure no one would know but I wonder if the "colored folks" back then perhaps benefited by being the late show. Is it possible that the artists would have had more freedom to keep performing as long as they wanted to at the second show, whereas the "white" show might have had time restrictions because there was another show to follow.

[Boogiedown]

Yes, absolutely.

I was not expecting to see the Marvelettes amongst the acts listed; the top 3 listed are of course Cameo-Parkway acts. And the 4 Seasons way on the bottom!?

Did the Marvelettes travel outside the Motown fold amongst random collections of performers ? Especially into the south?

The Four Seasons had three #1s + by then

[motony]

Did the Marvelettes travel outside the Motown fold amongst random collections of performers ? Especially into the south?

The Four Seasons had three #1s + by then Yes, I saw the Marvelettes on the OTIS REDDING TOUR of late 1966 & then my cousins saw them in Montgomery, Ala. on the same tour. That poster above could be a fake.

[WaitingWatchingLookingForAChance]

Did the Marvelettes travel outside the Motown fold amongst random collections of performers ? Especially into the south?

The Four Seasons had three #1s + by then

The Marvelettes apparently had a solid fan base and a reputation as a very good live act. On eBay, I've seen a few programs for non-Motown package tours that included the Marvelettes in the lineup. Everyone, I'd imagine, had to tour the South if you were a big act, or wanted to be one. There was just no getting around it. The Marvelettes were a big draw in the early years, and if you can go by some of the various fan mags of the times, they continued to be a very popular touring group. They were part of a large outdoor concert, "Soundblast '66," that featured, among others, The Cowsills, The Beach Boys, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and the Byrd's. I think the Marvelettes were a group whose popularity with fans was so strong, they were able to ride out the chart slump from around '63 to "Don't Mess With Bill." Their fans stuck right with them.

[kenneth]

That’s great reading about the Marvelettes. I bet they were great live. The few clips of them on YouTube are fantastic, especially love the choreography where the lead singers go back-and-forth from one mic to the other in the song “Locking Up My Heart.”

Of course, I have seen photos of the signs on the buildings and the restaurants, but I’ve never seen that on a poster before. It is really creepy. And yes, I imagine they played their hardest for the late show, oh, if only to go back in time and be there!

[Boogiedown]

Shouldn’t someone be saying shame on these acts for agreeing to such an arrangement , whch I find hard to believe any one of them would, much less all of them.

[kenneth]

Shouldn’t someone be saying shame on these acts for agreeing to such an arrangement , whch I find hard to believe any one of them would, much less all of them.

That seems like a lot to ask. Likely, they had to submit to the venues' rules in order to get the booking. At the time, it was commonplace in the South up to, I believe, 1965 or so. The poster indicates 1963 as the date of the concert.

There are a few anecdotes which indicate some opposition to such "customs." One involving Sammy Davis, I believe it was Frank Sinatra who refused to sing unless Davis was put up at the same hotel as Sinatra. But those exceptions [[if indeed true) seem to be rare, and usually coming from someone like Sinatra, a white celebrity with clout. Motown was still a young company in 1963 and while they always had some whites in management positions, I doubt the company had much clout at that time.

[motony]

all the Jim Crow Joe Laws were done by 1964. I NEVER went to a segregated concert in Florida because I wasn't old enough to go to concerts until 1964.

[lockhartgary]

That seems like a lot to ask. Likely, they had to submit to the venues' rules in order to get the booking. At the time, it was commonplace in the South up to, I believe, 1965 or so. The poster indicates 1963 as the date of the concert.

There are a few anecdotes which indicate some opposition to such "customs." One involving Sammy Davis, I believe it was Frank Sinatra who refused to sing unless Davis was put up at the same hotel as Sinatra. But those exceptions [[if indeed true) seem to be rare, and usually coming from someone like Sinatra, a white celebrity with clout. Motown was still a young company in 1963 and while they always had some whites in management positions, I doubt the company had much clout at that time.

There's also the Rascals, who lost dates in the South because they insisted on having an African-American act on their concert bills.

[motony]

There's also the Rascals, who lost dates in the South because they insisted on having an African-American act on their concert bills.
When the Rascals toured the South, Jim Crow was dead. I saw them on a "Where The Action Is " tour in Orlando 1966. So I think that was later day talk.

[jsmith]

It was just crazy that many of the top acts playing Miami Beach hotels in the mid to late 60's were black Motown & soul performers.
They were a big draw with the hotel's guests & visitors YET they weren't allowed to eat in those same hotels & weren't allowed to have a room in those hotels.
Only the US could have such a fcukd up system [[same as with the gun laws there).

[RanRan79]

When the Rascals toured the South, Jim Crow was dead. I saw them on a "Where The Action Is " tour in Orlando 1966. So I think that was later day talk.

Jim Crow was illegal at that point, it was not, however, dead. There were areas all across the country, especially the south, where after Jim Crow laws were struck down, segregation was still in full effect. Legal segregation was outlawed throughout the land, but that did not stop bigoted people from trying to hold on to the custom. Similarly the way slavery was "outlawed", only to be replaced by a sharecropping system that was, for all intents and purposes, slavery, not to mention the convict leasing scheme that existed. In 1966/1967 there would surely have been venues that would have refused to book integrated acts.

[jsmith]

A totally separate subject but related to this thread ...
In the mid / late 60's the US Highway Authorities & city councils were building freeways / urban highways to enable 6 / 8 / 10 lane roads to reach city centres. So whole residential / business areas had to be decimated to make room for these new ultra wide roads.
JUST BY CHANGE, just about every wide highway / interchange layout was located in / thru a black suburb / neighbourhood. This decimated those areas & reduced the stock of cheap rental properties [[slum-style tenements) to the detriment of their old residents.
In Miami, the Overtown area was decimated. So much so, that the well established social scene for local black residents [[hotels / clubs / bars) was totally swept away [[even if a the building a club was located in escaped demolition, it's clientele had been scattered to the 4 winds). . . . 'black' Miami after the new road system had been constructed ... 21117