JIMI HENDRIX AT UNION COLLEGE 1966
In February 1966 the Lovers (with Jimi Hendrix on guitar) provided the backing for three different artists (and possibly also played a set or sets as a "solo" act) on two consecutive days. The performances took place in two different buildings on the Union College campus in Schenectady, New York and the occasion was Union College's "Winter Weekend" Friday 25 February - Saturday 26 February 1966.
The artists that the band played with were Jimmy Soul, the Ronettes and the Drifters and apparently the Lovers changed their line-up / instrumentation based what each artist required - or just based on who was available at any given moment.
The Lovers seems to have been a short lived name for what was essentially always the same band with many different incarnations, most commonly known in a later variation as the Squires. It would appear that the Lovers either appeared with Curtis Knight as the lead vocalist or backed up other artists without Curtis Knight present. See the Curtis Knight Live Dates -page for more information.
A big thank you to Frederick F. Fagal, Jr who first contacted me about these concerts and whose research and Union College concert listing7 was the basis of a large part of what's now on this page.
WRUC
Union College has it's own radio station, in 1966 it was run by students Bob Ferguson (aka Dick Ferguson) and Jeffrey Hedquist (aka Jeff Hedquist). There must have been news items about the two gigs in advance and possibly also afterwards but I haven't found any mention of any broadcasts or of any surviving recordings. There is however a photograph by Bob Saltzman of Bob Ferguson & Jeffrey Hedquist with the Lovin' Spoonful taken on the 26 February 1966. So the people from the radio station were present at least for the concert on Saturday if not for the dance on Friday.
Additionally, in another photo taken by Bob Saltzman backstage at a concert by the Kingston Trio on the 23rd of April 1966 Bob Ferguson and Jeffrey Hedquist are again present and Bob Ferguson seems to have a reel to reel tape box in his hands. Of course no proof of any kind of any recordings ever having been made of any of these gigs but in my opinion it's certainly possible that something could have been recorded and / or broadcast at the time? The equipment and technical know how was there and Jeffrey Hedquist does say that he interviewed the Kingston Trio - but he makes no mention whether this was a recorded interview or just taking notes.
The Schaffer Library at Union College DOES have some WRUC recordings in their collection but nothing even remotely related to the 1966 "Winter Weekend" is listed on the website. There apparently is a large collection (44.16 Cubic Feet / 44 Boxes) of all kinds of WRUC related material in the archives but this is unavailable online. If anyone has a chance to visit the library in person all kinds of interesting information might be waiting:
"The WRUC collection contains records of the student radio organizations and radio stations at Union College. In addition to a large collection of audio recordings in various formats, files include station logs, scrapbooks, correspondence, and ephemera. Additional recordings are included that were recorded or produced by Union but broadcasted by other radio stations."
Jeffrey Hedquist in 2010:5
"My memories of concerts at Union are intertwined with my participation in them. Although a class committee usually sponsored them, many were promoted by WRUC and I remember creating the commercials with my cohort Dick Ferguson.
I even got to be the MC at several, introducing and meeting the stars. Some of the following dates and locations may be inaccurate because I’m relying on memory, and, after all it was the ‘60s and I was there.
[...]
1965 brought The Drifters, The Coasters, Jimmy Soul and the legendary Ronnettes. The guitarist in the backup band was an unknown player we knew as “Jimmy.” You’ll recognize him from the photo. [#1] I remember being backstage with Jimmy Soul as he tried to modify Hendrix’s playing behind the Ronnettes. “Jimi, not so loud!” Yeah right.
In 1966, my early musical heroes The Kingston Trio entertained at the field house and Dick and I got to interview them afterwards. The photo shows that next to us, even they looked cool. [#2]
[...]
The Lovin’ Spoonful warmed up the chapel in ’67, and in Professor Curtis’ music room WRUC’s Ferguson and Hedquist helped them deal with their stage nerves. [#5]"
THE "CHEETAH" JACKETS
About the cheetah jackets that the Lovers have on in the pictures taken at Union College - these are not the same pieces of clothing as in the well know other set of pictures with the band wearing cheetah shirts with Curtis Knight. The jackets the band wore at Union College have a different cut and a different cheetah pattern - when googling I found one jacket model that was an almost exact match, this was described as a "1960's Cheetah Corduroy Blazer". So that may or may not be what the band are wearing here.
In any case the Lovers / the Squires wore or owned at least two different sets of cheetah pattern stage clothing...
And that's the introductory part, what follows next is a timeline of events.
FRIDAY 4 February 1966
The Union College student paper features an announcement of an upcoming dance and concert, Concordiensis 4 February 1966:
"All Rock Slate Set For Winter Blast In Three Weeks
Rock and roll will be the main attraction of Winter Weekend, with a dance in the gym scheduled for Friday night, February 25, and a concert in Memorial Chapter Saturday night, February 26.
Tickets for the Weekend will cost $7.50 a couple.
Jack Ely and the Kingsmen, whose recording of "Louie Louie" is one of the most requested in the area, will be the featured entertainment for the dance, which will be open to Weekend ticket holders only. Jimmy Soul and his band will also perform. The dance will begin at 8:30 P.M. and end at 12:30 A.M.
Saturday's concert will bring rock-and-roll into Memorial Chapel following the controversy that erupted on the campus this fall. The Ronnettes and the Drifters have been signed to appear according to Freshman Class President Paul Costello. Jimmy Soul's band will provide the accompaniment.
The concert will begin at 8:00 P.M. and following the concert the scene will shift to the fraternities where partying will go on well into the night.
Tickets may be bought in the dorms from freshmen who will be assigned to each floor or section. One freshman pledge from each fraternity will be designated as sales representative for that fraternity. Tickets will also be available at the Student Activities Office."
FRIDAY 11 February 1966
The Union College student paper again mentions the upcoming dance & concert reporting that the Lovin' Spoonful has been added to the concert line-up. Concordiensis 11 February 1966:
"Lovin' Spoonful Fills Out Winter Weekend Concert
The Lovin' Spoonful, a rock and roll group, has been added to the Winter Weekend Concert scheduled for Memorial Chapel Saturday night, February 26. They join the Drifters and the Ronnettes.
[...]
Weekend tickets are on sale for $7.50 from freshman representatives in all dorms and fraternities, and from the Student Activities Office.
The Lovin' Spoonful is currently running high on the record surveys with "You Didn't Have to be so Nice." Their previous recording, "Do You Believe in Magic?", was also a huge success and catapulted them to national fame.
The four members of the Lovin' Spoonful have varied backgrounds ranging from a guitar maker's apprentice to one who "lived in a laundromat for seven months," John Sebastion, the lead singer, plays guitar, harmonica and autoharp. He has written many of the songs that the group performs including "Do You Believe in Magic?" The group has been described as part of the "New Sound," a combination of city blues, folk music and rock and roll.
They all met in Greenwich Village where they held a rather auspicious start at the Night Owl cafe. There the owner told them, "I heard it all and dese guys don't make it." There they retreated to the basement of the Alber Hotel to practice for two months. They returned to the Night Owl and were immediately hired. Their fame spread and they are now turning out hit records.
The Drifters, who will also be performing at Winter Weekend, had a more normal background. Unlike the Lovin' Spoonful, whose instrumentals are extremely important, the Drifters allow the voices to dominate. The Drifters have been recording since 1953 and their music has survived many fads. The current members of the group are Johnny Moore, who was the lead singer for such hits as "Under the Boardwalk," and "Saturday Night at the Movies," Charles Thomas, Gene Pearson, and Johnny Terry.
The Drifters "unique sound" was first heard in "There Goes My Baby," one of their biggest hits. "Save The Last Dance For Me," "On Broadway," and "When My Little Girl Is Smiling" were other highlights in their career. They are a highly polished, professional group and, the veterans of many shows.
A further report will appear next week concerning The Ronnettes, Jack Ely and The Kingsmen, and Jimmy Soul."
FRIDAY 18 February 1966
Another "Winter Weekend" news item in Concordiensis, no new information about the dance and concert but there was a mention of an added activity clearly inspired by the "Batman" TV series that had started in January 1966, Concordiensis 18 February 1966:
"Fratman" Molds A Camp Weekend
A snow sculpture contest with the suggested theme of "Fratman" has been scheduled for Winter Ueekend on Saturday afternoon, February 26.
Any fraternity or interested group is eligible to participate but a registration fee of $5.00, paid to the Student Activities office by February 23, is required for entry."
Friday 25 February 1966
"Winter Weekend", Alumni Gym, Union College, Schenectady, New York
Complete line-up: Jack Ely And The Kingsmen, Jimmy Soul
The Lovers probably were not advertised as appearing on this date but also may have played their own "solo" numbers without Jimmy Soul. This probably led to some confusion as to who actually was "Jimmy Soul", the review of the following day's concert refers to Jimmy Soul appearing again thought this probably in reality actually refers to the Lovers / Jimi Hendrix.
Also, in a photograph from this Jimmy Soul -gig on Friday that surfaced in 2026, apparently taken by a Nat Stevens,6 Jimmy Soul is nowhere to be seen. Unless he's the person sitting on the bench behind the band? Though that person might also be the keyboard player of the Lovers, a keyboard is partially visible but it's not possible to see if someone is playing it or not. The person on the bench might also just be another band member having a break or sitting out this part, his face is not clear enough in the picture to see who he might be.
Others things of interest in the picture:
- the AC spark plugs. Perhaps just student humor / decoration for the dance but AC seems to also have acted as a sponsor and granted scholarships - I haven't been able to find out if they did this at Union College circa 1966 but it's one possibility.
- the man standing at the back with a black jacket and a tie, his head is not visible but his clothing does suggest that he might be one of the policemen mentioned in the student paper articles that follow.
- both Jimi and Lonnie Youngblood have microphones in front of them. Lonnie obviously needed one for his sax but both may have also sung lead or backing vocals?
- the gig took place right around the time that the two Lonnie Youngblood solo singles, "Go Go Shoes" and "Soul Food (That's a What I Like)" (see Lonnie Youngblood Solo Recordings) were recorded. Ace Hall is also credited as one of the composers for "Go Go Shoes / Go Go Place" - if that's him in the picture then this may be a photo of a large part of the band that recorded "Go Go Shoes / Go Go Place".
See the Alumni Gymnasium -page on the Union College website for more information on the location for the dance. Also, see the Union College Flicker-page for an album of some modern day shots of the Alumni Gym - one can not see much of the building in the "Jimmy Soul" -shot but the white brick wall does look very much the same in both.
Based on the one available photo the line-up of the Lovers on this evening might have been:
Band line-up for the Jimmy Soul -gig:
the Lovers:
Jimi Hendrix - vocals? & guitar
Lonnie Youngblood - vocals? & sax
unknown - drums
Ace Hall? - bass1
unknown? - keyboards?
Jimmy Soul - vocals
The setlist for Jimmy Soul is unknown but since this event was billed as a dance I think it's likely that the band played mostly cover songs with perhaps a couple of Jimmy Soul's own singles like "If You Wanna Be Happy" thrown in? But that's just my speculation...
Saturday 26 February 1966
"Winter Weekend", Memorial Chapel, Union College, Schenectady, New York
Complete line-up: The Ronettes, The Drifters, The Lovin' Spoonful
See the Union College Flicker-page for an album of nice shots of the Memorial Chapel -building.
Robert Rinkoff:5
"I recall a concert by the Lovin' Spoonful at Memorial Chapel sometime during 1965-67. This may have been the first rock concert given at the Chapel. I remember the audience was told to remain seated and quiet at all times during the show. Needless to say, this did not happen."
With the Ronettes we can see a bass player on stage, probably Ace Hall, with Jimi on guitar. However during the Drifters set Jimi's guitar is leaning against the amp and he's playing bass. And far right there's another player on stage but the picture is too fuzzy to make out if this is a bass player or a guitar player. Whichever one it is he's right handed and probably playing a light colored instrument - I believe that this is Billy Davis on guitar.8There are two sets of drums on stage, visible both in the Ronettes and the Drifters pictures and during both sets there's a drummer playing the drums at the back. So the logical conclusion would be that the drum set at the front belonged to the Lovin' Spoonful and this would indeed seem to be the same set that can be seen in the one available picture of the Lovin' Spoonful on stage from this date - in which the drum set at the back seems to have been removed.
These are to my knowledge the only pre-1967 photographs of Jimi playing bass? He did play bass on the Curtis Knight studio recordings but it's very interesting to see that he also played bass in concert.
Band line-ups for the Ronettes -gig:
the Lovers
Jimi Hendrix - guitar
Ace Hall? - bass1
Lonnie Youngblood - sax
unknown - drums
the Ronettes:
Ronnie Spector (aka Veronica Bennett) - vocals
Estelle Bennett - vocals
Nedra Talley - vocals
The setlist for the Ronettes is unknown but it must have included "Be My Baby".
Band line-ups for the Drifters -gig:
the Lovers:
Jimi Hendrix - bass
Lonnie Youngblood - sax
unknown - drums
the Drifters:8
Johnny Moore - vocals
Charles Thomas - vocals
Gene Pearson - vocals
Johnny Terry - vocals
Bill Davis - guitar
The set list for the Drifters is unknown but it must have included "Under The Boardwalk" - and when you listen to the track concentrating on the instrumentation behind the band it's easy to see why Jimi may have played bass on some or all songs instead of guitar.
There are several photographs available from the gigs on this date, these seem to come from three different sources:
1. Black & white photographs published in the Garnet 1966, the Union College yearbook:
- a black and white close-up of Ronnie Spector with Jimi partially visible in the background. The photo has been very closely cropped, the original probably had more of the band / stage visible.
- a black and white close-up of Nedra Talley and Ronnie Spector with Lonnie Youngblood (?) partially visible in the background. The photo has been very closely cropped, the original probably had more of the band / stage visible.
- a black and white close-up of Jimi playing the guitar with his arm under his leg. The photo has been very closely cropped, the original probably had more of the band / stage visible. Since Jimi is on guitar (and the Memorial Chapel is visible in the background) this was probably taken during the Ronettes set?
- a black and white close-up of Johnny Moore of the Drifters with Jimi (on bass) partially visible in the background. The photo has been very closely cropped, the original probably had more of the band / stage visible.
- a black and white close-up of Charles Thomas of the Drifters with Jimi (on bass) clearly visible in the background. The photo has been very closely cropped, the original probably had more of the band / stage visible.
- a black and white photo of the Drifters on stage with the neck of Jimi's bass visible and his guitar can be seen leaning against the "The Lovers" -amp. Also visible is a sax (probably Lonnie Youngblood), the neck of a bass or a guitar (probably Bill Davis on guitar) and the right shoulder of the unknown drummer.
- a black and white close-up of John Sebastian on stage
- a black and white photo of the Lovin' Spoonful on stage
Different quality versions of the photos have popped up here and there - does anyone have access to a copy of The Garnet 1966 and a possibility to make 300dpi scans of the complete pages / spreads that deal with these dates? If you can help please let me know:
2. Color photographs taken by Bob Saltzman:
- a full color picture of the Ronettes on stage with Jimi in full view on the left of the picture but the rest of the Lovers partially or completely obscured.
- a full color picture of the Lovin' Spoonful in the music room of Edgar Curtis, Professor of Music at Union College.9
3. Black & white photographs published in Concordiensis, the Union College student paper:
- a black and white close-up of Ronnie Spector. The photo has been very closely cropped, the original probably had more of the band / stage visible.10
- picture of a student taken during the "Winter Weekend"
- picture of a student taken during the "Winter Weekend"
Some of the photographs listed above were published in issue #73 of Univibes.
FRIDAY 4 MARCH 1966
An article in Concordiensis mainly concentrates on whether the "Winter Weekend" concert at the Memorial Chapel (with The Ronettes, The Drifters & The Lovin' Spoonful) damaged the building. But we do also get to see the winning entry for the "Fratman" snow sculpture competition! (follow the link to see it), Concordiensis 4 March 1966:
"Pollock Scores Winter Weekend Chapel Damage
O. Edward Pollock, Dean of Students, and Paul Costello, president of the Class of 1969, have disagreed about the extent of damage done to Memorial Chapel during Winter Weekend, February 25-26.
Dean Pollock stated that the upstairs pew's of the chapel were "badly scarred." He said there was other damage that had been cleaned up by the time he examined the building Monday morning.
"Somebody was surely on the pews with heavy feet," the Dean said. "However, it is utterly impossible to determine the guilt. No one was reported to me."
Damage Anticipated
Last October, when preparations for Fall Weekend were under way, members of the Campus Religious Activities Committee made public their reservations about permitting rock-and-roll performances in the chapel. They pointed to a concert several years ago during which extensive damage was done to the building.
Asked whether the reports about Winter Weekend confirmed the committee's reservations, Dean Pollock replied, "No comment."
Costello Disagrees
Paul Costello, freshman class president, disagreed with the dean on the extent of the damage. "As for the damage in the chapel," he said. "I didn't see any." "We had fourteen policemen, which is adequate protection," Costello continued. "There were no incidents reported to me. However, the chapel will get some wear and tear with 1400 people in it who are having a good time." He did admit, though, that there were scuff marks on some of the back pews.
D.U. Snow's Best
Delta Upsilon Fraternity won the interfraternity snow sculpture contest during Winter Weekend with its gorilla holding a sign which read ANIMAL SHELTER, and pointed to the house. The dean is said to have suggested the idea.
Several fraternities paid the five-dollar entry fee and built a sculpture. The judges were Mr. Bruce Clements, Instructor in English, Mrs. Clements, his wife, Mr. John Sinton, Instructor in History, and Mrs. Sinton.
Phi Delta Theta ran a close second with its fratmobile coming out of a fraternity cave. Other entries included Sigma Phi's bar with two drunk's, Alpha Delta Phi's Uncle Sam, Sigma Chi's Mr. and Mrs. Snowman, and Delta Chi's nebbish."
FRIDAY 11 MARCH 1966
The final piece that that Concordiensis wrote about the Winter Weekend starts with a photo of Ronnie Spector on the front page with a caption "Bands, Booze, Broads and Girls. Blow by Blow Description of the Grand Debacle on Page 3.", Concordiensis 11 March 1966:
"Farewell The Days Of Wine And Roses
By Eric Cohen
Union College finally got its long awaited Rock n' Roll concert. How was it? Let's see. WEEKS BEFORE: Continual snow. The constant topic of conversation about the campus was the greatness of the Kingsmen and of how swing the concert would be. Girls could hardly believe their ears.
Snow-Jobs and Hogs
FRIDAY: Another real snowjob, and this time with. the heavens cooperating. What a way to wake up-snow, snow and more snow. Oh, yes, and blocked highways, frustrated dates, and fervent thanks for ambitious and fearless drivers.
The snow did help the snow contest, though. Gorillas, Hogs and fortresses predominated: a good way of expressing the feelings of the campus. Almost like a self portrait.
Meals were much as usual, West College was crowded. The Lord knows why; the usual food was served. The fraternities were deserted for a change. They too served normally. In true Union fashion, and concerned with their public figure, many men proceeded to replace starchy meals with several new liquid diets; gin, vodka, etc. ad. nauseam. Literally.
Sex Explaned
The dance proved to be a bit of sonic nightmare, and perhaps some stereo haven. The Kings men were less than Kings (ouch), and Jimmy Soul and his boys were in orbit. As if anyone noticed. The floorshow that came with the musicians was more engrossing for those present than the musicians themselves. It isn't often that a student body loses its inhibitions; and less often that one can see a lifelike pictoral explanation of the sex art non-ashamedly presented in public. But that's what happened. Exhuberance for Union really took hold that night.
Three B's
At the fraternities, there were bands, booze and girls (no alliteration here). With all the swinging under their belts, the fraters proceeded to loosten up and really cut loose. Everyone was in high spirits. Perhaps, except for the Independents. With their fraternity hoaxex not yet built, they had no where to go.
As the hours passed, the party crowds thinned out, and activities were switched to the motels. There were near riots at Holiday Inn, where a curfew was enforced for dates. Travelodge and Imperial Four Hundred proved less excited, and troubled; they knew, as the Inn did not, that after such a strenuous evening, everyone would want a good night's sleep.
SATURDAY:
The morning sun saw bleary eyes, hollow stomachs, and hollow heads. There was no more snow; at least not on the grounds. There was much refuse; and on the grounds—along with coffee dominated breakfasts, at late hours. For the second time West was jammed, as were the fraternities. After the previous evening, ravenous appetites were common.
In the afternoon, organized activity broke down. Some rested, some played, some cleaned up for the evening. Pledges wearily threw out the garbage, waxed the floors, and occasionally threw out the brothers, The brothers shined shoes, shoveled snow, and often slept away the afternoon. All this in anticipation of big doings at night.
Dinner consisted of often gala meals, with few able to taste them. Cocktail parties earlier that afternoon had taken their to l: more gin, vodka, Scotch,— literally.
The Concert was amazing; nothing less. Indeed, the chapel will never be the same. The Lord's austere hand lifted for a moment to let in the loud voice of temporality: the Ronnettes. Jimmy Soul, the Drifters, the not too loved Lovin Spoonful. Despite the warning that the audience must remain in their seats and be calm, as this was the FIRST Rock concert in the Chapel, the audience really joined in the enthusiasm of the performers. Jimmy Soul was again in orbit; the Drifters were too, but in a slightly outdated craft. The Ronnettes turned everyone in a slightly outdated craft. The Ronnettes turned everyone on. Even the police were set to moving. Unfortunately, the Lovin Spoonful proved a disappointment. They sang too loud, played even louder, and were generally incomprehensible. Besides, as one listener pointed out, they looked like queers. Too bad.
At the Fraternities there was more sonic bliss, on a lesser level. More booze, bands and girls, too. Union just couldn't get enough.
Back to the Motel
The Motels, part Two: The curfew at the Holiday Inn was still in force. This caused much cursing and much doubt as to whether Union would even stay there again. No one would quite say why, however. Travelodge and Imperial Four Hundred remained their sleepy selves; the revelers found no one to welcome them back, nor any police to watch over them. But none seemed necessary. No one had any energy to keep going; the evening ended early.
SUNDAY:
"God Rested!"
The day of rest. To a setting of blue sky, cool air, and slushy, strewn paths, Union returned to its old ways. The girls left, the liquor was stored, the bands received their checks, and the damage done to fraternities and motels payed for and repaired. General quiet descended on the campus for the first time in three days descended with a sigh. Too soon books had to be opened, sleep had, quiet enforced.
It was quite a weekend. Short of a few scratched chapel pews, a few painful heads, and a few deafened ears, the outcome of the '69 experiment was favorable. True a few hardheads muttered about monotony, boredom, lack of originality. Still most everyone had a good time. So why worry?"
ACCOMMODATIONS
It seems that at least some of the artists stayed in Schenectady overnight as Concordiensis states that the "the bands received their checks" on Sunday but there is no information on where the various bands might have stayed, in one of the motels mentioned in the article or on the Union College campus grounds? The Lovers very likely did stay overnight, at least from Friday to Saturday, as the distance between Schenectady and New York City is roughly 170 miles / 270 kilometers.
Just in case I looked up the hotels and motels mentioned in the article:
Holiday Inn
The Holiday Inn seems to have been demolished. If I found the correct address for it then it was located at the corner of Nott Terrace and Franklin Street2 where there now is no trace of it left. If it indeed once was at this location then the distance to Union College was less than 0.5 mile / circa 500 meters - see Google Maps
TraveLodge
Now called Executive Inn and nowadays with the address 759 State Street3, Schenectady, located roughly 1 mile / 1.5 kilometers from Union College - see Google Maps
Imperial 400 Motel
Still called "Imperial Motel" and still the same building located at the same address 927 State Street4 , Schenectady, located roughly 1 mile / 1.5 kilometers from Union College - see Google Maps
All three motels were at a few hundred meters distance from one another and all were located very close to Union College so it's pretty impossible to even try to guess where the Lovers might have stayed overnight if they didn't return to New York City between gigs...
With thanks to Doug Bell, Frederick F. Fagal and Peter Strömback.
SOURCES
1 the available pictures of the bass player from Union College are partial and of poor quality but he looks like Ace Hall, plays the same type of bass as in the Squires -pictures, is taller than the other players and has long thin fingers like Ace Hall. But again, the pictures of the bass player are partial and fuzzy so this is just guesswork.
2 the Holiday Inn address comes from a vintage postcard, produced in 1966 by Curt Teich Co. The cards with numbers 6DK1 – 6DK1957 were produced in 1966. The Newberry has a dating guide for the postcards available online.
3 the building hasn't moved but the street numbering seems to have been redone. The address given in an undated vintage brochure is "765 State Street, Route #5, Schenectady" but now in 2026 the address for the building is 759 State Street, Schenectady. It IS still however clearly the same building - comparing the image in Google Maps to a vintage 1964 postcard of the TraveLodge an extra half floor or a new roof has been added to the main building but other than that apart from the renovations and repairs that are to be expected the former TraveLodge largely looks exactly the same. The postcard was produced in 1964 by Curt Teich Co. The cards with numbers 4DK1 – 4DK1936 were produced in 1964. The Newberry has a dating guide for the postcards available online.
4 The Times Record 7 November 1966 mentions the Schenectady Imperial "400" in an ad and gives the address as "927 State". A vintage postcard mailed in 1973 confirms the address and shows the building which is still there in 2026 and still looks the same with minor changes.
5 "Alumni recall favorite concerts" posted on Oct 13, 2010 https://muse.union.edu/newsarchives/2010/10/13/alumni-recall-favorite-concerts/
6 the photo has been posted on several websites / pages / social media, it's credited to Nat Stevens but I have been unable to find the original source for the photo (file) and/or confirm the identity of the person who took it
7 Union College Concerts Fall 1964 ─ Spring 1968 by Frederick F. Fagal, Jr. Union College Class of 1968
8 an article in the Concordienses published before the concert stated: "The current members of the group are Johnny Moore, who was the lead singer for such hits as "Under the Boardwalk," and "Saturday Night at the Movies," Charles Thomas, Gene Pearson, and Johnny Terry." Johnny Moore and Charlie Thomas are visible in the pictures published in the Garnet 1966 and in the picture that shows the full band the second singer from the left looks like Gene Pearson but I'm not sure of this - the picture is too fuzzy. The liner notes of the CD the definitive DRIFTERS (Atlantic 5050466940827) released in 2003 include a list of the various people that were members of the Drifters. All of the names given in Concordiensis are listed for 1966 but the list also includes William Brent, Dan Danbridge, Billy Davis (guitar) and Rick Sheppard, all for 1966 as well.
The entry for "The Later Drifters" on the website Marv Goldberg's R & B Notebooks https://www.uncamarvy.com/DriftersLate/drifterslate.html says the following:
"After about three years with the group, bass Johnny Terry began missing jobs due to illness. In mid-1966 he was let go and replaced by Dan Dandridge, who only stayed a couple of months before getting married and leaving. Johnny Moore then went to Cleveland to recruit Bill Brent, who had been the bass in Moore's 1954 group, the Hornets and had later sung with the Metrotones.
Around the same time that Johnny Terry left, Gene Pearson quit, being very unhappy with management. He felt that their appearances were beneath a group still turning out hit records. Johnny Moore agreed, saying "We played the Chitlin' Circuit and we weren't a Chitlin' Circuit group; we were a nightclub act." Pearson was replaced, for a couple of months, by baritone Eddie Bowen, who then left to pursue a solo career. He, in turn, was replaced by Rick Sheppard, in time for their next session. Sheppard had been a soloist on Capitol and Shout records when George Treadwell selected him for the Drifters."
So in conclusion, there isn't really any reason to doubt the line-up as given in Concordiensis but without photos with the faces of all the members of the group fully visible the line-up can't be considered 100% confirmed.
Bill Davis played guitar for the Drifters from circa 1959/1960 to 1967. There is a right handed bass or guitar player on stage at Union College but only his hand and the neck of the guitar can be seen in the pictures. The guitar strap matches the type that Bill Davis can be seen using in other pictures, a very thin one tied around(?) the neck of the guitar just below the headstock. So even though a visual ID of the guitar player at Union College is not possible I think it's likely that this was Bill Davis. There's no indication that he wouldn't have played at the Union College and if the Drifters had their own guitar player with them it would have been an obvious reason for Jimi to play bass instead of guitar which he seems to have done.
9 Professor Curtis' full name and title is mentioned in Concordiensis 11 February 1966
10 the online scan is a bit fuzzy so the face of the Ronette isn't 100% clear, one can mainly just see her eyeliner, but the ring with the dark large stone in the Ronette's right hand can be used as further ID - in the color picture with all of the Ronettes in view it can be seen in Ronnie Spector's right hand.