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.
Some of the important locations in New York City between 1964-1966 mapped to Google Earth.
Any additions or possible corrections are welcome, I'll keep updating this.
Version 2 (3 June 2012)
View the Google gadget below or download a kmz-file for the Google Earth stand-alone application Jimi Hendrix in New York City 1964-1967 - version 2.kmz
Currently includes the following locations: 1650 Broadway, Alvin Hotel, Apollo Theatre, Cafe Au Go Go, Cafe Wha?, Cheetah, George's Club 20, Ondine, Paramount Theatre, Shea Stadium, Sue Records, Village Purple Onion
Many of the musicians & producers that Jimi worked with in New York City during 1964-1966 were in one way or another connected with the address 1650 Broadway (also 200 W. 51 St.). Jimi never mentioned the building in any interviews but he must have gotten a lot of work via people who worked there as 1650 Broadway housed several record labels, agencies and recording studios.
A brochure advertising the building describes it as "a prestige address in the entertainment world", a home for "major & outstanding music publishers" - the brochure is available here as part of the collection of Columbia University Libraries. It's undated but obviously old, possibly from the 1960s.
Below is a list of companies located at the address that have a known connection with Jimi. Much more information could still be added, this is a sort of "first draft". Any corrections or additions are thus welcome:
Booking Agencies
Queen Booking Corporation
Some or all of Little Richard`s 1964 / 1965 gigs were very likely booked by the Queen Booking Corporation run by Ruth Bowen and located at 1650 Broadway The evidence for this is a Little Richard promotional photo with the company`s address on it. That alone isn`t much proof but the photo used comes from a session pictures from which were used in all of the 1965 gig ads - which dates the promo photo right in the 1964 / 1965 period (instead of the incorrect "circa 1957" -credit Getty Images gives for it here).
Queen Booking Corporation
1650 Broadway, Suite 1410
New York, New York 10019
Phone: 265-3350
RECORDING STUDIOS
Studio "76"
Room #706, 1650 Broadway, New York City 5
Ed Chalpin's studio (where Curtis Knight & the Squires recorded between 1965-1967) and the offices of PPX Enterprises, Inc.. 1650 Broadway was an office building and was divided into various rooms / suites / units, Chalpin seems to have derived the name of the studio from the number of the room that he was occupying, #706.
In 1970 the name Studio "76" was changed to "Dimensional Sound. Inc." and the studio was moved to a new address at 245 West 55th Street.
Another Studio "76" (opened in 1965, operated at least until 1972 4) was located in Los Angeles - this may have been a sister company to Chalpin's Studio "76"?
Allegro Sound Studios
Curtis Knight (& the Squires) recorded at the studio for RSVP in 1966.
RECORD LABELS
RSVP
Curtis Knight (& the Squires) was contracted to RSVP and the company released three Curtis Knight singles (two of which feature Hendrix).
Bang
Bang was owned by Bert Russell aka Bert Berns who amongst other classic songs wrote or co-wrote "Twist & Shout" (recorded by the Isley Brothers, covered by the Beatles and Curtis Knight & the Squires) and "Hang On Sloopy" (recorded by the McCoys and covered by Curtis Knight and the Squires).
"I Can't Explain It" (the flipside of the McCoys 45 "Hang On Sloopy") was written by the songwriting team Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer. Jerry Goldstein later produced merchandise for the Jimi Hendrix Experience via a company called the Visual Thing. In 1969 Goldstein and Steve Gold made the infamous Jimi Hendrix Experience Royal Albert Hall 1969 concert film which remains unreleased to this day due to apparently eternally unsolvable legal problems. Jerry Goldstein was also a member of the "group" the Strangeloves who had a hit with "I Want Candy" (written by Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, Richard Gottehrer and Bert Berns) released by Bang in 1965. Though it has never been discussed in any publication that I'm aware of it's quite possible that Hendrix knew Goldstein "from the old days". Note that it`s easy to mix Jerry Goldstein up with Michael Goldstein who also worked with Hendrix, as a publicist.
Billy LaMont also recorded for Bang.
Ford Records
The record label that issued "Careless Love / Hawaiian Wedding Song" by Charles Fuqua's The Ink Spots in the US in August(?) 1962, the company was located was located in Suite 410 at 1650 Broadway. Curtis Knight was a member of the band circa 1960-1962, whether he also appears on the single is not confirmed (see the Curtis Knight Intro).
Wand
The Isley Brothers (who Jimi played with) recorded for Wand in 1962-1963, Chuck Jackson (who Jimi toured with) recorded for Wand in 1961-1967, Maxine Brown (who Jimi toured with) recorded for Wand in 1963-1967, Nate Edmonds & Lonnie Youngblood respectively wrote and produced the flipside of the Chuck Jackson 45 "Every Man Needs A Down Home Girl / Need You There (To See Me Through)" (Wand WND 1151).
Maxine Brown released "If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody / You're in Love" (Wand WND 1104) in November 1965 1. A Curtis Knight demo recording of "If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody" from roughly the same time period exists, this could be a co-incidence or the demo might have had something to do with Wand.
Sue Records, Inc.
Hendrix was at one point contracted to Sue Records. Sue Records had an office at 1650 Broadway (Suite 1405) up to May/June 1964 2 after which the label moved to 265 West 54th Street where Jimi signed an "Exclusive Recording Artist Contract" with Sue Records, Inc. & Henry "Juggy" Murray Jr. on the 27th of July 1965.
Kama Sutra Records
The company moved to 1650 Broadway in September 1965. Kama Sutra´s sister company Buddah distributed the Isley Brothers T-Neck label from 1969 onwards and released the Jimi produced Eire Apparent LP Sunrise in 1968.
Cameo Parkway Records
Cameo Parkway had a New York City office at 1650 Broadway in 1965-1966 3, this is very likely the connection which brought about the three Lonnie Youngblood 45s released on Fairmount (a Cameo-Parkway subsidiary label), two of which Hendrix played on.
SOURCES
1 the Maxine Brown single "If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody / You're in Love" (Wand WND 1104) was reviewed in Billboard issue 27 November 1965.
2 the address of Sue Records, Inc. is listed as 1650 Broadway in Billboard issue 2 May 1964 but has changed to 265 West 54th Street by Billboard issue 6 June 1964, hence the label office must have moved circa May / June 1964
3 a 1650 Broadway address for a Cameo / Parkway NYC office is listed in an ad in Billboard issues 8 May 1965 and 2 July 1966, probably other issues as well.
4 a listing of recording studios in the USA was published in Billboard issue 10 June 1972, the article list equipment, personnel, services, address and the year when the business started for each studio.
5 the address was listed in the Cash Box 6 July 1968 issue.
Jimi`s short run of gigs at the Cheetah club in New York City in May-June1966 turned out to be extremely important, it was at the Cheetah that Linda Keith first saw Jimi play which led to a meeting with Chas Chandler and a trip to England.
It is however a bit unclear exactly when and with whom Jimi played at the club. Curtis Knight appeared at Cheetah twice during the first half of 1966 and Jimi also played the club with Carl Holmes and the Commanders (also booked twice) and probably Little Charles and the Sidewinders.
Even for the bands with confirmed booking dates in the absence of pictures or audio recordings it`s impossible to be sure that Jimi actually played on every night of the engagement. I`ve tried to make sense of the sequence of events and the various band bookings but contradictions and missing pieces remain.
BIRTH OF CHEETAH
Cheetah was thought up by "Disco Daddy" Olivier Coquelin (Ondine was another Coquelin owned club that Jimi & Curtis Knight played at), a French immigrant-entrepreneur. It was located in the south-east corner of Broadway and 53rd Street, in a building formerly known as the Arcadia Ballroom and later as Bill Miller`s Riviera.14 Coquelin set up a company called Pop-Op Corp together with Borden Stevenson, an investor who financed the plan in return for a 49% share with Coquelin himself keeping 51%.
The opening of Cheetah was big news as the concept was considered novel and daring for the time: a large ballroom with live music and dancing. The Disco Daddy got the idea for Cheetah after visiting a movie theater turned into a nightclub in Rome. If Coquelin is to be believed Cheetah did incredibly well, paying back the money invested in it in just a few months. Coquelin and Stevenson did expand their business into Cheetah brand merchandising, clothing, records and opened new Cheetah clubs in Chicago and Los Angeles.
The New York club had a 1800 capacity main room with a 800 square feet (74 m2) dance floor. When the club opened the admission charge was $3 ($4 on weekends) and the customers were served 50 cent hot dogs as well as soft drinks, wine and beer (from 25 to 75 cents). Coquelin later decided that a liqueur license (which restricted the clientele to those above 18 years of age) wasn`t necessary "when it became apparent that the kids were just as happy with 25c Cokes". 26
The club was described as follows in the liner notes of the LP Where It`s At : 27
"Cheetah occupies three floors on the site of the old Riviera Ballroom at Broadway and 53rd Street in New York City. The ballroom floor, which is at street level, also features a modern art gallery and a fascinating boutique which carries the latest in Mod fashions, imported and domestic, for both men and women. Its hours, the hours of the club, are perhaps the most unusual of any clothing store anywhere - 9 PM to 4 AM. Also on this floor drinks and snacks may be obtained self-service style from buffet hot dog carts and the bars"
"On the lower floor, in addition to an expanding library of hip foreign and domestic magazines, are a lounge with a color television set and another with Scopitone (a jukebox with films that accompany the music), On the upper floor is a movie theater which features both old and experimental avant-garde films."
CHEETAH OPENS
Following a "preview" evening (probably only for invited guests and members of the press) on Wednesday 27 April (featuring the Denims) the Cheetah opened for the general public on Thursday 28 of April 1966 1. The entertainment for the opening night (and for the following two weeks) were Monti Rock III, the Chambers Brothers and Jon & Ray & Company. Around this time the bands for Cheetah were booked in 7 day periods, starting on Thursdays and ending on Wednesdays 1-2 weeks later. 8
Thu, Apr 28, 1966 – 700 · Daily News (New York, New York, United States of America) · Newspapers.com
Getty Images has photographs taken by Paul Slade at the Cheetah in May 1966, from the collection of the French magazine Paris Match. If any of the shots were used at the time there may be more lurking in old 1966 issues of Paris Match?
There are black and white pictures dated 10 May 1966 (not necessarily the actual correct date for these but they must be from the 28 April - 11 May 1966 -period):
Monti Rock III - Getty
crowd dancing - Getty
crowd dancing - Getty
crowd dancing - Getty
unknown band (possibly Jon & Ray & Company?) - Getty
And one colour shot dated 12 May 1966 (again, not necessarily the actual correct date for this):
crowd dancing & unknown band (possibly the Chambers Brothers?) 24 - Getty
DOCUMENTARY FILM
A documentary about the club, "The Cheetah: A Mod Mecca", was filmed and broadcast in 1966. The two bands that star in it, The Jewels and the Esquires, were booked to perform at the Cheetah between 28 July - 3? August 1966. Though it must be noted that a lot of the film probably was shot without an audience present - there are many close-ups which would have been hard to shoot with people dancing around the cameras. The film has voice over interview segments by someone with a French accent, though uncredited this is very likely to be Oliver Coquelin.
Shot roughly a month after Jimi`s Cheetah engagements the films offers a wonderful glimpse of the club and it`s clientele. "Cheetah: The Mod Mecca" (the name used in the program listing & ad differs from the credits in the film) was broadcast on WABC-TV Channel 7 on 20 August 1966 at 10.30 P.M. 21 Available on YouTube.
THE FIRST CURTIS KNIGHT -BOOKING
12 May - 18 May 1966
Curtis Knight was booked to appear at the Cheetah at least twice in 1966. Information about the duration of this first booking is a bit contradictory 2 but 12 May - 18 May 1966 would seem to be correct.
Interestingly Cash Box 21 May 1966 uses the same incorrect "Curtiss" spelling as the Village Voice ads: "New musical attractions at the frantic Cheetah are the Denims and Curtiss Knight". Probably whoever did PR for Cheetah supplied everybody with a misspelled artist name.
The Denims consisted of Ronnie Duff, Peter St. John, Mike Zaccor, Steve Curry, Artie Arnell and Doug Super 3. The lead singer of the Denims, Steve Curry, returned to the Cheetah in December 1967 as a member of the cast for the musical Hair.
AD IN "VILLAGE VOICE" 12 MAY 1966
Doug Super, lead guitarist with the Denims confirmed that Jimi played with Curtis Knight during this booking: 13
"We got the Cheetah gig through our manager, Joe Cavallaro. Our office and rehearsal space was above or next door to the Cheetah The opening night music went from 9-3, since there were only 2 groups playing, probably played 3 sets each Think initial gig was 2 weeks. Did not really get to know Curtis Knight, but did get to know Jimi who was very friendly. When Curtis Knight and the Squires played, Jimi was definitely the star of the show. He played with his tongue, behind his back and danced around the club. Jimi came into Ondine when we were playing one night, borrowed my guitar and jammed with us on Dylan's song, "Like a Rolling Stone." That evening, we were listening to recorded music in the club, the Yardbirds came on, and Jimi mentioned he was very interested in their music and how much he liked it."
The well known pictures of the Squires at Cheetah were in reality NOT taken at the club, for more information about the pictures see the "Curtis Knight (& the Squires)" -section.
THE FIRST CARL HOLMES AND THE COMMANDERS -BOOKING
19 May - 1 June 1966
The Soul Searchers, Carl Holmes and the Commanders
Richie Havens (and another eyewitness25) saw Jimi at the Cheetah with Carl Holmes and the Commanders. Richie himself was not playing at the club when he met Jimi, he has stated in interviews that his engagement at the Cheetah had already ended. Also, Richie Havens was NOT a member of The Seven Of Us. (booked for 25 August - 7 September 1966). This misunderstanding may have started when Havens said his jam band that played the Cheetah had 7 members.
Richie Havens:
"There was this dance club owned by these guys from France, and I played there with my jam band. One night when I wasn’t working there, I went to party there and saw this band Carl Holmes and the Commanders and I couldn’t stop watching their guitar player, who seemed to be playing with his teeth." 19
"This guy came from France and opened the biggest discotheque with live music that New York had ever seen. It was called The Cheetah. We actually opened the club. I had a jam band and I brought all my buddies for the audition and we actually got the job. At the time, I had made my first album already and my manager thought I was nuts. He thought I was just about to go crazy, having seven people playing on stage. What happened was that we worked there for two weeks, then I went back there to dance, because that's what it was all about. I was going to go back and party and have a good time ... The band that was playing was a rhythm and blues band in which Jimi Hendrix was the guitarist. When I talked to him, right after he got off stage - I saw him biting the guitar then and I didn't know what the heck he was doing ... - I ran backstage and said, 'Man, you are so great. Where the hell have you been all my life?' I said, 'How long you been playing with these guys?' He goes, 'Just today. I got the job through the union.' I was in the union for two years - I didn't even know the union gave guitar players jobs ... I said, 'You don't need any job from the union. You got to go down to the Village, man, there's lots of kids down there who want to play and you can have your own damn band!' Three weeks later, I'm in the Village and a friend of mine says, 'You got to hear this band around the corner, Jimmy James and the Blue Flame.'" 18
LINDA KEITH
Linda Keith has told the story of first meeting Jimi at the Cheetah many times but here`s probably one of the earliest recorded tellings of the story, from a film about Jimi Hendrix, circa 1972:
"I don`t know why we went to the Cheetah, it was a place I didn`t usually go to. But we went this night and it was a huge enormous place, like a ballroom, very few people there. And just a regular band playing, not very well, at least I didn`t take any interest, in the band at all. And then suddenly I, I saw the guitar player who was playing really quite discreetly, in the back row. And, and from that moment I just became completely involved.
[cut]
He was very naive and very, he was very shy, and nervous, he didn`t look at you when he spoke to you and he came back to the apartment and played a lot of Dylan who Jimi idolized, he thought Dylan was the greatest."
Jimi confirmed what Linda says in a filmed interview from 20 June 1969 by switching over from talking about Dylan to talking about Linda without being in any way prompted to do so - in his mind these two people seem to have been connected:
Interviewer: [Did] Bob Dylan have a great deal of influence on you at all?
Jimi: Yeah, immensely, more so though, than any other way
Interview: In what way, did he, did he sort of turn your mind on, get you sort of thinking or what?
Jimi: Yeah him and this girl named Linda Keith turned my mind on [laughs]
Linda`s 1972 description of how Jimi played at the Cheetah, "I saw the guitar player who was playing really quite discreetly, in the back row" is the complete opposite of what what Doug Super of the Denims recalled: "When Curtis Knight and the Squires played, Jimi was definitely the star of the show. He played with his tongue, behind his back and danced around the club". Doug`s recollection is backed up by the photos and recordings that we have of Jimi with Curtis Knight: he was introduced by Curtis, he`s standing up front, he shared lead vocals, he played with his teeth.
Linda Keith (who at the time was dating Keith Richards) was staying in New York City because of a Rolling Stones US tour when she met Jimi. The Stones tour started 24 June 1966 and ended 28 July 1966. Linda says he first saw Jimi play at the Cheetah and that Jimi was playing with Curtis Knight.
She also states that the night they met she played Jimi her copy of Dylan`s Blonde On Blonde. 6 This would not have been possible if she went to the May 1966 Curtis Knight gigs as Blonde On Blonde was released on (or close to) 20 June 1966 1 Seems very unlikely that even an advance copy would have been available for listening a month before the album release date.
If she remembers the events correctly and her and Jimi indeed listened to Blonde On Blonde (instead of another Dylan album) this may have taken place later at a later date than the evening that they first met.
Also, it`s possible that she actually saw Jimi first play with the Commanders (19 May - 1 June 1966) instead of Curtis Knight as her description of the gig does not fit Jimi`s role in the Squires. This would also match the tour dates of the Stones a bit better than Linda and Jimi meeting before 19 May 1966 which would have been circa 6 weeks before the start of the Stones tour. But this remains complete speculation on my part.
Little Charles and the Sidewinders
unknown dates
The book Becoming Jimi Hendrix listed Jimi as appearing with Little Charles and the Sidewinders at Cheetah for a booking between Friday 3 June 1966 - Thursday 9 June 1966, based on information received from one of the Chambers Brothers. 15 Lead singer Charles "Wigg" Walker confirmed this via his webmaster, Wigg stated that Jimi did play some gigs at the Cheetah but wasn`t in the group for long. 22
The suggested dates don`t match the Thursday to Wednesday booking system used by Cheetah. These dates also overlap the 2 June - 15 June 1966 Cheetah booking by The Gremmies and The Last Men. I haven`t yet found the correct Cheetah dates for Little Charles and the Sidewinders, the only 1966 dates for which I could find a contemporary print reference for were in October 1966, after Jimi had flown to Europe 16.
THE SECOND CURTIS KNIGHT -BOOKING
4? August - 10? August 1966
Cash Box 30 July 1966 issue reported: "Cheetah will be rocking for the next two weeks to the wild sounds of Mike St. Shaw and the Prophets, which had a tremendous success during it`s recent months at the Downtown, plus Curtis Knight and the Squires."
Unfortunately exact dates aren`t mentioned anywhere so 4? August - 10? August 1966 is a best guess. Though Cash Box states this was a 2 week engagement only a 1 week period seems to fit between the preceding and following bookings. Also, there possible / probably was a Curtis Knight booking at The Famous Door in Springfield, Massachusetts for Thursday? 4? August 1966 - Sunday? 7? August 1966. However, it's not 100% that this indeed was the same Curtis Knight and again the exact dates are also unconfirmed. See the Curtis Knight Live Dates - more information is needed to sort these two bookings out.
Jimi is unlikely to have played during these Cheetah dates as he had a gig at the Cafe Wha? with the Blue Flame. Linda Keith took Chas Chandler of the Animals to see Jimi at the Cafe Wha? on or around 3 August, see the Timeline.
Curtis Knight wrote this about the second Cheetah booking in his book Jimi: 32
"When we finished there [Ondine], we had about three days off before we were scheduled to go back to play at the Cheetah. Suddenly, Jimi disappeared. He had checked out of his hotel; none of his many girl-friends had seen him. It was as if he had vanished into thin air. The next time that I hear of Jimi was a few months later when I read in one of the trade papers about the new, wild sensual guitar phenomenon of Europe, the leader of the ´The Jimi Hendrix Experience´.
Though Curtis' recollections are often inaccurate this one fits the known facts quite well. The band did have dates at Ondine in July 1966 and it does seem unlikely that Jimi would have been there for this second Cheetah booking. Jimi may, however, have played with the Squires again in August at the Lighthouse (see the Curtis Knight Live Dates -page) so Ondine may not have been the last gig that Jimi played with the band.
A syndicated AP news item published in several newspapers from 7 August 1966 onwards used a photograph of Olivier Coquelin posing in front of the Cheetah marquee. The available newspaper scans are unfortunately of such poor quality that the band names on the marquee can`t be read but they CAN be read in a copy of the original picture included in a posting on the College No. 9 -blog (last picture on the page).
THE SECOND CARL HOLMES AND THE COMMANDERS -BOOKING
8 September - 14? or 21? September 1966
Jimi was playing with John Hammond & the Blue Flame during these dates, see the Timeline -section
ALL CHEETAH Bookings BETWEEN April - September 1966
I`ve made an attempt to compile a list of all the bands that played at Cheetah in the April - September 1966 period. There are still gaps to fill but everything that IS here should be more or less confirmed. If anyone has any additions or corrections to this listing please email me at
27 April 1966
Monti Rock III, The Denims, The Velvet Underground 1
28 April - 11 May 1966
Monti Rock III, the Chambers Brothers, Jon & Ray & Company 11
Daily News, New York City reported on Wednesday 27 April 1966: "Tickets for the Beatles` Aug. 23 appearance at Shea Stadium will be on sale Saturday, from 10 A.M. on, at the box office of the Cheetah, new Broadway night club." The next day, 28 April, the magazine published the news again: "Promoter Sid Bernstein is setting up four box offices in front of the Cheetah club, 53d St. and Broadway, on Saturday to sell tickets for the Beatles` Aug. 23 appearance at Shea Stadium"
A very clever bit of publicity for Cheetah, hundreds, maybe thousands of teenagers were made aware of the location of the club. Sid Bernstein in turn distributed flyers at the Shea Stadium concert advertizing a concert by the Bruthers at the club the same evening, and Brian Epstein apparently popped in for a press conference 7 June 1966.
12 May - 18 May 1966
The Denims, Curtis Knight 2
19 May - 1 June 1966
The Soul Searchers, Carl Holmes and the Commanders 2
During this booking auditions are held at the Cheetah for dancers for the film "You`re A Big Boy Now" on 24 May from 10 A.M. to 1 P.M. Daily News in New York reported: "Francis Coppola, writer-director of the film which begins shooting here next week, will select the girls" 17.
Getty images has a shot from the Cheetah audition on their website (with an incorrect date): GETTY
The bands probably did not play during the audition. Had the bands performed then the people present might have witnessed Jimi Hendrix playing guitar as a backdrop for Francis Ford Coppola looking at go-go dancing girls... unfortunately it`s more likely that there was no live music as this was a daytime event that took place before the club opened.
Mon, May 23, 1966 – 150 · Daily News (New York, New York, United States of America) · Newspapers.com
2 June - 15 June 1966
The Gremmies, The Last Men 2, 5
The club appears to have been closed to the public on 7 June 1966 because of a private party 4 A picture of the marquee is available GETTY as well as a street view GETTY.
Also on this day there seems to have been a Brian Epstein press conference, announcing his new group signing, The Cyrkle. Probably the reason why the other pictures from this date exist GETTY.
Mimi Hines and Phil Ford give "a midnight party" for invited guests sometime in the first half of June 1966 31
16 June - 29 June 1966
unknown
30 June - 13 July 1966
The Yo Yo`s, the Soul Brothers 23
14 July - 27 July 1966
unknown
28 July - 3? August 1966
The Jewels, Esquires 12
4? August - 10? August 1966
Curtis Knight and the Squires, Mike St. Shaw and the Prophets 20
11 August - 24 August 1966
The Bruthers 9
25 August - 7 September 1966
The Seven Of Us, Tyre Glenn 7
8 September - 14? or 21? September 1966
Carl Holmes and the Commanders 10
14? or 21? September - 28? September 1966
unknown
29? September - 5? October 1966
unknown
Bands missing from this list include at least Richie Haven`s (unnamed) jam band, the Loved Ones30, the Little Flowers, Little Charles and the Sidewinders and the Thunder Frog Ensemble, all of which apparently played at Cheetah in the April - September 1966 period but for which I haven`t found any more exact dates.
THE LIVE LP
Billboard reported in it`s 17 September 1966 issue that a live LP recorded at the Cheetah was about to come out:
"First in the series, recorded at the New York club, is entitled "Where It`s At" and features the Esquires, Michael Shaw and the Prophets, and the Little Flowers. All these groups were booked by the Cheetah as regular attractions."
THE "WHERE IT`S AT" -LIVE LP RECORDED AT CHEETAH
Live recordings from the 60s are often suspicious as recording the music in a studio with audience noise added later was a common practice. These recordings however do sound like genuine live recordings with a big hall ambience, though that of course still doesn`t guarantee that they were actually recorded at the Cheetah. Assuming that the recordings are genuine the Esquires and Mike St. Shaw and the Prophets must have been recorded during the August 1966 appearances. And this would mean that there MAY have been recordings made of the Curtis Knight set, or at least there was recording equipment present. Even though Jimi most likely did not play in the band at the time it would be very interesting to hear such tapes, if they exist.
Little Flowers was mentioned in Billboard but the band that finally made the LP was Thunder Frog Ensemble instead. I currently have no information whatsoever about any Cheetah appearances by these two groups.
The LP was released in October 1966 28 packaged in a "heavy-gauge translucent inflatable outer cover which may be used as a throw pillow." 29, the LP liner notes even include instructions on how to inflate the pillow!
Scans of the lp sleeve by kind permission of Twentyfiveoclock
FRONT and BACK
Side A
The Esquires - Paint It Black
The Esquires - Get Off My Cloud
The Esquires - Goin' Out Of My Head
The Esquires - Up Tight
Side B
Mike St. Shaw & The Prophets - Good Lovin'
Mike St. Shaw & The Prophets - Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
The Thunder Frog Ensemble - Baby, Please Don't Put Me On
The Thunder Frog Ensemble - Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
SOURCES
1 Earlier opening dates were announced but later postponed, Daily News in New York included a news item about the postponement of the opening of the club till 28 April in their 9 April 1966 -issue. The Billboard magazine issue for 16 April 1966 featured a news item by Mike Gross on the front page with the headline "'Rocksteria' Grips New York as Clubs Sprout Up With Teen Acts". The article listed several new clubs to open in the city: "Opening this week are Ondine, which begins a new policy of top group bookings...Due to open April 28 is the Cheetah, a teen-oriented nightclub..." The 30 April 1966 -issue of Cash Box reported that "The Denims, who are opening at Ondines, will double opening night (27) at Cheetah". An article about the Denims in the 13 September 1966 -issue of Toledo Blade confirms that the Denims played at the opening night of the Cheetah. The New York Times ran a story about the private 27 April Cheetah party in it`s 28 April 1966 -issue noting that "It will open to the public at 9 o`clock tonight".
A syndicated news item in Philadelphia Daily News 29 April 1966 reported on the opening of Cheetah: "If it draws the paying customers as it lured the specially-invited (Hermoine Gingold, Eleanor Holm, Huntington Hartford, Kevin McCarthy, Orson Bean) then every city in America will grandiosely refurbish an ex-dance hall into a steal of the Cheetah." and "I`ve overlooked Andy Warhol`s Velvet Underground" - guys with bullwhips which they couldn`t swing as there wasn`t room - and long-maned singer Monti Rock 3d who wore three outfits: silver, gold brocade, and diamond.". So clearly in addition to the Denims Monti Rock III was already there for the 27th, unknown if the Velvet Underground performed on any other night in addition to the 27th.
2 Billboard magazine reported in it`s 21 May 1966 -issue: "The Denims and Curtis Knight will be appearing at Cheetah until May 18. The Soul Searchers and the Commanders follow until June 1." Cash Box 21 May 1966 issue: "New musical attractions at the frantic Cheetah are the Denims and Curtiss Knight". Cash Box 28 May 1966: "Carl Holmes and the Commanders, who have played at President Johnson`s Inaugral Ball, are into the frenzied pace at Cheetah, where they`ll remain for the next two weeks. From the nightspot they will launch a tour of Europe." Cash Box 11 June 1966: "Carl Holmes and the Commanders, who have been breaking up the Cheetah for the last couple of weeks, are off to Monte Carlo for the anniversary festival and then onto the Olympia, Paris, for two weeks".
The news items in Billboard & Cash Box are in perfect harmony with each other. Both magazines were published a week in advance of the cover date, taking that into account all of the reporting matches these dates:
12 May - 18 May 1966
The Denims, Curtis Knight
19 May - 1 June 1966
The Soul Searchers, Carl Holmes and the Commanders
These dates are however contradicted by the Village Voice. Ads for the Curtis Knight gigs were published twice in the Village Voice, on Thursday 12 May 1966 and on Thursday 19 May 1966, indicating a 2 week booking instead of the 1 week booking reported in Billboard and Cash Box. User "stplsd" posted the 19 May 1966 ad on crosstowntorrents.org. "stplsd" didn`t post images of the two ads that followed, so I haven`t seen them myself, but said this about them: "2nd and last ad for knight in VV. Next ad is for Carl Holmes and the Commanders (no support act. For one week only), following this the next two and final cheetah ads in VV are for a two group show I cannot find anything about: The Greemies, and The Last Men".
So, if we believe the Village Voice the dates would have been:
12 May - 25 May 1966
The Denims, Curtis Knight
26 May - 1 June 1966
The Soul Searchers, Carl Holmes and the Commanders
The problem here is the second Curtis Knight ad published in Village Voice, Thursday 19 May 1966. The first Village Voice Curtis Knight ad states that "action starts nightly at 9" while the second one says "9:30," so it`s not a case of the same ad accidentally run twice, the second ad was a new one. Still, I must conclude that the 19 May Village Voice ad must have the wrong bands listed. Cash Box wrote in the 28 May 1966 -issue that "Carl Holmes and the Commanders [...] are into the frenzied pace at Cheetah". As the magazine was published on around 22 May this report would have been complete fiction if the booking was only going to start on 26 May. Which would be very surprising for a industry magazine published in New York and reporting on a well known band playing in one of the most hip new nightclubs in town.
3 The Denims line-up listed in the 13 September 1966 -issue of Toledo Blade.
4 The club may have been closed on 7 June 1966. There seems to be a notice about this visible outside the club in the Getty image by Fred W. McDarrah but it`s hard to read, it MAY say this: "CHEETAH will be closed to the public Thursday Evening June 7". The Cheetah marquee in the picture advertises the Gremmies and the Last Men though signs on the door refer to a "Red Mademoiselle" and "party guests". Hence the club may have been closed for a private party on 7 June 1966.
5 Cash Box 25 June 1966: "Mercury`s Gremmies who just finished at the Cheetah are off on a national tour with the Chiffons."
6 Searchingforagem.com lists the release date as 20 June 1966 but includes some speculation:
"The bobdylan.com release date has now been revised to 20 Jun 1966. Stuart Moore's white label promo copy with the date of 15 Jul 1966 on the label supports this. Thanks to Yan Friis for the information that the album first charted in the USA on 23 Jul 1966. However, Pete Tesoro of Burbank, CA, is certain that the album was indeed on sale in California in late May 1966 (these may have been advance copies)." The first contemporary mention that I`ve been able to find is a full page ad in Billboard issue 25 June 1966 that advertizes both "Bob Dylan`s new smash single, 'I Want You'" and the "Blonde on Blonde" -lp. So a June 1966 release date seems to be correct. Linda Keith`s comments about playing "Blond On Blonde" to Jimi after seeing him play with Curtis Knight at the Cheetah can be found (among other places) in Charles R Cross` book "Room Full Of Mirrors". The author interviewed Linda Keith himself in 2004.
7 dates given in a news item published in Billboard 3 September 1966 "The Seven of Us and Tyre Glenn began a three-week engagement at the Cheetah Thursday (25). The two rock groups will continue through Sept. 7". Though the news item talks about 3 weeks the start and end dates given are for a 2 week booking... The bands were also announced in the New York Times 25 August 1966 -issue under "Cabaret Tonight".
8 all of the confirmed (by a news item or an ad) start days fall on Thursdays and end dates on Wednesdays, all listings for the Cheetah in New York Times were published in Thursday issues ie on the start dates of new bookings.
9 start date announced in the New York Times 11 August 1966 -issue under "Cabaret Tonight". The booking was also advertized in a flyer produced by promoter Sid Bernstein for the Beatles` Shea Stadium concert on 23 August 1966 so the Bruthers were still playing the Cheetah on that date.
10 start date announced in the New York Times 8 September 1966 -issue under "Cabaret Tonight".
11 start date announced in the New York Times 28 April 1966 -issue under "Cabaret Tonight". Cash Box 2 April 1966 -issue (the opening date was later postponed): "Monti Rock III will be the premier attraction when R&R nitery the Cheetah opens in New York on April 16." Billboard 23 April 1966 -issue: "Monte Rock III, who will head the entertainment at the new Cheetah Club on Broadway, signed for a number of guest shots on Merv Griffin`s TV show" and Cash Box 7 May 1966 -issue: "Monty Rock III and the Chambers Brothers are currently blasting their sounds onto the 8,000 sq. ft. dance floor. The Denims and Curtis Knight are next in line for the big, big club." New York`s Daily News 28 April 1966 -issue features a Cheetah ad with the legend "wild opening tonight" listing the three bands.
12 start date announced in the New York Times 28 July 1966 -issue under "Cabaret Tonight".
13 email from Doug Super 6 May 2016
14 When Cheetah opened in April 1966 most news items included a mention of it being located in the building of former Riviera and/or Arcadia clubs/ballrooms. Billboard 16 April 1966: "The Cheetah, on the site of the old Riviera nightclub on Broadway". An ad in the 23 December 1956 -issue of Daily News in New York City confirms the name "Arcadia Ballroom" and the address "Broadway at 53rd Street". Pictures of the Arcadia Ballroom match the pictures of Cheetah, they are one and the same building. After the Arcadia Ballroom the building was turned into Bill Miller`s Riviera and later to just Riviera, for example the 29 October 1960 -issue of Daily News in New York City confirms the names and the address.
15 "Becoming Jimi Hendrix" by Steven Roby & Brad Schreiber (page 247) & Facebook message from Steven Roby 2 December 2018
16 the 29 October 1966 -issue of the New York Times lists the band for Cheetah under "Cabaret Tonight" with Mike St. Shaw and the Prophets "Held over" ie continuing their residence from previous week.
17 Daily News in New York City, 24 May 1966 -issue
18 Interview with Richie Havens by Philip H. Farber published on dailyfreeman.com 31 March 2001
19 Interview with Richie Havens published on phillymag.com 9 January 2008
20 Cash Box 30 July 1966 -issue reported: "Cheetah will be rocking for the next two weeks to the wild sounds of Mike St. Shaw and the Prophets, which had a tremendous success during it`s recent months at the Downtown, plus Curtis Knight and the Squires." The line-up is confirmed by a photo from a syndicated AP news item with Olivier Coquelin posing in front of the Cheetah marquee. Unfortunately the exact dates aren`t listed anywhere so 4? August - 10 August 1966 is a best guess. Even though Cash Box states this was a 2 week engagement only a 1 week period fits between the preceding and following bookings.
21 the New York Times 20 August 1966 -issue states that "Cheetah: The Mod Mecca" was broadcast on WABC-TV Channel 7 on 20 August 1966 at 10.30, confirmed by a half page ad in New York`s Daily News 19 August 1966 -issue.
22 email from Charles Treadway 15 January 2019, webmaster for charleswiggwalker.com
23 reported in the Cash Box 9 July 1966 -issue: "The Yo Yo`s, who have just signed with Decca have been booked into Cheetah for the next two weeks. They`ll share the bill with the Soul Brothers"
24 the Getty preview picture is too low resolution to properly see the faces of the musicians on stage but the guitarist in the picture seems to be playing the same distinctive model of guitar as visible on this 1966 single cover: 45cat.com
25 Jim Eigo mentions seeing Jimi with the Commanders at Cheetah: "My 49th and Bway journey continued across the street on the South East Corner. That was the site of the first psychedelic night club in NYC The Cheetah Club. This is the first time I saw Jimi Hendrix in 1966 playing with Carl Holmes and the Commanders." jimweigo.com and "Way back in 1966 I saw Jimi Hendrix before we even knew who Jimi Hendrix was. I saw him with Carl Holmes and Commanders at the Cheetah Club, 49th and Broadway in NYC. I didn’t make the connection until I saw him at the Fillmore East with The Experience and Sly and the Family Stone did I realize that was the same cat." www.goldminemag.com
26 "Cheetah: It`s Mad, It`s Mod, It`s Money", article from unknown publication circa 1967 and the New York Times 28 April 1966.
27 "Where It`s At" (Audiofidelity AFLP 2168) USA October 1966
28 the lp was announced in the Billboard 17 September 1966 -issue: "Audio Fidelity`s Cheetah line, which will make its debut early next month" and the Billboard 5 November 1966 -issue had a news item about a "Cheetah Day" promotion for the lp at Stern outlets on 29 October 1966.
29 Billboard 5 November 1966
30 A gig ad for the Loved Ones (misspelled as "THE LOVE ONES") published in the Glens Falls Times on 30 September 1966 states that the band came "DIRECT FROM Trudy Heller`s and Cheetah in N.Y.C.". So if this bit of advertizing is correct the band played at the Cheetah in the April-September 1966 -period.
31 syndicated news item, earliest publication that I could find was the Courier-Post, Camden, New Jersey 15 June 1966 under the "Earl Wilson: It Happened Last Night" -column
32 Jimi An intimate biography of Jimi Hendrix by Curtis Knight (and Nick Dobson) 1974, page 39 (the edition that I'm quoting was published by Star Books in 1975)
Jimi spent a few weeks or months in Atlanta in 1964, as far as we know staying at the same address 318 Fort Street, Apartment 3, N.E. (Northeast) Atlanta for the whole duration.
We know what his address in the city was as Jimi send a postcard to his father giving it to him.
Postcard to Al Hendrix send while on tour with the Bonnevilles, stamped Thursday 8 October 1964 in Cincinnati, Ohio:
" Dear Dad. Here we are in Florida, we're going to play in Tampa tomorrow - then Miami, we're playing all through the south. We'll end up in Dallas Texas. My home address is Atlanta. I hope everyone's ok tell Grama in Canada hi for me. Tell Leon to be kool and go to school. I must run now - take it easy - My address is 318 Fort St. APT. 3 Atlanta Ga. Jimmy"
See the Lee Moses Intro -page for more information on Jimi's stay in Atlanta.
THE LOCATION
I could not find a contemporary map that would have noted the exact house numbers of the buildings, the are plenty of old maps of Atlanta but these do not include individual houses or house numbers. Instead I had to compare the old maps to a slightly newer aerial picture in order to work out the approximate area where 318 Fort Street was located. 1 I believe I got it right but if anyone can prove me wrong or can pinpoint the exact house in the aerial photo please do email me at
The address 318 Fort Street does not exist anymore and a part of Fort Street has been wiped out entirely to make room for a motorway intersection. The former location of 318 Fort Street is now a part of Central Park Northeast and based on comparing the 1949 aerial photo to the 2021 one on Google Maps all of the houses that were there in 1949 (and very likely those that were there in 1964) have been demolished, only the lay-out of the streets remains approximately the same. 2
APPROX. LOCATION OF 318 FORT STREET IN 1949
APPROX. LOCATION OF FORMER 318 FORT STREET IN 2021
SOURCES
1 Trying to find the location on the map was quite tricky. I could not find any maps close to the 1964 date which would show the exact location of 318 so I had to deduct it via several steps:
A 1926 house numbering map of Atlanta explains the system used to number the houses, this allowed me to find the 300-400 range of house numbers on Fort Street: https://vault.georgiaarchives.org/digital/collection/hmf/id/60/
A 1930 Atlanta house numbering map https://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/digital/collection/afpl/id/40 uses the same numbering grid (but omitted the explanation for it) so I used that for determining the approximate location of 318 Fort Street. The 300-range of numbers starts just before Fort Street ends and Bedford Road starts.
The streets are still the same on a 1961 map: https://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/digital/collection/afpl/id/24/rec/1
The Georgia State University website has a 1949 aerial photo of Atlanta overlaid on a modern day street map at https://geo.library.gsu.edu/overlay/atlaerial/asa000la/ (the lever on the left fades the aerial picture in & out).
Comparing the 1930 map to the aerial photo from 1949 overlaid by GSU enabled me to find the approximate former location of 318 Fort Street in current day Atlanta.
So there were many steps to take, and as usual the longer the chain of deductions the more chance there is of making a mistake. If you spot one please get in touch.
2 The address 318 Fort Street still existed in 1971 as a funeral notice for "Mrs. Ophelia Harris, of 318 Fort St. N.E., Atlanta" was published in the 10 June 1971 issue of the Atlanta Constitution.