World Series of Rock
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The World Series of Rock was originally a recurring day-long multi-act concert performed in Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, on Lake Erie, from 1974 through 1979. Belkin Productions staged these summer outdoor events, attracting prestigious mainstream hard rock bands and massive crowds to the open horseshoe-shaped stadium which could fit over 86,000 fans.
The album-oriented rock bands performing in Cleveland included The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Beach Boys, Chicago, Rush, REO Speedwagon, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Fleetwood Mac, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, The Band, Santana, The Faces, Uriah Heep, Aerosmith, Blue Öyster Cult, Mahogany Rush, Yes, Ted Nugent, Journey, ELO, Foreigner, Kansas, Peter Tosh, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, Tower of Power and Scorpions. Attendance was by general admission.
The World Series of Rock was known not only for its “arena rock” spectacle, but was also notorious for the rowdiness, rampant drug abuse and drunkenness of the crowd. At least one concertgoer fell--or jumped--over the railing of the steep stadium upper deck onto the concrete lower deck far below, with tragic results. The Cleveland Free Clinic maintained tents on site staffed with volunteers.
The stadium was the home field of the Cleveland Indians American League baseball club, which played out of town at the time of the concerts. Stadium officials allowed fans to congregate near the stage on the playing field, which required fixing the turf before the Indians returned home.
The promoter moved the series to Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois for the concert performed on July 10,1976. This show featured Aerosmith, Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group, Rick Derringer and Stu Daye. The upper grandstand caught fire, with flames reaching 50 feet tall, filling the stadium with smoke. Yes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Peter Frampton and Gary Wright performed in a follow-up concert, originally scheduled for July 31, 1976 in Comiskey Park, at the Hawthorne Park racetrack in Cicero, Illinois, on August 14, 1976.
The series was recreated in County Stadium, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the early 1980s. Since then, "World Series of Rock" has become a generic term for multi-act concerts. Both the original Cleveland Stadium and Comiskey Park were demolished in the 1990s, and replaced with successor sports stadiums located at or near the sites of the originals.
[edit] References
- Wolff, Carlo, Cleveland Rock & Roll Memories: True and Tall Tales of the Glory Days, Told By Musicians, DJs, Promoters & Fans Who Made the Scene in the '60s, '70s, and '80s, Gray & Company, Publishers (2006), ISBN-13: 978-1-886228-99-3.
- Hanson, Debbie, "Jules Belkin - Making Cleveland Rock" (2004). [1]
- Oppenhuis, Glenn, Bowie's Baseball Site (2003). [2]
- Eriksson, Christoffer (editor), Rock This Way-The Swedish Aerosmith Fan Site. [3]
- Sparling, Scott (editor), The Seger File-An unofficial web site about the music of Bob Seger. [4]
- Whipple, Pete (editor), Forgotten Yesterdays-A Comprehensive Guide to Yes Shows (1996). [5]
