Michael Day's 1972 Demo Recordings For Columbia Records

Billy Rose II, Michael Day, Kip Cohen, Paul Leka

In late March of 1972, 19-year-old singer-songwriter Michael Day of Bloomington, Illinois headed east to record an audition tape for Columbia Records.  Day had been playing keyboards and singing in bands in Illinois since junior high.  Even though he had written a number of songs by this point in his young career, Day had yet to release anything.  A demo tape for one of the biggest record companies in the world would mark his debut as a solo artist.

His introduction to the prestigious label was likely arranged by local talent agent, Irving Azoff.  Now one of the most powerful men in the music business, Azoff was just starting to make a name for himself beyond the Champaign-Urbana music scene in 1972.  One of Azoff's earliest discoveries, Dan Fogelberg, had recently signed with Columbia.  REO Speedwagon, another of Azoff's, had their first album released on Epic, a subsidiary of Columbia, the year before.   Day was hoping to be the next.

Joined by a group of mostly central Illinois musicians, Day spent six days at the Connecticut Recording Studios with producers Billy Rose II and Paul Leka (the same studio and producers REO Speedwagon had used for their first album).  There they recorded five of Michael's originals to present to Kip Cohen, head of A&R for Columbia Records:

• Dr. Freedmont's Bone Elixir
• Back On My Own
• Lead Me Love
• Whiskey Woman (later renamed "Let This Good Man Be")
• I Can Feel It

With Day on keyboards and vocals, the rest of the musicians included Norman Zeller on guitar, Doug Mazique on bass, Bobby Carlin on drums and Gale Pelletier on flute & sax.  The Freedom Soul Singers (from Connecticut) provided backing voices.

It is worth noting, Day and the other musicians had never played together as a group before these sessions.  This was not a band that had fine-tuned these songs over many months of playing together on the road.  Instead, most of the musicians were likely hearing and learning the songs for the first time.

Pelletier, a horn player who was attending Illinois State University at the time, had met Day in Bloomington and had only jammed with him a few times at Day's parent's house before being invited to join him on the trip to Connecticut.  All these years later, Pelletier still had Michael Day's handwritten lead sheet for "Lead Me Love" from the 1972 recording session.

After the sessions were over, Pelletier remembers going with Day to the Columbia Records headquarters in New York and playing the tape directly for Cohen in his office.

You can now listen to the five songs that Kip Cohen heard that day.

Cohen was apparently impressed enought that Day would soon return to Connecticut to begin recording an album for the label.  Day, along with several of the musicians, would eventually move to Bridgeport, CT during the process.   There they shared a house at 394 Saunders Avenue.

It would be almost a year later before it was finally announced that Day had signed an exclusive recording contract with Columbia Records.  Announcements in Billboard, Cash Box and Record World all suggested that the album would be ready by May of 1973.  Other up-and-coming singer-songwriters scheduled to make their debuts for the label that same year included Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel.

For a time, things looked promising for Day.  An album of ten original songs was completed.  Cover art was prepared which included photos by the legendary photographer Raeanne Rubenstein.   Columbia Records assigned it a catalog # (32555).  Test pressings were produced.  A possible working title for the album (according to one tape box) was First But Not Last which would prove to be deeply ironic.   

Unfortunately for Day, Columbia Records was in turmoil by May of 1973.  Clive Davis, then president of the label, was eventually fired amid a scandal involving payola, drugs and other misappropriation of company funds.  Before the end of the summer, Kip Cohen, the man that brought Day to the label, also left Columbia Records.  The album's future was suddenly in limbo.  With no one at the label looking out for his interests, the 20-year-old Day was "orphaned" within the company during the shakeup.  

For a time, Day stayed on the East Coast.  In November of 1973, Billboard listed some live dates for Michael Day in New Jersey. He was still listed as a Columbia Records artist.  By 1974 however, Day had returned to Illinois without an album.  His debut and solo career derailed by executive turnover and bad timing.

The 1973 album remains unreleased to this day.   For more on the story including photos and audio from Day's life and career see our earlier post.

Red Foley's Dude Ranch (Mackinaw Dells)

In the summer of 1942, country music performer Red Foley and his wife Eva Overstake (aka Judy Martin) operated a "dude ranch" at Mackinaw Dells near Congerville, Illinois.

For one brief season, from the end of May until Labor Day weekend, the couple hosted a series of weekly concerts while also offering pony rides, roller skating and concessions.

Foley, who grew up near Berea, Kentucky, was a rising star in country music at the time and a featured performer on the WLS National Barn Dance which was broadcast on Saturday nights.  He hosted his own show, along with his "Saddle Pals," during the week on the Chicago station.

Overstake had been a regular on WLS, along with her sisters, since she was a teenager.   Eva, Evelyn and Virginia Lucille (aka Jenny Lee Carson) were originally known as the Three Little Maids.  The Overstake sisters had grown up in Decatur, Illinois.

Ramblin' Red Foley's bio in the 1943 WLS Family Album referenced the new business venture this way:  Last year he and his wife, the former Eva Overstake, bought a farm in Illinois, which they plan to make into a "dude ranch."

In truth, Foley had only leased the pre-existing facilities at the Mackinaw Dells.  Situated halfway between Peoria and Bloomington, the area was a well-established recreation spot.   The park, which included a pavilion and a roller rink, had been hosting dances, picnics and celebrations for decades.    

In fact, in the 1930's the WLS Barn Dance booked a number of shows at the Dells including a "monster celebration" on the 4th of July, 1934.    It is possible that Foley had even performed there during those years and was already familiar with the area when he decided to put his name on the place.

How involved Foley was with the day to day operations of the park is however unclear.  Foley and Overstake, who lived in the Chicago area with four children at the time, did not appear to relocate to the Mackinaw Dells even for the summer.

Instead, as reported in the Woodford County Journal, Foley was renting a room at a residence in nearby Eureka on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights for the season.

On the radio that summer, Foley was on hiatus from the Saturday night Barn Dance show on WLS but kept his Tuesday morning slot with the Saddle Pals which suggests he was returning to Chicago early every week. 

The stage shows at the Dude Ranch ran for 14 weeks, always on Sunday, rain or shine.  Admission was 30 cents including tax.  (Free for children under 10 and men in uniform).

Foley, often listed as "Foreman," was naturally always on the bill along with Eva.  Here is a list of additional musical performers and novelty acts:

May 31	Hoosier Hot Shots, Jolly Joe Kelley, Texas Tommy and his Wonder Horse Baby Doll, Tex Atchison’s Lone Star Ramblers
June 7	Pat Butram, Prairie Ramblers, Bolores & Her Bulldog, Bob & Jean in Skating Thrills, Ruth Baxter
June 14	Dezurik SIsters, Rusty Gill, Al Verdi & Co., Bento Bros, Rita and Farm Dance Band
June 21	Mac & Bob, Maple City Four, Eric Filmore & Co (Acrobats on a Perch), Ted & Flo Vollet (Balancing and Juggling), Mary Joe & The Lumberjacks
June 28	Arkansas Woodchopper, Patsy Montana and Her Partners, Ted & Flo Vollet, Mary Joe & The Lumberjacks
July 4 & 5	Cousin Emmy & Her Kinfolks, Farmer Bill, Polly and Her Bunkhouse Boys, Alma Deane, Grace Wilson
July 12	WLS Rangers, Pepper Hawthorne, Hubert Dyer, Billy Woods
July 19	WJJD Supper Frolic: “Red” Belsher, Paul Grove, Don White, Millie and Marge, Frontiersmen
August 2	Poppy Cheshire, Skeets & Frankie (of Radio Station KMOX St. Louis), Beehler’s Hollywood Animals
August 9	Lulu Belle & Scotty, Texas Tommy and his Wonder Horse Baby Doll, Lumber Jacks (from WJBC)
August 16	Chuck Acree, Bill O’Connor (Irish Tenor), Screw Ball Club (from WDZ), Lumber Jacks (WJBC), The Noonans
August 23	Cumberland Ridge Runners, Karl & Harty, Doc Hopkins, The Blue Eyed Boy, Coco & Teddy, Baker’s Trained Mule
August 30	Whitey Ford (The Duke of Paducah)
Sep 6 & 7	Prairie Ramblers (WLS), Parker Bros., Carl Thorson, WDZ Screwball Club

On Saturday June 27th, Red Foley and Patsy Montana were guest performers on the WLS National Barn Dance which was broadcast from McCormick Gymnasium at Illinois State Normal University in Normal, in cooperation with the McLean County USO Committee and the McLean County War Board.  The price of admission was 50 pounds of rubber or 100 pounds of scrap metal.  

Patsy Montana detailed the show and her time at the Dude Ranch in her autobiography, The Cowboy's Sweetheart:

"Illinois can be terribly hot in the summer, and that day was no exception.  They held the show in a gymnasium and with a big crowd it was stifling.  I was to go on last, and I waited in the heat.  It was like old times having Salty, Jack and the rest of the Ramblers there.  

It just got too hot in the gym so they decided to move everything outside.  I finished the show with "I'd Love To Be A Cowboy" and "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart."  

After the show we loaded up and drove back to our hotel in Bloomington.  The next morning we gathered for breakfast and went over the previous night's show, then we loaded up and headed out to Red Foley's Dude Ranch.

We arrived, unloaded and set up for that evening's show and we drove to a nearby town and had supper.  That evening's show was good, and it was hard to leave Red and Eva Foley.  You would think, being on the road so much and running into all of our friends, we could manage more time to visit.  It seldom happens that way.  You arrive in time to set up for a show, do the show and just as quickly head to another town to repeat the process."

__ 

The Red Foley "Dude Ranch, " a wartime experiment, didn't last.   Foley would soon move on to bigger and better opportunities.

The Mackinaw Dells pavilion and roller rink changed hands many times in the decades that followed and the spot was eventually converted into horse stables.   The final remnants of the Dells pavilion was razed in the 1990's after years of disuse.

Maximus, Woof, Jack & Jeris Ross (Bloomington-Normal)

Psychedelic rock group Maximus was formed in late 1968 by Bloomington, Illinois native Jack Ross.  Prior to Maximus, Ross had played in one of the last incarnations of the popular Bloomington-Normal band, The Shattertones.

According to this 1969 ad, Maximus consisted of "four guys and a girl."  Timothy P. Irvin, a founding member of The Shattertones, briefly played in Maximus.  Except for Ross and Irvin, the other members of the group have not been identified.

The short-lived group released two singles on two different labels in 1969 but broke up before the end of the year.

The first Maximus single was recorded at Golden Voice Recording Co. in South Pekin, Illinois and released on the Golden Voice label:  "A Better Mind" b/w "Somebody To Care."  Both songs were written by Jack Ross.  The address printed on the record was Ross' home address.

 

The second single was released on Galico Records out of Macon, Georgia.  It included a re-recording of "Somebody To Care," now titled "Need Somebody" (erronously credited to Jack Frost).  The a-side was a cover of Delbert McClinton's "If You Really Want Me To I'll Go," originally released by the Ron-Dels in 1965.

 

An April 12, 1969 article in the Daily Pantagaph mentions that the group was currently recording in Nashville.  It unclear if that recording session became the Galico single or remains unreleased material.

After Maximus, Ross formed another local band, Woof, in 1970.  The group, described as a six-piece combo, played regularly at the Alley Club in Bloomington.  Jeris Hughes, a young female singer living in Bloomington-Normal, soon joined the group.   Hughes, originally from East Alton, Illinois, was a student at Illinois State University at the time.

Woof released one 45 in 1971 on Lelan Rogers' label House Of The Fox.  The mostly instrumental "This Is All I'll Say" written by Ross & Hughes was backed with "Gotta Get Home To You" which is credited to just Ross.  Both songs were very likely recorded at Golden Voice Recording Co. given that studio owner Jerry Milam is credited as a producer.

 

By 1971, Jack and Jeris got married and left Illinois for Nashville.  Doug Hauseman, a member of Woof, also moved to Nashville at the same time.  

An article in the Alton Evening Telegraph from 1972 mentions that Woof were originally signed to Liberty United Artists by a California promoter.  Jeris explains, "They promised us the world but nothing came of it.  The contract was dissolved after three months and the band broke up.  The organ player and Jack and I went to Nashville."

While in Nashville, Jack Ross initially went to work for Lelan Rogers Enterprises.  Ross is given songwriting credit on at least one other single released on House of the Fox.   By 1972 he began to work more as a session bass player around Music City.  

The article in the Alton Evening Telegraph mentions that Jack, in addition to guitar, could play piano, organ, trombone and saxophone.  It also mentioned that he was a former student of guitarist Johnny Smith and had played at Carnegie Hall with the NORAD Band while in the Air Force.

While Jack settled in as a session player, Jeris was developing a solo career in country music as a singer.   

She started out recording jingles and radio commercials but with Jack's studio connections was able to land a contract with Cartwheel Records.    Her first single was a cover of Melanie's "Brand New Key."  It reached #39 on the country charts.

Over the he next few years, Jeris released several singles on several different labels including one song written by Jack  - "I Wonder How The Folks Are (Back In Kansas)."  In late 1972, Cartwheel Records was absorbed by ABC-Dunhill and Jeris would eventually sign with the parent label.  

In the May 31, 1975 issue of Cash Box, Jeris was named Country Artist of the Week.   That same year she released a self-titled full length album on ABC-Dot.   

One of the singles, "Pictures On Paper," was a top 15 country hit.  The album also featured a single with one of the the all-time great country titles, "I'd Rather Be Picked Up Here (Than Put Down At Home)."

In 1978, the couple were featured in a story in Bloomington's Daily Pantagraph.  It mentions that Jack had become one of the top session bass players in Nashville.  His resume, at that time, already included recordings with the Kendalls, Freddy Fender, Jeanie C. Riley, Don Gibson, Stella Parton as well as an album by Webb Pierce & Carol Channing.

In addition to his studio work and managing his wife' career, Jack owned his owned his own production companies, Crystal Blue Music and Crystal Blue Productions.

By the early 1980's however, Jeris' country career had fizzled out.  Jack and Jeris eventually divorced.  

Less than a decade later, Jeris (now Jeris Ford) revived her singing career as a member of an oldies group from Tulsa, OK called Bop Cats.

Jack spent the rest of his career as a studio musician in Nashville and was a lifetime member of the Nashville Association of Musicians #257.   He passed away on Nov. 2, 2013.

Bill Keen And The Tradewinds (Bloomington-Normal)

Bill Keen and The Tradewinds were a Bloomington-Normal quintet that included three Illinois State University students.  Members of the group were:

Bill Keen, 19, of Urbana, a music major at ISNU and vocalist for the group
Jerry King, 18, of 910 S. Summit, Bloomington, an ISNU student, guitar
Jim Griner, 19, of Cheneyville, another ISNU student, bongos
Don Abbott, 35, 523 N. Main, Bloomington, organist at the Hi-Do-Ho
Neal Kenny, 22, of Louisville, KY, the drummer

In the summer of 1961 the group released a single on Lesley Records out of Louisville, Kentucky.  An article in the Daily Pantagraph from August 6, 1961 mentions that their record was the first on the new label.

The a-side, "Summer in the Lowlands," was a ballad written by Keen (which was actually a stage name used by Lawrence William Ostema Jr.).

The flip side contained a rock n' roll number, "Don't Call Me," which was written by Al Jones of Bloomington (616 S. Clinton).  According to the Pantagraph, Jones, who was not a member of the group, "has been writing music for about eight years and said he got most of his inspiration for tunes while working in the noisy Eureka Williams plant where he's a machine operator."

Curiously, the article mentions that the Kentucky label, Lesley Records, would be opening a talent office at 614 S. Clinton in Bloomington (next door to Jones) in the near future.   

It is unclear whether or not that office ever opened but at least one other group from central Illinois, Mike Brewer and the Galaxies from Champaign-Urbana, recorded for the label.   Also, between 1961 and 1962, Lesley Records had a bowling team in the Bloomington area.

As for Keen and Tradewinds, their record was reviewed in the September 11, 1961 issue of Billboard magazine with the ballad, "Summer In The Lowlands," receiving three stars or "moderate sales potential."

The group however does not appear to have lasted very long.  Ostema dropped "Keen" and performed under his own name in the years that followed.

 

The Lykes Of Us (Bloomington-Normal)

If you were a student at Illinois State University in the late 1960's chances are you saw The Lykes of Us perform on or around campus at some point.

The popular group formed in the fall of 1966 with all five original members attending the same high school in Rockford before coming to ISU.

Originally called the Young Bloods, the combo soon changed their name to The Lykes of Us to avoid any confusion with The Youngbloods who had recently released a record.   (Little did they know that there was also a lesser-known group from Michigan called The Lykes of Us that would soon release a 45 as well.)

By the fall of 1967, the group consisted of brothers Dave (singer) and Dennis (organ) Belfield, Jim Boitnott (bass), Gary "Snuffy" Smith (guitar) and Wes Morgan (drums).   All were ISU undergrads except for Smith who commuted from the University of Illinois.  Later members of the group included Paul Hansen and singer Margo Meek.   In late '68 Meek was replaced by Leslie Aguillard because of chronic laryngitis.  

While the group played a number of dances, parties and concerts on the campus of ISU, they also toured around Illinois and across the Midwest.   In 1969, the group told the Vidette, ISU's student newspaper, that "their greatest on stage experience was is Oshkosh, Wis., but they recalled ISU, SIU, WIU and Bradley as having really great dances."  Drummer Wes Morgan added, "schools in Indiana and Kansas were also good."

The group was managed by the Champaign-Urbana talent agency Blytham Ltd and as a result were sometimes promoted as being from Champaign.  Other times, when playing gigs outside of Illinois, they were occasionally listed as being from Chicago.  

In an article in the Vidette in October of 1967 the group mentioned plans to make a record "perhaps in the next three or four months."   If they did make any recordings at that time they do not appear to have been released.  

The group announced their breakup at the end of the school year in May of 1969.   The main reasons given were hardships caused by frequent changes in personnel, the loss of equipment in a flood and the overall difficulties of the music business.

After the breakup however not all members left the music business entirely.  Dennis Belfield, the group's organ player, went on to a long successful music career as a bass player.  He was a member of Rufus with Chaka Kahn in the early 70's and then joined Three Dog Night in 1975.   In the years that followed Belfield became a top notch session player that performed with an impressive list of artists:  Neil Young, Roy Orbison, The Monkees, Ringo Starr... just to name a few.

Bobby Carter & Cardell Records (Bloomington)

Bobby Carter's two singles on Cardell Records are some of the finest examples of rockabilly to come out of downstate Illinois.  Released in 1960-1961 on an unknown label, both remain extremely rare and shrouded in mystery.

The first record however contained a few clues.  Printed on the label was "Bloomington, Illinois" as well as the names of some of the other musicians: H. Sherman, A. Miller and Johnny Lawrence.

Carter it turns out was a native of Danville, Illinois (not Bloomington). Born in 1935, William Robert Carter actually had a long career as a singer and musician, despite having one of his lungs removed as a child.  Carter claimed that singing helped strengthen his remaining lung.

In the 1950's, while still in Danville, Carter was a member of the rockabilly group The Varieteers.   Other members of the Varieteers at one time included: Arlie Miller, Jim Foley, George Foehrer and Curley Arnett.  

In a 2015 interview, Carter remembered playing in downtown Danville in the 50's for hundreds of people with some protesters carrying signs saying "Sinful Music."  Danville's WITY once billed Carter as "the Illiana Elvis Presley."  

In 1957, Carter moved to Phoenix, AZ for his health where he signed with Rev Records.  It is unclear whether he recorded for the label or not.  By 1960 Carter had returned to Illinois and settled in Bloomington.

It was during this time that Carter released his two singles:

• "Before We Part and Go" / "If You're Gonna Shake It"  (1960)

 
"Destiny, I Love You" / "Run, Run, Run" (1961)

Both were released on Cardell Records.  While the second 45 listed Carter's backing band simply as The Spotlites, the first provided us with the names H. Sherman, A. Miller and Johnny Lawrence.

Given the Danville connection, it is likely that A. Miller is Arlie Miller who recorded his own single in Danville around the same time and like Carter had been a member of the Varieteers.   Miller's single "Lou Ann" / "You're The Sweetest Girl" was released on the Lucky label.  Jim Foley, another member of The Varieteers, also released a single on Lucky in 1960.  

Arlie Miller would go on to open the Midnite Sound Studio in Danville and start Milky Way Records with Arlie Neaville (aka Dean Carter) a few years later.   As for H. Sherman and Johnny Lawrence, it is unknown if they were from Bloomington, Danville or somewhere else entirely.  

For the next decade or so, Bob Carter's musical activities are also uncertain.  In 1973 however, he moved to Nashville and recorded a demo that eventually landed him a deal with Oweman Records.  It is not clear whether he ever released anything for the label.  He did however have one single released on the Royal American label:  "As The Fire Grows" b/w "Soakin' Up Suds."

While living in Nashville, Carter worked at various recording studios, label and production companies.  He eventually moved back to the Danville area where he continued to perform with area bands.  According to the Commerical-News, "when he wasn’t playing music, Carter worked numerous jobs, including selling shoes and managing stores. A barber, he also had several barber shops in the area, and started the Tilton Teen Club."

In 2015, at age 80, Carter was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Music in the Heartland Society.   Carter passed away in 2017.

Rites of Spring at Illinois State University 1972-1977

Today (May 12, 2022) marks the 50th anniversary of the first Rites of Spring on the campus of Illinois State University.  From 1972 to 1977 the music festival became the most anticipated day on the campus calendar.

The event was originally intended as a way for students to relax and enjoy some live music on the Quad before final exams.  The free concert was meant strictly for the ISU community however that proved difficult to enforce.  In a matter of a few years, Rites became the "festival of the Midwest" much to the dismay of university administration and Town of Normal officials.

Open drug and alcohol use on campus during the event (Normal was dry until 1973) along with minor injuries, excessive garbage and damage to the Quad were just a few of the reoccurring problems associated with the festival.  Efforts to limit the attendance by non-students mostly failed.  By the last year of the festival, the crowd totaled somewhere between 18,000 - 25,000 with a large portion coming from outside the university community.

The music of Rites varied from year to year but often included well known national acts.  Below is a list of the performers with a brief synopsis of events for each year.

Rites of Spring I : Friday May 12, 1972

• The Guild
• Spencer Davis
• Soul Messengers
• Grenshaw
• Tayles
• Cajun Desire
• Grin
• Ebony Revue
• Probe

Attendance was between 2,000-3,000.  This would be the longest scheduled Rites festival with music set from noon until midnight with the last hour and half being open to any band "wishing to jam." The event was mostly without incident.  As one attendee told the student newspaper, "It's the greatest thing that has ever happened at ISU."

Rites of Spring II : Saturday May 19, 1973

• Head East
• The Guild
• Gerry Grossman
• ISU Statesmen
• Ricky Spitfire
• Ebony Rhythm Funk Campaign
• Siegel-Schwall

The day's events lasted from noon until 10:30 pm with an estimated 7,500-10,000 people gathering on the south end of the Quad.  The concert was marred by poor sound quality however which was blamed on high winds.  Another complaint was there were too many "bar bands" and not enough big-name acts this year.  There was one drug overdose and a few broken windows on campus but no arrests despite a blatant disregard for drug and alcohol bans.  One of the organizers told the Vidette, "People were a little bit too obvious about things.  For instance, people bringing out bongs and caseloads of beer." 

Rites of Spring III : Friday May 3, 1974

• If 
• Adrian Smith
• Frijid Pink
• Mighty Joe Young
• Country Joe McDonald
• Richie Havens

In an attempt to limit the crowd size, organizers did not officially release the date of the festival until the day of.  Still the crowd totaled around 10,000 people.  The concert was originally scheduled from 3 to 10:30 pm but due to delays with equipment it didn't end up starting until 4 pm and lasted until midnight.  As in the previous year, security on campus was managed by student volunteers.  The ISU police did not patrol the Quad but made it clear they were prepared to make arrests if necessary once attendees left campus.  Despite all the built up, the event was fairly peaceful.  The only exception being some minor vandalism and tire-slashing of vehicles in a nearby parking lot.

Rites of Spring IV : Monday May 5, 1975

• Poobah
• Joe Vitale's Madmen
• Mason Proffit
• Golden Earring

In the months prior to the festival, dozens of ISU students were arrested in drug raids conducted by the Multi-County Narcotics Enforcement Group (MEG).  Concerned that Rites was contributing to the local drug problem, university officials decided to move the concert to Hancock Stadium where the crowd could be better controlled, especially the use of alcohol and marijuana.  The official announcement of where and when it would take place was once again withheld to the last minute however the Vidette had provided unconfirmed details several days prior.  

The official Rites ran from 1 pm to about 6:30 pm with Golden Earring ending their set early due to "inefficiencies in their soundsystem."  The entire event was emceed by comedian Jimmy Whig with the crowd fluctuating between 1,000 - 4,000 people throughout the afternoon.  The director of the event was quoted in the Vidette as saying, "You could bring your mom, your kids and your dad to this one."

Meanwhile, back on the Quad, an alternative and unsanctioned Rites known as "People's Park" was also taking place.  A crowd first started to form at the south campus park by noon.   As the crowd grew it eventually moved to the amphitheatre at the south end of the Quad.  University officials however refused to provide the group with electricity so they rented generators and proceeded to hold a concert of their own.  According to the Post-Amerikan, "Music was provided by just about anyone who decided to walk onto the stage.  Most of the people who played together hadn't played together before.  They sounded great." 

School officials made several attempts to get the crowd to disperse, repeatedly informing them that they were in violation of university regulations.  The size of the gathering however meant that police action was not an option.  By 7:30, the crowd had grown to about 3,000 people.   As darkness fell, no electricity meant no lighting on the Quad.  The crowd's solution was a bonfire which resulted in Normal firefighters arriving on the scene, spraying the fire, the stage and onlookers indiscriminately.  A brief melee ensued, bottles were thrown.  The firemen and their police escort soon retreated.  According to the Post-Amerikan the music on the Quad lasted until about one in the morning.

Rites of Spring V : Friday April 30, 1976

• Heartsfield
• Games
• Thin Lizzy
• ISU Black Arts Jazz Band aka Creative Arts Ensemble
• The Notations
• Mary Travers

After the mistakes of the previous year, it was decided that the event would return to the Quad for 1976 however organizers conceived of a new plan to limit attendance from outside the ISU community.

 

For the first time, admission to the Quad was by button only with each student receiving up to four buttons in the days leading up the festival.    In previous years ROS buttons were produced mainly as a souvenir however this year they were your ticket in.  The festivities, which ran from 3:45- 11:30 pm, were deemed a great success by organizers with few problems reported.  At peak periods, the crowd reportedly swelled to about 10,000 people although some estimates were as high as 18,000. 

Rites of Spring VI : Saturday, April 30, 1977

• Bonnie Koloc
• The Undisputed Truth
• Charlie Daniels
• REO Speedwagon

Unlike previous years, the details of the festival were announced a few weeks in advance with the lineup announced five days before the event.  Buttons were once again given to students as their only way into the event.  It was reported that 33,000 buttons were distributed.  The theme for this year's event was "Safety and Ecology."

The event was scheduled to begin at 3 pm on Saturday however people started camping out as early as Friday evening.   The crowd would grow to be the biggest of all the Rites with estimates being between 18,000-25,000 people.  With the large crowd came problems.  Due to understaffed security, large groups of people without buttons were allowed on the Quad.  There were multiple arrests made off campus throughout the day with local police receiving more than 85 noise and behavior complaints.  

The biggest problem of all however was the estimated 200 cubic meters of garbage and broken glass left on the Quad.  The situation was made worse when heavy trucks used to move equipment crushed the glass and cans into the ground.  It took days for the garbage to be picked up with the Office of Enviormental Health and Safety declaring the Quad a health and safety hazard.

____

After the events of 1977 it was quickly decided by university officials that there could not be another Rites of Spring.  Newly-hired University President Lloyd Watkins officially cancelled the event on July 25th while most of the students were away for the summer.  Watkins, only ten days in the office, never attended a Rites and in fact knew nothing about it when he took the job.  He provided the following reasons for his decision:

1. Rites was not, and never could be, a controllable event.
2. The potential for serious injuries or fatalities is high.
3. The laws of Illinois and the regulations of ISU were repeatedly disregarded.
4. The cost of the event, direct and indirect, was very high.
5. Damage to university grounds and buildings has been severe.
6. The event offers no apparent contribution to the educational mission of the university.

Students of course strongly protested the decision when they returned to campus.  Particularly upset by the fact that students were not consulted, a new political party, Rites of Spring Party (ROSP), formed on campus that fall with a platform of shared governance.  The party ran a slate of 13 candidates in the Student Association elections that year but failed to win a single seat in the Assembly.

In 1978, as an alternative to Rites, the university came up with Springfest.  Rather than a day-long concert on the Quad, Springfest was a week of events that included carnival rides and free movies with local jazz and folk acts (including a young Suzy Bogguss) performing on the Quad in the afternoons.  All of the big-name concerts were moved indoors and spread across multiple evenings:  Stanley Turrentine in the Union Ballroom, the Bar-Kays in the Union Auditorium and the Grateful Dead at Horton Fieldhouse.

Lavender Snapshots (December 7, 1975)

10 LAVENDER SNAPSHOTS by Walter Bock

Artists' Corner, WGLT 89.1 FM

December 7, 1975  9:00 PM

TITLES	READERS
Lavender for My Wings	Robin Tammer
Magic	Terry Clark
Composure	Jerry McGuire
Cold Gusty Winds	John Cook
No Words on Her Lips	Robin Tammer
Smile, She Said	Jerry McGuire
Give the Rainbow to Me	Terry Clark
When the Sun Set	Robin Tammer
Anthony, Marc Anthony	Jerry McGuire
High Across the Southern Sky	John Cook

Writings by Walter Bock, assistant professor of art at Illinois State University, interpreted by four members of the ISU Theatre department with an interview by host Steve Larson after the reading.