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.

Backstreet - California Dreamin' [unreleased, 1970/71]

Backstreet (previously known as Backstreet Majority) had band members from Bloomington, Pontiac and Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.  Their cover of "California Dreamin" was recorded sometime between 1969-1972.   Members at the time were likely Michael Day, Harry Washburn, Bobby Carlin and Howard "Leon" Reeder.

For more about Michael Day's life and career:  Michael Day  

The War Lords (Bloomington-Normal)

The War Lords were a 1960s rock group from Bloomington-Normal comprised of students from Illinois State University as well as two local high schools.

Jason Popelka - Lead Guitar (Junior / NCHS, Member Mu Alpha Theta)
John Schoenhofen - Rhythm Guitar (Junior / ISU, Spanish Major)

Tom Jacobs - Vocals, Special Effects (Freshman / ISU, German Major)

Willie Vrba - Bass Guitar (Sophmore / ISU, Georaphy, Phys. Ed. Major)

Gary Jacobs - Drums (Sophmore / BHS, All Around Good Guy)

Feb 1966

The band was active from 1965 to the end of 1966 although a few of the members had been playing together even earlier.  They performed mostly as a cover band around the area. 

The group did however record a single containing two original tunes.  "Real Fine Lady" and "I've Got It Bad" were both written by guitarist Jason Popelka and singer Tom Jacobs.  

The single was recorded in Chicago at RCA Studios in the summer of 1966 and released on Thor Records.   The Windy City label was owned and operated by Donald Thorson and Robert E. Peacock II.  According to Popelka, only about 100 copies were pressed.

Thor Records 810T-0759.  In addition to the white label DJ copies, there are also red label stock copies.

Despite its obscurity, the single has found a much larger audience over the years.  Since its release, both songs have been anthologized on various garage rock compilations including the Back From The Grave series.  

Mike Markesich's book TeenBeat Mayhem! lists the single as #830 in its Top 1000 Garage Songs from the USA and describes both songs as "trebly guitar punk pounders."

Oct. 1966

As for the group, they were still booking gigs as late as October of 1966. By the end of the year however, they would disband when singer Tom Jacobs enlisted in the U.S. Army.  

In less than two years, Jacobs would go on from being a "war lord" to a geniune war hero while serving in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot. 

Tragically Thomas C. Jacobs was killed in action on September 13, 1968 while on a voluntary mission near Duc Lap, Vietnam.  His actions that day reportedly saved many lives.  He was 21 years old.

He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the nations' third highest military award, for "gallantry in action."  He was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with twelve oak clusters and Purple Heart.  

_____

Special thanks to Jason Popelka for the band info and image of the 1966 poster which was created by his late father and artist, Robert Webster Popelka.  The photo was taken in front of his business, Popelka Advertising, at 1701 W. Hovey Avenue in Normal.

Both songs recorded by the War Lords have been played on past shows.  For "Real Fine Lady" listen to our Best Of Downstate Illinois Garage Rock 1965-1968 .  For "I've Got It Bad" listen to Show #35.

The War Lords are just one of many 60s groups with ties to Bloomington-Normal.  For more bands see the McLean County Discography.

The McLean County Discography is now available!

For the last several years we've been working hard to document every music recording with connections to Bloomington-Normal and McLean County, Illinois.  This includes musicians and artists that were born in the county as well as those that came to call it home.  The result is a discography of hundreds of records. 

From privately pressed singles to major label hits, the area has produced a surprising number of  releases in a variety of genres.  Rock, pop, R&B, jazz, country and folk are all represented here.

The discography currently covers 1939 to 1990 and is limited to vinyl (and shellac) record releases.  We hope to continue to expand this list to include other formats in the coming months. If you or someone you know from McLean County released a record, particularly before 1991, please get in touch and we can add it to the list. 

For the full list:  McLean County Discography

Incident At Kickapoo Creek Rock Festival (Heyworth, Illinois) - 50th Anniversary

  

The Incident at Kickapoo Creek outdoor rock festival was planned for Memorial Day weekend (May 30-31, 1970) however people started arriving as early as Thursday May 28th.  By Sunday an estimated 40,000-60,000 people had converged on L. David Lewis' farm outside of Heyworth, Illinois in rural McLean County for a celebration of music, sun, drugs and mud.

The first band performed at midnight, early Friday morning.   Over the course of the next three days between 30-40 bands played.  The Spotify playlist above is just a small sample of the bands that were there though it includes one recording made at the outdoor concert:  Canned Heat's "Reefer Blues."

For more music recorded live at the festival including Canned Heat, B.B. King, Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Ted Nugent, listen to our show from last year (More details):

The Bands

Headlining / National Acts

Friday May 29th / Saturday May 30th

• Smith
• New Colony Six

 

Pat McBride, Ronnie Rice, Bruce Gordon, Chuck 

Jobes, Billy Herman and Gerry Van Kollenburg

Saturday May 30th (evening) / Sunday May 31st (early morning)

• The Amboy Dukes (Ted Nugent)
• Paul Butterfield Blues Band
• B.B. King

Sunday May 31st

• Frijid Pink
• Country Joe and the Fish

• Canned Heat

Originally on the bill but did not perform:

• The Kinks - One of the earliest advertisements for the festival that ran in the Daily Illini included the Kinks on the bill.   Their name was gone however from all the promotional materials that followed.   The Kinks performed in Chicago at the Aragon Ballroom on May 29th and 30th instead.
• Delaney & Bonnie & Friends - appear to have been scheduled right up until the start of the festival.  It is unclear why they cancelled or were not able to play.

Supporting / Regional Acts

The majority of the supporting acts were local groups represented by Blytham Ltd., a Champaign-Urbana talent agency run by Robert Nutt and Irving Azoff.   Below is a list of bands that played at Kickapoo Creek or were scheduled to play.

• Aorta - from Rockford / Chicago, Illinois.  The band was listed on early advertisements for the concert but was dropped from ads as the event got close.  No evidence that they were there.
• Arrow Memphis - from Collinsville, Illinois.
• Backstreet - (aka Backstreet Majority) from central Illinois.  Band members included Harry Washburn, Bobby Carlin, Michael Day and Howie Reeder.

• The Basic Need - from central Illinois (possibly Clinton).
• Bloomsbury People - from Waukesha, Wisconsin.   
• Blue - from St. Louis, Missouri.   Michael MacDonald was at some point a member of this group (see also The Guild).  Other members included Russ Bono, Pat Malloy and Bob Bortz.
• Bluesweed - (aka Blues Weed) from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.   According to an interview with band members Perry Hamilton and James Kingelhoffer, the group was at the festival and scheduled to play but a downpour of rain right before going on postponed their stage time and they were ultimately bumped.

• Bucktooth - (aka Buck Tooth) According to Feb 1970 ad, Buck Tooth was made up of former members of four popular Champaign-Urbana area groups.
• The Challengers - by one newspaper report this group performed on Friday.
• Devil's Kitchen Band - from Carbondale, Illinois however the group relocated to San Francisco from 1968-1970 and was the "house band" at the Family Dog Ballroom.   Having returned to Illinois around the time of Kickapoo, the group got added to the bill at the last minute when their managers (John Loyd and Harvey Morrison) were asked to help run the festival's sound.  Devil's Kitchen performed in the afternoon on Friday or Saturday.  Band members included Bob Laughton, Brett Champlin, Randy Bradle, and Robbie Stokes.  This was their last concert.

 

• East Street - ?
• The Esquires - originally from northern Illinois though based in Champaign-Urbana at this time.  By one newspaper report this group was the very first to perform with a start time of midnight, early Friday morning.
• Fat Water - from Chicago / Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.  Band members included:  Vicky Hubly, Bill "Boris" Schneider, G.E. Stinson, Don Cody and Peter Milio.
  
• Feather Train - (aka Feathertrain) from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.  Members of the group at this time would have been Bruce Hall, Frank Pytko, Dana Walden, Larry Mitchell, Gary Richrath, and Freddie Fletcher.

• The Finchley Boys - from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.  Members of the group included George Faber, Garrett Oostdyk, J. Michael Powers and Larry Tabeling.  According to guitarist Garrett Oostdyk the band's stage time was moved up to noon on Sunday to help "wake up the crowd."

 

• Dan Fogelberg  - from Peoria, Illinois and reportedly played at Kickapoo though not listed on any promotional posters or advertisements.  In 1970, Fogelberg was still a student at the University of Illinois and performed primarily in coffee houses around Champaign-Urbana.  He was however represented by Blytham Ltd. so it is possible he was at Kickapoo.  Here is what Dan sounded like in 1970:  

• For Days & A Night - from Chicago though they played around central Illinois frequently.
• Fuse - from Rockford, Illinois.  Band members included Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick), Joe Sundberg, Craig Myers,  Chip Greenman and Tom Peterson (Cheap Trick).  According to drummer Chip Greenman, Fuse was the opening act launching the festival.  This however conflicts other such claims.  In the photo below you can see Fuse's van backed up to the Kickapoo stage.

• Genesis - most likely a Champaign-Urbana group though possibly from Wisconsin.  They played in C-U a lot in 1970.  Definitely NOT the English rock group featuring Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel as has been reported in the past.   Also NOT the American psychedelic group from Los Angeles that released an LP in 1968.
• Gidians Bible - from Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.
• The Guild - from Mascoutah, Illinois. Michael MacDonald was a member of this group around this time (see also Blue).

• Hot Set Up - ?
• Joe Kelley Blues Band - from Chicago, Illinois.

• Light Brigade - from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
• The Litter - from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• Monterey Hand - from Chicago featuring guitarist James "JY" Young (Styx).  Photo from Kickapoo below appears to show Rick Young, Marco Mundo and JY.

• Moses - from Charleston / Matoon, Illinois.  Band members pictured below:  Steve Dalton, Marc Nale, Eddie Pearcy, Gary Tate (rear) and Jim Hite.

• Nickel Bag - from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.
• Night People - from the Quad Cities, IL / IA.
• One-Eyed Jacks - from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.   Band members at the time included Mike Murphy, Tom Kelly and Doug Livingston.  One newspaper report published on Saturday May 30th states the group opened the show at 5 pm on Friday.  However many accounts have them playing on Saturday evening.  Possible that they played twice over the weekend.
• Chuck & Mary Perrin - from Pekin, Illinois.  The first to perform on Saturday and Sunday.

• Phoenix - from Granite City / Collinsville, Illinois.
• REO Speedwagon - from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.  Members at the time would have been Terry Lutrell, Steve Scorfina, Greg Philbin, Alan Gratzer and Neil Doughty.

• Siegel-Schwall Band - from Chicago, Illinois.   
• Seven - ?
• Spare Chaynge -  from St. Joseph, Illinois (Champaign County).  
• Tayles - from Madison, Wisconsin.  
• The Truth - from the St. Louis area.
• Uncle Meat - from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. According to guitarist Kent Paris, the group was one of the first bands to play (likely on Friday).  In photo below: Kent Paris (rhythm guitar/ vocals), Jim Leonard (road manager), Michael McKeehan (bass/vocals), Chris Martin (lead vocalist), Alan Bates (drums) and Martin Cupp (lead guitar).

• Zebra - ?

Urban Legends & Local Myths

Creedence Clearwater Revival or at least John Fogerty attended Kickapoo which inspired him to write "Just got home from Illinois..." - the opening line to their 1970 song "Lookin' Out My Back Door."  

This story or a version of it is still told around the Bloomington-Normal area to this day.  Unfortunately, it is NOT true and has been disproved many times.  From the Pantagraph's Flick Facts published April 24, 2016:

Question: True or false? In the Creedence Clearwater Revival song, "Lookin' Out My Back Door," John Fogerty opens with the line, "Just got back from Illinois ... oh boy!" a magic moment for the Bloomington area, written by Fogerty in 1970 after the band's performance at the Kickapoo Creek Festival in rural Heyworth.

Answer: That's the widely told story. But it's false, says Rick Halberg, a former radio personality at WBNQ and WWCT (today an employee at Country Financial) and a "walking encyclopedia" of rock 'n roll knowledge. Explains Rick, "When I was assisting (B-N filmmaker) Craig Raycraft with the original 'Incident at Kickapoo Creek’ movie, we talked to Fogerty's people about the story. John relayed to us — through his manager — that he had not attended the festival but was resting at home in California after finishing up a European tour. The reason he mentioned Illinois in the opening line of the song? Because it rhymed with `Oh boy!’ "

Another rumor that circulated around the time of Kickapoo Creek was that the Beatles were going to get back together and play at the festival.  Perhaps laughable now but I suspect this bit of wishful thinking was common among festival-goers in 1970... and many years after.