Last year’s Covid-induced live concert outage in Sullivan County is just one in a long series of periods in which rock music has struggled to make itself heard.
After the agreements of . . .
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Last year’s Covid-induced live concert outage in Sullivan County is just one in a long series of periods in which rock music has struggled to make itself heard.
After the last chords of “Hey Joe” played monday morning on Jimi Hendrix’s guitar in Woodstock, few would have guessed it would be twelve years before the rock concert took place in Sullivan County.
In the early 80s, the Borscht belt tightened around the last surviving hotels. In August fallsburg, the Avon Lodge Hotel, where e-book genius Sid Caesar made his debut, struggled to be applicable in a struggling economy. with a gently sloping hill and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The hotel’s personal reception room operated under the so-called Bananas, the local nightclub.
Robert Berman, 19, who was dating the daughter of the Lodge owner (also his longtime wife!), dreamed of a new career for the Lodge. With the right cheek and entrepreneurial spirit, Berman set out to expand an amphitheater, a “Mountain of Music” where rock bands can play and at the Lodge.
Many obstacles stood in the way of this ambitious teenager, none as intimidating as obtaining a mass collection permit. After the 1969 Woodstock Festival, in an effort to prevent it from “deteriorating public morals,” the Sullivan County Board of Supervisors passed a law that would require any collection of more than 5,000 people to be licensed. With the permission of a local attorney, Berman implemented and miraculously won the first approved permit.
By immersing himself in the global screen business, Berman met and befriended entrepreneur Sid Bernstein, known for bringing the Beatles and The Rolling Stones to the United States. Eventually, Berman joined Jack Adato of Supreme Artists and Frank J. Russo of Gemini. Productions. Adato would manage the concessions as the Munch Box company. Russo, one of New England’s leading skill advertisers, would reserve and advertise the bands. Russo’s deep relationships in the world of rock brought mythical bands to the place.
On June 28, 1981, the Music Mountain concert venue, with its 20-foot-wide water-filled moat separating the covered level of the hill, in a position to tip over. A modest crowd of 4,768 watched 38 Specials drove through Donnie Van Zandt levels up and embarks on the night. The outlaws close the show. Despite no arrests, the local government revoked the beer license and the Munch Box lost a vital source of income.
In mid-July, Carl Wilson, co-founder, lead guitarist and vocalist of the Beach Boys, opened for the Doobie Brothers directed through Michael McDonald. Charlie Daniels and Foghat closed in July.
It was a hot August night when the “Blizzard of Ozz” tour arrived. The opening for Ozzy Osbourne was Def Leppard supporting his album for the time being “High ‘n Dry”. Quiet Riot steel pioneer Randy Rhoads, who would die in a plane crash seven months later, joined Osbourne’s “crazy train. The concert was later recorded and released as a live CD on the Zodiac label.
Last August, Gary USBonds, with his hit comeback pass (written through Bruce Springsteen), “This Little Girl,” opened for The Allman Brothers Band. The road may pass forever, but Greg Allman nearly misses the show. J. Russo remembers having to accompany a very disappointed Allman to the stage, because before the afternoon, Allman won the divorce papers from his fourth wife.
The 1982 season of Music Mountain began on a Wednesday night with jerry garcia band. This turned out to be the highest attendance of any exhibition, officially 7,863 but perhaps closer to 10,000 Deadheads. Garcia’s enthusiasts to date claim that both sets were the most productive. When Bobbie and the Midnites (Bob Weir’s aspect project) took the stage, the rain began in earnest and the look of the hill turned into a muddy slide and slide. The exhibit closes in mid-afternoon, but the rain-soaked enthusiasts and the Midnites celebrated.
In a sign of what’s to come, a Fourth of July concert was canceled when South Fallsburg officials revised the terms of the mass collection permit.
In early August, he played Santana. Su new single “Hold On” summed up the views of fallsburg police when a larger crowd gathered.
As a result, two September dates were postponed until 3 p. m. Sunny hours concerts: Krokus / Ted Nugent and Aldo Novo / Blue Oyster Cult.
That fall, the curtain closed. High fuel prices, remoteness from the place and lack of cooperation from the local government marked the death sentence for Music Mountain. It took another 16 years for the Gerry Foundation to organize a music festival in Bethel.