Emerson, Lake and Palmer - 1971
ELP had released their debut album a year earlier to popular success and critical acclaim. They were a progressive supergroup of sorts with Emerson from the jazz rock, Nice and Lake from the heavy prog rock band, King Crimson. They had just released their second album, Tarkus when this show came about.
My friends and I still couldn't drive, so the search was on for a driver. My oldest sister agreed to drive to Dayton's Hara Arena for a free ticket. We had pretty good seats in the first row on the side fairly near the stage but not so close as to have an obstructed view. Edgar Winter opened for the show and he was touring with Johnny Winter sideman and ex-McCoy, Rick Derringer. Derringer & the McCoys recorded Ohio's official rock song, Hang on Sloopy. Derringer also wrote Rock-n-Roll Hoochie Koo. How these guys got paired with Emerson, Lake and Palmer is beyond me.
It was a good show. Derringer was doing laybacks, Emerson was the Pete Townshend of keyboard. Through it all my sister sat & did her knitting like a good babysitter.
Afterwards, we went around back with a portable tape recorder to try to get an interview with ELP. They stopped to say hi to the assembled throng from their cab which they had crammed with as many girls as possible. They sped off to Dayton's finest hotel, I am sure.
While we were waiting for them to come out, however, Derringer spotted us and came over to ask if we wanted an interview. We said sure & he commenced to talk. He was a nice guy. We wondered if he was kinda desperate but then he wasn't much older than we were when he started his career in Ohio. Maybe he just wanted to help out some kids writing for their school paper.
Went home and dreamed about cruising around in a car smooshed with girls.....