Jackie Wilson, LaVerne Baker, Jerry Butler, Lloyd Price 1958 Concert Poster....

Description

Jackie Wilson, LaVerne Baker, Jerry Butler, Lloyd Price 1958 Concert Poster. An original cardboard window card advertising a strong line-up of R&B stars appearing at the Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, TN on Tuesday evening, October 28, 1958. The "Show & Dance" featured the talents of Jackie Wilson, LaVerne Baker, Jerry Butler and the Impressions, Lloyd Price, Bobby Day, Lee Andrews and the Hearts, and Arnett Cobb. Very fortuitously, just amazingly, the only four musicians pictured on the board all happened to have eventually wound up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! Heck, there's even another member of the Rock Hall on this poster who isn't named... but he's pictured. Give up? Why, it's Curtis Mayfield, a member of the Impressions. What fun! A scarce board and first-time Heritage offering, and came out of storage from the daughter of the show's promoter, Ted Bryant. Measures 21 1/2" x 28 1/8" and grades to Very Good condition. COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: Running down these hit-makers for you... Jackie Wilson was headlining based on just one Top 10 R&B hit, "To Be Loved." Within a few weeks he would release his biggest hit ever, "Lonely Teardrops," which would go to #1 R&B for seven weeks.

LaVerne Baker charted Top 10 R&B hits every year from 1955-1959, and was just about to release "I Cried a Tear," which went to #2 for a whole month. Right next to her, Bobby Day gets no picture but he was flying high at this very moment with "Rock-in Robin," a #1 R&B and #2 Pop record that's proved to be an evergreen.

Jerry Butler was right on the cusp of leaving the Impressions for a solo career in the fall of 1958, so this board sort of presents him with both hats on. This very summer, the group as presented here had scored a Top 5 R&B hit with "For Your Precious Love." Both factions (Butler solo and the Impressions without him) would blow up in the 1960's and 70's with hugely successful bodies of work.

Lee Andrew and the Hearts had one Top 5 R&B hit on Chess Records, "Tear Drops," earlier in '58. Arnett Cobb was a hard-luck jazz tenor saxophonist sometimes called "The Wild Man of the Tenor Sax" because of his freewheeling stage antics.

And then why Lloyd Price is bottom-billed here we have no idea, but perhaps it was as an ‘extra added attraction' or something, which are often the last act listed. Lloyd had exploded six years earlier with "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," which was #1 R&B for seven weeks. His terrific career also included "Just Because," "Stagger Lee," "Where Were You (On Our Wedding Day)?," "Personality" and "I'm Gonna Get Married."

All this for just a buck-and-a-half in advance... wow! This advertising board was printed by the Southern Poster Printing Co. of Atlanta, GA.

Condition details: Top left corner has been nibbled away just a tiny bit, and the top right corner was professionally repaired to make whole, barely touching Jackie's picture. Lower eight edge also has some resto to the area under "RIUM" of "Auditorium." Lower right corner has one tack hole; the other three corners were probably repaired out. Lower left corner has a tiny quarter-inch bend-crease. Otherwise moderate soiling and grime throughout the poster, much of which is likely attributable to a low-budget printing job.