Did you know Georgia? Do you remember any notable concerts during your time at Grinnell? We want to hear your memories! Please share them below. Comments are moderated, so please ensure the content is appropriate for a general audience.
Did you know Georgia? Do you remember any notable concerts during your time at Grinnell? We want to hear your memories! Please share them below. Comments are moderated, so please ensure the content is appropriate for a general audience.
Great project and timeline! I don’t have the specific dates at hand but for 1970-73, you can add:
The Youngbloods (Darby Gym), spring 1971
John Prine (South Lounge)
Mahavishnu Orchestra (Darby Gym)
Eddie Kendricks (Darby Gym)
Luther Allison (second visit outdoors)
Spider John Koerner (South Lounge)
Banana and the Bunch (Darby Gym)
Probably a few more …
I was Social Coordinator for the SGA 1980-81 (the concerts chairs and movies chair reported to me) so I met with Georgia Dentel a few times and talked on the phone with her regularly (her preferred form of communication). Her knowledge of the music industry and connections throughout it were an incredible asset to Grinnell. My friends at other schools envied the concerts we brought to Grinnell. Some of my favorites were Jim Post (multiple times), George Thorogood, McCoy Tyner, Larry Coryell, The Ramones, The Heath Brothers, and many others (I could go on for awhile). One of the most memorable was the Police and Ultravox. There were major technical issues and the concert was somewhat of a disaster. The Police did not go on until after 1am. I stayed for the whole concert, and at the end I think there were more townies than students in Darby. One concert I noticed you missed was Jack Bruce and Friends. They came in 1980-81. If you need a date, contact me and I will try to find it.
John M. Wylie II ’75, retired CA
Georgia got to be good friends when I closed the S&B office shortly before final lockdown at 2 a.m. Across the street (old Highway 6) was a mail pickup box that collected latecoming mail after picking up outgoing items from the Grinnell Post Office, then stopping at this box at precisely 2 a.m., then swinging through Montezuma for outgoing dispatches, getting to Des Moins Air Postal facility that that for 6-cent or 7-cent air mail stamps would get Georgia’s contacts to NY or Hollywood the next day, while delivering my love letters to Faith so they were waiting at her plate at dinner the same day it was mailed. After she retired, I did a lengthy interview with her which was published in my Classletter and perhaps Grinnell Magazine. Her stories were fascinating, but both the Classletter and thr other publications were destroyed in huge fire in 2019. The interview for the story lasted 2-3 hours and was well received. If you can find a librarian who can find the documents. Jayn Cheney may have ideas on where to find one or the other. I think I also provided the college withthe complete transcript of the recorded interview which would make fascinating reading today. John M. Wylie II ’75, class agent emeritus. Please feel free to contact me by email at lakeleader@sbcglobal.net if you need more.
Class of ‘95
By the time I was concerts chair (1993-1995) Georgia no longer was involved with SGA Concerts Committee. However, she would call me now and then and tell me about different concerts she booked. This site is a great tribute. I noticed in the timeline you did not include Uncle Tupelo in the concert with the Lemonheads and Smashing Pumpkins (note that the Lemonheads were the headliner and the Pumpkins played first on the bill). Uncle Tupelo returned in the Fall of 1991. Also, the opening act for Fu-Schnickens was Common Sense (now well-known as Common). The day after the Sebadoh concert was the Teen Beat Circus Tour with Versus, Air Miami, Tuscadero, and Blast-Off Country Style. Missing in the Spring of 1995 was Tar with Oblivion and the Fighters (the S&B will say that Pegboy headlined but they had to cancel a few days before the show and Tar ended up able to play). Dis never showed up for the Poster Children show, the Pacers never made it to the Dance Hall Crashers show, and Winepress didn’t make it to the Pansy Division show. The Brand New Heavies show listed was also canceled at the last minute. During 1995-1996 Seaweed played with Into Another. At the beginning of the 1993-1994 school year, Zuzu’s Petals and the Coctails played. We used to file the contracts for all the shows, which would have been a great source from this project. Had those still existed, you would have seen that Grinnell paid the Smashing Pumpkins $200.
Jon, the last line – that’s such a key part of history for bands who’ve played but hadn’t broken yet. $200. By 1993 booking them would have been far greater or outsized production needs for Grinnell’s Harris Center. I remember talking with Alex Lyda about the Pumpkins around that time while he was a resident in the halls I worked in as an RLC (Norris/Cowles).
This is a great legacy of live music in Grinnell.
Gary Giddins worked closely with Georgia and expanded my musical area significantly, bringing in several acts not mentioned such as New Lost City Ramblers, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf
It was around noon on a weekday in the very early ’50s. There was Lous Armstrong giving a “concert.” in Darby Auditorium, He and a few of his musicians were dressed casually and set up right on the playing floor. All indications were that Grinnell was a brief stopover, perhaps even a lunch break, on their way to larger engagements.
As a Grinnell student in the early ’60s I was always impressed by the caliber of entertainment Georgia brought to campus. I was even more impressed by her ability to finesse the problems that occasionally arose, like Modern Jazz Quartet pianist John Lewis’ extreme unhappiness with the instrument initially provided him. Georgia hunted around and found him a better one and he was thrilled and, of course, played beautifully.
As an aspiring jazz musician myself, I especially loved the jazz artists she recruited including trumpeters Maynard Fersuson and Dizzy Gillespie. My favorite moment came at the end of Dizzy’s concert when he bounded from the stage and made for my front row seat. For a fleeting moment I was sure he was about to invite me to jam with him back stage but, alas, he smiled broadly at the extremely attractive Grinnellian next to me, took her hand, and said “Come on, baby, show me the campus.”
For years I assumed that Grinnell’s marvelous concert series was normal for small colleges. (It was not.) There was something going on every weekend, not only jazz, blues and rock, but also international groups (e.g., South Indian music at the Forum where we sat on gorgeous purple seats at eye level with the musicians, making us part of the event rather than a distant audience), classical music with post-concert receptions at the President’s house and Italian and French films. My special memories include shaking hands with cellist, Janos Starker (I had played cello in high school.) One concert/lecture over 2 or 3 evenings set up my career in the anthropology of dancing. Alan Merriam, then among the foremost ethnomusicologists in the US, and his small group of West African musicians began with a concert of West African music (I do not remember exactly from where.) Then the musicians took apart their performance by playing one instrument at a time with various meters, showing how each of these contributed to the whole. Finally, on the last evening, Merriam gave a talk on ethnomusicology. As an anthropology major, I was mesmerized. I asked Merriam at the reception if it was possible to do his kind of work with dancing. He immediately suggested I write to his doctoral student, Joanne Kealiinohomoku, who was at the time working on methods in the anthropology of dancing. I am still happily working in this field.
Grinnell Educates Jefferson Airplane
From Grinnell Magazine Sept. 20, 2015
“(Georgia Dentel) called Bill Graham, the legendary concert promoter and artist manager . . . I asked him if he had any bands that would make a trip to the Midwest for the Grinnell College homecoming [for the small about the College could pay] . . . He said, “No, I really don’t.’ But we talked a little while. . . . He said I don’t have anybody right now, but there’s a band I’m thinking of bringing into the Fillmore. . . . “Just as we were about to hang up, I said’ “Oh, what’s their name?” Jefferson Airplane.
From Bill Graham Presents: My life Inside Rock and Out, Chapter Four
“Bill Thompson: Grace’s (Grace Slick) first show, we had a date playing in Santa Barbara. And then we had one flight only to fly to Los Angeles to make a connecting flight to Des Moines to play at Grinnell College. . . . The flight was at 9 A.M. I roomed with Spencer Dryden and I had everybody up and ready to go. Only Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady had taken the equipment truck in order to go to some party in Aldous Huxley’s ex-house. The plane was leaving in forty-five minutes, and they had all the equipment.
Those guys showed up and they looked like they were dead. By now, the plane was on the runway. I went running out on the field and I stopped the plane. I just made up lies to the crew. I had seen Bill Graham work so I knew how to do it. I said, “We spend a million dollars a year flying with you people, you have to take us on and load all our stuff. So they did.”
We flew to Grinnell College for the Homecoming. You should have seen it when we came out to play. We had a light show. But all the girls were in ruffled dresses all the way down to the ankles, with corsages, and their families were there. We started the light show and we had three sets to do that night. The first set, it was like we were from Mars. Guys with their hair cut like Dobie Gillis were standing there and staring at us. The parents were all farmers. They were looking at one another and saying, “What the hell is this stuff? Too loud for me, Maude. Time to go home and milk the goat.” So they all left.
The second set, people started dancing a little bit. They started getting into it. The third set, people went nuts. Off came the corsages. Shoes were coming off. Guys ripping off their ties. They went nuts. It was one of the greatest feelings I ever had. It was like the turning of America in a way. We went out and played everywhere and did that. We were the first band to do that out of San Francisco. I always felt good about being part of that.”
Concerts at Grinnell opened my eyes to the magic of live music. From August 1970 thru May 1974 I was thrilled to hear Herbie Hancock, Little Feat, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, NRBQ and many others. As an American who grew up in India, I was not exposed to rock, blues or jazz, except thru records. Georgia’s work changed my life as much as anything at Grinnell.
One anecdote is after Ry Cooder’s concert in the winter of ’74, I was walking down Park with my girlfriend. A friend had his car stuck in the snow. There was just one guy trying to push the car out of the snow while our friend Joe rocked it back and forth. We joined in and pushed the car out. Just then my girlfriend turned to the other guy, “Hey, you’re Ry Cooder.”
I’d been blown away by his guitar playing and folks blues lyrics. Just then Joe yelled, Ry, * We gotta roll or we will miss your flight to Chicago.” That was the closest I ever got to a rock star.
Class of ’67
I am always amused when hearing about the turbulent Decade of the ’60s. In 1960 I was a sophomore in High School. In 1969 I was on my second Navy tour in Viet Nam. One of my favorite memories of music at Grinnell began and ended in Darby Gym. My freshman year the Homecoming dance music was provided by Count Basie. My senior year the Homecoming dance music was provided by Jefferson Airplane. Nobody knew who they were except for the kids from California! We went through some changes in my years at Grinnell!!
Steve Miller Band concert which took place sometime in 1969-1970 year not mentioned. held at Darby
Georgia Dental and the class of ’64 arrived at Grinnell College at about the same time, in the fall of 1960. It seems to me that Miriam Makeba was the first artist to perform in the 1960 – 61 school year. She was an African singer about a decade older than the freshman class. She sang at least some of her songs that evening in her Xhosa language and the “click” songs she sang were something I had never heard before. That evening opened my eyes to an aspect of my college education that I had not considered before her concert.
You’re missing John Prine from February 1972.
I was at Grinnell from Sept 74 to May 79. I have many fond memories of the high quality music we experienced.
When Larry Coryell played in Sept 1974, I heard the sound check happening during the afternoon in Darby, and I sat though about an hour of Larry practicing solo on stage with almost no one around. He was a very advanced guitarist, and it completely changed my views on music forever.
Some of the shows I don’t see listed during my time were: Odetta, John Hammond Jr, Robert Hunter, and at least one jazz big band in Roberts – maybe Thad Jones/Mel Lewis or maybe the Akioyoshi/Tabakin band. I forget. There were a few more that I don’t see, the names will come to me in a bit.
Some other high points for me– spending the afternoon with Nikhil Bannerjee, the world famous sitarist, and hanging out all day with Paul Bley, the great jazz pianist. Breakfast at the Longhorn with Mose Allison. Bill Evans was incredible as was Pat Metheny. There were many great shows.
I noticed in Herbie Hancock’s autobiography, he mentions a weekend as a student at Grinnell, when the Duke Ellington band was snowed in, and Herbie got to hang out and jam with the Ellington band. In his book he mentions that this had a big impact on his decision to become a professional musician.
Greetings from Heidelberg, Germany, Greg!
Following you down memory lane by reading your comments prompted me to post my own. While doing so, I tried to stay on course by limiting my comments to the memories related to the concerts and memories related to the campus music culture. Had the webmasters solicited comments about personal experiences at Grinnell related to music, I could have added quite a few that included you. I hope life’s been good to you these past 40-plus years.
Dwayne
As a member of the class of ’79, I had the good fortune of being at Grinnell during a period in which Georgia Dentel brought an extraordinary series of concerts to the campus. No matter what the genre, she always strove to bring the best in the field, be it classical, jazz, or rock. Those concerts are among my best memories of Grinnell, and I’m grateful to Ms. Dentel for making those performances possible. I’m also grateful to Hayden Suarez-Davis, Bowen Wei, Jackie Harris, and Maya Albanese for creating a platform to commemorate Ms. Dentel’s lasting contributions to several generations of alumni. I join them and you in celebrating Ms. Dental who enriched our lives by exposing us to music we otherwise may never have heard.
In response to the request for personal memories of some of those concerts, I’d like to share a few.
After the Bill Evans concert, some of us went backstage to meet the trio. When I got there, Bill was already chatting with a couple of students, one of whom asked, “What’s the best advice you can give to an aspiring jazz pianist?” to which he responded, “Use plenty of 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths.”
One of the things this site could do for historical purposes is help fill in the blanks with regard to band members who came along with the various performers. When Ron Carter performed, he brought an all-star back-up band comprising Kenny Barron on piano, Buster Williams on bass, and Al Foster on drums, all three of whom were among the best in the world on their respective instruments. The three of them laid down the basic tunes while Ron soloed on a piccolo-bass.
When Pat Metheny first played at Grinnell in September ’77, he took a moment between tunes to ask his mother, who was in the audience, to stand up, which drew cheers and applause. Seeing Pat’s mom wave at her son, then turn to smile at the crowd, added a personal touch to the performance by providing a brief but memorable connection between members of the audience and members of the band.
One of the best things about the concerts in the South Lounge was how close one could get to the performers. While sitting on the floor of the Lounge waiting for Nikhil Banerjee to perform, those of us who arrived early were able to position ourselves directly in front of where Banerjee would be sitting with his sitar, just 10 to 15 feet away. While sitting there, a member of Banerjee’s entourage approached us and asked that we please sit so that our feet were not pointing in the direction of where Nikhil would be sitting. Somewhat surprised but compliant, we all did as asked. Later I learned that in India feet are considered to be unclean. Consequently, pointing feet—with or without shoes—at people is considered an insult. As a result, in addition to getting an incredible performance of classical sitar, we received a quick lesson in Indian etiquette.
Another memorable moment that occurred before a performance was seeing Lester Flatt and the Nashville Grass arrive. As I approached the Student Lounge where the band was scheduled to perform, the band’s white bus rolled up to the north side of the lounge. The name of the band was painted in big letters on the side of the bus. After coming to a stop with the hiss of an air brake, the front door opened and the band members filed out. Each one of them was wearing a dark-blue suit, a string tie, and a white Stetson. Seeing their outfits, I knew these guys were the real deal. They not only looked the part, they played as if their lives depended on it. The speed and precision of Marty Stuart’s mandolin were mind-blowing; and as a group, their dazzling musicality and infectious joyfulness won over those in the audience who didn’t think much of bluegrass before that afternoon.
The following year, while standing immediately outside the door of the South Lounge waiting to dash inside to find a good seat for the Paul Bley Group, Paul’s wife Carla—also a composer and pianist—opened the door, peeked out, and asked if there was a restroom anywhere nearby. I said yes and offered her my arm. After leading her downstairs, waiting outside for her to reappear, then escorting her back upstairs through the ever-growing crowd, I opened the door to the Lounge to let her in. Before closing the door, she looked over her shoulder, smiled, and said, “Chivalry’s not dead after all.”
One other memory I wanted to share is from the afternoon the Persuasions sang in the South Lounge. Before they started, Jerry Lawson, their leader, announced that he’d lost a tooth playing football the day before and that he hoped he’d be able to sing. He could, and they did. In fact, of all the concerts I attended at Grinnell, I’d never experienced one as enthusiastically received as this one. By the middle of the performance, no one was sitting down. Everyone was either dancing or just swaying to the music.
While on the subject of Grinnell’s concerts, this website also talks about the music culture on campus. To that end, I wanted to mention two other memories from Grinnell:
One is that of having the Mirecourt Trio in residence in the late 70s. The concerts they performed on campus provided the opportunity for the entire student body to hear piano trios from throughout history, from the classical works of Haydn and Hummel to the ravishing trio of Ravel’s. Having the Mirecourt on campus was a bonus for those of us lucky enough to be students at Grinnell during the trio’s residence. Not only did they give us free access to live performances of some of history’s most glorious music, they were always accessible and willing to answer questions and provide advice to those of us who were interested in music.
The other memory of campus music culture is that of hearing the music of Jimi Hendrix wafting across campus one afternoon. Curious as to where it was coming from, I followed the sound of the Stratocaster until I found the source: it was blasting out of the South Lounge. There a group of students had set up a stereo with several large speakers and were playing nothing but Hendrix. When I asked one of them was going on, he said it had become a tradition to do that every year on 18 September as a tribute to Jimi, who died that day in 1970. That was 1977; and sure enough, in 1978 they did it again. How many years that annual tradition lasted, I don’t know. Who knows? Maybe it still happens every year on 18 September. All I know for sure is that the experience the music of Jimi Hendrix floating over the campus is one I’ll never forget.
Great memories Dwayne! I remember you at the Banerjee concert, we were all invited to sit so close, just a few feet away. If I recall correctly, he played one continuous piece that took probably 45 minutes and when it was over it was like waking up from a trance.
I was given the task of accompanying Paul Bley all day, and setting up his sound. He smoked a pipe all day that had tobacco mixed with weed. He shared a couple of interesting things with me. One was that he found unlimited artistic freedom somewhat cumbersome, he got much more done when someone placed limitations on him, so he didn’t have so many choices. The other thing he shared was that he had a huge collection of live concerts on 8mm film of every type of performer. I had never thought of such a thing! But the VCR and MTV were not far in the future.
Another group I see missing from the timeline during my time is the group Mandingo Griot at South Lounge.
I have a memory of watching Peter (Cohon) Coyote leading Ian and Sylvia thru the Student Union after their concert. Although I cannot recall the exact year, it was probably in 1963 or 64. Actually, it was probably 1963 because I believe the old Student Union was not used after our junior year. Does anyone else recall that concert? And, to satisfy my curiosity, why haven’t more women contributed to this discussion? I appreciate all you men who have taken the time to share with us your memories! Thanks so much, guys!
Rachel Sweet played Darby sometime between fall of 79 and spring of 81, i think it was more likely 80-81. I remember this because my wife Joan Clinefelter ’83 was her debate coach in high school and we tried to meet her upstairs at Darby but the concert committee folks thought we were bullshitting until Rachel Sweet’s father walked down the stairs, saw Joan ans asked her how her father Jim was doing. Great show.
I remember seeing Big Mama Thornton in Darby Gym. And I distinctly remember her flirting with the female students at the edge of the stage. She, like everyone at the concert, was having a good time.
Brewer and Shipley performed at Grinnell several times in the late 60s and early 70s. I didn’t see them on the list.
I was the SGA Concerts Chair 1998-1999. Georgia Dental was still planning events during this time. The impression back then was she had become a bit of a recluse; still pulling strings but it was rare that anyone saw her in-person. Furthermore, she didn’t just book concerts. One of my all-time memories was seeing the Russian National Ballet trying to fit on our tiny Arts Building stage. I was in awe by the sheer size of the group and how close I got to sit to see all of it. Somebody ought to fact-check me but I am pretty sure Georgia Dental was instrumental in making this performance happen.
I also want to set the record straight that during my era of SGA, I planned everything with the support of Student Affairs and my student committee. Ms. Dental was planning separate events. My goal for fall semester was a concert every weekend, and I partnered with KDIC and other student organizations to make that happen. I also started Forum Fridays – an acoustic concert series at the Forum during lunchtime on Fridays. The spring semester goal was “blow” our entire budget on one big act. Liz Phair was scheduled to play but cancelled the last few dates of her tour, which included Grinnell. Fortunately, I was able to book Wilco instead last-minute. They were playing Chicago Friday night and waiting to extend to a double-header. They came to Grinnell on Saturday instead!
Lucinda Williams, Chucho Valdes, Transglobal Underground, Brenda Weiler, Ivan Klipstein, Uptown Rhythm Club, Radoslav Lorkovic, Rev. Billy C. Wirtz, Robbie Fulks, and more were all under SGA. And this was just my year as Concerts Chair.
So while Grinnell has an amazing concert history and Georgia definitely deserves lots of credit, there others who deserve recognition too.