The Beatles In Cleveland
Nostalgia Reigns In
Cleveland Rock History
New book looks at Beatles, music scene and concerts
By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
Famous personalities such as Alan Freed, venues such as the Agora, and many artists have direct and indirect ties to the local music scene, and any serious attempt to chronicle the history of rock must contain at least a few chapters acknowledging Cleveland. There are literally hundreds of books about rock, and now there are two more entries that focus on different aspects of Cleveland's rock history, and another book collecting writers' memories of favorite concerts.
“The Beatles in Cleveland” by Dave Schwensen gathers the thoughts, recollections and behind-the-scenes machinations of the Fab Four's 1964 and 1966 visits to Cleveland, while “Cleveland Rock & Roll Memories” by journalist Carlo Wolff, using a similar structure, tries to cover 30 years of local music history. “The Show I'll Never Forget,” edited by former Akronite Sean Manning, features 50 writers waxing philosophic about their most memorable concert experiences, including a few Cleveland shows.
Both Schwensen (an area native) and Wolff (a longtime resident and former writer for the Beacon Journal) show their affinity for the area, and because the primary reading audiences for these books are Beatles obsessives and local rock fans, both authors/editors are preaching to the converted.
“The Beatles in Cleveland”
With essentially only two years and one band (albeit the biggest band in rock history) to illuminate, The Beatles in Cleveland (North Shore, $19.95) is more focused.
It has a rough beginning wherein Schwensen, apparently writing for readers who have never heard of the 1960s, condescendingly sets the scene by reminding readers of the existence of the 12-inch vinyl record, that a small Southeast Asian country called Vietnam was going to become a problem spot, and that the previous generation often doesn't appreciate the music of the younger generation.
Once these revelations are shared, Schwensen and his group of talking heads do a good job of covering the many aspects of those historic concerts. They include radio DJs Harry Martin and Jerry G. Bishop, who traveled with the group on their 1965 (when they were banned from Cleveland by Mayor Ralph Locher) and 1966 tours; Ghoulardi ``gofer'' Ron Sweed; “Sunny” singer Bobby Hebb, who was part of the Beatles' 1966 tour; and promoter Norman Wain, along with many fans.
Like "Rock and Rock & Roll Memories,” “The Beatles in Cleveland” mixes fan recollections with the backstage machinations and the personal interactions with the Beatles themselves. The fan stories give a good sense of the excitement and unbridled hysteria the band of longhaired Liverpudlians fueled in teens, and the confusion and apprehension toward the establishment that would soon turn to fear and hippie dread.
The 1964 concert at Public Hall and the 1966 show at Cleveland Stadium, one of the group's last live performances, included near “riots'' that briefly brought the proceedings to a halt. Readers raised in the era of mosh pits, crowd surfing and oversized concert security guards who glower at the crowd with massive arms folded will probably find hilarious the consternation suffered by an overwhelmed Cleveland police force, facing thousands of screaming mostly teenage girls as they rushed the stage in 1964 and stormed the field in 1966.
The backstage moments also offer insights on the band being the eye of a huge storm they didn't fully understand, and how their marketed personalities (the Quiet One, the Cute One, etc.) were not too far off the mark.
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