The Psychedelic Sounds of Howie Thayer (La Moille)

On December 19, 1967, eighteen-year-old Howie Thayer of La Moille, Illinois travelled nearly 150 miles south to Roger Francisco's basement recording studio in Urbana, Illinois.  With rented instruments and six paychecks to cover the cost of one marathon session, Thayer recorded all of the different musical parts and vocals for both sides of a single.

According to the Bureau County Republican, Thayer used "a total of eight generations (overdubs) of tape on each song - five instrumental overdubs and three vocal overdubs.   The newspaper added, "Thayer played the drums, piano, organ, bass guitar and lead fuzz guitar and sang two background vocals and one lead vocal in his two arrangements."

The two songs that Thayer recorded that day were "Movin' Groovin' Fairy Tale" and "If Death Don't Get You (Then The Government Will)."  

At the time, Thayer told the Bureau County Republican that the song "If Death Don't Get You" was about the saying "You only have to do two things in life - pay taxes and die."  He added that it was "mainly about the plight of the factory worker."  He jokingly said that "Fairy Tale" was about the plight of his love life.

Despite recording all the parts himself, the single was credited to Howie Thayer and His Psycho-Electric Happening and was released on his own Psychedelic Sounds label.

 

Thayer had graduated from La Moille High School earlier that same year.   While in school, he had been a drummer in a teen combo, the XKE's, along with Larry Lucas, Steve Westerlin, Jim Ewalt and Dale Edlefson.  After graduation, Thayer had started working as a disc jockey at a local radio station.  When the single was released, the local paper mentioned that "he will be playing the two songs occasionally on his sock show on WZOE radio."

In a 2018 conversation, Thayer confirmed many of the details of the recording.  He added that he had 1,000 copies pressed at the time and sold out.  He also mentioned, at one point you could buy the record at Clickner's in Princeton, Illinois, where the owner had provided Thayer with a special rack to display his single.

Thayer would return to RoFran Enterprises in Urbana two more times in 1968 according to the RoFran studio log (March 9th and September 5th).  The result was another single, likely recorded in the same manner as the first.   

Again both song were written by Thayer - an instrumental, "Bazap!," backed with "Side 2," a tragic love story referencing LSD and suicide among other things.  Once again, the single was credited to Howie Thayer and His Psycho-Electric Happening and released on Psychedelic Sounds.

AUDIO COMING SOON

It is difficult to imagine how people in north-central Illinois responded to these records in 1968.  Thayer remembers "Bazap!" getting some airplay on WSDR in Sterling, Illinois at the time - another radio station where he had worked.  

Whatever the reaction, these two singles would prove to be Thayer's entire recorded output as a musical  performer.  His radio career, on the other hand, was just beginning.  From 1967 to the current day, Thayer has worked at more than 50 different radio stations throughout the country.  At some point along the way, he legally changed his first name to "Dr."  In 1992, he earned a doctorate degree from Florida International University, officially making him, Dr. Dr. Thayer.

In 2004, Thayer bought a radio station: 96.7 FM-WZPH in Zephyrhills, FL - "The Zephyr."  The format of the station is strictly "oldies" with no commercials whatsoever.  As a result, it holds a world record for playing more than 3.5 million songs in a row.  The streak was sadly broken on October 10, 2024 when Hurricane Milton destroyed the station.  Dr. Dr. and the Zephyr however are back on the air in 2025! 

In addition to radio, Dr. Dr. is also a math teacher and a body builder... he might even be the Incredible Impressive Hulk.

Michael Day's 1972 Demo Recordings For Columbia Records

Billy Rose II, Michael Day, Kip Cohen, Paul Leka

In late March of 1972, 19-year-old singer-songwriter Michael Day of Bloomington, Illinois headed east to record an audition tape for Columbia Records.  Day had been playing keyboards and singing in bands in Illinois since junior high.  Even though he had written a number of songs by this point in his young career, Day had yet to release anything.  A demo tape for one of the biggest record companies in the world would mark his debut as a solo artist.

His introduction to the prestigious label was likely arranged by local talent agent, Irving Azoff.  Now one of the most powerful men in the music business, Azoff was just starting to make a name for himself beyond the Champaign-Urbana music scene in 1972.  One of Azoff's earliest discoveries, Dan Fogelberg, had recently signed with Columbia.  REO Speedwagon, another of Azoff's, had their first album released on Epic, a subsidiary of Columbia, the year before.   Day was hoping to be the next.

Joined by a group of mostly central Illinois musicians, Day spent six days at the Connecticut Recording Studios with producers Billy Rose II and Paul Leka (the same studio and producers REO Speedwagon had used for their first album).  There they recorded five of Michael's originals to present to Kip Cohen, head of A&R for Columbia Records:

• Dr. Freedmont's Bone Elixir
• Back On My Own
• Lead Me Love
• Whiskey Woman (later renamed "Let This Good Man Be")
• I Can Feel It

With Day on keyboards and vocals, the rest of the musicians included Norman Zeller on guitar, Doug Mazique on bass, Bobby Carlin on drums and Gale Pelletier on flute & sax.  The Freedom Soul Singers (from Connecticut) provided backing voices.

It is worth noting, Day and the other musicians had never played together as a group before these sessions.  This was not a band that had fine-tuned these songs over many months of playing together on the road.  Instead, most of the musicians were likely hearing and learning the songs for the first time.

Pelletier, a horn player who was attending Illinois State University at the time, had met Day in Bloomington and had only jammed with him a few times at Day's parent's house before being invited to join him on the trip to Connecticut.  All these years later, Pelletier still had Michael Day's handwritten lead sheet for "Lead Me Love" from the 1972 recording session.

After the sessions were over, Pelletier remembers going with Day to the Columbia Records headquarters in New York and playing the tape directly for Cohen in his office.

You can now listen to the five songs that Kip Cohen heard that day:

Cohen was apparently impressed enought that Day would soon return to Connecticut to begin recording an album for the label.  Day, along with several of the musicians, would eventually move to Bridgeport, CT during the process.   There they shared a house at 394 Saunders Avenue.

It would be almost a year later before it was finally announced that Day had signed an exclusive recording contract with Columbia Records.  Announcements in Billboard, Cash Box and Record World all suggested that the album would be ready by May of 1973.  A few of the other up-and-coming singer-songwriters scheduled to make their debuts for the label that same year included Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel.

For a time, things looked promising for Day.  An album of ten original songs was completed.  Cover art was prepared which included photos by the legendary photographer Raeanne Rubenstein.   Columbia Records assigned it a catalog # (32555).  Test pressings were produced.  A possible working title for the album (according to one tape box) was First But Not Last which would prove to be deeply ironic.   

Unfortunately for Day, Columbia Records was in turmoil by May of 1973.  Clive Davis, then president of the label, was eventually fired amid a scandal involving payola, drugs and other misappropriation of company funds.  Before the end of the summer, Kip Cohen, the man that brought Day to the label, also left Columbia Records.  The album's future was suddenly in limbo.  With no one at the label looking out for his interests, the 20-year-old Day was "orphaned" within the company during the shakeup.  

For a time, Day stayed on the East Coast.  In November of 1973, Billboard listed some live dates for Michael Day in New Jersey. He was still listed as a Columbia Records artist.  By 1974 however, Day had returned to Illinois without an album.  His debut and solo career derailed by executive turnover and bad timing.

The 1973 album remains unreleased to this day.   For more on the story including photos and audio from Day's life and career see our earlier post.

Count Demon (Champaign)

Count Demon was a rhythm & blues / jazz drummer, singer and bandleader who moved to Champaign, Illinois in the 1950's.

He is perhaps best remembered these days for a series of hard-to-find R&B 45s that he recorded and self-released during the 1960's.  His career and impact on the Champaign music scene however went far beyond that.

Count Demon was born William Evans in the Canton, Ohio area.  An article in the Massillon (OH) newspaper from August 1940 mentions a "Count Demon Evans, a 1940 high school graduate, who plays the drums."  By 1947 he was drumming and singing with Duke Jenkins' band in Ohio.  Early on Demon was paired with a trumpet player (Satchmo Thompson) and billed as a "novelty duet" as a featured part of Jenkins' floor show.

In May 1949, the Duke Jenkins sextet took up residence at the Brass Rail Club in Chicago.  While in Chicago, they recorded several sides for Aristocrat Records (a direct predecessor to Chess Records) though only one single was ever released.

Listed as Duke Jenkins Aristocrats on the record, the group recorded the instrumental "Bercuese" along with "Baby I'm Sick Of You" which was co-written by Jenkins and Demon.

By 1951, Count Demon had left Jenkins' band and started his own group.  At first they were known as the Quadratones and then eventually the Demons of Jazz.   

Members included Billy Howe (trumpet), Waymon "Punchy" Atkinson (tenor sax), Bob Reeves (bass) and Joe Bradley (piano).

By 1953, they were performing in night clubs across the Midwest.  The group was touted as "the band that plays everything - Novelties - Jumps - Blues - Sweet - Rumbas - Modern Sounds."  On occasion, the quartet was billed along with an exotic dancer.

Demon himself was advertised as "one of the world's maddest drummers" and "the famous composer and recorder of 'Baby I'm Sick Of You,' 'Double Barrel Boogie' and many others."   Another ad lists him as being the composer and recorder of "Beanphobia," "Mi Mi Cato" and "A Woman Is A Wonderful Thing."

Other than "Baby I'm Sick of You," official releases could not be verified for any of the songs mentioned.   An acetate of "Beanaphobia" however was shared on Instagram in recent years.  It was recorded at James Dooley Productions in Canton, OH with the Duke Jenkins Orchestra.  The song is indeed credited to Count Demon and appears to have been a duet with Satchmo (Thompson).  It was produced for Revo Records.

In 1955, Count Demon put the Demons of Jazz on hold and joined Champaign-native Jack McDuff and his band on the road.   Besides McDuff who was playing piano at the time, the group consisted of Bill Yancey on bass, Kilroy Beatty on sax and singer Dahl Scott.   (Ads for the group featured a picture of Count Demon behind a conga drum wearing a sombrero.)

An article in the St. Paul Recorder from February 18, 1955 mentions that Count Demon had just finished a recording of "Slipping and Sliding" with Chance Records in Chicago.  If true, it may have been one of the last sessions done for the label which had already folded by the time that article ran.  

There is no evidence the track was ever released by Chance or any other label.  Count Demon however recorded a live version of "Slippin and Slidin" several years later and released it on his own Po' Boy's Record Company.   The flip side of the 1962 single was "Why Did You Leave Me."

 

Back in 1956 McDuff decided to quit the road and possibly music and returned to Champaign to manage a dry cleaning business.  Count Demon, it seems, decided to join him in central Illinois.

Another jazz musician that relocated to the area around that same time was saxophonist Waymon "Punchy" Atkinson.  Originally from Akron, OH, Atkinson had played with Count Demon in the Duke Jenkins band and the Demons of Jazz.

McDuff famously did not remain in Champaign long but Count Demon did.  By 1958, Demon was performing around the U of I campus, often in the Illini Union at Jazz-U-Like-It.   Count Demon's quartet around that time included Punchy Aktinson on tenor sax, Bill Yancey on bass and Joe Bradley on piano.

A review in the Daily Illini from April 1960, described the "Demons" as "a local professional group; they have recorded for World Pacific, and have engagements at places such as the Eldorado, the Porthole, and the Elks."   The locations listed were all local clubs.   The mention of World Pacific Records may have been a reference to Punchy Atkinson having recorded for the label with Wes Montgomery and his brothers.

The band on this particular evening in 1960 included Tim Byrnes on bass, Joe Bradley on piano, Punchy Atkinson and Roland Clark, both on tenor sax.  At some point in the evening a young Denny Zeitlin sat in with the group on piano.  Zeitlin was a student at the U of I at the time.

The review continues, "In the second half, Count Demon surrendered the drums to Swede Perkins, and sang three songs fairly well.  The last, 'In the Evening When the Sun Goes Down,' was a slow pulsating blues of the Count Basie variety.  The audience reaction was overwhelming."

All but one of Count Demon's later recordings feature him behind the mic.  In 1962, he released four singles on Po' Boy's Record Company (54 E. Columbia, Champaign, Ill.):

#300 - My Isabella / I Don't Believe   

#301 - Slippin' and Slidin' / Why Did You Leave Me

#302 - Take It Upstairs Pt 1 / Take It Upstairs Pt 2

#303 - Wanderin' Child / Slow Train 

 

  

Other than "My Isabella" and "I Don't Believe," all of the songs were recorded live (where exactly is unknown).  Most are credited to Count Demon and A. Yarber although "My Isabella" appears to be a cover of Danny Cobb's tune of the same name released in 1955.

Count Demon's most notable song however was the risqué "Take It Upstairs."  

The song, which is full of double entendres and suggestive lyrics, was clearly a crowd favorite.  Advertisements for live performances in the mid-1960's often refer to Count Demon as "Mister Take It Upstairs."  (Listen closely to the lyrics and you can hear him name check "Jack McDuffy" and the Elks where the two of them played often.)

In 1964 the University of Illinois changed their policy regarding the Jazz-U concerts held in the student union making them reserved for students and faculty only.  Count Demon and other local musicians not affiliated with the university were no longer allowed to perform there.

Count Demon went back on the road that year.  He performing in Indiana with the Blue Knights Combo which included Joe Bradley on organ, Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet and Tony Zamora on tenor sax. Also, sometime in the mid-1960's, Count Demon opened the Star Record Shop on First Street in Champaign.

In July 1966 Count Demon and His House Rockers played the 3rd Ward Club in Bloomington, Illinois. Later that year he was back in Indiana, performing live with a group billed as the Jazz Members. At times they were promoted as Count Demon and His Four Members.

The next year he released a single on Star Record and Recording Company (206 1/2 North First Street, Champaign) under that moniker:

Count Demon & His Four Members - "I Got To Work With It" / "C.C. Rider"

  

The single was recorded at RoFran Enterprises in Urbana, Illinois on March 6, 1967.   It was produced by George Tinsley.  The band included Count Demon (vocal & drums), High Priest (Hammond organ), Chuck Fields (tenor sax), LaMonte Parsons (guitar), Freddie Davis (drums, tambourine) and Victor Maguire (bongos). 

The group performed regularly in Indianapolis, Lafayette and Kokomo, Indiana throughout 1967.  They also spent a few weeks at Sasto's in Des Moines, Iowa and Allen's Showcase in Omaha, Nebraska that same year.  

In the late 1960's and early 70's, Count Demon stayed closer to home, playing and singing around Champaign with the Tony Zamora Ensemble.   Pictured below: LaMonte Parsons, Count Demon, Cecil Bridgewater, Dee Dee Garrett (Bridgewater), Tony Zamora and Milton Knox. (Date unknown)

In 1968, Count Demon, along with Cecil Bridgewater and LaMonte Parsons, filmed a performance for WILL-TV in Urbana-Champaign.  "Justice: Color Blind...or Just Blind?" was used in a 1969 documentary series entitled African-American Life in Central Illinois:

In a 1977 Daily Illini article about black jazz musicians in Champaign, several people commented on Count Demon's life and legacy. "Count Demon was one of the 'connecting links.' He stayed a long time, he played a lot of places, he gave jazz a continuity in the black community. " George Pope Jr. remembers his as "a helluva sing and entertainer. He wasn't a song and dance man, but he sang real good jazz, very similar to Mose Allison."

Richard Davis, described as one of the Count's best friends, remembers him as being "tall and thin. He could eat a lot but he'd never eat right. He led that musician's life. He didn't drink that much, he didn't use drugs or anything. He just didn't need those crutches."

Regarding his place in the community, Davis adds, "He used to operate a record store across the street from Tommy's Barber Shop (at First and Church Streets in Champaign). A lot of people used to confide in Count Demon. He was not only a musician, he was also a teacher. At the same time he was helping you learn about music, he could also help you learn about all that stuff out there (in the world), because he'd been there. Lot of people that set up shop in that record store turn out to be very involved in the civil rights movements of the '60s."

Candy Foster, a Champaign-area soul and blues legend that is still active today at age 89, regards Count Demon as a mentor. In a 2015 interview, Foster said this about Demon:

"He did a whole lot for me, took me under his wing as a young man, 19, 20, and...and showed me the ropes, ‘cause he was an entertainer, he get up there and he’d sing, and dance, and do everything, people were crazy about him. And he did novelties, songs. And all kind of things to keep people laughing, and when he danced, he had long legs, well he goin’ down, had a Mexican sombrero (laughter), he was a great hit, and – and, so, he just – he just knew how to entertain."

Earlier this year Illinois Public Media produced the documentary, Candy Foster: A Musical Witness.  At the 15:30 mark, Foster and others talk directly about the life and legacy of Count Demon.

The Vanguards (Mendota)

The Vanguards were five teenagers from Mendota, Illinois: Tony Martin, vocals; Jack Wagner, lead guitar; Jim Larkin, rhythm guitar; Benny Sutton, bass guitar; and Gary Fitzgerald, drums.  All were students at Mendota High School.

The combo formed in 1964 and got their start playing at the local youth center, the Mendota Kanteen.  

By 1966, the group was performing throughout the northern half of Illinois, including gigs in DeKalb, Dixon, Princeton, Ottawa, Streator and even Chicago.   

In early 1966 the group travelled to the Universal Recording Studio in Chicago for a recording session.  The end result was a single which the band self-released in the summer of that year.

The 45 included "What's Wrong With You," an original written by Martin and Fitzgerald, along with a cover of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven" on the flip side.  (The audio in the YouTube videos below was transferred directly from the master tapes not from a record.)

 

The band also made several other recordings which were never released at the time.  They included covers of "Bulldog," "Hi-Heel Sneakers" and "Kansas City,' as well as two originals:

"Cool Richie" & "Peachtree"

  

Informal live recordings done at the Mendota Kanteen in 1966 show the band doing a number of Rolling Stones' covers (Paint It Black, Satisfaction, As Tears Go By, Get Off My Cloud & The Last Time) as well as songs by as the Kinks, the Turtles and the Animals.   Their sets included a number of Ventures-inspired instrumentals as well, such as “Pipeline,” “Diamond Head,” "Walk Don't Run" and “Perfidia.”

The group continued to perform through the summer of 1967 including gigs in nearby Compton and Amboy.  By 1968 however the members had all graduated high school and went their separate ways (i.e. Vietnam), bringing an end to the band.

Fast forward to 2010, when singer Tony Martin and his wife were involved in a car accident which left him with serious spinal injuries.   A benefit was planned for Martin in January 2011.  The day before the event, all of the members of the Vanguards joined Martin at his bedside.  It was the first time in 43 years they were all together again.

Around the same time, a Vanguards CD was produced and sold to help raise money for Martin.  Incredibly, the band members were still in possession of the master tapes and acetates from their '66 sessions.  The CD included "remastered" versions of the single along with unreleased tracks (see above YouTube videos).

Tony Martin passed away in 2014.  In the 40+ years after the Vanguards he continued to sing, performing with multiple area bands such as the Old News Band, Rum and Chowder and Lonwolf.

Guitarist John "Jack" Wagner continues to write and perform music in Texas to this day.  You can listen and purchase his latest release HERE.   He also writes musical stage plays.  His most recent, Dream Catcher: The Ray Scott Story, is currently being produced by the Mystic Cat Society in Houston.

The Byrds Flock to Illinois on First U.S. Tour (July 1965)

In early July 1965, just as their single "Mr. Tambourine Man" reached number one on the pop charts, the Byrds set out on their first national tour.  

Over the course of a month, the band performed more than 25 times in ten different states.  With the exception of a weekend detour to Miami Beach for the Columbia Records Sales Convention, almost all of the shows took place in the Midwest.  The venues were mostly amusement parks, rec and youth centers, and small town ballrooms.

Using Chicago (Roger McGuinn's hometown) as their base of operations, the group zig-zagged across the middle of the country on a Trailways bus.   Traveling with the band was a troupe of go-go dancers led by L.A. freakster Carl Franzoni.

In his book, Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life and Legacy of the Byrds' Gene Clark, John Einarson detailed life on the road during the '65 tour of the Midwest:

The Byrds' trek across America was in a regular Continental Trailways excursion bus replete with standard bus seats.  No bunks, bedrooms, bars, or kitchen like today's touring buses; just your normal 60-passenger bus pulling a trailer with the group's gear (including new Fender Dual Showman amplifiers boasting 100 watts - the loudest on the market at the time - courtesy of CBS, who had recently acquired the renowned instrument maker).  

Along for the trip were L.A. scene-makers Vito [Paulekas] and Carl [Franzoni] and their entourage of crazed hippie dancers whose uninhibited gyrations caused quite a stir in the heartlands of America.   

The Byrds appeared in Illinois repeatedly during this month long tour.  Some of their shows however have never been properly documented.   Their performance at the Hi Society Youth Center in Peru, Illinois on July 30th, for example, has been overlooked by most chroniclers of the band.   

One of the first shows on the tour was a six hour dance scheduled at Rockford College.  The July 10th concert ran from 5:30 pm to 11:30 pm at the College Fieldhouse.  The only other band on the bill were the Chicago-based Blackstones.  The Rockford Morning Star reported that "hundreds" of teenagers enjoyed the show.

 

Earlier that same day, the Byrds appeared at Sears locations across Chicagoland with WLS DJ Ron Riley.  To the first 200 fans at each store, free pictures of the group were to be given out.  The locations and times were the State Street store 10-10:30; Irving Park & Cicero 11-11:30; Harlem & North 12:15-12:45; Oakbrook 1:30-2 pm. 

Over 10,000 teenagers showed up to see the group between the four locations.  The Rockford newspaper reported that 2,000 teenagers rioted at the Arlington Heights shopping center.

The band would not give another concert in Illinois for two more weeks, however the Byrds made national news on July 20 after an incident at the O'Hare Inn near Chicago's airport.   It was reported that the band was barred from eating breakfast at the motel when they arrived at the dining room without any shoes on.   The group eventually returned wearing cowboy boots.

 

The motel's president announced that rock 'n roll musicians would be banned from staying at the motel going forward.  He added that the Byrds dressed "more in keeping with a flophouse than a respectable motel."

The band's next performance in Illinois was their July 24th show at the Arie Crown Theater, McCormick Place in Chicago.  The 8:30 performance was part of the "Summer of Stars - '65" series.  The Shadows of Knight were the opening group.

According to Christopher Hjort's book, So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-by-Day, 1965-1973, the band played a gig in East St. Louis the following evening.  He mentions that the concert was possibly held at the Casa-Loma Ballroom which, if true, is actually across the river in St. Louis, Missouri.

Next the Byrds would go to Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan before finishing their tour in Illinois.  Just two days before leaving for England, the Byrds landed at the Hi Society youth center in Peru, Illinois.  

Incredibly, a Friday night concert by one of the hottest bands in the country was held in a basement venue that could fit a few hundred kids at most.   The show was scheduled from 8 to 11 pm.  Daniel Marenda, who was in attendance that night, shared on X that Chis Hillman's bass amp failed during the show and the band had to borrow one from a local group.

The next night, according to a newspaper article in the Park Forest Star, the Byrds finished their tour at the Park Forest Recreational Center in Park Forest, Illinois.

Hjort's book however presents a different series of concerts at the end of the tour:

The Byrds wind up their Midwest tour with dates in Paris, IL (playing the Pavilion in Twin Lakes Amusement Park), and a pair of hastily arranged suburban Chicago school bookings at Morton High School, Berwyn, IL, and Arlington Heights High School, Arlington Heights, IL - the latter with The Shadows of Knight in support again.

In John Rogan's book, Timeless Flight: The Definitive Biography of the Byrds, the Paris, Illinois date is somewhat confirmed by Liz Donahue, one of the members of the dance troupe:

It was amazing.  I don't think the Mid-West was ready for Carl Franzoni and the whole troupe of us.  We'd go into restaurants in the Mid-West and they wouldn't wait on us.   They thought we were something from Outer Space.  In Paris, Illinois, they actually threw us off the dance floor.  I think they cancelled the gig that night."

On Sunday August 1st, the Byrds flew out of Chicago, headed for London to begin their first overseas tour.  The days of playing small town ballrooms and rec centers in the heartland was short-lived.  Like the Kinks tour of the state in 1965, never again would the youth of Illinois get such an intimate look at one of the iconic bands of the 1960's.

If you saw the Byrds on this early tour and want to share your memories, please leave a comment below or get in touch directly at:  downstatesounds@gmail.com 

July 1965 Tour Dates & Additional Info

July 3    Hollywood Bowl        Los Angeles, CA

Prior to leaving on tour, the Byrds were part of the Beach Boys Summer Spectacular at the Hollywood Bowl on July 3rd.  In addition to the Byrds, the show featured the Beach Boys, the Kinks, Sir Douglas Quintet, Sam the Sham, Sonny & Cher, the Righteous Brothers, and several others.  According to Billboard, about 15,000 people attended the concert.

July 4 Jane Fonda's house       Malibu, CA

The Byrds performed at Jane Fonda's 4th of July party.

July 5 Lakeside Amusement Park     Lakeside, CO

The Moonrakers, a Denver-area band, opened for the Byrds.

July 6 Coliseum Annex Sioux Falls, SD

July 7 Prom Ballroom St. Paul, MN

July 8 Inwood Ballroom     Spillville, IA

Hjort's book contradicts this date.  He claims that the group played in Duluth, MN on the 8th and performed at the Inwood Ballroom on the 14th.

July 10 Sears (five locations) - 10 am - 2 pm Chicago, IL

           

July 10 Rockford College Rockford, IL

         

July 11 Terp Ballroom Austin, MN

July 13 Roof Garden Ballroom     Arnolds Park, IA
         
Hjort claims that the Byrds failed to show up for this gig and that the Thunderbolts from nearby Carroll, IA play instead.

July 15 Pla-Mor Ballroom     Rochester, MN

Jul 16 & 17 Columbia Records Sales Convention, Americana Hotel     Miami Beach, FL

The Byrds flew down to Miami Beach for the weekend to attend the Columbia Records Sales Convention held at the Americana Hotel.  They arrived at the same time as some of the Miss Universe contestants which was being held in Miami Beach the following weekend. 

July 18 Idora Park Youngstown, OH

Carl Franzoni recalls being punched in the stomach during this performance (Someone in Youngstown was not a fan of his dancing). 

July 19 LeSourdville Lake Park Monroe, OH

 

Billboard reported that the Byrds performed to a capacity 2,800 people in two 45-minute performances at LeSourdsville Park, located half-way between Hamilton and Middletown, OH.  This shattered the attendance record set at the park by the Beach Boys earlier in the year.  Jim Smith, program director at WSAI and promoter of the show reported that hundred were turned away. 

July 20 Centennial Recreation Center Sylvania, OH

Hjort lists a different location entirely for this date:  The Sugar Shack in Chillicothe, OH  (He adds the band showed up two hours late.)   

July 21 Cedar Point Ballroom        Sandusky, OH

According to the Sandusky Register, the band performed for around 300 youngsters at the Cedar Point Ballroom.

July 22 Band Canyon     Bay City, MI

For details about the show in Bay City, including several first hand accounts, see Michigan Rock and Roll Legends.

July 23 Indiana Beach Monticello, IN

July 24 Arie Crown Theatre Chicago, IL

July 25    East St. Louis, IL / St. Louis, MO

July 26 Gypsy Village Nightclub Louisville, KY

July 27 Forest Park Arena Dayton, OH

 

July 28 Grand Haven Roller Rink Grand Haven, MI

In addition to the dancers and scene-makers, another person traveling with the Byrds was a young Bryan MacLean, founding member of the band Love.  MacLean was friends with David Crosby and was hired as a sort of equipment manager.

In an interview, MacLean said this about his role:   "I realize now I was just a roadie. When they were on the "Mr. Tambourine Man" tour which was cross-country, they hired a guy to be the road manager.

I remember thinking, "Why are they calling him the road manager? I'm the road manager." I referred to myself as the road manager of the Byrds for years and years before I realized there was a distinction.

After the concert in Grand Haven, Michigan, a picture ran in the Muskegon Chronicle of the band's "assistant manager" which appears to be MacLean.   The article, like so many in those days, seemed obsessed with the length of everyone's hair. 

July 30 Hi Society Youth Center Peru, IL

July 31 Park Forest Recreation Center Park Forest, IL