Smoky, Sweaty, Rowdy, and Loud: Tales of Cleveland's Legendary Rock & Roll Landmarks

Mike Olszewski, Janice Olszewski
$13.56 $15.95

Let's head backstage at Cleveland's legendary rock and roll landmarks as club owners, talent bookers, performers, promoters, and concertgoers share stories from the 1950s through 1990s about . . .

  • Where it all began: the Cleveland Arena, site of the first-ever rock concert, anywhere.
  • The hugely influential Agora, where Springsteen and so many other acts burst onto the scene
  • The Coliseum at Richfield, erected in the middle of nowhere just in time for the arrival of arena rock.
  • Monster concerts at Cleveland Municipal Stadium--including the epic, multi-year World Series of Rock.
  • Groundbreaking R&B clubs Gleason's and Leo's Casino.
  • Staid, classical Public Auditorium, where the Beatles incited a riot and Led Zeppelin grabbed a teenage audience volunteer to fill in on bass
  • Musicarnival, the circular big-top tent that alternated summer-stock with hard-rock (to the dismay of suburban neighbors).
  • Bars and clubs like the Euclid Tavern, Variety Theater, and Empire Concert Club that rocked the '80s and '90s with punk, thrash, electronica--whatever it took.
  • The renowned Swingos' celebrity hotel on Euclid Avenue, where bands remembered checking in and checking out--but nothing in-between
  • And other classic venues well worth remembering.


Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Gray & Company Publishers
Published: 05/15/2019
ISBN: 9781598511048
Pages: 208
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 0.60d