Alice Cooper's unexpected duet in Flint

Would someone please turn off the fan? It's disturbing the snake.

Flint Expatriate Rich Frost recounts his encounter with Alice Cooper at the IMA:

Growing up in Flint, I got a chance to see a lot of great Michigan rock n' roll bands as I was a part of the "behind the scenes" production team at Sherwood Forest for Wild Wednesday and all the other concerts that Peter C. Cavanaugh staged there. I also got a chance to work some rock concerts at the IMA, Delta College and the Saginaw Civic Center.

If you're into stories about rock n' roll and Flint's IMA, here's one for you:

Alice Cooper did a warm-up concert in Flint before doing a big tour. It was one of those concerts where the band could get the kinks out of the show and make it better before taking it on the road. The band was based in Detroit at the time, so they were able to drive up to the IMA Auditorium in the afternoon to get ready for the show.

As soon as they got into town, Alice requested several top hats to wear while he performed, so I was put in charge of going out to get them with his girlfriend at the time — a model whose name I can't remember. We drove all around town to secure some top hats, eventually finding them at H&D Tuxedo. With top hats in hand, we drove back to the IMA where sound checks were in progress. By all appearances, it looked like the concert was going to be just another rock n' roll show, but the appearance of another celebrity in town changed all of that.

Just before the show started, none other than Micky Dolenz of The Monkees showed up. Dolenz was in town to do a live appearance at the South Flint Drive-In where the movie he was appearing in — brace yourself…the R-rated Linda Lovelace for President — was showing.

Once Micky and the Alice Cooper crew met backstage, they started to party, and they worked out something to surprise the audience at the IMA. The final song of the show was Alice Cooper's "School's Out," and if you remember the song there's a long guitar note/semi-feedback noise at the end. But on that night the long guitar note went into another familiar song — the theme to "The Monkees.”

Once they went into the theme song, Micky bolted out on stage and sang the song with the band. Well, that was how it was planned, but Micky had a hard time doing anything because he was completely plastered after consuming mass quantities of alcohol backstage. They did the song, sort of, but Alice literally had to pick Micky up and carry him off stage. He was that plowed.

Now, that's rock n' roll at the IMA that I remember!

Flint Artifacts: Blue Oyster Cult/REO Speedwagon at Sherwood Forest Concert Poster

(Special thanks to Lori Wenzel for passing this along to Flint Expatriates.)

Flint Portraits: Peter C. Cavanaugh

A WTAC live remote broadcast of the Peter C. Morning Show at Eastland Mall in 1970 draws a crowd.

Peter C. Cavanaugh, a Flint radio icon at WTAC from the sixties to the early eighties and the man who organized the Sherwood Forest concert series in Davison, is often credited with introducing Michigan and the rest of the country to the likes of The Who, Ted Nugent, Bob Seger, Alice Cooper, and The MC5. Michael Moore credits him with "saving a generation of Flint kids from the likes of Pat Boone."

If you want the full story, he has a book out that manages to capture the spirit of both Flint and rock 'n' roll. Here's an excerpt from Local DJ: A Rock "N" Roll History:

"Atwood Stadium is an old high-school athletic facility in Flint. In August, Herman's Hermits were scheduled to headline a major show. Among the opening acts were several young British musicians who had banded together in 1965, and had been introduced to U.S. airwaves over WTAC later that year with their first Decca single. It was called, "I Can't Explain." It is well known and acknowledged in Rock `n Roll history books that WTAC was the first radio station in America to ever play The WHO. By cosmic convergence, August 23, 1967, was also Keith Moon's twenty-first birthday. At least according to his testimony at the time. Subsequent investigation would later indicate that honoring an exact score of years would have been more precise, yet, conferring 'underage status' in many states, '20' might have presented certain geographic inconveniences. It matters not. Keith and the group brought a birthday cake to our WTAC studios in celebration of the momentous event and in appreciation of our earlier efforts on their behalf. We thought it was pretty wild. It was his birthday and we got the cake. 'Far out!'

"We interviewed the group and pushed the show. Ticket sales had been slow. Nobody knew who the WHO were. This was their first major tour of The States with little attention being yet paid by the trades or in "teeny-bop" magazines which now flourished seemingly everywhere. The promoter had been counting on Herman's Hermits for drawing power, but they were on a bit of a fade. "Mrs. Brown, You Have a Lovely Daughter" only sounded good under the influence of bubble-gum. I arranged to get the night off in honor of Keith's birthday. We had been promised an extraordinary treat. The promise was understated.

"Under cloudy skies, and with only several thousand in attendance, the sponsors didn't break-even. The Blues Magoos were introduced and did a nice thirty-minute set, closing with their biggest hit, 'You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet.' How prophetic. After 20 minutes of equipment changes, the WHO took charge and exploded.

"Take no prisoners. Balls to the walls. It can't get any louder. Yes, it can. He's setting fire to his guitar. Shit. He's breaking everything up. There go the amps. He's kicking-in the bass-drum. What? Everything's blowing-up! Feedback's screaming!! They left the stage completely destroyed!!! The show's over!!!! ROCK `N ROLL!!!!! The crowd reacted with proportionate appreciation. Hope I die before I get old. Backstage, every member of Herman's Hermits was ashen-faced. They had to go on after that and sing twinky little tunes about some fat king with eight wives? Fuuuuuuuck."

You can order copies of the book from Peter C.'s website, which is also a great source for photos, including all the shots featured here.

Bob Seger rocks Mt. Holly in July, 1970. And if you're wondering about the pants, I'm guessing they're some ski pants he swiped from the pro shop.