Look at this incredible lineup of Bands and Rockers. The greatest bands of the day, all playing at the same event! I was there, at The Ozark Music Festival in Sedalia Missouri, held 42 years ago.
This week is the anniversary of "The Festival", an incredible event that was a defining moment in Rock and Roll History.
Lynyrd Skynyrd - in their prime, with Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, and Leon Wilkerson. Ed King, former lead guitarist and vocalist of Strawberry Alarm Clock, jammed with Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Electric Flag with Buddy Miles and Mike Bloomfield (they had played at Monterey in 1967!)
Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes
Aerosmith
Joe Walsh
Bachman Turner Overdrive with Randy Bachman and Fred Turner
The Earl Scruggs Revue (at a rock concert!) played the theme from The Beverly Hillbillies, and Foggy Mountain Breakdown.
The Eagles
The Marshall Tucker Band (the original)
REO Speedwagon
Boz Scaggs
Bob Seger
America ("Horse with No Name")
Charlie Daniels
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Cactus
Leo Kottke
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
No-Shows who were scheduled, but did not appear:
Jefferson Starship (were they afraid of another Altamont?)
Bruce Springsteen got LAST BILLING on the promotional posters. Supposedly his equipment truck broke down on the way.
The Mahavishnu Orchestra (with Jean Luc Ponty) failed to show up.
Many lesser-known bands performed, including
David Bromberg
The Souther Hillman Furay Band (members from the Byrds, and Buffalo Springfield)
Triphammer
Bill Quateman
Fresh Start
Babe Ruth
Locomotiv GT
Puzzle
Above photo courtesy of Mike Moreno, OMF Facebook Group
Wolfman Jack was the MC. He introduced the bands; he tried to keep the crowd under control. I can still hear him pleading, "You guys, please come down from those speaker towers before somebody falls off and gets hurt!"
The bands were flown in by helicopters. Two stages were set up (see the photos). While one band was playing and rocking the masses, the roadies for the next band were setting up their equipment on the other stage.
Crowd Estimates range from 200,000 to 350,000 people. Traffic was backed up for 20 miles. The little town of Sedalia was inundated with cars, campers, vans, buses, hitchhikers, hippies, college students, teenagers, bikers, rock and roll fans, and partiers who came from all over the United States.
Photo Album above courtesy of Gigi Peterson, OMF Facebook Group
Nobody knows the reason for the banner with the name of an Assyrian king, "Tilgath Pileser III". It was hung between the two stages.
Photo above courtesy of Rod Sievers, OMF Facebook Group
Is there any Film Footage?
NBC Television filmed the entire concert. During the investigation by the Missouri State Senate, the film reels were seized as evidence. The films were reportedly destroyed by the State of Missouri. (I have it on good authority that a family member of one of the promoters has copies of the films; and hopes to release them some day).
There was a recent release of some VHS or 8mm tapes, audio only. The clips are posted on YouTube. Wolfman Jack starts the day. Bands include Cactus, Aerosmith, Buddy Miles, Electric Flag, and more.
The recording quality is lacking, but for those of us who were there, we can close our eyes and be right back in Sedalia!
Traffic before and after the Festival was bumper to bumper for 20 miles, all the way from Sedalia to Interstate 70.
Charlie Daniels, photo courtesy of Rod Sievers, OMF Facebook Group
I was 17 years old when the Festival was held. I hitchhiked all the way from Florida to attend the Ozark Music Festival. It was the experience of a lifetime!
Photo above courtesy of Rod Sievers, OMF Facebook Group
*** Where can I see more Photos? ***
Where can I hear or read stories from people who were there?
There are many photos of this event, along with dozens of stories and remembrances by attendees posted on the Facebook Group, Ozark Music Festival July 19-21, 1974 . There are close to 2000 members in the Facebook Group.
This is a Private Facebook Group. Please mention my name, or this Blog, to Group Moderator Lanette Brown Giese; ask permission to join.
AN EXCELLENT WEBSITE with photos, articles and more:
Ozark Music Festival, website by Rod Sievers
Some truly great PHOTOS, taken by David Mann (warning: some nudity)
ANOTHER great place to see photos, and hear the Promoters talk, is on this video (warning, contains nudity).
Remembering the Ozark Music Festival
Sedalia, Missouri July 19-21, 1974
Footnote: I was only 17 years old; my memories of this event may not be completely right. If you were there, and have corrections to which bands played or did not play, etc. please let me know in the comment section below.
Be sure to join the Facebook Group, Ozark Music Festival July 19-21, 1974
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