Day On The Green Tribute Site
Day On The Green Tribute Site
(c)content by Rick Narcisso 2006
The reverse cover of the LP "Johnny Winter Captured Live." -- I was there!!!
TRIBUTE- DAY ON THE GREEN 1974-? (c) R.Narcisso 2005
Welcome to the DAY ON THE GREEN tribute page! Please check below for for images, stories, history and memories of Bill Graham's DAY ON THE GREEN concert series that took place in the 1970's and 1980's at the Oakland Coliseum in the Bay Area
I grew up in San Mateo, California -- the heart of the San Francisco Peninsula between the City and burgeoning Silicon Valley. As a sophmore at Hillisdale High School in 1975, a bunch of friends and I heard about a big summer concert at the Oakland Coliseum. It featured Chicago (originally the Grateful Day was booked, but backed out), The Beach Boys, Chicago, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, and New Riders Of The Purple Sage (that featured the Dead's Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh). An unbilled and little known performer named Stephen Bishop opened the show wearing an all white suit and white hat. It was short hop over the San Mateo Bridge to Oakland and tickets were reasonable, so it was a no-brainer to go. What a way to start the Summer!!! That was May 24, 1975 and "Day On The Green #1" was the first official DAY ON THE GREEN in Oakland, and the shows thrived through 1991 when Metallica ended the run. In between I attended many of them, mainly in the 1970's, and feel privileged to have been part of Rock Music history.
The Story Behind Bill Graham and Day On The Green
Day On The Green beltbuckle from the '70s
In the 1960s, Bill Graham was the undisputed kingpin of Rock Music Promotion. He managed some of the biggest bands of the time and controlled the major tour venues such as the Fillmore West here in San Francisco. But the small auditorium format was becoming difficult... Expensive rents, decaying buildings, unsafe neighborhoods. It was time for a change and Graham abruptly announced his "retirement" from the promotions business in 1971 and shut-down Fillmore Productions.
Actually, it was not retirement, but a shrewdly planned move into more profitable stadium shows. And to top it off, big concrete ball parks didn't have expensive upholstry that could be destroyed, as was the case in the smaller, early-century ballrooms like Fillmore and Avalon. He established his new home base in the larger Winterland Arena in San Francisco that could hold around 5,000 fans. He also began booking shows the Cow Palace and the San Francisco Civic Auditorium (which now bears his name). Graham also maintained a New York presence by booking shows at the Felt Forum. In a few months, he had made more money than he had in several years previously in the smaller houses.
By late 1972, Graham produced a Greatful Dead Show at Kezar Stadium in Golden Gate Park where the Forty Niners NFL team had once played. It was billed, "Dancing On The Outdoor Green." Fifty thousand people attended. That show was quickly followed up with what became an infamous Led Zeppelin show at Kezar. Jimmy Page was two hours late and rowdy fans nearly burned the neighborhood down. Local residents were outraged, and it also created a rift between Led Zeppelin and Graham that lasted several years. Ultimately, though it was the catalyst for moving the stadium shows to the Oakland Coliseum and the official start of the DAY ON THE GREEN Concert series. In '73 and '74 there were a number of "Dancin' On The Green" type shows at different locations, and then Graham booked his first big show at the Coliseum. It featured Leon Russell and Loggins and Messina.
By 1975, the Oakland shows were officially planned as a summer series to take advantage of teenagers being out of school. Each show was to be officially billed as "Day On The Green #1, #2, #3," etc. I remember anxiously awaiting the San Francisco Examiner's "Pink Section" of entertainment listings to see who would be at the next "Day On The Green." The music was often great and featured multi-artist bills showcasing the biggest names in Rock music. But the shows trancended the music for many people. It was an "event," underscored with extreme partying where anything might happen, and often did. Memorable shows for me included, of course, that Chicago/Beach Boys Show. The Oakland Athletics had just won the World Series over the Dodgers the previous October, and the baseball scoreboard kept flashing, "Please Keep Off Our World Championship Grass." Naturally, everybody trudged all over the infield diamond anyway. Other highlights were: A 1976 show with Peter Frampton, Fleetwood Mac, Gary Wright, Status Quo and UFO - Dubbed "The British Invasion" and had a castle set on stage. The castle was dubbed by the crew, "Bill's Castle" and cost Graham $17,000 to build, a lot for those days. Man, those were many of the biggest names in Rock at the time. I went to a show in '75 With both the Edgar Winter Group and the Johnny Winter Band. There was a Winter Brothers Jam at the end. Some of the tunes on Johnny's set appeared on the album "Johnny Winter Captured Live" (see album cover above). Another memorable 1975 show featured Robin Trower, a guitar hero of mine. His "Robin Trower Live" album cover came from this appearance at DAY ON THE GREEN. An Aerosmith fan recently told me that their album, "Bootleg Live" was inspired by an appearance by that band at a Day On The Green. Elton John made a "surprise" visit to a show in '75 or '76 featuring the Eagles. Joe Walsh played with them at that show and became a permanent member of the band shortly thereafter. Even Led Zeppelin mended fences with Graham and did a 1977 Day On The Green, only to brawl with the crew, and then break-up. The Rolling Stones finished their World Tour in '78 at Day On The Green. In the 80's there were some of the greatest "Heavy Metal" shows ever staged featuring AC/DC, Scorpions, Ratt, Metallica, Yesterday & Today, White Snake... and others.
In 1991, Bill Graham died in a helicopter crash. Days On The Green died that evening, too. The last show occured just before his death. It featured Metallica, Queensryche, Faith No More and Sound Garden. Bill Graham Presents, his now-massive company, was eventually sold to SFX Productions in 1998 and is still in business. One of the reasons that the Days On The Green have not been resurrected, is that the BGP company now
owns big venues like The Concord Pavillion, Shoreline Amphitheater, The Sacramento Amphitheater and The Warfield Theater.
Robin Trower Live!
Partial List of Shows
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED! This list is a work in progress -- not complete and by my own admission, has many errors. If you have information, especially ticket stubs or newspaper advertisements or images of advertising poster art, please email them to me (link at bottom of page) so that the list can updated and accurate.
1975
Day in the Green #1: Chicago, Beach Boys, New Riders of the Purple Sage (Jerry Garcia & Phil Lesh), Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen (May 24, 1975).
Day in the Green #2: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Band, Joe Walsh, Jesse Colin Young (unknown date).
Day on the Green #2: Doobie Brothers, Eagles, Commander Cody, King Fish (featuring Bob Weir) (June 29, 1975).
Day on the Green #4 and #5: Led Zeppelin, Joe Walsh, Pretty Things (August 23-24, 1975). Peter Frampton, Robin Trower & unknown additional artists (August 3, 1975).
Day on the Green #6 Edgar Winter Group, Johnny Winter, Lynyrd Skynyrd (September 20, 1975)
1976
Day on the Green #1 and #2: Peter Frampton, Fleetwood Mac, Gary Wright, Status Quo, UFO (April 25, May 1, 1976)
Day on the Green #3: Jefferson Starship, Santana, Jeff Beck, Journey, Nils Lofgren (June 5, 1976)
Day on the Green #4: J. Geils Band, Jeff Beck, Blue Öyster Cult, Mahogany Rush, Sammy Hagar (June 6, 1976)
Day on the Green #5: Beach Boys, America (July, 1976)
Day on the Green #6: Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Loggins and Messina (August 3, 1976)
Day on the Green #7: Jethro Tull, Electric Light Orchestra, Rory Gallagher, Camel (August 3, 1976)
--Show moved indoors?
Day on the Green #8, 9: The Who, Grateful Dead (October 9 & 10, 1976)
1977
Day on the Green #1: Fleetwood Mac, Doobie Brothers, Gary Wright (May 7, 1977).
Day on the Green #2 and #3: Eagles, Steve Miller Band, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Heart, Foreigner (May 28, 30, 1977).
Day on the Green #4 and #5: Peter Frampton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Marshall Tucker Band, Santana, The Outlaws (July 2, 4, 1977).
Day on the Green #6 and #7: Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, Rick Derringer (July 23, 24 1977)
1978
Day on the Green #2: Steve Miller, Bob Seger, The Outlaws, Ronnie Montrose, Toby Beau (June 17, 1978)
Day on the Green #3: Aerosmith, Pat Travers, AC/DC, Van Halen, Foreigner (July 23, 1978)
Day on the Green #4: Rolling Stones, Peter Tosh, Eddie Money, Santana (July 26, 1978)
Day on the Green #5: Ted Nugent, Blue Öyster Cult, Journey, AC/DC, Cheap Trick (September, 1978)
1979
Day on the Green #1: Boston, Sammy Hagar, Eddie Money.
Day on the Green #2: Journey, J. Geils Band, UFO, Thin Lizzy, Nazareth, The Rockets (July 4, 1979).
Day on the Green #3: Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Mahogany Rush, Saint Paradise (July 21, 1979).
1980
Day on the Green #1: Sammy Hagar, Blue Öyster Cult, REO Speedwagon, Triumph, Randy Hansen (July 4, 1980).
Day on the Green #2: Journey, Cheap Trick, Black Sabbath, Molly Hatchet, Gamma (July 27, 1980)
1981
Day on the Green #1: Heart, Blue Öyster Cult, Pat Travers, Loverboy, Ozzy Osbourne, 415 (July 4, 1981).
Day on the Green #2: REO Speedwagon, Kansas, UFO, 38 Special, Gamma (August 12, 1981).
1982
Day on the Green #1: The Tubes, Toto, Gamma, Santana, Journey. (June 26, 1982)
A fireworks display finished the concert.
Day on the Green #2: Foreigner, Loverboy, Scorpions, Iron Maiden (July 18, 1982).
Day on the Green #3: The Who, The Clash, T-Bone Burnett.
1983
Day on the Green #1: Journey, Triumph, Eddie Money, Bryan Adams, Night Ranger. (July 30, 1983)
Day on the Green #3: The Police, The Fixx, Madness, Oingo Boingo, and The Thompson Twins (September 10, 1983).
1984
1985
Day on the Green #1: Scorpions, Ratt, Y&T, Metallica, Rising Force, Victory (August 31, 1985)
1986
1987
Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Great White, Poison, and Jetboy (unknown date)
1988
Pink Floyd (April 22, 1988)
1991
Metallica, Queensrÿche, Faith No More, Soundgarden (October 12, 1991)
A bunch of posters and photos..... enjoy:
What Has Been Said...
JORGE COSTA, Operations Director at PacBell Park (now A, T&T Park): "I cut my teeth at the Coliseum," recalling the old Day on the Green concerts. One in particular stands out for him, in which Santana and Lynyrd Skynyrd played inspired sets and the audience did more than its share of partying. When headliner Peter Frampton emerged, drunkenly strumming an acoustic guitar, the place cleared out. "It was the saddest show in history."
SF Chronicle, May 17, 2001
PETE TOWNSHEND, Guitarist for The Who: "Bill Graham broke the quiet wheel of Dick Clark party dances and created the blustering rocket of stadium rock."
from the book, "Bill Graham Presents - My Life Inside Rock and Out"
BILL GRAHAM: "In San Francisco, there was a long history of free shows in the park and an honorable relationship between the bands and the people. That was why I came up with the name, Day On The Green. I wanted giant outdoor sets so the bands would be going into a space that was like a theater piece. I wanted to keep the posters and balloons and make the backstage area special for the artists who were coming in."
from the book, "Bill Graham Presents - My Life Inside Rock and Out"
LEN RANK, onetime DOTG attendee from Craigslist: "Recently some promoters in Australia started doing concerts in the wine country there, calling them 'A Day On The Green.' It's a ridiculous rip-off and a slap in the face of Bill Graham's brillent legacy... Especially for those of us who who were lucky enough to see some of those historic 70s shows."
SCOTT MOSHER, another fan from Craigslist: "I was barely 14 when I started going to those shows back in 1976... I remember winning tickets to see the Zeppelin show
off the radio, KSAN as I remember. Growing up in Concord which was at the time next to nowhere we all listened to KSAN or KMEL, back when they actually played music not the crap they play now. I had called in and won the tickets, knowing my phone bill would show the call to San Francisco, but not for another month though, and then lying to my mother by saying I was going to stay the night at a friend's house. She was suspecious since I left super early for the guy's house. Since I wasn't old enough to drive, I had to give the second ticket to my neighbor who was in high school in exchange for a ride. My mom eventually found out, but it was worth it!
If You Still Want More Information...
H
IGHLY RECOMMENDED is this excellent 'warts and all' biography of Bill Graham. Although many people are offended by the soap opera aspects and risque details of Graham's life told by author John Glatt,
"Rage And Roll - Bill Graham And The Selling Of Rock," has many stories and insights related to the Day On The Green concert series. Much of this webpage's background can be attributed to this book. In addition, you will find the story of what a tough businessman Bill Graham was, and how he channelled his persecution as a European Jew in Europe during World War Two, into a brillant career as the world's greatest Rock Music Promoter.
Other Web Links Related To DAY ON THE GREEN Concerts
There's not a whole lot of information on the Web, but below are a few links you can visit for information. It's my hope that YOU will help make this
the
difinative website for Day On The Green. Please email me (link below) if you have stories or pictures you would like to share. Thanks, Rick Narcisso
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This page was last updated on November 04, 2006
