Clamorous and unconstrained, the history of rock bands playing in Alaska mirrors the state’s evolution

Part of a continuing weekly series on local history by local historian David Reamer. Have a question about Anchorage history or an idea for a future article? Go to the form at the bottom of this story.

By the early 1970s, Anchorage had finally grown large enough — important enough — to warrant regular visits by nationally known bands. This introduction to the major concert circuits was an imperfect one. Yes, there was plenty of demand, sellouts and profits for the savviest promoters. However, there were also poor sound quality, a notorious biker brawl, high costs and the occasional spectacular failure. In this way, the arrival of more famous performing artists reflected the growing pains of a rapidly evolving city.

Anchorage first boomed in the late 1910s, a surging new railroad center. In the 1940s, the city boomed again, the fortunate recipient of a new Army base. And in the 1970s and early 1980s, oil money helped transform what was, at its heart, a rough small town into a proper metropolis.

Before World War II, Anchorage’s musical entertainment tended to be locally sourced. There were exceptions, but local concerts then were produced and performed by area residents more often than not. For example, in 1921, the short-lived Anchorage Choral Society provided Anchorage with its first classical music concert. The following year, they performed a Gilbert and Sullivan musical, “Patience.”

After World War II, the rising number of bars, clubs and lounges sought to one-up each other by paying top dollar for imported lounge singers, pianists, strippers and drag queens. In many cases, these were some of the better lounge singers, pianists, strippers and drag queens that the Lower 48 had to offer. Abundant charms aside, these were not household names. A 1954 visit by the legendary Billie Holliday to play the 1042 Club was the exception rather than the rule.

In the 1960s, country music grabbed a larger hold on the city music scene, and the decade was marked by a higher quality of visiting country acts. In 1969, Roy Clark played the Red Barn in Eagle River, albeit shortly before the television show “Hee Haw” launched him to greater fame. That same year, Alaska Rep. Stan Cornelius from Anchorage introduced an ultimately successful resolution asking Gov. Keith Miller to proclaim October as “Country Music Month” in Alaska. Cornelius and Miller were both country music fans and prone to sudden renditions of Hank Williams Sr. classics.

In the 1970s, the big rock and roll bands began making regular trips north. Some of the acts wanted to see Alaska or at least check it off the list of states they had played. Of course, the greatest incentive was the money to be made. On top of significant guarantees, an appearance in Alaska meant opening a new market with a lingering effect on record sales. Local promoter Steve London told Billboard magazine in 1975, “Almost every concert in Alaska results in subsequent record and tape sales on that artist. This is an excellent market.” He further claimed that Anchorage shops sold 800 combined Redbone albums and cassettes after the funk band played here.

Unfortunately, before the Sullivan Arena opened in 1983, the venue options in Anchorage were subpar and often below the established standards of the bands that played here. The nightclubs, lounges, and bars were out of the running for any of the more recognizable performers. Spenard legend Mr. Whitekeys, proprietor of the Fly By Night Club, told the Daily News in 1982, “I can’t hire the big names because we only seat 150. So, I hire the little guys, and that means I have to get out and educate the public.”

The premier option, hard as it might be to believe now, was the West High School auditorium. The school hosted most of the biggest acts that played Anchorage through the 1970s and into the 1980s, including Canned Heat, Gordon Lightfoot, Cheech and Chong, the Grateful Dead, Bee Gees and Ozzy Osbourne.

Even in the best of times, the school was an awkward host for some of the hardest-partying bands of the era. After several incidents in the early 1970s, the school board banned rock bands from performing there, a restriction that lasted from late 1972 into early 1974.

The most notorious incident came after a May 1972 Canned Heat concert. Members of the local motorcycle club, the Brothers, forced their way backstage. When police intervened, the Brothers fought back in a 10- to 15-minute brawl that carried out into the parking lot and ended with one officer unconscious. KFQD radio news director Jack O’Quinn received two death threats after the station covered the confrontation.

The next “hard rock” band allowed to play there was Stories, a short-lived group that managed a No. 1 hit with their cover of Hot Chocolate’s “Brother Louie.” They played two shows on Feb. 24, 1974. Afterward, the school district charged the promoter for damage to about 60 seats. The school board was also less than thrilled that the band sprayed themselves and the stage with beer.

The Grateful Dead’s three West High shows in June 1980 were a high point of the era. It had been more than a decade since the Dead had played anything as small as the 2,000-seat auditorium, but a desire to see Alaska and a substantial guarantee made it happen. It took two trucks to carry the band’s equipment north. The result was perhaps as close as a big Anchorage concert got to sonic perfection. Lewis Leonard, who worked on the crew, told the Daily News in 2017, “Literally, the room was kind of a speaker in itself. It was an incredible sound. I was going to drop acid, so I was out on a nice acid trip while I was working, and it was really great.”

Ozzy Osbourne’s two shows at West High on June 13, 1982, fell at the other end of the spectrum. For Ozzy, it had been three years since his bandmates kicked him out of Black Sabbath and six months since he bit the head off a bat at a Des Moines, Iowa show. The promoter, Northern Stage Company, paid Osbourne at least $35,000, about $100,000 in 2022, in addition to transportation, lodging, set-up and any other contractual riders.

Ozzy was in fine form, though the concerts were delayed three hours by a power outage. Only one of the two shows sold out, and the promoter lost money on the endeavor. George Lichter, president of Northern Stage, understandably demurred on the specific costs and losses but admitted, “We misjudged Ozzy Osbourne ... guess we thought they were better known up here.”

The Anchorage Sports Arena at Fireweed Lane and A Street was a step down from the West High auditorium. The Sports Arena opened in 1965 and is still standing, now living another life as an office supply store. In its questionable heyday, it hosted major acts like Arlo Guthrie, Santana, Canned Heat, Grand Funk Railroad, and Fleetwood Mac. It also was the original home for the Anchorage Wolverines hockey team.

As a concert venue, there was little to recommend about the Sports Arena. During hockey season, the ice was simply covered with plywood, making it uncomfortably cold for performers. Anchorage residents could live with the cold. No one could do anything about the infamously lousy sound system except to endure or avoid shows there altogether.

Canned Heat and Fleetwood Mac played there together in 1975. Mr. Whitekeys was there and offered a defining description of the Sports Arena in his review for the Daily News. He wrote, “You couldn’t hear a thing in spite of the sound man’s deafening levels — nothing but a muddled roar. The kindest thing I can say is that the Sports Arena stinks! You can hear better outside the building than inside.”

Before Canned Heat began their set, vocalist Bob Hite made a request, a humorous highlight that evening. He told the audience, “May I have your attention? There’s a problem here that must be taken care of. Please cooperate and pass all dangerous drugs up to the stage where the band can properly dispose of them.”

Some promoters tried to be a little more creative with their venues. On June 2, 1974, Kiss and Savoy Brown played Anchorage, the first Alaska experience for both bands. The concert was initially scheduled for a roller rink until derailed by fire regulations. The event was relocated to the Sundowner Drive-In theater, off Seward Highway, near Chester Creek. This version of Kiss, while already building a reputation for their live theatrics, was not yet the headlining act they would become. In fact, Savoy Brown, a British blues-rock band best known for tracks like “Run to Me” and “Hellbound Train,” was the final and feature performer. The show garnered a large crowd, but it is an open question as to how many in attendance had even heard of Kiss before buying a ticket.

The show was touted as Anchorage’s first open-air rock concert. In the hurried madness of it all, the crew forgot to connect electricity to the custom-built stage. The 3,000 people that showed up waited an hour and a half for the show to start. The opening act, a local band called Flight, was thrown to the wolves without a soundcheck, so continual feedback and distortion hamstrung their set.

After a lengthy break, Kiss took the stage with a simpler version of their later stadium performances. Lead singer Gene Simmons breathed fire. There was smoke and explosions. However, they nearly quit when someone tossed a cherry bomb near them.

After another lengthy break, Savoy Brown hit the stage. Lead singer Kim Simmonds was drunk to the point that he required assistance to cross the stage. Their set was as sloppy as might be disappointingly expected under the circumstances. In his review of the show, Mr. Whitekeys asked rhetorically, “What can I possibly say about last Sunday’s Savoy Brown rock show that hasn’t already been said about the attack on Pearl Harbor?”

Though not in Anchorage, the June 1978 Midnight Sun Marathon in Big Lake deserves mention. The promoters hoped to draw 15,000 to 30,000 attendees for a two-day rock festival featuring lesser-light headliners like Tower of Power and Little Feat. Obviously, the organizers hoped to draw a crowd not only from Anchorage but the entire state.

Little if anything went right with the production. When promoters announced plans for speakers with a five-mile range, it motivated the neighbors to seek a court injunction. The festival was a dismal disaster, undermined by the weather, presentation and lackluster slate. Rather than keep the lakeside setting as it was, the location was roughly clear-cut. When the show kicked off, there were only about 3,000 in attendance, standing in the rain and an unadorned, ankle-deep field of mud.

One attendee told the Anchorage Times, “I couldn’t help but wonder why anyone would strip such a beautiful piece of land of all its life and pile it around the edges like old furniture ... when we all could have really enjoyed it had it been left to be.”

When the Sullivan Arena opened in 1983, it at least offered a new scale of venue even if the building had its own share of problems, including seemingly inescapable sound quality issues. The first act to perform there was country superstar Willie Nelson on Feb. 5, 1983.

Did you see any of these shows? Did you watch Tower of Power in Big Lake or Fleetwood Mac at the Sports Arena? What other concerts do you remember from the 1970s?

Key sources:

Bieri, Chris. “Surprise Announcement Recalls the Year Grateful Dead Played West High Auditorium.” Anchorage Daily News, March 16, 2017.

Billington, Linda. “Brothers, Cops Clash—Who’s to Blame?” Anchorage Daily News, May 26, 1972, 2.

Day, William. Letter to editor. “Rock Concert.” Anchorage Times, July 1, 1978, 5.

Frazer, Mary. “Igloo Inflation Item: Alaska Cafes Shell Out Up to $500 Per Stripper.” Variety, July 1952, 2, 124.

Mesner, Emily. “Anchorage’s First Classical Musical Concert was a Century Ago. Watch a Reenactment Sunday.” Anchorage Daily News, April 8, 2021.

Michaels, Jay. “Ozzy Creates Mystical Rock World.” Anchorage Times, June 14, 1982, B-3.

Mr. Whitekeys. “Arena’s a Musical Bummer.” Anchorage Daily News, July 18, 1975, 10.

Mr. Whitekeys. “DWI . . . PDQ . . . FBI.” Anchorage Daily News, June 9, 1974, B-7.

“Musical Stan Makes Pitch.” Anchorage Daily Times, March 5, 1969, 26.

“Promoter: Alaska a Receptive New Market.” Billboard, August 9, 1975, 26.

“Rain Dampens Rock Show.” Anchorage Times, June 25, 1978, A-4.

“Rock Concert Reports Disagree on Damage.” Anchorage Daily Times, March 5, 1974, 8.

Stabler, David. “High Cost of Concerts.” Anchorage Daily News, August 15, 1982, D-1, D-2.

“West High Concert Features ‘Stories.’” Anchorage Daily Times, February 16, 1974, 3.