Woodstock often is the best-known rock pageant, however is probably going that the Ozark Music Competition held over the weekend of July 19-21, 1974 was one of many very greatest. It’s estimated that round 350,000 individuals turned up on the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia. Initially, the corporate that organized the occasion mentioned they’d promote not more than 50,000 tickets, nevertheless it was apparent from the Thursday night that it was going to be means larger, as individuals arrived from far and large, regardless of the primary bands not scheduled to play till the Friday.
The lineup was stellar with Bachman Turner Overdrive because the nationwide headliners – their single “Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” was on its technique to topping the Billboard chart. America had already topped the charts 2 years earlier with “A Horse With No Name,” scored a few different high ten hits, and have been heading for one more American high 5 file with “Tin Man.”
In accordance with Dewey Bunnell of America: “It was just another stop on our endless summer tour of 1974 so we were pretty buzzed, but I do remember we arrived in a helicopter on the last day and it was incredibly hot! Everyone was sweating and sunburned! Flying in we could see it was a very large festival and the first thing I remember seeing as we stepped off the chopper was a bloody t-shirt amid the debris backstage. Dan was from Missouri so he was happy to be playing this big festival in his home state and I think he had relatives waiting. It was obvious that the previous 2 days had taken a toll on the audience, but everyone was having a great time. When we took the stage the festival crew were spraying water and beer on the crowd. I remember we just joined the masses and had a good show, interacting with the smiling faces and half-naked crowd.”
Whereas the Eagles hit singles could not have been as massive as America’s, their first two albums had finished nicely on the chart within the USA, and they also have been thought-about headliners as nicely. Equally, Joe Walsh and Barnstorm had finished nicely on the album chart with their second long-player, The Smoker You Drink, The Participant You Get. The Marshall Tucker Band from Spartanburg, South Carolina was making a reputation for themselves with their model of Southern Rock.
The pageant was billed as one that includes bluegrass in addition to rock so it was that The Earl Scruggs Revue and The Nitty Gritty Grime Band have been included. Different bands not on the poster that performed included The Ozark Mountain Daredevils and The Southern Hillman Furay Band – refugees from The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and The Flying Burrito Brothers; the cream of California nation rock.
Others that performed however went unbilled on the poster embody, Aerosmith, Blue Oyster Cult, and Boz Scaggs. There was apparently even an English band that performed – Babe Ruth. Not a family title by any means and it might be fascinating to know the way they ended up on the invoice. Bizarrely, the Italian prog band, Premiata Forneria Marconi additionally performed, and given the remainder of the invoice it’s onerous to think about how they went over; let’s simply hope they didn’t need to observe a bluegrass band.
Given the breadth and depth of the performers, the Ozark Music Competition can justifiably declare to be one of many ten all-time nice gatherings of the period. We’ll depart the final phrase to The Missouri Senate and a committee report on the occasion. “The Ozark Music Festival can only be described as a disaster. It became a haven for drug pushers who were attracted from throughout the United States. The scene made the degradation of Sodom and Gomorrah appear mild. Natural and unnatural sex acts became a spectator sport. Frequently, nude women promoted drugs with advertisements on their bodies.”
Discover the sounds of the Ozark Music Competition with our Southern Rock playlist.
