Classic Rock Musings, Rants & Raves

I have very distinct memories of 1977. For one, I graduated from high school. And then, that summer, I drove around the United States and learned more about geography and history than I ever did at school. Along the way, some of my favorite bands were on the road, and I made it my mission to see all of them. It didn’t work out that way.

The three biggest classic rock acts on tour that year were Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I managed to see both Zeppelin and ELP twice, but somehow missed Pink Floyd altogether. To this day, I wish I could have seen Floyd more than other two, but something strange happened along the way to the box office.

I had already secured one ticket to see Zeppelin in San Diego. All the L.A. dates had sold out, so I didn’t have a choice. The shows were originally scheduled for March, but were delayed until June due to some internal band problem I don’t remember much about. So, I had my ticket for Led Zeppelin and then they announced Pink Floyd’s date at Anaheim Stadium. I contacted a couple of buddies and we made plans to get tickets the next morning.

Back in those days, you had to get a place in line to buy your tickets through Ticketron, which was eventually swallowed up by Ticketmaster. We used to go to a place called Wallick’s Music City to get our tickets. It was either that or May Company. So there we were, the three of us, standing in line to get Pink Floyd tickets on the morning they went on sale. As soon as we got to the counter, it was announced that the Anaheim Pink Floyd concert was sold out. Sold out? Now what?

I leaned over the counter and asked the clerk if there were tickets available for any other concerts. He looked me straight in the eye and said: “Well, Led Zeppelin just added another night to the Forum.” I glanced over at my buddies. Neither of them had tickets to any of the Zeppelin shows, and I figured I could see them again, so why not? “Sure,” they said, “we’ll go to Zeppelin instead.” So we bought our Led Zeppelin tickets and I ended up seeing the very last show in Los Angeles.

As for Emerson, Lake and Palmer, that was a no-brainer. During my travels that summer, they seemed to be playing in every town I was in, so I ended up seeing them in New York, and then again in Long Beach when I got home. How strange it is that these days I have a hard time finding just one show, let alone three, to go see. The times are indeed a-changin’.

Fortunately, there’s plenty of video of the 1977 Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and ELP shows, so all is not lost. Ok, it’s not the best video in the world, but it’s something. Have a look below for yourself.

Led Zeppelin: L.A. Forum 1977 w/ Keith Moon

Pink Floyd: Anaheim Stadium 1977

Emerson, Lake and Palmer: 1977

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