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This is another in my continuing summer time TSC series where I am protesting those caches that are hidden where you are guaranteed to pick up some of "Those Stinking Chiggers"!!
Have fun and thank me for those ankles you're not having to scratch!
For decades, music fans in Central Arkansas knew Barton Coliseum as THE place for big name concerts. It certainly wasn't the most ideal venue, thanks to its poor acoustics. But it was pretty much the only choice in the region for shows too big for Robinson Auditorium but not big enough for War Memorial Stadium.
Many who lived through the Coliseum’s better years can now have flashbacks of concerts, with the unveiling of the Barton Rock 'n' Roll Museum. It looks at a few especially noteworthy performances, as well as one show that didn't end up taking place. It also features artists like Heart, Styx, Journey, Boston and Foghat, who played there repeatedly over the years.
The collection, featuring 31 performers, is mostly housed in a small area just off the coliseum's main hallway. Included are photos from shows, concert posters, ticket stubs and framed record albums. There are also legal contracts for a few of the performances, which are among the more interesting items featured.
One of the museum's prime exhibits: a sold-out show by Elvis Presley on April 17, 1972, displays donated posters, pictures and even a copy of the ticket from the concert. The photos feature Elvis in a red, glittering rhinestone jumpsuit with cape, while the marquee along Roosevelt Road said "Welcome Elvis and thousands of out of state visitors. Sold out." A CD of the performance was eventually released and is also on display.
Another exhibit features a copy of a contract for a concert Lynyrd Skynyrd was to play at Barton Coliseum on Oct. 22, 1977. But two days before that, just a few shows into a new tour, a chartered plane crashed, killing several members of the band, including front man Ronnie Van Zant. The contract details how the group was guaranteed $12,500, plus 71.1 percent of the gross box office receipts over $36,887. But a handwritten notation says simply: "cancelled Van Zant killed in plane crash."
Other acts noted in the museum include; Van Halen, the Jackson Five, Black Oak Arkansas, Jefferson Starship, the Allman Brothers and Grand Funk Railroad, which immortalized Little Rock and Little Rock groupie "Sweet, Sweet, Connie” Hamzy in their song, “We're an American Band".
It was a different era for concerts, when general admission was typical, prompting people to line up outside Barton beginning early on the day of a concert. When the doors would finally open up, once getting past the ticket-taker, people would often break into a hard sprint to secure a place near the front of the stage.
In addition to the rock shows, many long gone legends of country and R&B also played at Barton. Tickets to James Brown concerts cost only 99 cents at one time.
The museum feels a little hollow, by it only noting the rock acts, but much of Barton's records were lost when a secondary storage location was destroyed. Much of what's in the museum was preserved by a local music fan.
Today Barton Coliseum is no longer used for concerts, with most large shows held at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.
With consideration underway of new possible locations for the Arkansas State Fair, the clock could be ticking for Barton Coliseum. While I haven't heard any specific talk of Barton being torn down, it's hard to imagine the coliseum, which was built in 1949, remaining if the fairgrounds are moved. This museum at least acknowledges some of its history.
(Michael Hibblen - Arkansas Times)
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