Rainbow Gardens at Waldameer Park, Erie, PA

Rainbow Gardens has held many events over the past eighty plus years, everything from concerts, dances, antique shows, ethnic festivals and craft shows. The venue is located in Millcreek Township, Erie County, PA, on the grounds of Waldameer Park and Water World. The park has entrances on West 8th Street and on Peninsula Drive.

Rainbow Gardens was built around 1925. The roof of Rainbow Gardens collapsed under the weight of a heavy snowstorm just before Christmas in 1950, causing the cancellation of four Christmas and New Year dances. (There was also a destructive fire at a different building at Waldameer Park, the Hofbrau German restaurant, in 1941.)

Some concerts at Rainbow Gardens include:
Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians, May 23, 1927
Fletcher Henderson and his orchestra performed around 1928
Tal Henry and his North Carolinians, August 4, 1930
Duke Ellington & his Cotton Club Orchestra with Ivy Anderson, Sept. 10, 1931
Fats Waller and his orchestra performed for 6,000 people on April 25, 1936
Freddy Bergin with Mary Tudor, Oct. 17, 1936
Tommy Reynolds and his orchestra, May 22, 1942
Dick Stabile and his orchestra featuring Gracie Barrie, Nov. 26, 1942
Les Brown and his orchestra, December 5, 1942
Jack Teegarden performed around December, 1942
Richard Himber, April 24, 1943
Buddy Rich and his orchestra, July 6, 1946
Ina Ray Hutton and her orchestra, July 17, 1946
Carmen Cavallaro and his orchestra, July 9, 1947
Tex Beneke and his Glen Miller orchestra, Aug. 22, 1947
Gene Parlette and his orchestra, July 12, 1952
Les Brown and his Band of Renown, July 14, 1952
Stan Kenton, August 8, 1952
CJ Bri, February 13, 1970 Sweetheart Hop ad
Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians, May 13, 1973
Maynard Ferguson, August 7, 1975
The Moonlighters
The Pulse and Friction, Nov. 13, 1981
Generic Beat 1985 (Battle of the Bands)
Generic Beat 1986 (show sponsored by WSEG-FM)
Shok Paris, Dirty Looks, Blackout, Rex and Thunder, Friday, March 7 (1987?)
Ronnie James Dio, April 25, 1997

This is going to be a long list. I will add more dates as I find them. Feel free to add a comment with the dates of concerts you have attended at Rainbow Gardens in Erie, PA.

Enjoy more historic facts and photos of Erie, PA at: oldtimeerie.blogspot.com

K-104 Top 104 of 1980 part 2 WCCK Erie, PA

Here is the remainder of the K-104 Top 104 of 1980.  As with the first part of this article, this one also has a lot of cool songs that you don't hear on the radio anymore:

#38 Gamma I'm Alive" features guitarist Ronnie Montrose and keyboardist Alan Fitzgerald, who both played with Sammy Hagar.

#50 Survivor "Somewhere In America"Vocalist Jim Peterik had a hit as the lead singer of "Vehicle" by Ides of March.

#102 Off Broadway "Stay In Time" Lead singer Cliff Johnson was in Pezband, another of my favorite bands. Great Chicago power pop. I must have played the Off Broadway album every day for a year.

#40 The Inmates "The Walk" (I really like their version of "Dirty Water" as well.)

#79 Linda Ronstadt "How Do I Make You" I played this album a million times. A really good song, but there are better ones on the album. Linda was one of the first artists to play the new Tullio Arena on her "Get Closer" tour in 1983.

#68 The Pulse  "You Want To Know Why."

Did you miss Numbers 1-34 of the  Top 104 of 1980? Want to read about the Commerce Building, the former home of K-104?

Find more fun facts at Old Time Erie

K-104 Top 104 of 1980 part 1 WCCK Erie, PA

The K-104 year end Top 104 was a big event for the teenagers of Erie. If I remember correctly, songs were counted down in reverse order, starting at #104, which was "She's Out Of My Life" by Michael Jackson.

I had several cassette tapes ready to record my favorite songs (which did not include any Michael Jackson).

This list hung on my bedroom wall for a long time. One local band- The Pulse- appeared on the list at #68 with "You Want To Know Why." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhEGajjCvFw The band included Bob Burger, Jeff Burger, Marty Lee and Jeff 'Tune' Klahr.

Other favorites include:

#15 "The Very Last Time" by Utopia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF7pCzi9LNM

#21 "Say Hello" by April Wine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M48DitTJTw8

Johnny Pistol Whip & Tune Klahr

Johnny & Tune. Photo by Debbi Lyon.

Johnny Pistol Whip & Tune Klahr

Johnny Pistol Whip, also known as John Drumm (left), hanging out in Perry Square with Jeff 'Tune' Klahr. I took this photo near the information booth at the Erie Summer Festival of the Arts. John was the snarly keyboardist and singer for Pistol Whip, the Frenchmen and Drumm/McDowell. Jeff played drums for a number of bands, including the Pulse, the Moonlighters, the Cattle Cruisers, etc. He also published an awesome zine called "Moods for Moderns."