On Saturday evening, February 1, 1975, promoter Drew Cummings of Monsey, New York staged a 20th anniversary of Rock’n’roll concert at the Rockland Community College Field House in Suffern, New York under the Barmann’s Concerts and Productions Inc. banner. The event offered general admission seating and all tickets were priced at $6.75. By comparison, that’s just over $38 in 2024 money. The bill contained six of the most popular and beloved vocal groups from the era: Original lead singer Tony Williams and his Platters, the Drifters (Charlie Thomas, Dock Green, Elsbeary Hobbs, Bobby Ruffin and Abdul Samad), the original Skyliners, The Coasters (Carl Gardner, Earl “Speedo” Carroll, Ronnie Bright, Jimmy Norman and Curly Palmer), Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Five Satins featuring Fred Parris. Television and concert host Clay Cole (1938-2010), a staple on New York’s WPIX and WNTA from 1959 to 1968, was hired to serve as emcee. In addition, the producers arranged to have the concert filmed for syndicated national television broadcast. Two one-hour cuts of the program, “20 Years of Rock & Roll”, were edited, produced, and broadcast on American television in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Apart from Tony Williams, most of whose inebriated performance ended up on the cutting room floor, all the acts – primarily in their late 30s and early 40s, gave a fine accounting of themselves for a highly enthusiastic sold-out audience of over 5,000 who were aware the event was being filmed.
Known as “The Clown Princes of Rock’n’Roll”, the Coasters were selected to open the show with their high energy set. The group consisted of original lead singer Carl Gardner (1928-2011), who recorded and performed with the Coasters from October of 1955 to November of 2005, when illness forced his retirement. Earl “Speedo” Carroll (1937-2012), the original lead singer of the Cadillacs (“Gloria, “Speedoo”) joined the Coasters in June of 1961, replacing tenor Cornell Gunter, and remained with the act until he reorganized the Cadillacs in late 1979. Bass singer Ronnie Bright (1938-2015), an original member of the Valentines (“Lily Maebelle”, “The Woo Woo Train”) and featured bass on Johnny Cymbal’s hit, “Mr. Bass Man”, filled Will “Dub” Jones’ spot in the group in 1968 and remained with them until late 2019. The newest member of the Coasters, James Norman Scott, known professionally as Jimmy Norman (1937-2011) began his career singing tenor with the Chargers after moving to Los Angeles in 1957. He recorded a number of solos singles in the 1960s including “Here Comes the Night” and “I Don’t Love You No More” in 1961-62. Jimmy began filling in for baritone Billy Guy sporadically in 1969 and took over the spot permanently in 1973.
Thomas “Curly” Palmer (1929-2020) served as the Coasters’ musical director, guitarist, and arranger for 49 years. He joined the act in February of 1962 and wrote the first and all subsequent music charts for the group’s stage performances. Born in El Paso, Texas, Palmer came to the Coasters from pianist Sonny Thompson’s band and remained with them until Gardner’s passing in 2011. Later, he worked with Carl Gardner, Jr.’s group before passing away at age 90.
The 11-minute, four-song set opens with “That is Rock and Roll”, featuring Bright, Gardner and Norman. Speedo introduces the second song, “Young Blood”, led by Gardner. The group likely performed “Yakety Yak”, but it did not appear in any of the broadcast edits. “Poison Ivy”, which gives Norman an opportunity to be featured, follows, with “Charlie Brown” being the obligatory closer. Ronnie Bright’s comment, “why doesn’t somebody lay a little grass on me?" (in place of the final "why's everybody always picking on me?") was bleeped by censors in some broadcast versions. The available original footage has been presented in chronological order and the audio remixed and synchronized with the video.
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