Name/Title
Ringleader of rock shows, Sidney DrashinEntry/Object ID
Library.1888Tags
Library records not in public view, Library JAMM as of June 4, 2023Description
314 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
Ringleader of rock shows, Sidney Drashin the backstage memoir of America's leading Rock and Roll (Rock 'n' Roll) promoter as told to Jacqueline M. Drashin by Sidney Drashin and Jacqueline M. Drashin.
JAMM
Cover title: S in Sidney is noted as dollar sign.
Summary (see attribution at end) : Drashin wrote a self-published oral history/memoir of his life that was transcribed by his wife Jacqueline.
For most of his life Drashin ran Jet Set Enterprises, the promotion company that in the 1960s and 1970s was responsible for bringing rock ‘n’ roll to Jacksonville. He writes that his shows went from the little Riverside Woman’s Club with a capacity of 500, to the Jacksonville Beach Auditorium at 3,200, and then on to the Jacksonville Coliseum which held over 11,000 people. In 1975 he filled the Gator Bowl with more than 80,000 people. His working territory extended from Little Rock, east to Savannah, and south to Palm Beach. The Englewood High School graduate starts his tale when he was not much older than the bands he was managing. His father Samuel Drashin, who was killed in a car wreck when Sydney was 18, wanted him to go into his produce business, but this wasn't for him. After a foreshortened stint in the Marines, he began organizing dances for Jacksonville teenagers starting with the band, Mouse & the Boys.
He opened the Jacksonville Beach Auditorium on Friday, June 10, 1966, with The Fabulous Boys, followed by the headliners, The Birdwatchers, who were well known in Tampa and Miami Beach. The teen dance sold out and 300 additional fans were turned away because of the fire marshal’s restrictions on capacity. From there he graduated to bigger names, larger venues and bunches and bunches of complications. Throughout 1976 Jet Set Enterprises promoted 97 rock shows in the Civic Auditorium and Coliseum and co-sponsored another nine ... 106 dates over a 52 week span. The names are from the pantheon of rock ‘n’ roll: The Rolling Stones, Marvin Gaye, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Black Oak Arkansas, Elton John, the Doobie Brothers, Bob Dylan. Elvis Presley etc. (He lists 313 in the back of the book). Drashin includes behind-the-scenes vignettes on many of them including Jacksonville’s own Lynyrd Skynyrd. A chapter dedicated to “The Father of Southern Rock,” his friend and sometime business partner Lacy Van Zant, the father of Ronnie, Donnie and Johnny. -- From an article by C. F. Foster, for the Times-Union, Feb. 12, 2017.
Photos include: Mouse and the Boys -- Sidney Drashin in Marine uniform -- Birdwatcher handbiil at Jax Beach Coliseum -- Blues Magoos -- Sidney Drashin Englewood High School graduation -- Janis Joplin concert tickets for Curtis Hixon Hall -- Steve Miller -- Joe Cocker at Jax Coliseum poster -- Alice Cooper poster -- Arlo Guthrie poster -- Black Oak Arkansas group photo -- Oct. 22 1977 FTU newspaper article titled "Ronnie had a feeling" with photo of Van Zants and Sidney -- Rolling Stones sold-out the Gator Bowl -- Lacy Van Zant.Collection
LibraryLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
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BookNomenclature Sub-Class
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Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsSearch Terms
Drashin, Sidney., Rock music -- Florida -- Jacksonville -- History and criticism., Rock music -- Southern States -- History and criticism., Van Zant, Lacy., Lynyrd Skynyrd (Musical group)., Jacksonville Area Music Museum (JAMM).Publication Details
Author
Drashin, Sidney., Drashin, Jacqueline M.Publisher
Sidney B. DrashinPlace Published
* Untyped Place Published
[United States]Call No.
ML 429 .D7 A3 2016ISBN
9781537462677