Behold this picture of The Five Americans. Note that they’re all wearing suits. (Not sure which one is aha, but I’m sure he’ll be along in a while to tell us).
Several other bands, well into the 70’s, would appear on stage wearing, if not suits, then matching outfits. (Think of those Carnaby Street-looking outfits The Who would sometimes wear on TV or on stage). I’ve spent half an hour trying to goole some, but I’ve gotten tired, and you know what I mean.
I’m assuming that all these bands did so because their contracts dictated it, or because of the prevailing norms of the day. So, who was the first band to say, “Screw it; We’re going on stage today wearing whatever we grab out of our closets”?
As an aside, I note that the practice continues to a degree today. I’m sure all those boy bands like N’Sync still wear matching outfits when they perform. And of course I’m sure all those tight black jeans and black shirts that bands like Metallica wear are as much part of their shtick as they are what they felt like wearing.
I’m not going to be one of those people who always demands a cite, Jomo Mojo, but could I please have… a little more information?
Did they just say “Fuck it” one day and put on whatever they felt like wearing? Did their record company not make them wear matching outfits when they performed?
Dr Hook performed nude at a few european festivals. I’ve got pictures for those who wish to see uncut weenies on hairy, ugly rock stars. But it does look like they’re having a good time.
And I think y’all are missing something. When The Who went on stage with those ‘mod’ outfits they sure as shooting were wearing what they did wear on the street. That was a weird time.
And I’m pretty certain Chuck Berry used to perform in shirt sleeves when touring the black clubs in the midwest.
Dr. Hook? I didn’t know that. I was thinking of the MC5. Saw a photograph once of them playing nude at an outdoor concert. Must have been circa 1970 or so.
I ask you to excuse me for being behind the times, but I just found out that the early 70s band Hawkwind included a dancer named Stacia, a statuesque woman, who danced nude on stage. I’m not sure whether she was rock’s first nudist, but this was all in approximately the same time frame. You have to admit, artists were a lot more experimental then, willing to take chances.
Monster Magnet tried the same thing (nude dancers – I wouldn’t be surprised if they got the idea from Hawkwind, since they’re their main influence) during their 1998 North American tour. The night I saw them in Fargo, the police forced them to temporarily stop the show and remove the dancers. After the concert, the band was reportedly arrested and detained at the jail just across from my hotel. Had I known at the time, I would have popped over for a visit.
In 1964, when the Beatles became an international phenomenon, rock groups, including the Rolling Stones, still wore suits and ties onstage, even if they didn’t offstage. By 1967, almost all the performers at the Monterey Pop Festival were wearing casual street clothes, sometimes funked up with the odd apparel item.
I thought maybe the Beach Boys might have started the trend, all that California casualness, y’know, but I just checked out a couple of web sites devoted to them and they were in suits. I would nominate not a group, but a person. How about Bob Dylan?
Dylan’s a good guess but he was originally a folkie. It’s almost always been the practice of folk singers (e.g., WoodyGuthrie and Pete Seeger) to perform wearing the clothes of “the common man” (although if you do look at old films of groups like the Weavers, you do find that some of them did occasionally perform in more formal wear).
I think the practice of rock bands wearing regular street clothes (as opposed to formal clothes or costumes) on stage comes from the blues. Many of the British Invasion groups of the 1960’s were heavily influenced by such bluesmen as John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Johnson, and Willie Dixon and they generally performed in what was then-considered regular street clothes (i.e., suits). As a result, this no-nonsense, no-frills, it’s-the-music-that’s-important attitude toward on-stage fashion was also adopted by many rock bands during the 60’s (and, subsequently, all the bands who were influenced by the 60’s bands).
Dylan’s a good guess but he was originally a folkie. It’s almost always been the practice of folk singers (e.g., Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger) to perform wearing the clothes of “the common man” (although if you do look at old films of groups like the Weavers, you do find that some of them did occasionally perform in more formal wear).
I think the practice of rock bands wearing regular street clothes (as opposed to formal clothes or costumes) on stage comes from the blues. Many of the British Invasion groups of the 1960’s were heavily influenced by such bluesmen as John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Johnson, and Willie Dixon and they generally performed in what was then-considered regular street clothes (i.e., suits). As a result, this no-nonsense, no-frills, it’s-the-music-that’s-important attitude toward on-stage fashion was also adopted by many rock bands during the 60’s (and, subsequently, all the bands who were influenced by the 60’s bands).
