Lollapalooza 2017 was an incredible and unforgettable weekend.
Performances by Chance The Rapper and The Killers were just two of many amazing performances which made the weekend so special. However, in recent thoughts, I have been wondering "what if Lollapalooza existed 30, 40, and even 50 years ago? Who would perform?"
Well, in this article, I will exercise the lineups of Lollapalooza from 1967, 1977, and 1987. For those of you unfamiliar with how Lollapalooza works, many performances occur throughout the four day festival, and there are about 5-6 very popular bands or artists who are considered to be the "Headliners" of the show, with one, or sometimes two of these headliners performing each day. Performances throughout seven different stages in Grant Park begin at around 12:00 noon. Smaller groups or up-and-coming artists fill most of the afternoon schedule until all of the major headliners, such as Chance The Rapper come on.
The headliners will always be performing at the biggest two stages at Grant Park, but do not start performing until the end of the day at around 8:30-8:45 PM. But before those headliner shows, an opener band comes to perform either around 6:00 or 7:00 on the stages the headliners are performing In this exercise, I will not create a four day schedule with who performs at every single stage for the sake of avoiding running into placing artists of the past most people do not know of in this article. I will instead dive into who would be the headliners and some of the other afternoon performers if Lollapalooza existed in 1967, 1977, and 1987 and create the most thrilling retro Lolla lineups possible. In the comments section below, I would like to know, which one of these retro Lollapalooza festivals you would go to (you can only pick one). Here you go, I hope you enjoy my retro lineups!
Lollapalooza 1967:
Headliners: Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Doors, The Beach Boys, The Supremes, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix.
Openers/Afternoon Shows: Tommy James And The Shondells, Sam And Dave, The Trashmen, Grateful Dead, Jerry Lee Lewis Manfred Mann, The Monkees, The Troggs, The Kingsmen, Aretha Franklin.
Peter Griffin, I know this one is your favorite lineup. You would be that one person who gets there right when the gates open just so you can hear The Trashmen's Surfin' Bird in the front row. But I can't blame you. I did the same thing this weekend for Amine just to hear Caroline live from the front row. Obviously, the big appeal from this lineup are Elvis and The Beatles. Me and pretty much everybody would kill to see both of those live (and I am jealous of all of those who have seen both The Beatles and Elvis live). But the reason why I would kill to see those two live is because of the innovations they brought to rock and roll. Plus, the music of both of them is beyond amazing to this day. There will be new styles of music, but Elvis and The Beatles will never get old. Many years after this festival, wouldn't it be cool to say you got to see both Elvis and The Beatles when they were just starting to become a really big thing?
Lollapalooza 1977:
Headliners: Grateful Dead, Bee Gees, Fleetwood Mac, The Steve Miller Band, Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Cheap Trick
Openers/Afternoon Shows: KC & The Sunshine Band, The Eagles, Grand Funk Railroad, Meatloaf, Barry Manilow, The Commodores, Blue Swede, KISS, Rod Stewart, Cream, Earth Wind & Fire, Electric Light Orchestra, Linda Ronstadt, The Doobie Brothers, ABBA.
I was tempted to make The Grateful Dead a Headliner for 1967. But I decided to make them a headliner for this year because they were more well-known in 1977 instead of 1967. My personal appeal for the 1977 lineup is just all emotionally biased. This lineup brings many nostalgic songs for me. Before I could even talk, I would dance on the coffee table to KISS's Rock And Roll All Night. If I ever heard that song at Lolla, I would go all out dancing to that song as a tribute to my one-year old jam. Meanwhile, the Bee Gees defined music to some extent in the 1970's. Stevie Wonder would not be able to see the incredible sights of his Lollapalooza performance. But Stevie Wonder is just absolutely brilliant as a musician. So it would be a shame not to have this musical genius as a headliner during the middle of his prime. Meanwhile, who would not get rowdy just to hear KC & The Sunshine Band's Shake Your Booty?
Lollapalooza 1987:
Headliners: Michael Jackson, Metallica, Queen, Huey Lewis & The News, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Madonna, U2, Prince.
Openers/Afternoon Shows: The Police, Duran Duran, Guns N Roses, Styx, XTC, Kim Wilde, Eddy Grant, Eddie Money, Billy Idol, Bon Jovi, Whitney Houston, George Michael, The Bar Kays, Baltimora, Europe, Starship, Re-Flex, REO Speedwagon, Bruce Springsteen, The Bangles, The Partridge Family, Poison, Gloria Estefan, Billy Ocean, YES, Katrina And The Waves.
This lineup was easily the most difficult one to put together. That is because there are way too many amazing performers of the 1980's to put down. I limited myself to only eight headliners a year. It was very difficult to not put The Police, Duran Duran, Guns N Roses, Billy Idol, and Bon Jovi as headliners. Everyone performing in this lineup is way very amazing but some just will not get the headliner title. Michael Jackson is an American icon. I would envision his performance to draw the same crowd as Chance The Rapper did this past Saturday. U2 has been incredible from the get go, thus they are way too good to not be considered a headliner. Queen never gets old with their traditional rock and roll music style. People would probably sneak in tents to Grant Park just to reserve a front row spot for Michael Jackson, Queen and U2. Those three performances alone would equate to the Weekend Of The Century due to the beyond iconic status of the three performers.
MY VERDICT: While 1967 obviously would be tempting, I will have to take a pass on that one. I would only be going for just one song in 1977, so that one is also a no go. Michael Jackson and Queen (plus many others) would be way too good for me to pass up and give me memories of a lifetime. Guns N Roses was one of football pregame albums, and they were incredible when I saw them last year. I tried desparately and so hard in 2015 to get a Saturday Lolla pass so I could see Metallica (I only had a Sunday that year). And while I had a great time that Sunday, I was pissed that I couldn't get myself a Saturday just so I could see Metallica. Redemption will come in this exercise. Out of all of these three absolutely stacked and loaded lineups, I would easily have to settle for Lollapalooza 1987. The lineup is just way too good not to go.
Links:
http://www.billboard.com/artists/top-100/1977
http://bestclassicbands.com/1967-music-highlights-...
