Remembering 7 Concerts From Yesteryear In Cleveland, The Birthplace Of Rock And Roll

As the Victorian era became a distant memory, locals still enjoyed simple pleasures. Days in the park, musical performances, and parades dominated summertime fun. Pictured here circa 1908, families of all shapes and sizes gather for a day of fun in the sun, listening to peaceful grooves circa Edgewater Park.

If you know anything about the 1930s, it shouldn't surprise you that the nation was struggling to recover from the Great Depression. During this time, the government formed the Work Progress Administration to offset the damage to the economy. Through this program, under Executive Order 7034, Americans built roads, buildings, and added architectural elements like landscaping and murals to familiar landmarks. One of the projects under this program, Federal Project Number One, employed musicians. Here, they're pictured performing for local inmates.

Do you remember the golden days of Downtown Cleveland shopping? One would dress to the nines and hit the department stores with mom, who would smile at the elevator operator waiting within. Outside the doors, in the fair months, you might hear a bit of music floating over the breeze. The Summer Twilight Concert pictured here featured the Higbee Concert Accordion Band and the Higbee Senior Brass Band.

Have you ever caught a concert at the Cleveland Metroparks' Edgewater Beach? This isn't quite a new tradition here in Cleveland; in the early 70s, the atmosphere at these concerts enjoyed a degree of old fashioned rock and roll. Just check out the crowd this rock concert drew!

Do you recognize this stage? Yes, it's Blossom Music Center! This performance was a benefit concert featuring a famous opera by Emmerich Kálmán, a composer from Hungary.

1975 was a heck of the year. The resignation of President Richard M. Nixon was a recent memory, and musical godsends Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac. Saturday Night Live premiered its first episode that October, but in Greater Cleveland in June, thoughts were exclusively on the Stones show. Mick Taylor had only recently left the band at the time, but crowds were still ecstatic. Here, 82,800 people are packed in a local stadium... nearly 90 minutes before the actual show started!

Pink Floyd, an English rock group that got its start in 1965, drew quite a crowd in 1977. This was right after the release of Animals, the group's tenth album. This concert took place at Cleveland Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium opened in 1931. In 1977, the stadium could fit over 80,000 attendees.