Lost Cincinnati Concert Venues of the '50s and '60s - by Steven Rosen (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The nightspots, rock clubs, arenas & more that made the city swing

Cincinnati in the '50s and '60s offered a stunning array of live music and entertainment venues. Though many of them no longer exist, their memories live on. Fulfilling an "obligation" to mobsters, blues crooner Charles Brown played a residency at the Sportsman's Club in Newport. Incendiary comedian Lenny Bruce performed at the Surf Club on the city's conservative west side. Jim Tarbell's short-lived but iconic Ludlow Garage became a major stop on the national "ballroom" circuit that grew up around rock 'n' roll as it matured into its progressive, experimental era. Signaling an end to the '60s, Iggy Pop created a sensation at the 1970 Cincinnati Summer Pop Festival at Crosley Field.

Join seasoned journalist Steven Rosen on a tour through historically heady days in the Queen City's music scene.

Review Quotes

This is just one evocative moment featured in Lost Cincinnati Concert Venues of the '50s and '60s, a new book by prolific music journalist and former CityBeat Arts & Culture Editor Steve Rosen. Narrowing his focus on two decades that saw Jazz undergo an experimental renaissance while Rock & Roll rose to cultural dominance, Rosen's book shows how a handful of now-defunct venues and local grassroots movements helped some of the most exciting figures in popular music make their mark on the Queen City.Jude Noel CityBeat

True to its title, the book is organized by the venues where concerts took place, but venues only matter because of the events they host, and those events are what is really at the heart of Lost Cincinnati Concert Venues of the '50s and '60s.Denny G's Road Trips

The book also provides detailed coverage of The Beatles' two Cincinnati shows. We talked to Rosen about the book and those heady days of Cincinnati's music scene.https: www.cincypeople.com/culture-blog/2022/6/1/old-time-rock-n-roll?fbclid=IwAR0GD9kkqKx9APMvMSenZG47zgBpqB7Jc8DnU_kXbQSudr-iis4G-NnvTqA