Do you remember the Guns ‘N Roses concert at Hersheypark Stadium in 1991?
You know, the one that prompted hundreds of Derry Twp. residents to complain about the noise and bad language.
Police said at the time that 17 people were arrested for DUI, disorderly conduct and assault. Workers said the mess left behind was the worst they had ever seen.
The June 11 concert – attended by 27,000 people – was part of the Hershey Entertainment and Resort Co. summer concert series.
The Beach Boys at Hersheypark Stadium, July 28, 1991.
By the end of June, the series was canceled.
In mid-July four of the last 10 concerts were rescheduled.
That included the Beach Boys who performed July 28.
The Beach Boys at Hersheypark Stadium with the California Girls, July 28, 1991.
The Beach Boys attracted a crowd of 10,000 “singing, swaying, hand-clapping fans” to an afternoon concert that according to The Patriot-News review, made the security guards smile.
“This is about the easiest show I ever worked,” one security guard said.
The Everly Brothers-Beach Boys show was the first of four rescheduled concerts.
Also scheduled to appear that summer were Whitney Houston, Paul Simon and Gloria Estefan. HERCO and the state attorney general’s office reached an agreement guaranteeing that people who bought tickets to the canceled concerts may use those tickets for the rescheduled shows or receive full refunds.
During the July 28 concert, Beach Boy Mike Love joked about the ticket exchange in his midshow monologue.
“There are some people here not because they wanted to be here but because they had to use their tickets,” Love said, smiling.
The Beach Boys at Hersheypark Stadium, July 28, 1991.
Love teased the crowd saying the audience probably wouldn’t want to listen to any of the Beach Boys hits about “high-powered gas-guzzling cars” from 30 years ago. “409,” shouted one middle-age ticket holder to Love’s satisfaction.
“409. That was probably the year it came out,” Love answered, looking 40-something and wearing a cap that covered decades of hair loss.
“Even Mick Jagger liked this song. For you young people, that’s like Axl Rose liking this song.”
With that introduction, Love and the boys popped the clutch of their “Little Deuce Coupe” bringing the crowd cheering to its feet.
Love carried the show with wit and versatility. When the crowd didn’t want to dance, the Beach Boys’ cheerleaders picked up the pace: six of them, dressed in red, white and blue, waving pompons ‚cart-wheeling across the stage and dancing to “Be True to Your School.”
The stadium turned into everyone’s senior prom with the clock turned back to the summer of ’63. I
f anyone even doubted, the Beach Boys proved they still have the magic harmony that made them popular in the ’60s, singing their 1988 chart-topper “Kokomo.”
Possibly the best Beach Boys song yesterday was their 1965 hit, “Help Me, Rhonda.” Backed by Phil Spector’s famed wall of sound, “Rhonda” was filled with teen-age lost love, sung by guys you thought for just a minute were too young to shave.
The Hershey show was double fun for oldies fans. Don and Phil Everly masterfully carried off Roy Orbison’s “Claudette,” a tribute to the Big O.
The Beach Boys at Hersheypark Stadium, July 28, 1991.
Their mix of country and cross-over hits included what the Everly Brothers called their “sad medley”: “Devoted to You,” Love Hurts” and “Bird Dog.” Inducted into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, the Everly Brothers showed they are solid gold, thanks to help from Pete Wingfield on keyboard. Wingfield jumped high in the air pounding energy through the keys like Jerry Lee Lewis with the Everly’s rendition of Little Richard’s “Lucille.”
The Beach Boys played a few years earlier on July 23, 1989, on City Island – a little over year before the city decided to no longer allow concerts there.
The Beach Boys on City Island, July 23, 1989.
According to Patriot-News reports, 13,000 people attended the concert by Chicago and the Beach Boys.
The Beach Boys brought the crowd to its feet when they opened with “California Girls.”
Five bikini-clad “Beach Boys Cheerleaders “joined the band on stage but the kings of summertime music didn’t need any help in bringing their music to life.
The Beach Boys’ sound elicited a strong emotional response from the audience, including many who were not even born when the band was formed in California.
The Beach Boys July 23, 1989 on City Island.
Eyes swelled and a few tears fell when The Beach Boys played their first slow song, “Don’t Worry Baby.”
Despite playing to a crowd that spanned at least three generations, The Beach Boys had everyone swaying and singing to the music. They attracted new fans last year when the group released “Kokomo” with its stirring melody and arrangement they showed off yesterday.
The Beach Boys in concert on City Island, July 23, 1989.
Of course, The Beach Boys’ famous surfing songs sounded as if they were written yesterday. Imagine a band that can record titles of “Surfin’ Safari,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and “Surfer Girl” and each of them being a major-league hit decade after decade. Mike Love, who led most songs, acknowledged to the crowd that some of their songs clearly belonged to 1960s. He noted “I Get Around” as one example.
Luckily, the group sang them anyway. And nobody seemed to mind. In a tribute to the talent of both superstar groups, The Beach Boys and Chicago played seven songs together to end the concert. They ended with “Fun, Fun, Fun” and that’s just what last night was.
The Beach Boys on City Island, July 23, 1989.
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