1973 Max's Kansas City (1 Viewer)

mjp

Founding member
In the space of one month in the summer of 1973 you could have seen Iggy, The New York Dolls and the Wailers (opening for some kid named Springsteen) at Max's Kansas City.

maxskansascity73.jpg


July19Maxs3.jpg


And the Wailers stayed at the Chelsea for the week. The mind boggles.

July19Maxs2.jpg
 
I'm thinking that "Ruben and the Jets" might be Zappa's mid-'73 band, which would have included (and a great googly moogly on this band):

Ralph Humphrey
George Duke
Bruce Fowler
Tom Fowler
Jean-Luc Ponty
Ian Underwood
Ruth Underwood

Or maybe I'm totally baked and it's just some random band named Ruben and the Jets.
 
Seems a name like that could hardly be random. I think it's safe to assume it's who you think it could have been.

Max's was the epicenter of NYC rock and roll at the time, it wasn't until CBGB opened that they had any real competition. Everyone played there. Kind of like First Avenue in Minneapolis 8, 9, 10 years later.
 
I don't know if Zappa ever played at Max´ . If not, then maybe some band took the name Ruben And The Jets after Zappa's album of the same name as some kind of homage to Zappa.
 
Crusing with Reuben & the Jets was Zappa and the Mother's fifth album, which is what made me wonder about a connection w/ Zappa. It turns out that the connection was a bit more loose than I thought.

Elton's was Bennie and the Jets - an ode to Benzedrine of sorts.
 
We'll kill the fatted calf tonight, so stick around.

Great song. I don't think it's about drugs though.
 
"But they're so spaced-out, Bennie and the Jets." The choice of "Bennie" seems far too calculated a choice for the name of a spaced-out band to mean much other than a reference to Benzedrine. I heard this on the radio back in the 70s (meaning a notable Boston DJ discussing the allusion; it may have been Charles Laquidara from WBCN, who had his ear to the railroad track, as they say). These days the Interwebby has more than a few discussions about this, which probably doesn't help make my point. :eek:
 
And Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is about LSD, yes. ;)

Just seems to me that by 1973 you could sing about shooting Benzedrine into your asshole with a turkey baster and no one would have cared. The times being what they were.

For what it's worth, Bernie Taupin said the song was about glam rock. But who knows, maybe he was writing about Benzedrine and he's have a right jolly chuckle about it every time the song is played.

All I really know for sure is that Holly came from Miami, F L A...
 
Glam Rock does not preclude the concept of Bennies, does it? Methinks some glam rockers may have dabbled a bit, no? Whether it's about something or not, the terms "bennies" and "jets" were in full use for this class of "miscreant pharmaceuticals," as it were. Since I was 12, I can't speak to the absolute veracity.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top