Appearing at the Holiday Inn: Ugly Lounge Acts from the Seventies!

I write this post out of love for those musicians that performed at the local hotels back in the day, I really do - I'm not trying to be mean spirited. Pictures of me in the mid-seventies aren't exactly photogenic either, if you know what I mean. In fact, I LOVE that these musicians didn't look polished for MTV.

I really miss the days when every hotel from Holiday Inn to Howard Johnson's to the non-chain local had a musical attraction in the lounge. I'm not sure what killed that phenomenon - perhaps, people are in such a hurry these days that they don't have time to just sit, grab a smoke, drink, and listen to some tunes. Maybe they just weren't cost effective.

Anyway, I came across some photographs of these lounge acts from a library, and thought I share them with you. I don't know most of their names, but whoever they are, their appearances are, quite frankly, breathtaking.... in a bad way.

So, hold on tight, and get ready for some "not ready for MTV" musical acts of the 1970s. Enjoy!

This duo was called "Twice the Life". I'm not sure why, but I picture the guy on the left spitting into his palm and then flattening his hair before the photo was taken.

(Group name: Mel, Bobbie and Larry). Bobbie is sporting some enormous hair! Meanwhile, Larry grabs himself.

I don't know the name of this group; but from the looks of them, they should've been called The Serial Rapists.

I would love to see a VHI Behind the Music on this vertitable melting pot of musicians.

I've heard that the backstage debauchery after a Dale Carmen Duo concert was simply legendary. In the book Hammer of the Gods, it states that the infamous "mudshark incident" can actually be traced back to both Robert Plant and Dale Carmen. My own personal experience with the duo was when they opened for Maiden in Springfield back in '82. The police actually busted them on stage for possession and indecent exposure, and the whole crowd rioted. You shoulda been there.