Dennis:
In all of the great dialog (and memories) about concerts on campus, there is one great event I’ve not seen mentioned. For Winter Carnival 1972, The Ides of March provided outstanding entertainment.

The Ides were supposed to be the main event with some “flash in the pan” group as the opening act.  The opening act did not show, so the Ides did a double show!!  The campus radio station, WGGL(?), taped both shows and I acquired a copy of the tape.

Jim Peterik, the singer and lead guitar player who went on to form Survivor and wrote most of the music for the Rocky movies. He also wrote many hits for .38 Special and others.  Jim later returned to his roots in Chicago and got The Ides of March back together.

Fast forward nearly 40 years. The Ides played at a venue in SW Michigan and afterwards met with the audience. While shaking Jim Peterik’s hand I mentioned that I had a copy of the 1972 tape.  He froze and asked how he could get a copy.  Long story short, I got him a copy. It turns out that the Ides had no recordings of that era.  They’ve been thrilled to ‘rediscover’ some of their music from Houghton!

Tech concerts live on, even 40 years afterwards!

J.B. Hoyt, ’74

J. B.: Great story! I can imagine that Jim Peterik was indeed overjoyed. I can hear “Vehicle” now!