Fantasy Park: 1975 'Live' concert featuring 47 bands over 48 hours

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

I came across this the other day while reading up on Rod Serling, since we have just started watching "The Twilight Zone" season 1, from 1959. I was surprised to see that he co-hosted a 48 hour live concert of sorts during the July 4 weekend in 1975, shortly before he died.

I'm not normally a huge fan of live music, but I'll admit that I really do like quite a number of the bands that are shown as 'participants'. I've searched online, and the only snippet I can find is an 18 minute promo that some website will give access to for 20 bucks minimum. With my luck, that would be 18 minutes of some band I don't like.

Do any of you remember this show airing? I'm wondering if somebody out there might have a couple of hours of it recorded somewhere.

photo of newspaper ad here:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=fdc105&s=8

 

[Atoning]

I have been searching for this concert for years. About 3 years ago I acquired a 7" audio reel containing the last 2 hours of the broadcast recorded off the air from Q105 Tampa. It has Bob Dylan and The Beatles on it. I only need 46 more hours now. I have the 18 min clip you mention. It is just announcements and bit clips. It does start with Rod Serling speaking though, which is pretty cool.

 

[Thebobo]

Well it wasn't a real concert. None of it live as far a I remember. But I might have that on real-to reel will have to dig around I live in DC and recorded all the on air "concerts" like the King Biscuit Flower Hour growing up. They would Air from WHFS DC101 and even WMAL FM, my dad used to work at WMAL as an engineer and he would have to sync the Friday night FM simulcast of TVs Don Kirchner Rock Concert

Also the beetles stopped playing live in 1969.

 

[WilliamM2]

Well it wasn't a real concert. None of it live as far a I remember. But I might have that on real-to reel will have to dig around I live in DC and recorded all the on air "concerts" like the King Biscuit Flower growing up. They would Air from WHFS DC101 and even WMAL FM, my dad used to work at WMAL as an engineer and he would have to sync the Friday night FM simulcast of TVs Don Kirchner Rock Concert

Also the beetles stopped playing live in 1969.

True, no way a concert with that many great bands wouldn't be just as famous as Woodstock.

And the Beatles stopped playing live concerts in 1966.

 

[Atoning]

No, it wasn't a real concert at all. That was the beauty of it. It was a fantasy concert. The producers used unreleased recordings (some studio, some live) and overdubbed crowd noises. It was innovative for the time and as a teenager, I was enthralled with it. If you happen to dig up a reel or more please let me know. Thank you!

 

[Patrick Ellis]

The concert you speak of was broadcast by KTFM of San Antonio, Texas in the summer of 1975. It was at the time a Waterman Broadcasting facility. The "location" was the Texas Hill Country, although it was never specifically located during the concert afterward it was disclosed it would have/could have been close to Boerne, Texas. There was an option for a massive "Woodstock" style rain storm but I don't remember it ever being broadcast. I was 15 at the time and worked as a custodian at the station and the AM sister, KTSA. The entire concert was pre-recorded and the station broadcast it on a series of tapes. My older brother and I worked in shifts putting as much of the concert on cassette 120-minute tapes, trying to time our segways to the next tape during the commercials. In 1981 I lent the 20-something tapes to a former KTSA DJ named Robert Lopez for duplication for his own use, and never saw them again, unfortunately.

 

[Thebobo]

The concert you speak of was broadcast by KTFM of San Antonio, Texas in the summer of 1975. It was at the time a Waterman Broadcasting facility. The "location" was the Texas Hill Country, although it was never specifically located during the concert afterward it was disclosed it would have/could have been close to Boerne, Texas. There was an option for a massive "Woodstock" style rain storm but I don't remember it ever being broadcast. I was 15 at the time and worked as a custodian at the station and the AM sister, KTSA. The entire concert was pre-recorded and the station broadcast it on a series of tapes. My older brother and I worked in shifts putting as much of the concert on cassette 120-minute tapes, trying to time our segways to the next tape during the commercials. In 1981 I lent the 20-something tapes to a former KTSA DJ named Robert Lopez for duplication for his own use, and never saw them again, unfortunately.

Well sorry for what happened to your tapes but thanks for sharing your story.

 

[zinfamous]

The concert you speak of was broadcast by KTFM of San Antonio, Texas in the summer of 1975. It was at the time a Waterman Broadcasting facility. The "location" was the Texas Hill Country, although it was never specifically located during the concert afterward it was disclosed it would have/could have been close to Boerne, Texas. There was an option for a massive "Woodstock" style rain storm but I don't remember it ever being broadcast. I was 15 at the time and worked as a custodian at the station and the AM sister, KTSA. The entire concert was pre-recorded and the station broadcast it on a series of tapes. My older brother and I worked in shifts putting as much of the concert on cassette 120-minute tapes, trying to time our segways to the next tape during the commercials. In 1981 I lent the 20-something tapes to a former KTSA DJ named Robert Lopez for duplication for his own use, and never saw them again, unfortunately.

Man, you sure do remember that DJ's name, eh?

 

[Patrick Ellis]

No problem. The only copies of that concert I know of after 1981 were in the personal possession of Lee Reynolds (I think that was his name), he was the KTSA program director at the time of the concert.

 

[Patrick Ellis]

Zin, yeah, Robert got me the job in 1975, LOL!! I was originally working for records that were no longer airplay, the night DJ's had to do their own custodial work so I dumped trash and swept for records. I tried several times to get a paying job but never could and after he was told I was selling my duplicate records I was given he cut me loose. We stayed friends, but those tapes were golden. The old building burned down a few years ago but the memories are still there.

 

[tynopik]

so you're saying we need to dox Robert Lopez

 

[zinfamous]

so you're saying we need to dox Robert Lopez

Fuck that guy!

 

[Patrick Ellis]

If he's still alive. LOL, that was 42 years ago. Nick St. John was another DJ for KTFM that had me clean the studio for drop records. He was the guy who busted me for selling my duplicates. Someone I sold an album to called him one night on the request line and pitched for my job. He asked Robert about it and the next night was my last. I did have a really good record collection for a lot of years afterward.