Collage by Flor Franceschetti. Miami Marine stadium photo by Ines Hegedus-Garcia/Flickr, Aretha Franklin photo by of Amazing Grace Film, LLC, Freddie Mercury photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images, The Who photo by Hard Rock Live, Jimmy Buffett photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Last week, Miami voters approved a restoration agreement for Miami Marine Stadium. Whether anything will actually come of it, in a city that is still awaiting completion of the I-395 Signature Bridge, is anyone’s guess. But Miami Marine Stadium could be a special concert venue. Completed in 1963, it offered a waterfront view of big-time 20th-century performers in a casing that was considered a masterpiece of brutalist architecture. In the hopes Miami Marine Stadium might be a home for concerts again, we thought we’d take a look back at the ten best shows it hosted during its first run.
Sam & Dave, Aretha Franklin, and Booker T & the MG’s – Dec. 20, 1967
What a special holiday soul revue this must have been. The queen of soul, Aretha Franklin, with hometown favorites, Sam & Dave, capped off by Booker T & the MG’s. Undoubtedly, there was a sad air to the proceedings as the great Otis Redding was originally on the bill, but tragically died in a plane crash ten days earlier.
The Who – July 28, 1968
As hot as it must have been on that summer night, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and company undoubtedly made things sultrier when they performed all their mod hits, mere months before they recorded “Tommy.”
Allen Ginsberg – Dec. 22, 1969 and Jan. 2, 1970
The beat poet and raconteur hosted a bayside poetry reading with his father Louis Ginsberg. Unfortunately, the stadium manager, Manny Costa, thought Allen Ginsberg’s poetry was obscene and cut off his mic. Ginsberg took them to court, saying his freedom of speech had been violated, and the judge agreed. The city had to pay for Ginsberg’s next reading in 1970.
Rare Earth – Sept. 18, 1971
The Detroit rockers recorded part of their live best-selling double album “Rare Earth in Concert” at the Marine Stadium. Before the second song, “Hey Big Brother,” you can hear a big announcement telling people to get out of the water, or they’d stop the show. That’s because all kinds of hippies jumped in the water despite the risk of electrocution to get closer to the music.
Richard Nixon – Aug. 22, 1972
Soon-to-be disgraced President Richard Nixon made the short drive from his winter White House on Key Biscayne to make a re-election campaign speech at this concert. The emcee was Sammy Davis Jr., and featured performances by Bobby Goldsboro, Mickey Newbury, soul legend Solomon Burke, “Jesse James” McClelland, the Variations, the Mike Curb Congregation, and Frijid Pink.
Van Morrison – Feb. 6, 1975
What a wonderful night for a moon dance it would be to see the Irish soul crooner perform all his hits from “Brown Eyed Girl” to “Gloria” floating on the bay.
Queen – March 17, 1975
We included this in our ten most legendary Miami concerts list last year, so it had to make the cut. This was the first of only two times Freddie Mercury ever performed in South Florida. This show was delayed by two days due to rain, and no concert footage exists, but it’s interesting to imagine Freddie Mercury clad in green for St. Patrick’s Day as he belts out “Killer Queen.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd – March 26, 1975
The Jacksonville band of “Sweet Home Alabama” fame were the last rockers booked at the venue for close to five years. Eyewitness Neil Harden explained why on the website restoremarinestadium, “Leading up to ‘Free Bird’ there had been the occasional person trying to climb on stage — amusing but harmless. Ratchet that up 10-fold for Free Bird! The railing to the catwalk had been pulled down. People were hanging in the water (salt water conducts electricity!). The road crew assistants were doing all they could to keep people off the stage. As many as a dozen would be trying to climb on stage at a time and making it before being returned to the gyrating, frothing mass of humanity below.”
Ray Charles – July 4, 1981
Can you imagine a more patriotic way to celebrate the 4th of July than fireworks over Biscayne Bay and the piano playing of Brother Ray? Neither can I. Ray Charles was also the last big name to play there before its closing on July 13, 1991.
Jimmy Buffett, August 16-17, 1985
Margaritaville made its way to Virginia Key for a two-night stand. Out of which Buffett released the direct-to-video concert movie “Jimmy Buffett: Live by the Bay” where you can see Jimmy clad in t-shirt, shorts, and a mustache. The movie is available on YouTube, which serves as a time capsule for not just for Jimmy and his parrotheads, but also, the Miami Marine Stadium itself.
