On February 21, 1965, the renowned Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles hosted The West Coast Eastside Revue concert, a landmark event in the East Los Angeles music scene. Scheduled on a Sunday from 4 PM to 8 PM, the concert was produced and promoted by Eddie Davis, owner of Rampart Records. The show’s MC was Dave Hull, the popular KRLA radio disc jockey.
The present-day Shrine Auditorium, located at 866 West Jefferson Avenue, seats approximately 6,300. Originally rebuilt in 1926 after a 1920 fire, the venue featured a large stage with curtains that concealed the back-up bands while vocal acts performed in front.
The music lineup included many of East Los Angeles’ most popular bands and recording artists of the era: The Atlantics, The Blendells, The Blue Satins, Cannibal & the Headhunters, Ronnie & the Casuals, Mark & the Escorts, The Heartbreakers, The Jaguars with The Salas Brothers, Lil Ray, The Little Heartbreakers, The Medallions, Thee Midniters, The Pagents, The Premiers, The Four Queens, The Romancers, The Sisters, and The Slauson Brothers.
The concert opened with Dave Hull introducing Cannibal & the Headhunters, performing their hit “Land of 1000 Dances” with The Premiers as their musical support. The show continued with hit performances including The Premiers’ “Farmer John,” Mark & the Escorts’ “Get Your Baby,” Ronnie & the Casuals’ “I Wanna Do the Jerk,” and The Sisters’ “Gee Baby Gee.” Fans cheered as The Nobleman, The Blendells, The Pagents, The Atlantics, and The Enchantments carried the excitement to intermission.
The second half featured The Jaguars, The Heartbreakers, The Ambertones, Alfred & Joe, The Romancers, The Salas Brothers, Lil Ray, The Slauson Brothers, and The Blue Satins, delivering crowd favorites like “Where Lovers Go,” “Cradle Rock,” “Darling Dear,” and “You Don’t Know Me.”
That same year, Rampart Records released the vinyl LP “The West Coast Eastside Revue”, featuring studio recordings of the artists from the concert on a distinctive gold-colored disc. A follow-up album, “The Eastside Revue, Volume 2”, was released in 1969. Both albums, along with the iconic concert poster, remain highly collectible and symbolic of the Eastside Sound and the historic 1965 music scene in East Los Angeles.
