To all those aspiring musicians—Remember, you have to start somewhere. You are not the first to play at a bar in front of nobody and you won’t be the last. Furthermore, you aren’t the first to get rejected, and you also won’t be the last. Many musicians before you have undergone these same experiences and as a result, they have claimed any opportunity given to them. Hence, some of the greatest rock bands of all time started as openers for some major acts and not-so-major acts.
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Yes, getting a headlining gig is far from playing in your local tavern. However, it’s still not the main stage. Rather, it’s just one step closer. That being so, when these rock bands got the opportunity to headline for various acts, they seemingly viewed them merely as one more rung of the ladder climbing. After all, beggars can’t be choosers. Nonetheless, the bands who viewed this opportunity as a gateway became massively successful, and here are some of the three who did.
Queen & Mott The Hoople
If you’ve never heard of Mott The Hoople, we don’t blame you. Starting in 1969, the band shortly ended later in the early ’70s after their albums found no success. Regardless, Queen opened for the band in their short life span and as a result, finally gained recognition as a musical act that could command a stage as a headlining act.
Queen opened for the band in the UK and after positive reactions from the crowd, got invited to join them on their US tour. After a couple of shows on the band’s US tour, Freddie Mercury unfortunately became sick with hepatitis, and their remaining dates were canceled. Though, the few shows foreshadowed what was to come of Queen’s illustrious career.
Led Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly, and Vanilla Fudge
During Led Zeppelin’s debut American tour in 1968, they opened for two bands signed with Atlantic Records. Those two rock bands were Iron Butterfly and Vanilla Fudge, and they opened for each group on several different iconic occasions. Most notably, Zepplin made their debut US appearance opening for Vanilla Fudge at Denver’s Auditorium Arena the day after Christmas.
Regarding Zeppelin’s relationship with Iron Butterfly, they opened for the group four times all at the Filmore East in New York City in early 1969. Zeppelin also opened for numerous other bands including Country Joe & the Fish, however, the majority of their opening acts were with Butterfly and Fudge.
Prince & The Rolling Stones
Now, this pairing is just iconically epic. Especially since the first time Prince opened for The Rolling Stones, he was booed off the stage. In 1981 Prince opened for The Stones twice at the Los Angeles Coliseum during their US tour. However, this would not have been as successful and notable if it weren’t for Mick Jagger’s encouraging words.
During Prince’s first opening set, the crowd booed him and threw objects at the stage, causing Prince and his band to cut the set early. Prince and his band were of course very discouraged and refused to go on stage the second night. Although, Jagger talked them into it and they went on to play their five-song setlist. And well, you know the rest of the story after that.
Photo by Andre Csillag/Shutterstock
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