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Two Killer Opening Acts I Saw That Never Got the Fame They Deserved
Rate-A-Record #22
We all start somewhere. Ernest Hemingway began his writing career as editor of his high school newspaper. Barack Obama was a community organizer before he became president. Hollywood icon Tom Hanks once starred in a cheesy TV sit-com called Bosom Buddies.
It happens with musicians as well. Jimi Hendrix once opened for the Monkees. Taylor Swift opened for Rascal Flatts. And in 1972, Bruce Springsteen was the opening act for…and this is not a joke…Cheech & Chong.
The stories of opening acts blowing headliners off the stage are legendary as well: Led Zeppelin opening for Iron Butterfly, AC/DC opening for Rainbow, and Van Halen opening for Black Sabbath are just a few examples. And lord help any poor band that had Nirvana opening for them back in the day.
There is also the flip side, of course. Countless bands opened for major acts and then faded into oblivion. The first concert I ever attended was ELO’s Out of the Blue tour in 1978 (I was 12), and the only thing I remember about the opening act was that they played a cover of Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die.” I don’t even remember the band’s name.
However, during two different Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tours in the 1980s, I saw opening acts…
