Look at western Pennsylvania’s smaller and a few larger concert venues and you’ll find an endless stream of tribute concerts. Some shows feature groups or individuals covering classic tunes from a given decade or label (Motown). The majority focus on specific performers from the 50’s to the present, whether active or defunct, living or deceased. Name an iconic performer and there’s likely a tribute act (or acts) channeling their music.
Not all play smaller venues. Brit Floyd, for example, is set for two shows at the Benedum Center in April of next year.
Unlike WYEP’s annual “Hellbender” shows, where local artists perform the music of an iconic act as part of the event, most tribute bands and show consist of musicians focused solely on re-creating the music and performances of specific acts past and present. It goes beyond songs. Their onstage routines, attire, brand of instruments and onstage production values are identical or strikingly similar, all to create the illusion of the original act.
Audiences savor the idea of seeing and hearing songs by their favorite artists performed live in the original style they remember. Nostalgia is an obvious factor, but there’s more going on: Tribute shows can bond generations by introducing the children or even grandkids of an original act’s fans to the band or artist in ways that simply playing old recordings or videos can’t do.
Tribute ticket prices cost a fraction of the price for A-list acts in 2024 dollars. For those who can’t afford those high-priced Taylor Swift concert tickets, such shows are a realistic alternative. Many tribute acts even develop fan bases of their own.
Not everyone approves. Some fans won’t accept anything but original recordings and the video performances available on DVD’s, YouTube and other video services. Naturally, tribute shows vary in quality and authenticity; Some original artists approve of these doppelgangers more than others.
All this started with a sudden death: Glenn Miller, America’s most popular big band leader, entered the Army after Pearl Harbor intending to entertain the troops. He created and led the first-ever military swing orchestra until he died in a 1944 non-combat plane crash. A year later, his widow and estate formed an official “Glenn Miller Orchestra.” Descendants of that band continue touring today.
The first Miller tribute band, circa 1946, included members of both his pre-war and Army bands. The original leader: singer-saxophonist Tex Beneke, a star of Miller’s civilian orchestra.
Similar posthumous orchestras, dubbed “ghost bands, “followed. Pittsburgh jazz trombonist Jeff Bush leads the current version of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Other bandleaders, swing legend Benny Goodman, among them, took legal steps prevent any posthumous ghost bands.
A second sudden death — Elvis Presley’s in 1977 — inspired a growing number of tribute acts though a few Presley impersonators existed before his death. A few shows showcase his 50’s beginnings, but most focus on his later years. In 1977, the country saw the debut of “Beatlemania” on Broadway. Hyped as “Not the Beatles, but an incredible simulation,” it spawned a touring show, album and feature film — as well as lawsuits from Apple Corps.
Tribute acts can perform the songs (since they pay royalties to the composers). Most use names alluding to the original act to avoid copyright infringement, but some can (and have) been sued if logos or names are too close to those of the original artist or band.
The 90’s “lounge music” revival brought re-creations of the raucous, unrehearsed early 60’s Vegas “Rat Pack“ shows featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. But not all tributes are strict visual re-creations. Several years ago, jazz singer-guitarist John Pizzarelli and chanteuse Catherine Russell joined forces for “Billie & Blue Eyes,” a joint tribute to Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra.
Country tributes aren’t new. Jim Owen performed a Hank Williams, Sr. re-creation presentation in the 1970’s, and Patsy Cline tributes have existed for years. After Johnny and June Carter Cash died in 2003, Cash tribute shows proliferated. This is Cash Unchained’s rendering of “Ring of Fire.”
The popular Get the Led Out honors, well…
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