Stones Unturned at Cotton Bowl in '81

By Robert Wilonsky Thu., Jan. 31 2008 at 9:55 AM

Categories: Music

Used to have the concert tee from the Rolling Stones' November 1, 1981, concert at the Cotton Bowl -- second show of a two-day stay in Dallas, matter of fact, promoting Tattoo You. And while the entire set's been bootlegged under two different titles (Executive Action and Crossfire Hurricane), I've never seen video from the show. Till this morning. Thanks, "ForceRecon75." We're in your debt, but not under your thumb. --Robert Wilonsky

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I was at the Saturday concert. My friends and I came down from Sheppard AFB in Wichata Falls, and had field tickets. I had no idea who the Fabulous Thunderbirds were, but enjoyed the show. ZZ Topp was wonderful. I was in awe of the stadium and the number of people at this event. Needless to say, being in that era, drugs and booze were everywhere. When Mick and the Stones came out on stage a helicopter dropped roses from the sky, and everyone pushed and shoved to get one. My friends made the proverbial push for the stage and I was lost in the shuffle. However, that is were the fun ended. Within seconds of Under Your Thumb begining to play, the gray skies opened up and torrential rains came down. By the end of the concert I was a soaked rat, looking for my friends. Not finding them I located a Dallas police officer who, after directing traffic, took me to his precinct. The detective division was kind enough to dry my clothes and got me a bus ticket back to Sheppard AFB. I still think of that day as a teenagers, fun-filled, first concert experience.
Is there a DVD/Video of this show? Buddy
I have some photos from the 11/1/81 show. How do I post them if anyone wants to see them? Buddy
Liles - as usual, great observation, looking forward to the reaction. Although our reminisces may sound pathetic to some, yours are usually the best and I hope you keep posting them here in spite of the JC's(must admit I'll be using his 'fill in the blank' form for my future posts). Sorry you missed that Stones show!
I was at the October 31st concert the day before. I remember I had to leave early because I remembered I parked on a dirt lot. Anyway, I remember the Stones were good, but I thought they were a bit overshadowed by ZZ Top.
I actually feel sort of sorry for kids these days. I've had this conversation with a lot of different people the last few weeks: Who was the last new truly important recording artist or musician who managed to transcend popular culture and speak on behalf of a generation? JC has a point. Like a disgusted Tony Soprano said in one of the last episodes of "The Sopranos", "Remember When is the lowest form of conversation..." That said, what revelatory memories are younger people gonna have twenty years from now? "Remember when we shot up a hot batch of meth and played Halo for eight days straight?" I challenge anybody born in the 70's or 80's to come up with one band or musician from their specific peer group who has effected all of our lives in the same profound manner as Bob Dylan or The Beatles or Rolling Stones once did. Some of us are prone to lapsing into "Remember when" every now and then because these artists really mattered - they were the literally the soundtrack to the world going on around us. I've struggled for weeks to come up with one artist in the last twenty years who has produced a body of work that managed to resonate on some level with everybody. Music that will serve as a snapshot of our lives and stand the test of time decades from now. What have we got? Anything? Who is your Woody Guthrie? Is it Jeff Tweedy? Who is your John Lennon? Is Dave Matthews or Bright Eyes the best you've got? I'm talking about artists like Bob Dylan or James Brown. Artists who inspired political action. Who was the last one? Can you even think of one? While discussing this subject with Joe Butcher a couple of weeks ago, he said (and I paraphrase), "There isn't one. There won't be, because there is no draft. The draft inspired a cultural upheaval. People these days are too comfortable and complacent to rally around a charismatic artistic figure." I guess that's why some of us tend to sadly reminisce about artists who stopped being relevant years ago. We're still waiting for something new and important to fill the ongoing vacuum of political complacency and pop culture bullshit.
It sucks that JC has no stories to tell. When you are a fat clueless geek in your early 20's that tends to happen.
I think I could sue JC for plagiarism.
RW, I kind of like these posts because of the links to music that are frequently included, but the inevitable reminiscences that crop up in the comment section are such a beating. Maybe you should provide a handy fill-in-the-blank form for commenters: "Hey man, I was there and it was the best ______ show ever! I can't believe they tore down ___________ and replaced it with a __________! I met __________ there and we ________. Man, I huffed so much paint that night! I still have the T-shirt even though I've gained about _______ pounds since then. Dang I miss _______ - it was my favorite radio station. I wish I was dead."
I remember listening to that concert from my front porch in old E. Dallas. It was the cloud cover I suppose that kept the sound waves around and down enough so we could easily hear the music from several blocks away. The next day I invited some friends over to listen to the concert and cookout. It was a sunny day and we couldn't hear anything but the usual gun shots, sirens and the clangs of empty oil cans thrown over the fence into the alley by the Chief Auto Parts' patrons. It was however, still a pretty good day.
My son was born on October 28,,my brother in law and I attended this show On November 1st. ZZ Top and the Fabulous Thunderbirds opened for them. It was GREATNESS
I met my first wife at that Sunday show. By the time the Stones got to "Satisfaction" she had already puked on my party shoes and tugged my best friend. Why I didn't read into that I'll never know. We married and divorced by the time Keith's solo album came out. I also think the Fabulous Thunderbirds opened.
One of my friends from high school was a kid named Greg Holman, and his father George was an painter who lived in the space that is now Bar of Soap. On the night before the Saturday show a bunch of us all went over to George's place and stayed up watching him create his art. That next morning it rained so hard that the water was just pouring through the front door of his space. It was insane, must have rained like five inches. We spent all morning building makeshift barricades trying to keep the water out. Good times.
I've still got a painters cap from that tour somewhere around here. Black with the tongue on top with '81 tour on it.
Dang it Wilonsky! That's not Mick... anyone can clearly see that's Tony Dorsett!
and thank you Robert. Both days were completely different. the Saturday show was rain soaked. the Sunday show was sunny. Mick said 'were any of you here yesterday?...I was lookin' for the fuckin' Ark!' the only difference in the set list- they added 'Can't always get what you want' on Sunday.