In Indiana, Stones made journey from zeros to heroes
Before the Rolling Stones became "the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band," they were "scrawny, pasty-faced, mussed-up, dirty-looking creatures."
That was the pronouncement, anyway, in the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel after the Stones played their first show in Indiana on Nov. 12, 1964.
The July 4 concert at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be the band's eighth performance in the state. The Rolling Stones' resume includes seven No. 1 singles and nine No. 1 albums, but the British Invasion act was still six months away from the release of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" when it played to a half-empty Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel critic Marjorie Barnhart reported that vocalist Mick Jagger "shuffled around a bit, making the girls scream."
The Stones made their Indianapolis debut on July 9, 1966, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum, where the Beatles performed two years earlier.
The Indiana Convention Center opened in 1972 and welcomed the Rolling Stones as one of the venue's first performers.
Gov. Edgar Whitcomb attended the show, according to a report in The Indianapolis Star. The newspaper implied that the governor and his wife came out primarily to impress their daughter, who was among the attendees.
"We just thought we'd come and look," Whitcomb told The Star. "But it's not really the kind of thing you go out into the street humming, is it?"
Indiana University's Assembly Hall hosted the Stones on the band's 1975 tour, and it was 14 years until the band returned to Indiana as stadium-rock champions.
When the Rolling Stones played two soldout concerts in 1989 at the RCA Dome (known then as the Hoosier Dome), Jagger arrived a few days in advance of the "Steel Wheels" tour performances.
Gene Gardner, the building's entertainment director, told The Star that Jagger passed time by mingling with members of the road crew and exercising in the empty stadium.
"I had a great time with Mick, actually," Gardner said in 2008. "We had dinner over at St. Elmo Steak House, and we had a big party over there after the first show."
Jagger and guitarist Ron Wood also popped into the Chatterbox jazz club on Massachusetts Avenue.
"Mick Jagger was standing right next to me," saxophone player Frank Glover told The Star in 1992. "It was like being in 'The Twilight Zone.' He told me he loved the band."
J.P. Moraldo owned the Benvenuti restaurant in Downtown Indianapolis in 1989 and 1994, when the Stones returned to play one show at the RCA Dome.
Moraldo happily detailed meals that Jagger ate during each visit.
In 1994, it was penne pasta seasoned with tomato sauce, wine, veal sauce, sliced mushrooms and fresh herbs. He drank sodas and juice. Then he ordered a couple of lobsters — for himself.
"He eats like 36 people, but I imagine he burns it off very quickly (in concert)," said Moraldo, who closed Benvenuti in 1999. "The first time he ate here, he had two orders of pasta, soup, some veal dishes, salad and dessert."
Jagger's love affair with Indianapolis apparently soured when the 1994 show fell considerably short of sellout status.
Industry insiders said the empty seats left an enduring bruise on the singer's ego.
"Jagger says he'll never come back, and he seems to be sticking to his guns," former Bankers Life Fieldhouse entertainment director Jeff Bowen told The Star in 2004.
The drought of appearances will end on July 4.
Call Star reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.
The Rolling Stones in Indiana
Nov. 12, 1964 — Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, with supporting acts Shangri-Las and Green Men, $2.50 to $5.50 were typical ticket prices on tour.
July 9, 1966 — Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum, with supporting acts the Standells and the McCoys, $4.50.
July 12, 1972 — Indiana Convention Center, with supporting act Stevie Wonder, $6.50.
July 26, 1975 — Assembly Hall, Bloomington, with supporting act the Crusaders, $8.50.
Dec. 6-7, 1989 — RCA Dome (known then as the Hoosier Dome), with supporting act Living Colour, $28.50.
Aug. 10, 1994 — RCA Dome, with supporting act Counting Crows, $25 to $50.
July 4, 2015 — Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with supporting acts Rascal Flatts and Saints of Valory, $59.50 to $395.50.