October 15, 1971: Richard Nader's Rock 'n Roll Revival is held at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was nicknamed "The Garden Party." This helped to kickstart the nostalgia wave for the 1950s and the early 1960s, as the generation that came of age during the Vietnam War wanted to think back to what seemed like a simpler time. (It wasn't, which was why Billy Joel wrote "We Didn't Start the Fire" in 1989.)
Among the performers were Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Bobby Rydell and Ricky Nelson. Except Nelson not only insisted, as he had since his 21st birthday, upon being introduced as "Rick Nelson," but came out with long hair, a purple velvet shirt, and bell-bottom jeans, as if he was taking the stage at Woodstock.
As was expected, he played his classics like "Hello Mary Lou," but he also played Bob Dylan's "She Belongs to Me," and the crowd didn't like that. Then he played "Country Honk" by The Rolling Stones, and they flat-out booed. And he walked off the stage.
It wasn't until afterward that Nader told Nelson that the audience didn't want current music from anyone at his "oldies shows": Fans had booed The Supremes when they sang "Love Child," and had booed doo-wop legend Little Anthony when he sang "Aquarius." Nelson insisted upon his artistic integrity, and wrote the song "Garden Party" about the event: "If memories were all I sang, I'd rather drive a truck" -- a reference to the job that Elvis Presley had before he got a recording contract.
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October 15, 1971 was a Friday. Football was in midweek. And it was a travel day in the World Series, with the Baltimore Orioles leading the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3 games to 2. But the Pirates would win Games 6 and 7, and take the series.
There was one game in college football that night: The University of Houston beat Villanova, 42-9 at the Astrodome in Houston.
There were 5 games played in the NBA:
* The Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics, 97-75 at the Boston Garden.
* The Buffalo Braves beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 111-109 in overtime at the Cleveland Arena. Walt Hazzard scored 35 points for the Braves.
* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons, 132-103 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit. Wilt Chamberlain scored 26 points, a quiet night for him, but enough to lead all scorers in this game.
* The Chicago Bulls beat the Baltimore Bullets, 106-82 at the Chicago Stadium.
* And in a new geographic rivalry, in only its 2nd season, the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 119-88 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.
There were 4 games played in the American Basketball Association:
* The New York Nets beat the Pittsburgh Condors, 115-107 at the Island Garden in West Hempstead, Long Island, New York.
* The Virginia Squires beat their regional rivals, the Carolina Cougars, 118-114 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Julius Erving played his 1st professional basketball game. The University of Massachusetts star, already known as Doctor J, scored 21 points for the Squires. But it was former North Carolina star Charlie Scott who leads all scorers with 36, leading the Squires to the win.
* The Indiana Pacers beat the Denver Rockets, 115-104 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Indianapolis. The arena is now named the Corteva Coliseum, and the Rockets are now named the Denver Nuggets.
* And the Utah Stars beat the Dallas Chaparrals, 116-106 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.
And there was 1 game in the NHL: The Vancouver Canucks beat the California Golden Seals, 9-6 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. The Seals blew a 4-0 1st-period lead, including 2 goals by Walt McKechnie, and wasted a hat trick by Bobby Sheehan. Orland Kurtenbach and André Boudrias each scored 2 goals for the Canucks.
