Special Collections
Grand Emporium Collection: Sample Items

Tiny Tim with Grand Emporium owners Roger Naber and George Myers
Photo

Tiny Tim (holding ukulele), who popularized the 1929 song “Tiptoe Through The Tulips,” poses with others during a 1996 appearance at the Grand Emporium. Roger Naber (left) and George Myers, owners of the Grand Emporium during that time, flank the performer.

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Ol' Limpy Ya Johnson And His Tired Organ
Flyer

The Grand Emporium always found cause for celebration as this novelty flyer for Roger Naber's birthday illustrates. Naber shared many milestones with the Grand Emporium patron base, including a 1999 event marking his 20th year as a music promoter.

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Taj Mahal And The Phantom Blues Band
Flyer

Formed to support Taj Mahal on a 1993 release, the Phantom Blues Band touts many stellar musicians, yet none more revered by Grand Emporium fans than keyboardist Mike Finnigan. Finnigan – whose credits span from Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland album to a distinguished solo career – has remained a local favorite since the 1960s when he gave up a basketball scholarship at KU to pursue music professionally.

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Morells, with special guests The Bon-Ton Band
Flyer (The Lone Star)

The roots-rock sound of the Morells was a popular draw in the local bar/concert hall scene of the early 1980s. Bassist Lou Whitney and guitarist D. Clinton Thompson, who formed the group in Springfield, Missouri, also provided the nucleus of the Skeletons, a band that got its start as the touring band for Steve Forbert. The Bon-Ton Band became a Kansas City institution as the bawdy Saturday night entertainment at Kiki's Bon Ton Maison, a now-defunct New Orleans-themed restaurant.

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Stevie Vaughan And Double Trouble
Flyer (Harling's Upstairs)

Stevie Ray Vaughan made his Kansas City debut in summer 1981 after his brother, Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, convinced Roger Naber to give him a shot. Naber, who was working as an independent promoter at the time, booked the young guitar slinger – still relatively unknown outside his native Texas – to play an upstairs barroom called Harling's. Also in the collection is a contract for an August 5, 1981, show at Parody Hall.

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Speedy Huggins
Flyer (“Speedy On The High Seas” donation flyer)

To help local musician and Grand Emporium regular Speedy Huggins celebrate his 80th birthday in style, this flyer asked for donations to “put Speedy on the high seas” aboard the second Ultimate Rhythm And Blues Cruise, an annual event Grand Emporium co-owner George Myers spearheaded in the 1990s.

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Koko Taylor
Photo

Koko Taylor modernized the raw, belting vocals of Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith and Big Mama Thornton to rightfully earn her place in the blues world. Dubbed the “Queen of the Blues,” Taylor regularly appeared at the Grand Emporium as well as the Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival held in Penn Valley Park.

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Kansas City Blues & Jazz Festival
Photo Advertisement

Throughout the 1990s, Roger Naber handled much of the booking for the original Kansas City Blues & Jazz Festivals held every summer in Penn Valley Park. The 1993 lineup featured, among others, blues guitarist Buddy Guy, seen here in a photo advertisement for that year's event.

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Scroat Belly
Cassette slipcover

An unusual item to surface in the Grand Emporium collection is this cassette-only release from seminal Wichita, Kansas, quartet Scroat Belly. The rare tracks – including two titles never to resurface on their albums The Great Alaskan Holiday and Daddy's Farm – are the band's only officially released recordings to feature one-time (and fifth) member Steve Barnes on banjo. An amalgam of country, punk, and heavy metal, Scroat Belly spawned the formation of Split Lip Rayfield, a high-octane bluegrass act that has enjoyed national success.

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Wilco
Press release

Wilco formed in the aftermath of Uncle Tupelo, the Midwest luminary that helped recast country-rock in the post-punk milieu. This two-page press release from the Grand Emporium Collection traces the origins of the group and promotes their sophomore effort, Being There.

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Buckwheat Zydeco
Contract

Buckwheat Zydeco prohibited the use of the word “Cajun” in promoting his music and typically included a disclaimer in his contract agreements, as seen here for two shows at the Grand Emporium.

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Buddy Guy & Junior Wells
Contract

A concert touting blues legends Buddy Guy and Junior Wells should have packed the Grand Emporium most any night. However, turnout was modest for this October 15th show as many locals preferred to watch game six of the 1985 American League playoffs – the year the Kansas City Royals won the World Series.

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Special Collections is a non-circulating and non-browsing resource center. The Special Collections Reading Room is open to researchers Monday through Friday during the academic year. Public service hours for the current semester are listed at http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col/index.html#hours but researchers are encouraged to call ahead for verification of hours due to University intersessions and other events. Special Collections is located on the fourth floor of the Miller Nichols Library at 5100 Rockhill Road in Kansas City, Missouri. All inquiries concerning access to the collections should be addressed to Special Collections Library Information Specialists Teresa Gipson or Kelly McEniry.

Teresa Gipson Special Collections Library Information Specialist Miller Nichols Library 5100 Rockhill Rd Kansas City, MO 64110 (816) 235-1532 Teresa Gipson Fax (816) 333-5584

Kelly McEniry Special Collections Library Information Specialist Miller Nichols Library 5100 Rockhill Rd Kansas City, MO 64110 (816) 235-1532 Kelly McEniry Fax (816) 333-5584