By Chuck Darrow
In October 1987, gaming tycoon Steve Wynn sold his 7-year-old Golden Nugget Atlantic City to Bally’s Corp., then-owner of Bally’s Park Place Casino-Hotel. The property was rechristened Bally’s Grand Hotel & Casino, and its official opening ceremony was headlined by Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis and Sammy Davis Jr. But it was what happened the subsequent two years that was truly “grand.”
The summer of 1988 (and again in ’89) saw the construction and operation of a temporary, 4,000-seat al fresco performance space that was dubbed The Grandstand Under the Stars. For the two years of its existence, it was not only AyCee’s hottest entertainment venue, but one of the most exciting places for live entertainment on the East Coast.
Erected on a casino-owned lot across Boston Avenue from the Grand’s main entrance, the outdoor theater’s two seasons’ worth of talent rosters comprised a Who’s Who of musical royalty of the era. Space doesn’t permit a complete listing of who performed there, but here’s a taste: Frank Sinatra; Diana Ross; Bob Dylan; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Neil Young, Bob Dylan; Rod Stewart; Chuck Berry and Stevie Wonder.
In addition, the Grandstand was the local site of the first tour (in 1989) by Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. Among the rock ‘n’ roll giants who joined the ex-Beatle, there were the Clarence Clemons and Nils Lofgrin of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band; Levon Helm and Rick Danko of The Band; Joe Walsh of The Eagles (Ringo’s brother-in-law!) and “Fifth Beatle” Billy Preston.
But in terms of musical history, the most special evening of all undoubtedly was June 30, 1988. That’s when Bruce Springsteen hopped into his Corvette and headed down the Garden State Parkway from his Monmouth County home to attend the Jackson Browne concert. The Boss not only was there as a fan, but also as a participant: He joined his buddy Jackson on two songs, The Zodiacs’ “Stay” and Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen.” It’s an event that still resonates within the Springsteen universe.
For Carmen Gonzales, the two summers the Grandstand was up and running were among her most memorable. Today, Gonzales—who graciously supplied the accompanying photo—is the vice-president of communications for Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia. But in the late-1980s, she was just beginning her career, serving as an assistant in the Grand’s public relations department.
“It was open-air amphitheater style,” she recalled. “The seats and the back of the stage faced the building. Off to your left were the Boardwalk and the ocean. So you had an ocean view, depending on where you were sitting. The higher up you were, the better you saw the ocean,” she noted, referring to the time before the scenery-blocking dunes were installed.
For Gonzales, the Grandstand not only provided her the opportunity to see some of her generation’s biggest names, but she also received introductions to others performers with whom she was far less familiar.
She explained that while she was most excited to learn artists like Debbie Gibson, Tiffany and New Kids On the Block were booked, the more-established artists really wowed her.
“I’ll never forget the nights that I saw Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan, and Jackson Browne, and was exposed to them for the first time. Of course, they knocked my socks off.”
As for the Browne-Springsteen moments, Gonzales has no memory of anything Browne might have said by way of introduction. Springsteen, she remembered, “Kind of just walked out. And the audience lost their minds. It was a pretty cool moment. I still talk about it to this day when I’m telling stories of my career.”
Nonetheless, it was the Chairman of the Board who made the greatest impression on the young publicist.
“Sinatra was incredible. Just to see the reaction of the fans; you have never seen anything like it,” she said with a trace of awe in her voice. “Here I am, a million years later, and I still have never seen anything like that, or come close to seeing anything like the reaction of the audience.”
