Chuck Norris & "Cream" farewell tour in 1968....
Item # 727157
October 31, 1968
THE VILLAGE VOICE (weekly), Greenwich Village, New York, Oct. 31, 1968
* Chuck Norris vs. Louis Delgado karate bout
* American martial artist and Hollywood actor
* Lightweight championship of the World ad
* CREAM British rock band - Spectrum concert ad
* Eric Clapton - Ginger Baker - Jack Bruce
Page 38 has a notice for "Professional Karate World Championship Bouts" with one of the bouts featuring Chuck Norris. An early mention of him prior to his successful acting career.
The same page also has a 6 x 3 1/2 inch advertisement for "CREAM", for their upcoming appearance at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. This was part of the Goodbye Tour and one of the very last concerts for this famed band.
Background: On November 1, 1968, the legendary British power trio Cream—comprising Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker—delivered a historic and widely mythologized concert at The Spectrum in Philadelphia during their grueling 19-city US "Goodbye" farewell tour. This specific performance holds immense historical significance within rock lore because, despite the severe internal fractures, exhaustion, and animosity that were tearing the band apart just weeks before their ultimate dissolution, the trio achieved a rare, transcendent musical synergy that both Clapton and Bruce later recalled as one of the greatest and most "elevated" gigs of their entire career. Performed in the round on a slowly revolving center stage, the concert captures Cream at the absolute absolute peak of their improvisational prowess, yet it remains shrouded in a profound sense of archival rarity; no official or bootleg audio or video recordings of the performance are known to exist. The evening survives almost exclusively through firsthand memories, written reviews, and a striking, rare series of archival photographs by William Kates, making it a legendary "lost" chapter of rock history that fans can only approximate by listening to the recorded Madison Square Garden show from the very next night.
I suspect this to be an extremely rare item because there was really no reason to save it at the time.
The Village Voice was an American counterculture newspaper known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. It introduced free-form, high-spirited, and passionate journalism into the public discourse - a tradition it maintained throughout its 60+ year history. It is quite common to find great political cartoons, satirical cartoons and articles, thought-provoking editorials, and ads and reviews for both concerts and theater productions - both on and off Broadway. Many iconic writers and musicians credit their appearance in The Village Voice for at least a portion of their success.
Other interesting items from the counter-culture era. Complete in 72 pages, tabloid-size, one crease across the center, nice condition.
Provenance note: This issue comes from The Village Voice's own archives, part of their in-house collection used to create their digital archive.
Alert: Many issues of The Village Voice contain articles and/or photos which some consider offensive, and are certainly inappropriate for children. Please purchase with discretion.
* Chuck Norris vs. Louis Delgado karate bout
* American martial artist and Hollywood actor
* Lightweight championship of the World ad
* CREAM British rock band - Spectrum concert ad
* Eric Clapton - Ginger Baker - Jack Bruce
Page 38 has a notice for "Professional Karate World Championship Bouts" with one of the bouts featuring Chuck Norris. An early mention of him prior to his successful acting career.
The same page also has a 6 x 3 1/2 inch advertisement for "CREAM", for their upcoming appearance at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. This was part of the Goodbye Tour and one of the very last concerts for this famed band.
Background: On November 1, 1968, the legendary British power trio Cream—comprising Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker—delivered a historic and widely mythologized concert at The Spectrum in Philadelphia during their grueling 19-city US "Goodbye" farewell tour. This specific performance holds immense historical significance within rock lore because, despite the severe internal fractures, exhaustion, and animosity that were tearing the band apart just weeks before their ultimate dissolution, the trio achieved a rare, transcendent musical synergy that both Clapton and Bruce later recalled as one of the greatest and most "elevated" gigs of their entire career. Performed in the round on a slowly revolving center stage, the concert captures Cream at the absolute absolute peak of their improvisational prowess, yet it remains shrouded in a profound sense of archival rarity; no official or bootleg audio or video recordings of the performance are known to exist. The evening survives almost exclusively through firsthand memories, written reviews, and a striking, rare series of archival photographs by William Kates, making it a legendary "lost" chapter of rock history that fans can only approximate by listening to the recorded Madison Square Garden show from the very next night.
I suspect this to be an extremely rare item because there was really no reason to save it at the time.
The Village Voice was an American counterculture newspaper known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. It introduced free-form, high-spirited, and passionate journalism into the public discourse - a tradition it maintained throughout its 60+ year history. It is quite common to find great political cartoons, satirical cartoons and articles, thought-provoking editorials, and ads and reviews for both concerts and theater productions - both on and off Broadway. Many iconic writers and musicians credit their appearance in The Village Voice for at least a portion of their success.
Other interesting items from the counter-culture era. Complete in 72 pages, tabloid-size, one crease across the center, nice condition.
Provenance note: This issue comes from The Village Voice's own archives, part of their in-house collection used to create their digital archive.
Alert: Many issues of The Village Voice contain articles and/or photos which some consider offensive, and are certainly inappropriate for children. Please purchase with discretion.
Category: The 20th Century
