Milwaukee has had a more than five-decade love affair with the Big Gig.
So we asked our friends at Summerfest to dig into their photo archives and select some images that best illustrate this mutual love-fest between Milwaukee and the world's largest music festival.
Enjoying a beer, 1974
OK, so maybe this guy isn't feelin' it, 1974
Waylon wailin', 1976
Everyone loves Bobby Vinton, 1976
That baby could be a veteran of more than 40 Summerfests by now, 1977
Put your hands together, 1978
Arlo Guthrie on the Main Stage, 1980
Is this you? 1984
Skygliding, 1985
There's nothing quite like the Big Gig after dark, 1990
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
