The I-94 Big Tire Celebrates Its 60th Anniversary

With the Detroit Sign off I-94  in the news recently. Another giant item that welcomes people to town is celebrating. The Giant Uniroyal Big Tire along I-94 west of Detroit is celebrating 60 years old.

That's correct for the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York, which was relocated to Detroit in 1965. Built for the 1964-65 World's Fair in Queens, New York, it carried more than 2 million riders during its time as a 96-passenger Ferris wheel. Anyone who has traveled from Detroit's Metro Airport toward the Motor City has encountered The Historic Big Tire In Wayne County on I-94.

The true story is the tire got here by train. It was shipped by train in 1965 in 188 sections to Detroit, where it was reassembled in four months and placed permanently at the Uniroyal sales office on I-94. The big tire has had a few modifications, including a new hubcap in 1994. Yes, in 1998, like on many Michigan roads, it took a nail in the tire, but for publicity feature to promote the sealing Nail-Guard feature on the tire.

The Tire has a rock and roll connection. Sir Paul McCartney, amid their Wings Over America tour in 1976, Paul McCartney and Wings posed by the Allen Park Tire off I-94 before their Detroit concert stop.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/92760331@N04/12192152375

Out-of-towners must think something is pretty strange on a first visit to town driving by the Big Tire, like a scene out of a Japanese Godzilla movie. The Big Tire has a rumor instead of a Big Nail attached to its history. The rumor? The tire broke loose from its perch and rolled down I-94, causing chaos: great story but pure folklore. Several arrows have been shot into the tire over the years, and it has been shot at with bullets, but it has never been tagged with graffiti.

With the hype of the new Detroit sign made for the upcoming draft, don't forget our famous Big Tire, which has been a part of the Michigan culture, greeting folks from out-of-towners and being a welcome sign that you made it back home.

Happy Birthday to the Big Tire on I-94!

In 1981 MTV Music Television hit the airwaves with the words, "Ladies and Gentlemen, rock and roll." I wondered what it would do for the bands in Michigan. Local Detroit Rock bands didn't take long to start making music videos on their own. In the beginning,  Detroit Rock videos were cheaply made with Mom and Dad's video camera.  A band that had a record contract had the record label fork over some money to have a music video professionally made.

Before MTV Bands in the 60s were making what they called promotional videos of live performances or would lip sync to their hit song to get into venues and promoters, in the 80s Local Detroit bands got in the game as bands from England already got a big head start on all the bands in America.

Detroit history, The Look was the first Local Detroit band on MTV with its “We’re Gonna Rock” clip in 1981. MTV rotated the band’s 1982 follow-up video of the single, “You Can’t Sit Down,” a Dovells R&B cover. The song made American Bandstand’s “rate-a-record” with a respectable score of 94. The Look has lots of  Detroit radio airplay.  Dave Edwards continues to write and record currently.

Some of these bands played at some great local venues around town. Harpo's, The I-Rock, The Ritz in Roseville, The Hayloft East & West, Blondies, Jaggers, and others. We grew up in a great time for music in the motor city. Even some fans made road trips to Grand Rapids, Flint, and parts of Ohio. Don't Forget even road trips to Canada to follow Detroit Bands.

Are You Ready For More? 

By popular demand and request friends and fans have asked me to dig even deeper for even more Detroit gems and Motor city classics.

Friends have suggested these videos and songs on my social media and people I have run into from time to time this year.

Enjoy!

~screamin

Great live video performance of 'Gimme Good Lovin' from January 26, 1985. The show was taped at Harpo's and broadcast on the "Soundtraxx" TV show.

National Breakout was the second album by ,"the Romantics" , released in 1980 on Nemperor Records. It peaked at No. 176 on the Billboard 20. The longest song on the album just over 5 minutes was, "A Night Like This." The song written by Wally Palmer, Jimmy Marinos and Mike Skill.

The Bob Seger System played throughout the 1960s, breaking through with his first album, "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man." his first national hit in 1969. By the early 1970s, he had dropped the 'System' from his name. Check out the venues they played on the Concert Data Base by clicking here 

Mitch Ryder and the Band, "Detroit" ,  was a spinoff of rock group The Detroit Wheels. This revised version of that band was formed by Mitch Ryder as a successor to The Wheels in 1970. The only original Wheel in the group was the drummer Johnny "Bee" Badanjek; other members were guitarists Steve Hunter and Brett Tuggle, organist Harry Phillips and bassists W.R. Cooke and John Sauter.

Love seeing Jim McCarty and Johnny B up there! 

1969 by The Stooges with Iggy Pop   from the first album. Not only the lyrics from Iggy make a statement but include the screechy guitar riff that makes this a hometown classic. The Stooges,and also known as Iggy and the Stooges, were a rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexander. 

Grand Funk Railroad's famous Concert July 9th, 1971

The impending Grand Funk concert – with special guest Humble Pie. Matched that attendance record, but sold out in a mere 72 hours, whereas The Beatles' show took considerably longer. 55,000 tickets went on sale at 10am that Friday, priced at $4, $5 and $6, and by Monday morning they were gone.

Frijid Pink members, drummer Richard Stevers, guitarist Gary Ray Thompson, bassist Tom Harris, lead singer Tom Beaudry (aka Kelly Green), and later added Larry Zelanka as off-staff keyboardist. The Bands  third 1969 single, a distorted guitar-driven rendition of "House of the Rising Sun," reached the Top Ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1970. The 45' sold over one million copies, thereby receiving a gold record.

Barefootin' was the B-side of the 45 of their hit , "Smokin in the Boys Room." "Barefootin'" is a 1966 song origanlly  written and performed by Robert Parker and was a million seller as he claims.  One of the first 45's I ever had in my collection and still is in one of my jukeboxes at home.

The Mutants were the next big thing out of Hamtramck/Detroit. They were heavily featured in CREEM MAGAZINE before their first single came out! Sadly, the rest of America didn't catch on to this great power punk band. 

Alice Cooper once said that he wanted his song, "School's Out," to represent that very last moment of the last day at school. You remember the one. The last bell rings and everyone loses their mind. Unless, of course, you work in the school system.  The song turned into a anthem that would be played year after year over and over again.

This video was originally aired on MTV in 1982 when it came out. Back when MTV played Rock and Roll videos all day long! Filmed in Toronto and Detroit. Dave and the LOOK are still out playing the motorcity and well as Dave Edwards as a solo artist. 

The I-94 Big Tire Celebrates Its 60th Anniversary Built for the 1964-65 World’s Fair in Queens, New York, it carried more than 2 million riders during its time as a 96-passenger Ferris wheel. Anyone who has traveled from Detroit’s Metro airport toward the Motor City has encountered The Historic Big Tire In Wayne County on I-94.