Rock ‘n Roll Farm History Lesson with Ken Settle

Were you there? A definitely underage Ken Settle was... and no, I didn't hear that from Ken. :) This Rock 'n Roll Farm history lesson was also one of Ken Settle's first concert photo shoots. One of the truly amazing things about Ken Settle is that in addition to taking award-winning photos throughout his career, he has taken impeccable notes. Ken has the who, what, where, when, and sometimes why for every show he shot since 1974.

First, let's set the stage:

When: February 12th, 1974

Where: The Rock 'n Roll Farm in Wayne, Michigan

Who: Bob Seger (or Bob Seeger as the tickets read that night!)

How Much: $3 at the door!

The Owner: Leo Speer - his son, Benny, formed the well known band Benny and The Jets. Leo also owned the Michigan Palace Theater in Detroit and leveraged bands to play both venues.

As they say, Maestro, take it away...

The following is Ken Settle's story in his own words.

The Rock 'n Roll Farm had one of the smallest stages and a cramped little dance floor. I took this shot of Bob, with an old Nikon rangefinder camera with a normal lens, and a 1950s era pan reflector that took those huge flash bulbs. You'd get one shot and have to dump the spent bulb and put in a new one.

I remember I was wearing a corduroy sport coat with the spent bulbs in the left pocket and the new ones in the right. As the floor got more rowdy, the spent bulbs ended up all over the dance floor with people dancing and stomping them into smithereens along with shot glasses and spilled beer and whiskey! Seemed like just about the coolest thing in the world to a real young kid!

Some of the other artists that played The Farm in its brief three years on the music scene were blues greats Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Luther Allison, James Cotton, as well as artists like Tim Buckley, Spooky Tooth, Spirit, Mitch Ryder and Wayne Kramer in The Knockdown Party Band, the earliest incarnation of the legendary Rockets, and local favorites like Salem Witchcraft and Stonebridge.

The Rock 'n Roll Farm eventually became a bar called Baby's. A bar/restaurant called US-12 Bar and Grill now resides at that address, In fact the owner, John Goci, purchased a couple wall size mural prints of my Seger photos to pay tribute to Bob and some of the big bands that played at the venue back in the day.