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Screamin’ Scott

Screamin’ Scott

Screamin’ Scott

The Historic Big Tire And The Nail In Wayne County

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Author Screamin' Scott
The once Famous Nail In The Tire on I-94

Anyone who has traveled from Detroit’s Metro airport toward the Motor City has encountered The Historic Big Tire And The Nail In Wayne County on I-94. As Captain Obvious knows, it was a giant Ferris wheel at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. But the big question I want to know is, what happened to the Big Nail?

The Big Nail is an 11-foot-long, 250-pound metal stake that was in the tire in 1998. Uniroyal promoted a self-sealing tire that was purchased at an auction by Ralph Roberts for $3,000, who bought it just because he wanted to own the world’s largest nail. The nail even became its own celebrity for some time! One night hanging out in downtown Mount Clemens upstairs at the Emerald Theater in a bar they called The Rock Room.

Night of drinking looked out the window and saw a giant nail being towed up the street. Through my research,  the Big Nail has since been retired to an undisclosed site in Utica, Michigan. Who knows? Maybe in 2023, we will all get nailed again.

The Tire has a rock and roll connection. Sir Paul McCartney, in the midst of their Wings Over America tour in 1976, Paul McCartney and Wings posed by the Allen Park Tire off I-94 prior to their Detroit concert stop. Check out the photo by clicking here.

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? That the tire once 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.

2023 Parti-Gras Photos And Videos

UPDATED 7-16-23: We just loaded up our concert photos taken by Robert Bruce during the concert.  He took some killer photos and his B&Ws are something worth checking out.  CLICK HERE to check out Robert’s photos.

WHAT HAPPENED AT PARTI-GRAS?  What didn’t happen?  Bret Michaels did not disappoint.  WCSX gave away 5,000 souvenir lanyards that included a chance to win an autographed guitar from the Parti-Gras artists including Bret Michaels!  We also looked for lanyards in the crowd to randomly award concert tickets and prizes!  Welcome to the Parti-Gras photo gallery!  Check back soon for updates!

Backstage with Bret!

Lucky WCSX listeners and their guests enjoyed a private party backstage including a photo op with Bret Michaels!  We also had delicious food from Honcho Latin Street Food and Coffee AND Santo Tequila Margaritas! Bret Michaels and Jack Blades both stopped by to talk with us!

 

Listen to Jack Blades’ Interview With Doni, Screamin’ Scott, and Big Jim

The Dress Like Bret Karaoke Contest

Five finalists dressed up like Bret Michaels to give their best shot at the grand prize: GOING ON STAGE TO SING WITH BRET MICHAELS.  Congratulations to Jennifer Richards!  She won the contest and got to go on stage with Bret to sing “Nothing But a Good Time” with Bret! Check Jennifer out on stage performing with Bret! She KILLED IT!

 

Bret opened with “Talk Dirty To Me” and the crowd was loving it!  When Bret broke into “Something To Believe In,” all the phones lit up on the hill and in the pavilion at Pine Knob.  Big Jim and Ryan brought out the people from veteran’s row and the crowd went wild with applause honoring our veterans.

Here’s another great moment: the final song of the night: “Sweet Home Alabama” with the whole Parti-Gras line-up on stage!

WCSX Parti-Gras Photos

 

Born in Mt Clemens, Screamin’ Scott has been a part of the Detroit airwaves for 30-plus years. With 40 years of experience in radio. When he’s not out on the streets for WCSX, you can find him devoting time to local charities with his, “Screamin Angels”; and for 16 years with Rock 4 Tots charity. And last 10 years with his local band, "Chit!." Screamin Scott likes to write about nostalgic Detroit area memories, classic rock, and local metro Detroit topics.

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