On Tuesday, April 28, folk comedy duo The Smothers Brothers will bring song, dance and plenty of the sibling rivalry humor that made them famous in the 1960s to the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Look for my interview with Tom Smothers (the "dumb" one) in this Sunday’s Life and Arts section.
Our phone conversation, with Tom speaking from the vineyard he’s run in Sonoma, Calif., since 1970, yielded enough material for five other stories (at least). With the Smothers Brothers’ career now in its 51st year, there was a lot to talk about.
Me being the ’60s rock ’n’ roll nut that I am, I had to ask Tom about some of the bands that played on the group’s variety show, “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” which aired from 1967 to 1969. The list of bands and musicians that performed on the show is huge — The Doors, The Beatles, Pete Seeger, Janis Ian, Cream, Steppenwolf and countless others all made memorable appearances.
Fans of The Who will remember the group’s infamous appearance on “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” — their performance on the show is the stuff of rock ’n’ roll legend.
"That’s one of the top 50 rock ’n’ roll moments," Smothers said. "I saw them at the Monterey Pop Festival, and I said, 'I want them on the show.'"
Of course, as Smothers Brothers and Who fans know, the performance didn’t quite go to plan. An accident involving explosives during the band’s performance of “My Generation” injured drummer Keith Moon and allegedly left guitarist Pete Townshend partially deaf.
"They had a little brass cannon [in the bass drum],” Smothers recalled. “The studio says we will load the cannon, but at the taped dress rehearsal it didn’t go off. So the union guy puts another load in it, and then Keith Moon puts another load in it."
"When that went off, the full explosion, you couldn’t hear it because of the condensers on the mikes. I thought — when it happened, there was shrapnel flying off the drums, so I thought Keith Moon’s hearing got screwed up. But then Pete Townshend grabs my guitar and breaks it. I was so busy looking for bleeding bodies; I didn’t know what had happened."
"They were wild. Keith Moon never made it very far."
But dealing with rock stars can often be trying, even without explosions, as Smothers revealed. Oftentimes, it wasn’t the artists you’d expect that would end up being the most difficult.
"[Jim Morrison of The Doors] was so polite," Smothers said. "Every group was on for five days; they’d start rehearsing on Monday and then tape the appearance Friday. He was supposed to be a wildman. Jefferson Airplane was a little wacky; Grace Slick was a little weird."
"I remember them all," Smothers continued. "We all are very fond of that moment [with The Who] now."
