Before the wrecking ball: Lansing's long-lost rock ‘n’ roll palace

Long before the Lansing Civic Center was reduced to rubble in 1999, the 6,500-capacity arena at 525 W. Allegan St. stood as a beating heart of live music in Michigan’s capital city. For decades, it hosted a staggering roster of music legends, from the pioneers of jazz and rock ‘n’ roll to early Motown stars and country icons. 
In 1987, the venue was rebranded as the Lansing Civic Arena to differentiate it from the newly built Lansing Center. However, the name change didn’t immediately kill the immense venue; live music and big crowds kept the place buzzing through the 1990s.  

The echoes of those legendary nights still likely haunt the site, and when you realize Buddy Holly once walked the streets of downtown Lansing, guitar in tow, well … that's pretty incredible. Today, the site is home to the Deborah A. Stabenow Building, formerly known as Constitution Hall, a much quieter tenant.   

Looking back, there was a tour bus full of memorable shows at the Civic Center, but these five are burned into the city's musical history.  

1. When Buddy Holly landed in Lansing: April 27, 1958

When Buddy Holly and the Crickets rolled into Lansing as part of disc jockey Alan Freed’s famous “Big Beat” package tour, rock ‘n’ roll was still figuring out what it wanted to be. But Buddy? He already knew. At just 21 years old, the spectacled Texan brought swagger and sincerity with hits like “That’ll Be the Day” and “Oh, Boy!” — songs that changed the lives of Paul McCartney and John Lennon, who first bonded as teens over a shared love of the “Peggy Sue” songwriter.  

Sharing the bill was an inconceivable roster: Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frankie Lymon, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and The Chantels, to name a few. Freed, the notorious, fast-talking DJ who helped coin the term “rock and roll,” had assembled a lineup that read like a future Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ballot, but by late 1959, he was fired from WABC radio following a music-industry-changing payola scandal. 

For some Lansing teens, it was the night rock ‘n’ roll became real. And for Holly, it was one of the final Michigan stops before “the day the music died.” Less than a year later, he’d die in that tragic 1959 plane crash alongside Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. Home camera video footage of Holly, shot from the seats of the Civic Center, is available on YouTube. It’s worth a watch.   

2. 
   Duke Ellington swings through the capital city: Oct. 24, 1957

Even before rock music took over the Civic Center, jazz royalty graced its stage. Duke Ellington, the ultimate bandleader, pianist and composer, performed in Lansing at a time when his orchestra was still untouchably great. Backed by a dream team — Johnny Hodges, Clark Terry, Billy Strayhorn and Cat Anderson, to name a few — the show was a clinic in class, swing and virtuosity. 

This was a gathering of some of the most vital musicians in American history at the peak of their powers. A 50-cent ticket could buy you a seat to a genius in motion. $1.75 would’ve gotten you a seat closer to the magic.  

The Civic Center became a jazz cathedral that night, and Ellington, ever the elegant ambassador, turned Lansing into the center of the universe, if only for a couple of hours. Ellington returned April 13, 1962, for a follow-up performance at the Civic Center.  
 

3. Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins make a rockabilly ruckus: April 19, 1958

If you were lucky enough to snag a $1.25 ticket to this one, you witnessed the raw roots of rock take shape. Part of the Stars of the Grand Ole Opry tour, this stop brought two future legends to the Civic Center stage. Roy Orbison was still rocking his pompadour before the shades became iconic. Meanwhile, Carl Perkins, the “Blue Suede Shoes” architect and inspiration to Elvis Presley, was fresh off the Sun Records train. 

It was gritty country. It was rockabilly. It was a sonic rebellion in real time. Orbison’s 1958 singles performed at the show included rock staples like “Claudette,” which became a hit for the Everly Brothers, and his signature “Ooby Dooby.” Perkins came in swinging with that no-frills Tennessee grit. Though this show leaned more Nashville than Memphis, it hinted at the genre-melting future ahead, especially for Orbison, who’d go on to become one of the most operatic, mysterious voices in rock history. In 1960, he finally broke into the top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart with the song “Only the Lonely.” 
 

4. When Fats, Chubby and The Shirelles had Lansing dancing: April 29, 1961

If you’re building the perfect early-‘60s dance party, you probably start with Chubby Checker. Add Fats Domino and Bo Diddley, throw in The Shirelles, Ben E. King, Chuck Jackson and The Drifters, and you’ve got the musical equivalent of dynamite. This was the scene at the Lansing Civic Center’s 20th Century Club Dance & Concert in spring 1961. 

Checker brought 1960’s “The Twist,” Domino delivered the boogie-woogie gospel of New Orleans, and Diddley brought the swagger of his still-fresh hit “Road Runner.” These were the early days of soul, the final years of doo-wop and a rare moment when a whole generation’s sound was exploding on one stage. 

Whether the attendees were there to slow dance to King’s “Stand by Me” or sing along to Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame,” this night proved Lansing’s teen scene had stellar taste.  
 

5. Motown on the move: Nov. 15, 1963

Just days before the JFK assassination shattered America’s innocence, Motown’s first revue rolled into Lansing. The Motortown Revue, a nonstop, high-energy traveling showcase for Berry Gordy’s stable of rising Detroit-based talent, hit the Civic Center with a jaw-dropping roster: Marvin Gaye, The Miracles, Mary Wells, Kim Weston, Martha and the Vandellas, The Contours and little Stevie Wonder, who attended the Lansing School for the Blind.  

At the time, many of these artists were still climbing the charts. Wonder was a preteen prodigy. Gaye hadn’t yet found his social voice. But it was all in the making. Lansing got a glimpse of history unfolding.