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1964 Associated Student Body Officers Bill Luttrell, Phil Wheeler, Brenda Edgemon, and Roger Easley, 1964 Eagle<\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Folk music was\u00a0incredibly popular in the 1960\u2019s, and the group Peter, Paul and Mary (Blowing in the W<\/em>ind<\/em> and Leaving on Jet Plane<\/em>), top draw in college venues, charged a prohibitive booking fee, making securing an engagement seemingly out of the realm of possibility for Tech. \u00a0Moreover, any big-name entertainment campus booking brought a financial risk based upon attendance and whether the gate receipts would cover the cost of the performance.<\/p>\n Instead, for 1963 Homecoming, the Associated Student Body (ASB) booked the Smothers Brothers (Richard and Tom)\u2014an American folk duo popular for their satire bits on variety shows. The booking looked successful, as gate receipts covered the expense and although Tech lost the Homecoming football game, everyone anticipated that spirits would be lifted by the Smothers Brothers\u2019 performance.<\/p>\n The Smothers Brothers started their performance and all initially looked just fine\u2026 until the intermission break.\u00a0 To the astonishment of all, the Smothers Brothers never returned to finish their scheduled appearance. What happened to the Smother Brothers during their brief performance and abrupt departure?\u00a0 It turned out that they had gone to Judd\u2019s Roadhouse and performed for beers!<\/p>\n Realizing the Smothers Brothers violated their contract by not performing their contracted time, the following Monday, then ASB President, Phil Wheeler, took his concern to Professor Poteet, a Business Law professor.\u00a0 Poteet confirmed what Wheeler thought and informed him that if the case if this went to trial, Tech would try the civil case in Putnam County, Tennessee.\u00a0 Armed with this understanding, Wheeler called their agent, Sherman Tankel, the next day.\u00a0 Wheeler explained that the Smothers Brothers did not meet their contract and that Tech was damaged for having confidence in any future performances.\u00a0 Tankel explained that \u201chis boys\u201d were not happy with the audience response they received, so they left.\u00a0 Wheeler responded that the contract did not include audience response, but it did include performance length.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tankel offered to make a financial contribution to a charity of Tech\u2019s choosing to which Wheeler replied, \u201cWith due respect, it was not a charity that was harmed, but rather the paying audience from our student body.\u201d\u00a0 Wheeler continued, \u201cSherman, \u2018your boys\u2019 left Tech without fulfilling the contract\u2026 if Tech litigated this, they could for up to treble dollars in a civil case here in Putnam County, Tennessee. After some deliberation, Tankel agreed to refund Tech for the undelivered half of the performance. Consequently, Tech was able to afford to book Peter, Paul and Mary for the following winter quarter\u2014a concert reviewed in the February 7, Oracle<\/em> by Phil Burgess as, \u201cfabulous.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tech Anecdote from 1963-64 Associated Student Body President Phil Wheeler Note: Occasionally the University Archivist hears a good story from an alumnus that she would like to share.\u00a0 This story is told by Phil Wheeler and re-written by Archives Assistant … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2019\/02\/smothers-brothers-1-300x211.jpg\")
Smothers Brothers, 1964 Eagle.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2019\/02\/ppm-300x187.jpg\")
Peter, Paul and Mary, 1964 Eagle.<\/em><\/p>\n