Smoky, Sweaty, Rowdy, and Loud: Tales of Cleveland's Legendary Rock & Roll Landmarks, Paperback

Let's head backstage at Cleveland's legendary rock and roll landmarks as club owners, talent bookers, performers, promoters, and concertgoers share stories from the 1950s through 1990s about . . .

• Where it all began: the Cleveland Arena, site of the first-ever rock concert, anywhere.
• The hugely influential Agora, where Springsteen and so many other acts burst onto the scene
• The Coliseum at Richfield, erected in the middle of nowhere just in time for the arrival of arena rock.
• Monster concerts at Cleveland Municipal Stadium--including the epic, multi-year World Series of Rock.
• Groundbreaking R&B clubs Gleason's and Leo's Casino.
• Staid, classical Public Auditorium, where the Beatles incited a riot and Led Zeppelin grabbed a teenage audience volunteer to fill in on bass
• Musicarnival, the circular big-top tent that alternated summer-stock with hard-rock (to the dismay of suburban neighbors).
• Bars and clubs like the Euclid Tavern, Variety Theater, and Empire Concert Club that rocked the '80s and '90s with punk, thrash, electronica--whatever it took.
• The renowned Swingos' celebrity hotel on Euclid Avenue, where bands remembered checking in and checking out--but nothing in-between
• And other classic venues well worth remembering.