Finding aid for the Agora Cleveland Records and Photographs

History of The Agora

In 1966, The Murray Hill Club (the Agora) on Cornell Road near Case and Western Reserve University campuses hosted the bands December's Children and The Selective Service. These early performances took place before the club even had its first liquor license. By November of that same year, the Agora became an 18 & over club, with owner and founder Henry "Hank" LoConti Sr. and his friend Ray McCarthy acting as the sole bouncers for the venue. Then in the summer of 1967, the club moved to a larger downtown location at 1730 E. 24th St., closer to Cleveland State University. In these early days of the Agora, the club was more popular as a dance club, particularly with the Motown dance bands they hosted, but already LoConti had started to book some progressive bands like The James Gang. Hank LoConti would continue to expand the club's repertoire and within a decade and the Agora would transform into one of the most prominent players in the field, booking acts that revitalized the Rock'n'Roll genre and created the core for progressive rock.

While still best known as a dance club in 1968, LoConti booked the venue's first concert that year with The Buckinghams, who had three hits on the charts at the time, as the headliners. Three local bands, The Ambassadors, The Originals, and Cyrus Erie (with Eric Carmen), opened for them. LoConti continued to bring in groups for "listening crowds" and booked The Pack, formerly Terry Knight & The Pack, to play on Sunday's. The Pack (which would become famous as Grand Funk Railroad) did not pull the crowd, and it was let go and replaced by The Charades (formerly the Dick Whittington's Cats). These early concerts would continue to get some push-back as customers complained that the music was not danceable. Around this time, the Agora would also open one of the nations' first in-house recording studios capable of producing live albums. Eventually this would develop into a radio network and an internationally syndicated television show "Onstage at the Agora." Around 1970, the group Cyrus Erie, who had opened for The Buckinghams in 1968 was disbanded by Eric Carmen who then formed The Raspberries. This group became the house band for the Agora, and some Sundays they would bring close to 1,300 people to the venue. These Sundays would sometimes earn a larger proceed than the combined take from the Friday and Saturday concerts. By 1971, the Agora, which had largely been highlighting local acts, began promoting concerts featuring national recording acts such as the Velvet Underground, the Flaming Groovies, the Bob Seeger System, the Amboy Dukes, Jim Croce, Batdorf, Alice Cooper, and Rodney, as well as local bands with record albums such as the Glass Harp and Tiny Alice. Between 1970 and 1971, LoConti left to open the Columbus Agora, but would return to run the flagship Cleveland Agora after Columbus' initial setup. Also in 1971, Thr Agora began to take advantage of in-house recording capabilities when Agency Recording partnered with a progressive FM station, WNCR, to broadcast live studio concerts on Sunday nights. By 1972, the Agora was dedicated full-time to concerts and was working hard to make itself a showcase club. The Raspberries had had a number of hits and were now out on tour, and so the house band was replaced by Rainbow Canyon (formerly Rainbow), which was comprised of some members of The Charade which was the house band before the Raspberries. Around 1973, WNCR had lost some popularity and so the Agora switched its broadcasts to WMMS-FM. Around this time, it also began to tape concerts rather than broadcasting live. This allowed the staff to supervise the mixing session and get a better sound quality. The shows would then be broadcast at a later date. Between 1974 and 1976, the Agora would continue to grow in prominence and influence, presenting music that epitomized the cutting edge of rock'n'roll at that time. The Agora Radio Network was at its height, which made booking major acts much easier. During this period, it would host first-time touring acts such as Bruce Springsteen (1974), Bad Company, KISS, Peter Frampton, the Charlie Daniels Band, the Outlaws, the Police, the Michael Stanley Band, Southside Johnny, Aerosmith, and Eddie Money. In 1974, KISS opened for guitarist Rory Gallagher at the Agora, and the band's drummer Peter Criss was nearly asphyxiated on stage from the smoke effects that were part of the performance. He was rushed to the hospital, bit the band finished their set without Criss and also vowed to never play venue's with low ceilings again. During these years, LoConti also started booking some jazz concerts and planned a New World of Jazz radio show based on the popularity of the jazz concerts. In 1976, the club celebrated its 10th Anniversary and at which time the business included The Agora Ballroom, Agency Record Studios, Agora Productions, and The Agora Radio Network. The Agora Ballroom was the foundation of the organization with the main floor hosting the nightclub. The lower floor hosted The Mistake, which was a small bar that attracted many musicians and entertainment folks and featured different noncommercial bands every night. Above the nightclub was Agency Recording Studios which had the first 24 track quad studio in the area, and also was fully equipped with a 16 track studio, 8 track equipment, and mastering and high-speed duplicating facilities. During this period, the Agora was also presenting shows at the Tomorrow Club in Youngstown, the Winebarrel in Canton and at the Columbus Agora. By 1977, the club hit some difficulties with attendance but managed to stay afloat with some promotional campaigns and the opening of the Painesville Agora. The year also saw Meat Loaf debut his road band at the Agora to a sold-out crowd. In 1978, the club also benefited from Geoff and Gary Bauer (former owners of Akron's Flying Machine) who joined LoConti as partners in The Cleveland Agora. With a new look, larger stage, and a steady stream of local talent, the club gained back some crowds, and thus allowed LoConti to scout new club locations and bands. For the 15th Anniversary in 1981, the club planned a number of events including some days of free admission. In a press release celebrating this milestone anniversary the club wrote, "It is a tradition among rock & rollers going back to 1966. It has lived through Beatlemania, the Motown Era, Psychedelia, Heavy Metal, Disco, Punk, Pop, and New Wave...Over the years it has played host to many superstars. Having thrown over 800 concerts since 1970, it has never been afraid to take a chance on a new artist." Just three years later in October 1984, the Agora would close its doors after a small fire in the facility. But within only several years (ca. 1986-1987), it would reopen at WHK Auditorium (the former Metropolitan Theater) at 5000 Euclid Avenue. Since that time, the Agora has continued to present new musical trends, young and up and coming touring acts, and local bands. Between 1970 and 1980 the Agora would open additional venues in Akron, Atlanta, Columbus, Hallandale, Houston, Dallas, Painesville, Tampa, Youngstown, and Toledo in addition to its Cleveland location. Today the only surviving location is that of the flagship Cleveland Agora on Euclid Avenue. In 2011, the LoConti family donated the Agora complex to the neighborhood non-profit Midtown Cleveland Inc. in hopes of reviving the club. In 2014, founder Henry "Hank" LoConti Sr. passed away at the age of 85. As of 2023, the Agora continued to put on concerts.

Scope and Content

The Agora Cleveland Records and Photographs, 1966-1995, undated, consists of advertisements, announcements, contracts, guest lists, financials, office files, photographs, press releases, newspaper and magazine articles, venues, and event files.

This collection is organized into four series. Series I: Administrative Files has the most information about the history of the Agora as an organization. The series has four subseries. Subseries A Contracts (alphabetical by artist), Guest Lists and Venues (alphabetical by venue) focuses heavily on artist show contracts, some guest list information, and some contracts and specs about various Agora venues. Subseries B Events largely contains promotional information about events hosted by the Agora. Subseries C (alphabetical by document type) contains some basic financial information for the club and Subseries D has general office files and correspondence. This series is useful for those wanting to learn more about the Agora as a venue and business as well as more about the club's history. The contracts will also be interesting for those wanting to learn more about the music industry in the 1970s and 1980s or those wanting to learn more about artists from that period. The general office files series also has some interesting information on drinking law changes that took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States. Series II: Marketing and Public Relations includes two subseries. Subseries A (alphabetical by document type) houses advertisements, announcements and press releases. Subseries B (chronological) is comprised of newspaper clippings and magazine articles about the Agora. Both subseries will be useful for those interested in the history of the Agora, particularly in its public perception and successes and difficulties. Series III: Performer Files is organized alphabetically by group name and for individual artists by first name. This means Elton John would be under "E" not "J". If a band name starts with 'The," this word was not used for alphabetization purposes. Due to the organization of the materials when donated, there are also general folders for letters that may contain information on bands that did not get their own performer file. This means there are artists that are not listed as an individual folder that may be found in the general folder. This series may have some information on the Agora related to performances, but a majority of the material consist of provided by the artists or the artists' managers/production companies. Those interested in the history of music, musicians, the music industry, or specific bands from the 1970s and 1980s will find this material useful. It should also be noted that while the collection may contain a file for a particular band, that file does not necessarily indicate it performed at the Cleveland Agora. Series IV: Photographs has two subseries. Subseries A Performers is organized alphabetically by group name and for individual artists by first name. This means Elton John would be under "E" not "J". If a band name starts with 'The," this was not used for alphabetization purposes. All bands with identified photographs are listed in the finding aid. It should also be noted that just because there is a file for a band does not necessarily mean they performed at the Cleveland Agora. Most of these photographs are professional public relations images of artists and likely are subject to the photographer's copyright nor were most of these images taken at the Cleveland Agora or during Agora performances. Subseries B contains miscellaneous photographs related to the Agora, including events such as the air guitar contest, holiday themed parties or events, or unidentified events.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

The Carmen Appiche Drum Off Folder in Series I-Subseries B is restricted as are the two folders of Profit Loss Sheets in Series I-Subseries C.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

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Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4939 Agora Cleveland Records and Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gifts of Henry J. LoConti, Joseph E. LoConti, Joseph A. LoConti, Agora Promotions, Inc. and Sophia Management, Inc in 1999.

Processing Information

Processed by Kristin Silvestro in 2022-2023.

Detailed Description of The Collection