King Biscuit Flower Hour - John Cougar & the Zone, Gamma (with Ronnie Montrose)

Feb. 8, 1980
Santa Cruz Sentinal

John Cougar & The Zone
Gamma with Ronnie Montrose
King Biscuit Flower Hour
week of December 14, 1980

John Cougar & The Zone
recorded at:
The Channel
Boston, MA
October 2, 1980

Gamma with Ronnie Montrose
recorded at:
Old Waldorf
San Francisco, CA
February 9, 1980

01 Bill Minkin - King Biscuit Flower Hour Intro
02 Commercial - Honda
03 Commercial - Pioneer
04 John Cougar - Sugar Marie
05 John Cougar - Ain't Even Done With The Night
06 John Cougar - This Time
07 Bill Minkin - King Biscuit Flower Hour Break
08 Commercial - Levi's
09 John Cougar - Taxi Dancer
10 John Cougar - I Need A Lover
11 Bill Minkin - King Biscuit Flower Hour Break
12 Bill Minkin - King Biscuit Flower Hour Segment Intro
13 Gamma - Ready For Action
14 Gamma - Thunder And Lightning
15 Bill Minkin - King Biscuit Flower Hour Break
16 Commercial - Honda
17 Bill Minkin - King Biscuit Flower Hour Segment Intro
18 Gamma - Voyager
19 Gamma - Four Horsemen
20 Gamma - Mayday
21 Bill Minkin - King Biscuit Flower Hour Break
22 Commercial - Honda
23 Commercial - Haagen-Daz
24 Bill Minkin - King Biscuit Flower Hour Outro
25 Bill Minkin - King Biscuit Flower Hour Promo John Cougar
26 Bill Minkin - King Biscuit Flower Hour Promo Gamma

Okay, gang, this one is from the Sam Eliot's Mustache collection.  I put up the Guitars 101 version of this show back in 2022, but it was an edited version without the commercials.  This is the full show, from a different digitization. 

On that post, I identified the Gamma portion as the Old Waldorf on July 13, 1980. That was the date posted on the Guitars101 version and I accepted it without further investigation.

For this version, I searched for newspaper coverage to prove the recording dates.  I found a listing confirming Cougar, but nothing came up in a search for Gamma in San Francisco in July 1980.  

I went to the San Francisco Chronicle's DATEBOOK tab section and looked at the ads for the Old Waldorf in July 1980.  The ad on July 6 had Crime on July 11, the Only Ones on July 12, and then no shows until Krokus on July 17.  No show is listed for July 13. 

I checked the DATEBOOK section for Sunday July 13 on the slim chance a show was announced at the very last minute, and there's nothing in the Old Waldorf ad about Gamma.

Further research uncovered showed that Gamma played the Old Waldorf on February 9, 1980.  I've included the January/February ads that prove that date, and the July ads that don't have Gamma listed as playing.

This was the first concert by Mellencamp on the nationally syndicated King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show.  KBFH did not repeat any of the five tracks on future KBFH broadcasts.  The show is not posted on Concert Vault.  The only current source is the original vinyl discs.

Of note is how fast KBFH managed to get live music pressed up.  The Cougar show was recorded on October 2nd and was edited, mastered, pressed, sent by US Mail and played by the radio stations on December 14.

Besides the ads for the shows, I included a folder of 1980 press coverage on Mr. Cougar-Mellencamp so that you have something to read while you listen to the music.

https://mega.nz/file/HAwgiTKC#ePNHM6CccJsO_O7eqBAt8G43-YZeywTMCc_UWcMunGw