Historic 1975 Southern Rock & Blues Cinema Era Archive — Elvin Bishop Hand-Signed American Federation of Musicians Executive Performance Contract, Co-Headlining Tour Clearance, and Paragon Agency Concert Portfolio

This archive highlights an exceptional, museum-grade piece of modern music history, mid-1970s concert promotion labor archaeology, and classic Southern rock and blues biography: the complete, fully executed original vintage American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (A.F.M.) Performance Contract and Comprehensive Production Rider executed As of September 25, 1975. This historic multi-page live entertainment treaty is personally hand-signed on the master artist validation panels by the legendary blues-rock guitarist, singer, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame icon, Elvin Bishop.

The legal instrument formalizes his performance parameters, cash payroll tracks, co-headline marquee billing stipulations, and intense backstage logistics for a high-capacity arena show. Executed during a pinnacle, breakout window in his professional biography—arriving exactly when he was recording his definitive southern rock anthem "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" (released on his landmark 1975 album Struttin' My Stuff)—this contract captures Bishop navigating the classic mid-70s touring circuit. Federation performance ledgers carrying active-era legal signatures from this revered pioneer of American guitar music represent a premier cornerstone acquisition asset for advanced performance art archives, blues and rock historians, and elite pop culture manuscript collections globally.

Key Archive Features & Performance Specifications

• POWERHOUSE PARAGON AGENCY PROVENANCE: The agreement establishes an official, legally binding concert framework under the authority of the premier southern rock booking machine, explicitly logged across the master contract header tracking lines: "This Agency has negotiated this contract: PARAGON AGENCY... P. O. Box 4408, Macon, Georgia 31208, Phone: (912) 742-3381."

• THE MASTER ARENA CASTING SPECIFICATIONS: The registration cells map out the geographical and temporal coordinates securing his presence for the high-capacity venue showcase:

  • The Performance Venue: Formally designated at the high-capacity mid-Atlantic venue: Roanoke Civic Center / Roanoke, Virginia (8,000 capacity).

  • The Calendar Date Marker: Scheduled for a festive holiday night engagement on October 31, 1975.

  • The Billing and Performance Parameters: The contract stipulates that the billing configuration shall print the name of the band as ELVIN BISHOP. The group, comprising five musicians (including leader), agrees to perform one 60-minute set beginning at 8:00 P.M. for a designated Concert presentation.

• CO-HEADLINE MARQUEE BILLING MANDATES: Protecting his industry rank alongside contemporary stadium acts, Section 3 frames a strict performance order clause: "Elvin Bishop to receive 100% Co-headline Billing & play prior to Pure Prairie League.".

• HIGH-VALUE MID-1970s WAGE & PRODUCTION SUBSIDIES: Section 4 and Section 5 outline a lucrative financial structure handled under strict security rules:

  • The Guaranteed Base Wage: Commits to a firm sum of FIVE THOUSAND AND 00/100 DOLLARS — ($5,000.00).

  • The Sound and Lights Allowance: Forces the promoter to pay an additional cash sum of $1,250.00 for Sound & Lights at no cost to Artists.

  • The Payment Schedule: Mandates a standard cash split consisting of a DEPOSIT: $2,500.00 via money order or certified check, with the remaining CASH BALANCE DUE LEADER/ARTIST UPON DEMAND.

• CREATIVE CONCERTS PROMOTER METADATA: The contract tracks the venue organization directly back to prominent regional concert promoter Mark Arenstein / Creative Concerts, 4900 Augusta Ave. / Suite 202, Richmond, Virginia 23230, Telephone: (804) 355-6043, who signs the primary corporate validation row as Purchaser.

Ironclad Special Provisions & Backstage Production Riders

The extensive multi-page technical rider appended to the master contract frames a highly meticulous, elite arena production network managed by his core road crew:

• MANDATORY TECHNICAL SOUND CHECKS: To ensure optimal acoustic delivery, the contract declares a Sound Check Mandatory, requiring the venue to be fully available for technical rehearsal at least six hours prior to house doors opening (specifically setting setup for 2:00 P.M.).

• EXCLUSIVE PROFESSIONAL ROAD MANAGEMENT DIRECTORY: The text block establishes direct communication links to Bishop's core production team, identifying:

  • Management Office: The David Forest Company, Ltd. (213) 652-5551.

  • Road Manager: Al Pins (415) 563-4058.

  • Production Manager: Sam Covelli (415) 668-4286.

  • Sound Engineer: Jerry Pfeffer (415) 566-3935.

  • Lighting Designer: Bill McReynolds (408) 264-8155.

• MANDATORY PRIVATE DRESSING ROOM METRICS: Section 13 details extensive backstage layout specifications, requiring one private, minimum 200-square-foot dressing room with seating for ten, clean lavatory facilities, an electrical outlet for instrument tuning, and a dedicated security guard to prevent tampering and theft.

• THE LEGENDARY RETAIL REFRESHMENT LIST: The rider demands an incredible array of specific catering and beverage assets to support the band, including:

  • The Beer Footprint: Two cases of ice-cold Budweiser beer and two cases of ice-cold Miller Lite beer (stipulating one of each in the dressing room and one of each placed directly on stage), plus one case of ice-cold Coors beer.

  • The Luxury Spirits Vault: One fifth of Beefeater Gin, one quart of Chivas Regal Scotch, and one fifth of Jack Daniels Black Label.

  • Mixers and Sundries: One six-pack of tonic water, a half-dozen fresh limes, one paring knife, two six-packs of Coca-Cola, and one six-pack of Fresca or Diet Dr. Pepper.

  • Health and Fuel: Two quarts of fresh, cold orange juice, hot coffee with hot cups, and light food or snacks including cold cuts, sandwiches, dips, fresh fruit salad, sweets, and at least one hot entree.

• CREW CATERING & UNION STAGEHAND REQUIREMENTS: Section 21 prefers six experienced I.A.T.S.E. union stagehands to handle the loading, unloading, set-up, and breakdown of equipment. Section 23 requires a nice hot meal (stipulating no fried chicken) served at 6:30 PM for his eight-man production crew, flanked by four additional cases of Budweiser beer.

• THE STEINWAY OR YAMAHA CONCERT GRAND MANDATE: Section 19 binds the promoter to provide one pristine Steinway, Baldwin, or Yamaha grand piano (minimum 6'1") equipped exclusively with Elvin Bishop's personal Countryman pick-up device, tuned to an absolute A-440 pitch by a member of the Piano Technicians Guild.

Key Autograph Features & Professional Initial Seals

This historic music contract features multiple pristine representations of personal validation handwriting and legal execution markings:

• THE "ELVIN BISHOP" LEGENDARY SCRIPT AUTOGRAPH: Positioned flawlessly across the primary line designated Signature of Leader in the base quadrant of the primary A.F.M. sheet, the guitar icon has hand-penned an absolute exhibition-quality legal signature: "Elvin Bishop". Written in rich blue ink with exceptional line contrast and spacing, his signature captures his classic, flowing cursive calligraphy style, leading into a smooth horizontal script finish that stands as a premier investment-grade hallmark of his signature pedigree.

• THE "EB" AND "MA" RIDER PAGE INITIALS: Documenting full compliance with the strict technical and financial parameters of the text, each page of the extensive rider is hand-initialed at the lower margin by both parties. Promoter Mark Arenstein logs his crisp script initials "MA", while Elvin Bishop seals the pages via his official corporate stamp marker "EB/PRODUCER".

Collector's Archival Condition

Dating back over a half-century to a golden era of modern American blues-rock and southern variety arena touring, this multi-page American Federation of Musicians performance contract and technical rider portfolio is in magnificent, museum-quality condition. The original vintage off-white contract sheets and typewriter rider pages remain exceptionally clean, bright, and structurally stable, showcasing sharp corners, natural edges, and perfectly uniform pre-printed typography, mechanical administrative filing numbers, and distinct hand-inked text fields across all presentation pages.

Bishop’s striking cursive script signature, his bold corporate margin ink initials, the promoter's matching counter-authorizations, and the dense technical text blocks are flawlessly preserved on the paper face with immense visual contrast and absolute clarity, offering a spectacular visual layout for custom gallery framing, multi-panel archival exhibition, or permanent museum manuscript curation. The sheets display immaculate historical stability, entirely free of modern surface creases, smudging, or age-related paper decay. This highly coveted piece of rock history and entertainment labor archaeology comes safely protected within archival-grade storage parameters to ensure permanent preservation.

Disclaimer

Please be advised that the financial parameters, performance duration metrics, arena capacities, technical power specifications, and historical 1975 calendar dates provided map directly to the exact physical vintage American Federation of Musicians contract sheets and technical riders preserved within this archive portfolio. As an authentic, hand-signed biographical collection from an entertainment giant whose unmatched blues-rock career—spanning his foundational role as a founding member of the groundbreaking Paul Butterfield Blues Band, his decades of high-energy solo touring, his chart-topping global radio triumphs, and his ultimate induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—permanently anchored him among the most universally recognized, fiercely respected, and culturally vital musical vanguards of twentieth-century American arts, the precise character of the pen strokes, the aging of the vintage paper stock, and the alignment of the printed union typography are entirely unique to this individual piece of music history lore.

Own an Unrivaled Piece of Rock History Today!

While common modern reproduction prints, generic mass-produced concert ticket stubs, or standard commercial trade autographs can be found anywhere in the open marketplace, an original, fully executed multi-page union contract containing the pristine active-era touring signature of Elvin Bishop from the monumentally significant autumn of 1975 represents the absolute zenith of premium music heritage collecting. Because elite talent performance agreements and American Federation of Musicians covenants require legally binding signatures from the principal entertainer to permanently clear live venue appearances, authorize corporate production funds, and satisfy strict labor union compliance, they offer a completely un-staged, official confirmation of a legendary icon's private daily footprint and real-world commercial actions behind the scenes long before the amplifiers are turned on. Directly tracking to his individual identity alongside rock and roll history, the elite Macon, Georgia booking files of the Paragon Agency, and a flawlessly preserved rich ink signature profile, this certified archive portfolio is a premier crown-jewel centerpiece for any world-class collection of fine art artifacts, music history, or rare twentieth-century Americana manuscripts.