Two friends publish book on the Chicago area's 1970s rock and roll concert scene

Chicago Tribune

27-01-2025

In the 1970s, Mark Plotnick and his concert-going buddy Jim Summaria got to see all of their favorite bands at various concert venues in the Chicago area.
'If it was big, it came to Chicago,' said Plotnick, now of Libertyville. 'In those days we had venues that could accommodate very large acts. The biggest stars came here. Chicago was a must stop for a lot of these bands.'
Plotnick and Summaria, formerly of Oak Park, saw dozens of shows at the Auditorium Theater, International Amphitheatre, Arie Crown Theatre and Kinetic Playground in Chicago and at B'Ginnings in Schaumburg.
In 1973, Summaria became the staff photographer for Flip Side Productions, which owned a popular record store chain, and began taking hundreds of photos the two friends turned into their first book, 'Classic Rock: Photographs from Yesterday and Today,' in 2019.
Plotnick, a retired corporate writer, prepared extensive biographies of all the featured artists, but the publisher asked him to reduce the information to bullet points, he said. Recently, Summaria approached him with an idea for a second book, ''70s Chicagoland Rock Concerts,' that would focus on Plotnick's writing, Plotnick said.
Last October, Arcadia Publishing brought the book to print, featuring 300 pages of Plotnick's commentary on 50 artists and dozens of additional photos from Summaria.
'We wanted to focus on back stories, interesting tidbits, influences, set lists,' Plotnick said. 'We wanted to expand on the first book. I went back and took a lot of the work and updated it. I made it very, very current.'
Arcadia imposed a few constraints on content, but essentially said 'have at it,' he said.
'They were very excited,' Plotnick said of the results. 'They loved what they were reading. Without having to go out and buy a biography or autobiography of every band, I wanted to give a nice summary with some interesting things people would not know about these acts, and make it an easy read at the same time.'
Summaria, now of Algonquin, said the two shopped the first book to 30 different publishers before finally finding Amherst Media.
'This time we got it right out of the box,' he said. 'We just chose 50 concerts. Mark wrote a lot of good stuff. He worked hard on it. That's how the book came about.'
Summaria said he likes that the new book featured both his and Plotnick's strengths.
'There are three pages of biography per band,' he said. 'I also researched set lists, and Mark put in influences.'
Plotnick said his favorite musician of all time is Eric Clapton, but The Who were the most exciting band to watch.
'They are the best band that best represents rock music in the 1970s,' he said. 'Along with the (Rolling) Stones, they had the best songwriting. The musicianship was phenomenal. The stage presence was phenomenal. They were explosive, but they could do soft things too.'
Summaria agreed.
'They were all great in so many different ways,' he said. 'My favorite to photograph was The Who. They had three dynamic personalities. You could shoot (bass player) John Entwistle for one song and he never moved the rest of the show. (Drummer) Keith Moon, (guitarist) Pete Townsend and (singer) Roger Daltry were all exciting.'
Plotnick and Summaria are also staff contributors to the Chicago Blues Guide and host an online radio show, 'That Classic Rock Show,' which is expected to begin streaming from the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66 in March.
Both 'Classic Rock: Photographs from Yesterday and Today' and ''70s Chicagoland Rock Concerts' are included in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's library and archives, Plotnick said.
Summaria's photos have been featured at both halls of fame, the Grammy Awards, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Grammy Awards, and Good Times Magazine, Summaria said. Recently, Christie's auction house purchased some to help auction the late Jeff Beck's guitars, he said.