38 Special’s Don Barnes Reveals His First Concerts And Early Influences

One question I like to ask all artists is, who is your idol, who is the person that inspired you. What was the first concert you went to that made you think you could do this for a living. Don Barnes, the lead singer of 38 Special talked about his.

In an interview with Brian Rademacher Don says

I think it was THE ROLLING STONES here at the Coliseum in Jacksonville back in 1964. 38 SpecialThe big one that stands out for me is Hendrix, he opened for THE MONKEES. They put him on the bill with these girls screaming for THE MONKEES, which is not a good bill, and you have this frightful looking black man come out and destroy the place. My sister went to see THE MONKEES and she said some "Jimi" guy stuck his head out of the curtain. (Laughing) About a year later, I went to see him at the same coliseum in Jacksonville. It had been big news that he had opened for THE MONKEES the year before and was booed by the kiddies that night. But by this time he had exploded into the biggest phenomenon on the planet. And when he came out on stage, he kind of sarcastically said, "Yeah, it’s nice to be back here in Chicago," and the place roared. **Then he said, "And if you're going to boo again this time, at least boo on key!" I saw LED ZEPPELIN for $6.00 pre Ticketmaster service charges. We have been really fortunate with some hit songs and we have a big fan base.