By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
HOULTON — Alumni of Ricker College will descend on Houlton Sept. 12-14 for their annual Homecoming Weekend.
Ricker College closed its doors in May of 1978, but alumni have been faithfully holding reunions in Houlton since 1995. Ricker College drew students from the Mid-Atlantic through New England and many alumni still travel to the reunion from those areas.
This year’s reunion will feature something special as the 1970s rock band Orleans is planning a return to the Shiretown for an evening of music at the Houlton Community Arts Center, Saturday, Sept. 13. Orleans played in Houlton at Ricker College on Oct. 3, 1973 with a then-relatively unknown Bruce Springsteen opening for them.
Orleans produced the chart topping hits “Dance with Me,” “Love Takes Time,” “Reach” and “Still the One.”
Ed Malloy, a 1974 graduate of Ricker who now resides in Fairfield, Iowa, was the student activities director for Ricker from 1972-73 and was responsible for producing the Springsteen and Orleans show in Houlton.
But it almost didn’t happen that way.
According to Malloy, the original headliner for that concert was supposed to be Leo Kottke, a folk singer/guitarist who was popular at the time. Malloy also needed an opening act, he only had $500 to spend.
“I called the booking agent in New York and asked them if they had anyone they could send,” he recalled. “They told me this kid named Bruce Springsteen was tearing up the scene in upstate New York and they recommended him.”
The agency sent Malloy some information on Springsteen, who at the time had just released his debut album “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.” Malloy said he listened to that album and was convinced Springsteen would be a hit.
However, two weeks before the show, Kottke canceled his appearance, as he was finding success touring Europe at that time and would not be coming to Houlton.
This left Malloy scrambling to come up with another opening band to open for Springsteen, but there were no “name” groups available. Going through the list of bands, he came across a group called Orleans, which featured a guitarist named John Hall.
“John was a blues guitarist who had played with legendary blues artist Taj Mahal,” Malloy said. “Ricker was big into blues, so we figured we’d go with them.”
Although Orleans replaced the headliner, the booking agent insisted that Springsteen go on last as “everyone else will pale next to him.”
“He was right,” Malloy said.
Unfortunately, very few photographs were taken of that performance. Malloy said the only known images he has seen was the ones that appeared in the Ricker yearbook “The Aquilo.”
Malloy was asked by the Ricker reunion committee to help come up with something special for the 2014 event. He suggested having a band. Malloy said he first thought of seeking out a Bruce Springsteen tribute act to perform. On a whim, however, he sent a message to the band Orleans through their website and was shocked to get a message back from the band a few hours later.
“We talked about their performance in Houlton and they were very interested in coming back to do a show,” Malloy said. “It was the only time in their career that they played with Springsteen.”
Formed in Woodstock, N.Y. in 1972 by John Hall, brothers Lance and Larry Hoppen and Wells Kelly, Orleans perfected its recipe of eclectic material, including R&B seasoned with Cajun and second-line roots. The quartet’s music evolved and refined in a more mainstream direction as they developed their unique pop/rock sound, which led Rolling Stone magazine to christen them “the best unrecorded band in the country.”
“Orleans is one of the tightest, musical bands I have ever had the pleasure to see live,” Malloy said. “From all reports they still have it! We’re looking forward to a great show.”
The auditorium seats 600 and the concert is open to the general public. Tickets are available locally at the Houlton Chamber of Commerce, 109 Main St, Andy’s IGA, 132 North St, and County Co-op and Farm Store, 53 Main St, and at the door the day of the show. Ticket prices are $38 for general admission.
More information on Orleans can be found at http://www.orleansonline.com/home.html.
