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Members of The Association talk during a pizza-karaoke party that was held in place of an all-inductee concert Sunday for the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. The hall, based in Sharon, canceled Sunday’s show because of poor attendance at concerts Thursday through Saturday at Youngstown’s Chevrolet Centre.
Tom Davidson/Herald


Published November 09, 2008 10:12 pm - Add another verse to the ballad that is the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. It’s a mournful tune, although it was conceived in a spirit of hope: Hall officials were forced to cancel Sunday’s “all inductees finale” concert at the Chevrolet Centre in Youngstown because of “non-existent” paid attendance.

Vocal Group Hall of Fame may be facing the music
Concert canceled, replaced by karaoke

By Tom Davidson
Herald Staff Writer

SHARON

Add another verse to the ballad that is the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

It’s a mournful tune, although it was conceived in a spirit of hope: Hall officials were forced to cancel Sunday’s “all inductees finale” concert at the Chevrolet Centre in Youngstown because of “non-existent” paid attendance, hall President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Crosby said.

Instead, inductees and a few hall supporters met at a banquet room at Avalon Inn in Vienna to eat pizza and sing karaoke. The mood in the room was similar to a wake.

The decision to halt the show came late Saturday night after the third of four scheduled shows, Crosby said.

“The attendance over the three days was just non-existent,” Crosby said.

Those who did come out weren’t paying customers but folks who had received complimentary tickets in exchange for advertising and promotion, along with friends and family of the inductees.

They were forced to cancel Sunday’s show because they lacked cash to pay the sound and production crews, Crosby said.

Instead, hall inductees like The Association, Maurice Williams of The Zodiacs and Jon “Bowzer” Bowman of Sha Na Na, signed ticket stubs and memorabilia at the Chevy Centre, then drove to the Avalon Inn where they gathered in a muted celebration.

The hall can’t even afford to refund tickets bought directly from it, Crosby said. Those who bought their tickets through Ticketmaster or the Chevrolet Centre box office will be able to get refunds, he said.

The future of the beleaguered hall is up in the air, he said.

“The easy answer would have been for everybody to go to the shows,” Crosby said.

Proceeds would have helped the hall gain some financial footing.

“What’s disappointing and frustrating is that no one took advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said. “Now it’s much more difficult for us to find our way.

“How do we raise some money so we can pay the bills?”

Tony Butala, a Sharon native and the front man of The Letterman, founded the hall 10 years ago. He lamented canceling the show.



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