In 1987, Canton native drummer, multi-instrumentalist and percussionist Joe Vitale was on tour with Crosby, Stills & Nash, playing at Blossom Music Center.
On that day, the band tried something different. They asked Vitale’s son, Joe Vitale Jr., to play tambourine on “Teach Your Children.”
“Being the ham that I’ve always been, I was like, Yeah, absolutely, I’d love to do that. And so, they gave me the tambourine,” Vitale Jr. says. “I wasn’t even miked up, but I was terrified I was gonna throw the band off if I got off on time.”
Still, Vitale Jr. — now the frontman of Akron-based band Ravenwood — walked out onstage.
“There was about 19,000 people screaming … and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. And that’s right when I decided that I wanted to do music professionally and started taking drum lessons a couple years later,” he says. “That particular day at Blossom really changed my entire trajectory of my life, and Blossom has always held a very special place in my heart because of that.”
Years later, in 1996, during the Crosby, Stills & Nash and Chicago tour, Vitale Jr. — at that point, playing drums and in high school — would have the opportunity of a lifetime.
“I really love the CSN song ‘Woodstock.’ It was originally written by Joni Mitchell, then CSN did their version of it. It’s this really high-powered, nice, high-energy rock song that they do. And I really wanted to play on it,” he says.
As the song came up on the set list, closing out the concert, Vitale Jr. watched from the wooden slats on the side of the Blossom stage.
“Dad … points at me with his drumsticks and points at the drum kit. And I’m like, Seriously? He’s like, Yeah. So I ran out, hopped on the kit, and there’s actually an audio recording of this … you can hear my dad going, He’ll be alright,” Vitale Jr. reminisces. “My dad put his entire career on the line to have me do that. … It came out really, really great.”
From Vitale’s perspective, the move wasn’t so risky.
“I listened to him play it at home, right? And he nailed it. He killed it,” Vitale says. “I would have never done that had I not had complete confidence that he would have nailed it. He really did well. … Stephen ended up laughing and said, Boy, you got me. But he said, He did good. The young boy did good.”
Vitale played Blossom through 2017, when he took the stage with Joe Walsh and Bad Company. He has many memories of playing the venue, including a riot almost starting in 1973 when Joe Walsh & Barnstorm couldn’t perform an encore. That concert was the first time he played Blossom. He couldn’t believe how scenic the venue was.
“It’s out in a beautiful, foresty kind of area, and also, on a technical level, the sound on that stage is excellent,” Vitale says. “It was designed for the … Cleveland Orchestra. And so, sonically and acoustically, it’s perfect.”
But the thing he remembers most about Blossom is its audience.
“They rock and roll here,” he says. “I’ve played everywhere in the world, I think, by now, and it’s one of those places — top five for me. … It’s a spectacular view, and you can see everybody, you can hear well, and you always get a great audience. The people in Ohio really, really love music, and it’s always a great audience at Blossom.”
Joe Vitale Jr
Kathy Vogel
Joe Vitale Jr
Joe Vitale Jr
Susie Vitale
