Flashback: Rolling Stones incite near-riot in '65

Rochester police and the staff of the War Memorial must have known trouble was brewing.

When the curtain went up the night of Nov. 1, 1965, there were 120 officers, War Memorial security, and ushers — the largest such show of crowd-control force in the venue's history — ready to keep the crowd under control.

Maybe they needed a few more.

That Rochester show before an estimated crowd of 4,000 was perhaps the shortest Rolling Stones concert of all time, shut down by police slightly after 9 p.m. after only six songs. It was only their second-ever tour of the United States, in support of the album Out of Our Heads.

And mothers and fathers across Smugtown were surely thinking that title accurately described today's kids when they read their newspapers the next day.

"The ones down front — particularly the girls — caused most of the trouble," Rochester Police Chief William Lombard was quoted in the Times-Union. "They really started to get worked up when one Rolling Stone took off his jacket."

But what actually shut down the show was the promise — and the threat — of even more skin.

"I knew when this one fellow took off his jacket and waved it at the girls while wiggling around that the next number would be the last," Lombard said. "That's the one where he strips to his undershirt."

The story did not indicate which of the British Invasion louts Lombard was referring to.

One can only wonder if the police chief in hindsight regretted that move, as audience members reportedly threw popcorn, candy boxes, shoes and other items at the stage and chanted "We want the Stones!" Detective Lt. Andrew J. Sparacino was hit in the left eye and was taken to Genesee Hospital. As the Times-Union reported, "Lombard said he thought someone swung a bag of caramels at Sparacino."

And the photo accompanying the T-U story shows a glum looking Sparacino with a patch over one eye. Years later, he told a reporter he remembered talking to Stones lead vocalist Mick Jagger about being careful because of the crowd and the rock and roller responding "with some of the foulest language I've ever heard."

Sparacino wasn't the only victim of the night's wildness. One 16-year-old Rochester fan was taken to Highland Hospital with a leg injury. And police removed "several youths" from the building for disorderly conduct.

Who's to blame? Lombard told media the crowd was noisy but for the most part civilized. "I appealed to them once to help them enjoy the show," he was quoted as saying. "But when some of them really started to get worked up and began charging the stage, I thought someone would get hurt."

After the show, guitarist and backing vocalist Keith Richards reportedly trash talked Rochester to the police, saying "This is a hick town. They were twice as wild in Montreal. They won't get hurt. You were too hard with them."

The Rolling Stones reportedly flew out of town that night, presumably on their way to Providence, Rhode Island, and the next stop on their tour.

MDANEMAN@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/mdaneman