By Mia Gallagher · Celebrate 150 Correspondent
Throughout Grove City College’s 150-year history, countless political leaders, prominent theologians and talented artists have graced campus with their presence.
Among those famous figures were some of the 20th century’s musical greats. From big band and jazz musicians, 1960s superstars like Simon and Garfunkel and hard rockers of the 1970s to contemporary Christian acts, the performances hosted here reflect campus life throughout the years and the culture of the times.
“The famous figures who have visited campus give a glimpse into student life. It shows the style of music students were listening to, the culture of campus at the time,” Director of College Archives and Galleries Hilary Walczak ’09 said.
“Even today, when I listen to Simon and Garfunkel, I envision the 1960s, and it’s so cool to think that they performed here on campus. Or that my dad was a freshman when Alice Cooper performed on campus — and he got to experience that show,” Walczak said.
According to Walczak, the college has brought musical artists to campus since the beginning. The earliest concerts were small-scale, usually taking place during dances and similar events.
“The more famous artists started in the ’60s when a student concert committee formed. This was also when artists were touring the country more and often did so on college campuses. It’s where many of the major artists would get their starts,” Walczak said.
Student leaders were the driving force behind booking these acts. At the time, SGA and the student concert committee worked together to recruit artists and prepare for their arrival, which on occasion included picking the artist up from the Pittsburgh airport themselves.
Over the years, the college has put together an impressive lineup of musical guests, from Louis Armstrong (1959) and Dizzy Gillespie (1963) to Kansas (1975) and The Outlaws (1978). In more recent years, prominent Christian artists like the Newsboys (1994 and 2015), Andrew Peterson (2024) and Strings & Hearts (2025) have also graced the Grove City community with their impressive discographies.
The shows live on in memory – and in The Collegian’s archives. Here’s a look at some of these memorable musical guests and our predecessors’ coverage of them.
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was a revolutionary American composer and pianist. Throughout his career, Ellington worked tirelessly to create a unique and compelling sound, shaping the jazz industry in the process. His efforts — along with those of his band, the Washingtonians — also led to the expansion of big-band jazz on the American music scene.
Ellington came to Grove City on Oct. 20, 1961, and put on an incredible concert for the student body. In a news article describing Ellington’s upcoming show, one Collegian staffer had this to say about the jazz legend: “It has been said by critics that Duke Ellington’s music and Walt Disney’s cartoons are the only two original art forms America has produced. True or not, Ellington has been acclaimed throughout the world as the creator of a new, rich and distinctly American musical idiom.”
Simon and Garfunkel
Renowned today for pioneering the American urban-folk music subgenre, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel arrived on campus on Nov. 11, 1966, just as they were achieving widespread fame. According to a Collegian staffer, “no new act has caused such excitement as the new duo” and their debut album “Wednesday Morning, 3 a.m.” has “clearly marked them as a vital force on the folk scene.”
Then Student Council President Richard Jewell — who went on to become the college’s eighth president — was responsible for the booking, according to the same Collegian article.
Following the concert, Collegian reporter Marty Redman shared these remarks in a review of the folk duo: “Simon and Garfunkel were great. Their off-the-cuff humor captivated the audience from the first. Their songs were well-written, well chosen, well executed and well received … Their greatest charm was perhaps their outlook of cynicism in combination with their obvious sensitivity,” Redman said.
The Temptations
The Temptations were a renowned 1960s musical group known for their authentic Motown sound. Best known today for their 1964 single “My Girl,” the group put together an impressive musical repertoire that helped give the ’60s their distinct sound. The college hosted these sensational singers for a concert on Nov. 10, 1967.
In the words of one Collegian staffer: “Not much needs to be said by way of introduction of the Tempy Boys to Grove City College.”
“Five performers, synchronized in rhythm and movement even as they exit the stage, can communicate to an audience in a way with which a mere Motown record cannot compare,” one Collegian writer said, in a news article promoting the upcoming concert.
The McCoys
Best known for their smash hit “Hang On Sloopy,” the McCoys came to campus on April 5, 1973, to play during the college’s annual spring extravaganza.
Despite the apparent popularity of the group on campus (evidenced by an earlier article in the ’60s highlighting the group’s success), the McCoys were not SGA’s first choice for the extravaganza, having originally tried to recruit Herman’s Hermits or Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.
To promote the last-minute booking, the then Social Vice President Mike Jives described the McCoys as “a really, really super-neato fantabulous, swell bunch of guys.”
Alice Cooper
“The canvas-protected arena floor was strewn with garbage. The bleachers reeked of dried vomit. The area nearest the stage was blanketed with pillow feathers. The entire site remained one of the aftermath of a tornado. Alice Cooper was here.”
That was the scene Collegian writer Bob Byer described after the band’s concert here in September 1971. It was definitely a different time on campus then.
Cooper, an American singer, songwriter and actor, is best known for his raspy voice and theatrical shock rock shows. After the concert, Byer was able to interview Cooper and his band members, producing one of the most iconic concert reviews in Collegian history.
“Audiences like to have fun,” Cooper told Byer. “We had a riot up in Canada once. The kids rushed the stage and ripped off our shirts. Like the Stones or early Beatles. That’s when you really have fun — when you have a riot.” Did Alice think that the Grove City audience had fun? “I think so … They weren’t as open as some of our other audience … but yeah, I think so,” Cooper said.
Don McLean
The “American Troubadour” Don McLean, acknowledged at the time as one of the nation’s best lyricists and songwriters, arrived on Grove City’s campus on September 20, 1974 to headline the college’s annual fall concert.
Known for his eight-and-aThe group, credited with 14 platinum albums, seven Grammy nominations and 10 Juno Award wins, didn’t impress Collegian staffer Rick Severs, who dealt Rush one of the most scathing reviews the newspaper has ever published.
“Not only are they basically a bad band,” Severs wrote, “they also have problems with any song that doesn’t peak at 160 decibels. Actually, there is really no way to compare Rush with anyone else because to mention them in the same sentence with a good band would be to drag down the name and reputation of the latter.”
Despite the ironic misjudgment of this writer, the college has largely displayed great enthusiasm over the years for the bands it hosts, and the campus can anticipate many more iconic shows to come.
