Club Ponytail was a nationally known teen dance club featuring major rock and roll acts of the
1960s. On June 12, 1962, the long-dormant buildings of the former Club Manitou reopened under new owners to become the teen and collegiate nightclub named Club Ponytail. Unlike its predecessor Club Manitou (1929–1954), liquor and gambling were no longer part of the offerings. However, fine entertainment and dancing was still offered. The Club Ponytail was one of the first of many teen entertainment and dance clubs beginning to operate in the United States during the early 1960s. Dick Clark's American Bandstand helped popularize dancing throughout the country. This new dance craze among teenagers helped spur the development of teen centers such as the Club Ponytail. Its official name was the “Club Ponytail Teen & Collegiate Nite Club.” The house drink was Green River Soda and "Poni's Pizza" was the favorite food offering of the establishment.
Stan and Jean Douglas Club owners Stan and Jean Douglas, of Petoskey, Michigan, opened the teen dance center, with the idea of making money, and also providing a safe nightly venue for the area's teens. The large influx of mid-western vacationers to the Petoskey-Harbor Springs area of northern Michigan allowed the booking of major national rock and roll acts. The Douglas family wanted to provide summer resorter and local parents, with a wholesome, safe chaperoned environment for the night time gatherings of their teenagers. In order to draw in the teen crowd, Stan Douglas knew he needed the top names in entertainment for that age group.
The patio stars An enclosed brick-wall patio with two stages was added in 1965 and the ensuing outside venues drew crowds of 2,500 at a time. In the summer of 1965, Club Ponytail's house band that year was an Ann Arbor group called The Iguanas, featuring Jim Osterberg, who later became known as
Iggy Pop. The Animals performed there on August 26, 1966 as well as THEM in August 1968. During the winter season, the Ponytail brought rock and roll stars to northern Michigan during the Christmas season when mid-western skiers flocked to the nearby hills of Boyne Highlands and Nub’s Nob ski resorts.
Fire The last band to play the Club Poytail of Harbor Springs was Dean Mann's, The March Brother’s Band, on Sunday March 15, 1969. Two days later, on Tuesday evening March 18, the Ponytail was destroyed by fire. Local firemen theorized that fumes from a gas furnace caused an explosion and the building was immediately engulfed in flame. Though the Douglas family vowed to rebuild the Club Ponytail, it was not to be. The insurance payment for the building was not enough to allow reconstruction. What was left of the dance center was removed. Only the patio and the original Club Manitou building remained.
Final year The final acts had already been booked when the building was destroyed. In the summer of 1969, they were performed on the patio and inside the other Douglas-owned nearby establishment, the Golden Horseshoe Supper Club. These acts included the Electric Prunes, the Pleasure Seekers, Mitch Ryder, and the Boyfriends. By the early 1970s, teen clubs were dying out, giving way to large concert venues. The Club Ponytail's demise was soon followed by the opening of (in the nearby summer resort town of
Charlevoix, Michigan) Castle Farms “Rock n’ Roll Central” in 1976. Its outside concert facility featured such acts as
Metallica,
Bon Jovi,
Aerosmith, and once again, The Beach Boys.
Ponytail Alumni Ponytail Artists [record company] 1962 •
The Hi-Notes [Troubadour] •
Belvederes (House band) 1963 •
Bobby Vinton [Epic] MAY 3 $2.50 AUG 23 •
Corky and the Electras [-] •
Bobby Vee [Capitol] JUL 10, 11 $2 •
The Statesmen [RCA Victor] •
The Beach Boys [Capitol] AUGUST 8 $2.50 •
Del Shannon [Bigtop Records] •
The Kingtones [Cadet Distributing] •
Brian Hyland [Kapp Records] •
Lou Christie [Buddha] •
Johnny & The Hurricanes [Bigtop Records] JULY 31 and AUGUST 1 $2 •
Freddie Cannon [Buddha] AUG 20 $1.50 •
Paul & Paula [Phillips Records] DEC 27 1963 •
John Tillotson DEC 27, 1963 •
The Kasuals DEC 27, 1963 1964 •
Roy Orbison [Monument] •
LITTLE IS KNOWN 1965 •
The Iguanas (
Iggy Pop, Housebad) •
The Four Tops [Motown] •
The Kingsmen [Wand/Scepter] JUL 20 $3 •
The Nightwalkers [Inca] •
The Shangri-las [Buddha] •
The Supremes (Dianna Ross) [Motown] •
Dee Dee Sharp [Cameo/Parkway] SEP 2 1965 •
Dick & DeeDee [Liberty, Warner Bros]SEP 2 1965 1966 •
The Animals [Decca] AUG 26 $4, $5 (at the door) •
Herman’s Hermits •
The Shillings [-] •
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels [Stateside] JULY 5 $2.75 •
The Beau Brummels [Autumn] JUL 28 $3 •
The Chancellors [Path] •
Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs [MGM] AUG 17 $3 1967 •
Local bands? Not much known (Golden Horseshoe opens) •
Peter & Gordon [Capitol] AUG 1 $3.50 •
The Outsiders AUG 9 $2.50 •
The City Limits (house band) •
The Left Banke JUL 19 $2.50 •
New Battle of the Bands AUGUST 7 $0.50 1968 •
Bob Seger [Capitol] JULY 30 $2.50 •
THEM (Van Morrison) [Decca] AUG 6 $2.50 •
The Music Explosion [Buddah] JULY 23 $2.50 •
The Sand AUG 2 $1.25 1969 •
The Amboy Dukes (Ted Nugent) [Epic] July 3 Thur •
The Turtles [White Whale] •
Bobby Goldsboro [United Artists] July 9, 1969 •
MC5 [Elektra] JUL 10 $3.50
(Plus the Mother Goose Spearmint Farm) •
Mother Goose Spearmint Farm [-] July 3 •
The Electric Prunes (Petoskey News-Review) July 24, 1969 •
The Pleasure Seekers [Hideout, Mercury] AUGUST 7 $3 •
Unrelated Segments THUR AUG 14 from Toledo
(Plus Sea Fever) $2.50 •
Sea Fever AUG 14 •
The Boy Friends JUL 3 •
April Smile July 24, 1969 Unknown dates •
Everybodys Pillows (Credence Clearwater Revival’s band) Sat Aug 16 $2 •
The Bottles of Goodness $1.25 •
H.P. and “The Grassroot Movement” Sat SEP 27 •
Johnny and the Hurricanes SEP 1 & 2 $2 •
The City Limits •
BATTLE OF THE BANDS AUG 13-15 ADMIN $1.50 (likely 64) •
BATTLE OF THE BANDS AUG 18 •
Chad and Jeremy [World Artists] •
Conway Twitty [MCA, Elektra] •
The Crystals [Philles] •
Dawn [Bell, Elektra] •
The Guess Who [Scepter] •
Jan & Dean [Liberty] •
The Lloyds of London [-] •
Martha and the Vandellas [Motown] •
Marvin Gaye [Motown] •
The Music Explosion [Buddha] •
Smokey Robinson [Motown] •
Stevie Wonder [Motown] •
The Temptations [Motown] •
Question Mark (?) and The Mysterians •
The Demon Rum •
The City Limits •
Bob Hartman July 24 ?? 63? •
David Mogen and the Grapes of Wrath (houseband) 63?? •
The Shillings from University of Arizona JULY 1-5 •
The Dirty Shames ? $1.25 •
The Wollies AUG 20 $2.50 •
The Ones AUG 20 $2.50 •
Chubby Checker •
The Jaywalkers •
The Miracles •
The Isley Brothers •
The Four Seasons (Frankie Valli) •
The Dave Clark Five •
Bob Hartman •
Jackie Wilson •
The Other Kind Celebrity sightings •
Robin Williams (young boy) •
Dustin Hoffman (right before tootsie) •
Janis Joplin (graffiti) ==References==