Editing Russ Gibb

{{Short description|American music promoter (1931–2019)}}
'''Russel James Gibb''' (June 15, 1931<ref name="grande">{{cite web|url=http://thegrandeballroom.com/russ-gibb-remembered/|title=Russ Gibb Remembered - The Grande Ballroom|website=Thegrandeballroom.com|access-date=1 May 2019}}</ref> – April 30, 2019) was an American rock concert promoter, school teacher and [[disc jockey]] from [[Dearborn, Michigan]], best known for his role in the "[[Paul is dead]]" phenomenon, a story he broke on radio station [[WNIC|WKNR-FM]] in Dearborn,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pressandguide.com/news/russ-gibb-talks-about-paul-mccartney-and-the-famous-paul/article_7c2e7c76-7442-5aab-b1f8-59fbea189550.html|title=Russ Gibb talks about Paul McCartney and the famous 'Paul is Dead' rumor|website=Pressandguide.com|access-date=1 May 2019}}</ref> and as the owner of the [[Grande Ballroom]], a major rock music venue in [[Detroit]].

==Education==

Gibb graduated from [[Michigan State University]], earning a degree in educational radio and television administration<ref name=EoD>{{cite web | url =https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/gibb-uncle-russ | title =GIBB, "UNCLE" RUSS | last = | first = | date = | website =Encyclopedia of Detroit | publisher =[[Detroit Historical Society]] | access-date = | quote = }}</ref> in 1953.<ref name=Grit>{{cite book | last =Carson| first =David A.| title =Grit, Noise, and Revolution: The Birth of Detroit Rock 'n' Roll| publisher =[[University of Michigan Press]]| year =2006| pages =98, 281| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=9ELrPRIGM_8C&q=%22Goose+Lake+%22+Festival&pg=PA1970-IA17| isbn =9780472031900}}</ref>

==Career==

===Teaching===

Gibb began teaching elementary school English in the [[Dearborn School District]] in 1961. In 1976, he began teaching TV and video production at [[Dearborn High School]]. He retired in 2004, having spent 42 years teaching in the Dearborn public schools.<ref>{{cite news | last = Montgomery| first =Rachel | title =Popular teacher leaves DHS classroom | newspaper =Press & Guide | location =[[Dearborn, Michigan]] | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = August 21, 2004| url =https://www.pressandguide.com/2004/08/21/popular-teacher-leaves-dhs-classroom/ | accessdate =July 2, 2022 }}</ref> For 16 years, he produced the student run cable video show ''[[Back Porch Video]]''.

===Disc jockey===

Gibb started his broadcast career as a weekend TV floor manager at [[WDIV-TV|WWJ-TV]] in Detroit. He did some weekend disc jockey work for [[WBRB (Michigan)|WBRB]] in [[Mount Clemens, Michigan]]. Then, he worked at [[WNIC|WKMH]]. <ref name=Grit/>

Gibb worked as a disk jockey at WKNR-FM, when the station was transitioning from a [[Top 40]] format to a hard rock format. His on air nickname was "Uncle Russ".<ref name=EoD/> On October 12, 1969, a caller to his show told Gibb about the "Paul is dead" rumor and its clues. The rumor had been circulating sporadically for two years, but had not yet attracted much attention. Gibb and other callers discussed the rumor on the air for the next hour. Two days after the WKNR broadcast, ''[[The Michigan Daily]]'' published a satirical review of ''[[Abbey Road]]'' by [[University of Michigan]] student [[Fred LaBour]] under the headline "McCartney Dead; New Evidence Brought to Light".<ref name="labour">LaBour, Fred. "[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2gxKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cR4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=903,2323118&dq=mccartney&hl=en McCartney Dead; New Evidence Brought to Light]" ''[[The Michigan Daily]]'' 14 October 1969: 2</ref> It identified various clues to McCartney's death on Beatles album covers, including new clues from the just-released ''Abbey Road'' LP. As LaBour had invented many of the clues, he was astonished when the story was picked up by newspapers across the [[United States]].<ref name=Allen>{{Cite news|url=http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2009/11/story.php?id=7565&tr=y&auid=5578331 |last=Glenn |first=Allen |title=Paul is dead (said Fred) |newspaper=Michigan Today |location=University of Michigan |date=11 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228202339/http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2009/11/story.php?id=7565&tr=y&auid=5578331 |archive-date=28 December 2010 }}</ref> 

Gibb further fueled the rumor with a special two-hour program on the subject, "The Beatle Plot", which aired on October 19, 1969. This show has been called "infamous", a "fraud" and a "mockumentary". It brought enormous worldwide publicity to Gibb and WKNR. <ref>{{cite book | last =Coley | first =Sam | authorlink = | title =Music Documentaries for Radio| publisher =[[Taylor & Francis]] | series = | volume = | edition = | date = 2021| location = | pages = | language = | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QZJFEAAAQBAJ&q=%22the+beatle+plot%22 | doi = | id = | isbn =9781000463989| quote=}}</ref>

===Rock music promoter===

In the early 1960s, Gibb supplemented his teaching income by producing weekend [[sock hops]] at a rented union hall under the name the Pink Pussycat.<ref name=Grit/>

In 1966, Gibb opened the [[Grande Ballroom]] in Detroit,<ref name="grande"/> and was a major player in the late 1960s and early 1970s Detroit music scene. He hired psychedelic poster artists [[Gary Grimshaw]] and [[Carl Lundgren (illustrator)| Carl Lundgren]] to help promote his shows. Most major rock acts of that era performed at the Grande Ballroom, some many times.  He closed the Grande Ballroom in 1972.  He was instrumental in giving the [[MC5]], [[Ted Nugent]] and [[Iggy Pop]] their start. The Grande Ballroom also was where [[The Who]] played their rock opera, [[Tommy (The Who album)|''Tommy'']], for the first time in the United States.<ref name =FP/> Gibb also owned and leased other live music venues around the Midwest including the [[Eastown Theatre]], Michigan Theater (where the [[New York Dolls]] played), and the Birmingham Palladium. He invested in the rock magazine ''[[Creem]]'' in 1969.<ref>{{cite news | last =Whitall | first = Susan| title =How Russ Gibb (almost) killed Paul McCartney | newspaper =[[Detroit News]] | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =May 1, 2019 | url =https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/05/01/how-russ-gibb-almost-killed-paul-mccartney/3644888002/ | accessdate =July 2, 2022 }}</ref>

Gibb was one of the promoters of the [[Goose Lake International Music Festival]] in 1970, which attracted a crowd of 200,000 people.<ref name= FP>{{cite news | last =McCollum | first =Brian | title =Russ Gibb — Detroit rock visionary, schoolteacher and 'Paul is dead' prankster — dies at 87 | newspaper =[[Detroit Free Press]] | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =May 1, 2019 | url =https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/brian-mccollum/2019/04/30/russ-gibb-detroit-grande-ballroom-paul-mccartney/3635010002/| accessdate =July 2, 2022 }}</ref>

===Cable TV investor===

In 1970, Gibb traveled to England and spent some time staying with [[Mick Jagger]]. He was impressed with Jagger's advanced home video system. This led to his interest in [[cable TV]]. Gibb bought the [[Dearborn, Michigan]]; [[Wayne, Michigan]]; and [[Grosse Pointe, Michigan|Grosse Pointe]], Michigan cable licenses in the late 1970s. When he sold his interests in the 1980s, he became a millionaire. <ref name=Grit/>

==The Bicentennial==
During the administration of [[Gerald Ford]], he worked on the [[United States Bicentennial]] Commission as the National Director of Youth and Education.<ref name=EoD/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*Andru J. Reeve. ''Turn Me On, Dead Man'' (2004) {{ISBN|1-4184-8294-3}}
*David A. Carson. ''Grit, Noise, and Revolution: The Birth of Detroit Rock 'n' Roll'' (2006) {{ISBN|0-472-03190-2}}
*Tom Wright. ''Roadwork: Rock and Roll Turned Inside Out'' (2007) {{ISBN|1423413008}}

==External links==
*{{cite web|url=http://www.russgibbatrandom.com/|title=Russ Gibb at Random|website=Russgibbatrandom.com|access-date=1 May 2019}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.wdhsvideo.org/|title=The Russ Gibb Digital Media Center|website=Wdhsvideo.org|access-date=1 May 2019}}

{{Historic rock festival|state=expanded}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibb, Russ}}
[[Category:People from Dearborn, Michigan]]
[[Category:Fordson High School alumni]]
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:American music promoters]]
[[Category:Educators from Michigan]]