Nine times, Elton John has wowed crowds at Merriweather Post Pavilion, bringing his rock act to Columbia’s outdoor stage. Most of those shows have gone smoothly; John’s debut there, 53 years ago, did not.
On June 16, 1971, nearly 300 people tried to crash John’s concert, which drew 12,000 paying fans. All sought to see his frenetic performance, during which he would rattle the ivories, reminiscent of Jerry Lee Lewis’ riotous acts in the 1950s.
But as John prepared to take the stage, the intruders breached a barbed wire fence surrounding the site and were trying to scale an inner fence when security guards intervened. In the chaos, five guards were injured by flying debris before 10 state troopers, K-9 dogs and two dozen Howard County Police officers in riot gear arrived to end the ruckus.
The show went on and, by all accounts, John — who, at 24, was already a rock phenom — did not disappoint.
“He pounds every possible decibel from his grand piano with an intensity that carries back to the last row of listeners,” The Washington Post said of John’s act that evening.
His performance so galvanized the audience that, in mid-concert, more than 200 people clambered on stage to join John, “apparently as an emotional reaction” to his music, The Baltimore Sun reported. The cops moved in; the singer shooed them off.
“They’re not bothering me,” he declared. “Just let them sit there and listen.” Hearing that, more fans pushed on stage. But all were booted off before John’s finale, a rousing rendition of Lewis’ 1957 hit, “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.”
As John banged away, the Post reported, “Police … stood around him, holding raised clubs and containers of chemical spray.”
John returned to Merriweather Post for two concerts in 1982, 1988 and 1992, and one show in both 1986 and 1998. But none left a more lasting impression than his initial appearance in Columbia.
