Do you like surfin’ and cars and the southern California ’60s scene, as portrayed through music?
Or do you prefer the sounds of Motown from the ’60s?
How about both? The Chandler Chamber of Commerce has booked three legendary supergroups from that era as its Ostrich Festival in March moves to two weekends for the first time in its three-decade history.
The Beach Boys with Mike Love perform Friday, March 18, followed on Sunday, March 20, by The Temptations and The Four Tops.
They join previously announced three-time Grammy-winning R&B star Nelly, who performs on March 19; Grammy-nominated country star Walker Hayes, on March 12; and Grammy-winning sibling trio The Band Perry, co-headlining with American singer-songwriter Uncle Kracker, March 11.
The music complements a lineup of rides, food, fun – and ostriches — during the festival, which runs March 11-13 and March 17-20 at Tumbleweed Park, 745 E. Germann Road, at McQueen Road. Tickets are available at OstrichFestival.com.
The Ostrich Festival, sponsored by the Chandler Chamber, began in 1988 based on the city’s colorful early history of ostrich ranching. It has grown into one of the premier festivals in the Southwest, featuring national, regional and local entertainment, a 50-ride carnival midway, a wide range of food and curated art vendors. It is family friendly.
“With two full weekends of the Ostrich Festival, we promise to provide a diverse group of headliners everyone will enjoy,” Chamber president and CEO Terri Kimble said.
For almost six decades, The Beach Boys’ have been an indelible part of American history. Their brilliant harmonies, which The Beatles said influenced their music, conveyed simple truths through sophisticated, pioneering musical arrangements as they represent Californian culture.
Founded in Hawthorne, Calif., in 1961, The Beach Boys originally comprised three teenage Wilson brothers: Brian, Carl, and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and school friend Al Jardine. They released their first album, Surfin’ Safari, in 1962.
Since then, they’ve been among the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful bands of all time, with more than 100 million records sold worldwide with more than 80 songs on the charts worldwide, 36 of them in the U.S. Top 40 (the most by a U.S. rock band), and four topping the Billboard Hot 100.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked their Pet Sounds No. 2 on its list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” and the Beach Boys No. 12 on its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.” They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and received the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY.
The Temptations, winners of four Grammys, have produced 53 Billboard Hot 100 Hit singles, including four that became No. 1 in pop: “My Girl,” “I Can’t Get Next To You,” “Just My Imagination” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.” Additionally, they released 43 Top 10 R&B hit singles, 14 of which were No. 1 R&B hits, including “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep,” “I Wish It Would Rain.” The group also has 16 No. 1 R&B albums.
In 1989, The Temptations were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. They were named the No. 1 R&B/Hip Hop Artists of All Time and among the 125 Greatest of All Time Artists by Billboard magazine, as well as among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time by Rolling Stone Magazine. The group currently is the subject of the Broadway musical, Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations, which opened in 2019. The Temptations celebrate their 61st anniversary this year.
The Four Tops’ first Motown hit, “Baby I Need Your Loving” in 1964, made them instant stars. Their soulful and bittersweet songs were across-the-board successes.
The Four Tops’ “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” a No. 1 R&B and pop smash in 1965, is among Motown’s longest-running chart toppers. It was quickly followed by a longtime favorite, “It’s The Same Old Song.” Their commercial peak was highlighted by a romantic trilogy: the “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Standing In The Shadows Of Love” and “Bernadette.” In 1990, with 24 Top 40 pop hits, the Four Tops were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
