On Feb. 15, legendary rockers The Marcels will take to the stage at the Tyrone Area High School auditorium to open a benefit concert library officials hope will help fund a $625,000 building project for a new library in Tyrone.
“I have had the opportunity to see The Marcels do their show,” said Chuck Banas, public relations chairman of the library. “It is simply fantastic. The talent level is tremendous and their presentation is something that will be remembered for a long time.”
The Marcels are the group that really started the phrase: “Who put the bomp in the bomp-a-bomp.” Their first hit was in 1961 when they released the now famous “Blue Moon.” This song sold more than two million copies. “Blue Moon” was then followed by several albums and many hit singles which resulted in sales up into the millions for The Marcels.
They recorded the them song, “The Greatest Love,” which was used in the motion picture “The Interns.” They also appeared with Chubby Checker in the film “Twist Around the Clock.”
“To have this type of talent and big time performers coming to Tyrone is a real plus for the community,” said Banas. “And not just the Tyrone community, but the entire Blair County region. I just can’t stress enough to area residents not to wait until the Thursday or Friday night before the concert to get their tickets. In doing that, there may be some really disappointed people.”
According to Banas, the tickets have been selling “extremely well.”
“The concert has already sold out 70 percent of the available tickets,” he said. “We are really getting calls now from all over Blair, Clearfield and Huntingdon counties.”
The concert will be held at the Tyrone High School auditorium on Saturday evening, Feb. 15 with The Marcels as the opening artists. The famous Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners’ will headline the event.
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. with the doors opening at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are available for $30 each and all proceeds will be donated to the library building fund. They can be purchased at various locations in Tyrone, including at the library, Joy Beans, the Bull Pen, Med-Center Pharmacy, Miller’s Car Care and Bressler’s Food Mart and Sports. There are also a number of locations in Altoona and State College. Tickets can also be purchased from any library board member or by contacting 684-7929 or 684-1133.
“This should be a great evening of entertainment,” said Banas. “I am really very enthused as to the high degree of excitement that concert ticket purchasers have expressed.”
