How a Flint Holiday Inn Became a Part of one of Rock&Roll's Greatest Legends Column for January 5, 2004

In the summer of 1977, home from college, I took a summer job at the Holiday Inn which was located on Bristol Road at I-75 in Flint. The photo I took of that Holiday Inn's sign was taken on my last day at Holiday Inn before returning to college that fall. The marquee read GOOD LUCK AT MICHIGAN STATE GARY FLINN. I later read that it was at this Holiday Inn on August 23, 1967 that The Who stayed after opening for Herman's Hermits at a concert in Flint at Atwood Stadium. After the concert, The Who and Herman's Hermits celebrated Keith Moon's 21st birthday at that Holiday Inn. The birthday cake was provided by Premier Drums and Decca Records. Of course, there was plenty of alcohol served so that everyone in the party got intoxicated. A food fight developed using the birthday cake. When the Holiday Inn manager arrived to complain about the noise, the story goes that things got worse. Fire extinguisher foam was sprayed on guests' cars which ruined the car finishes, Keith broke a tooth tripping on pieces of the cake trying to run away from a sheriff's deputy, and the debauchery was climaxed when Keith drove a Lincoln Continental convertible into the swimming pool. A dentist had to awakened to repair Keith's tooth (the sheriff took Keith and the rest of The Who to the dentist's office) and I understand that Keith was so drunk that no novocaine was needed. Of course, the group spent the night in the county jail and a charter plane had to be brought to take Keith to the next tour stop. The total bill was about $5000. The sheriff, who I believe was Thomas Bell, told The Who never to return to Genesee County and Holiday Inn banned the group for life from its locations world wide. That night at the Flint MI Holiday Inn cemented Keith Moon's reputation as a hotel wrecker. In the mid-1980s, the Holiday Inn where this all took place was sold and was converted to a Days Inn. The neon Holiday Inn sign was in place until the conversion to Days Inn. So the surviving Who members can return to where it all took place. When the VH-1 cable channel did a show about the wild party, they showed video of that former Holiday Inn and interviewed the manager of the Holiday Inn Express (located near downtown on I-475 at Longway Blvd). That VH-1 show announced Holiday Inn's lifting of the lifetime ban for the surviving Who members (Keith Moon died on September 7, 1978) and the Holiday Inn Express sign was shown welcoming The Who to end the VH-1 show. There is also a Holiday Inn location in the Gateway Centre on Hill Road at the US 23 expressway. But don't go to either the Flint Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express as it all took place at the Days Inn on 2207 W. Bristol Road. Sorry, the Days Inn web site does not show the swimming pool.

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