Monday, January 05, 2015

Filmmakers trying to fund documentary about Cleveland's lost, Rock Hotel, Swingo's Celebrity Inn

The 70's and 80's were a dark time in Cleveland. The river caught on fire, crime was rising and industry was leaving. But at the same time, a huge list of celebrities and especially musicians were drawn to one hotel- Swingos was the place to be!

The story probably starts when Elvis decided to rent 100 rooms and make it the base for his Ohio tour. Later, almost every actor, comedian and especially musicians Sinatra, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Bruce Springsteen etc.. passing through seemed to stay there.

From Cleveland.com
"One relationship that became very lucrative was with the British heavy metal band Led Zeppelin. They had a habit of “redecorating” their rooms wherever they stayed -- even going so far as pushing a piano out of a hotel window in Chicago. “I loved Led Zeppelin, because they always traveled with their accountant,” Swingos says. “Whatever damage they did to their rooms, the accountant always took out his checkbook and paid for everything down to the penny. I didn’t mind because I always got new stuff for whatever rooms they stayed in after they left.”


Actual Kickstarter page

A lot of the known stories have become legends and who knows what we don't know?

Mott the Hoople's Ian Hunter said "Swingos was a place you remember checking in and out of, but can't remember anything in between" (Quote from the Guardian)



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