KEVIN McCORRY, HOST: I’m Kevin McCorry and this is ‘Jukebox Journey.’
[MUSIC MONTAGE: “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown, “Soul Man” by Sam & Dave, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” by Shania Twain, “The Man Comes Around,” by Johnny Cash]
KM: We’re unstuck in time, jumping through decades and genres, meditating on a theme. This week: Ahead of the 50th Anniversary of the Mann Center, part 2 of our look at its evolution.
[MUSIC: “Variations Symphoniques,” as performed by André Watts and composed by César Franck]
KM: The Robin Hood Dell in East Fairmount Park was the original summer home of the Philadelphia Orchestra. And after nearly collapsing in the late 1940s, it thrived through the midcentury under the new leadership of Fredric R. Mann.
He was a larger-than-life character on a mission to give the broader public free access to classical music greatness, like local piano phenom Andre Watts.
[MUSIC SWELL]
KM: And Wayne-native opera singer Anna Moffo.
[MUSIC: “La Boheme: Quando me’n vo soletto” as sung by Anna Moffo and composed by Giacomo Puccini]
KM: But with the ‘60s came changing tastes, and because the Dell received a generous subsidy from city taxpayers, there were growing calls to program the venue to appeal to a wider set of residents.
[MUSIC: “Tourist Point of View” by Duke Ellington]
KM: By 1967, after a Duke Ellington/Count Basie show was shot down by the Fairmount Park Commission, which was also led by Mann, The Philadelphia Tribune offered a scathing critique — with the Black paper accusing Mann of catering to “the chosen few.”
But things did begin to change.
[MUSIC: “Expressway to Your Heart” by The Soul Survivors]
KM: Jerry Blavat brought a “Rock N’ Roll Jamboree” to the Dell that year that featured Patti LaBelle and closed with the first big hit for Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.
[MUSIC SWELL]
KM: Through time, that became a pattern for Mann the person, and Mann the venue: Needing to pivot with the hard realities of economics.
[MUSIC: “Piano Concerto No. 3” as composed by Rachmaninoff and conducted by Eugene Ormandy leading the Philadelphia Orchestra]
KM: Despite his pitfalls, there was no doubting Fredric Mann’s ability to make big things happen. And one of his biggest was the years-long effort to build a new, modern facility, and get it done ahead of the bicentennial.
Through a mix of public and private money, it came together in West Fairmount Park — this time with covered seats for the patrons, and free lawn seats with shimmering skyline views for the masses.
Opening night at the Dell West was June 14, 1976, and by all accounts the highlight was The Philadelphia Orchestra playing a Rachmaninoff concerto.
[MUSIC SWELL]
KM: By July, as a way to diversify revenue streams, a new series of ticketed softer-rock shows kicked off.
[MUSIC: “Sweet Baby James” by James Taylor]
KM: It was a deal between Mann and Larry Magid of Electric Factory Concerts that was reportedly reluctantly hashed out over 7am vodka shots. James Taylor was the debut.
[MUSIC SWELL]
KM: By 1979, the venue was renamed in Mann’s honor and when Mann died in 1987, The Philadelphia Daily News summed up his life and impact by calling him a “paradox”: “loud, abrasive and domineering” but with “artistic sensitivity” and “exquisite taste.”
[MUSIC: “Symphonie Fantastique” by Hector Berlioz, as conducted by Zubin Mehta]
KM: Mann once estimated his personal contribution to keeping classical music free in Philadelphia at $20 million dollars.
[MUSIC SWELL
KM: Over the years, as the city subsidy went away and the orchestra dealt with its own financial woes, The Mann Center has continued to evolve — offering more opera, ballet, film screenings, and embracing all music genres from jam-bands like Phish:
[MUSIC: “Rift” by Phish, live at The Mann June 24, 1995]
KM: To hip-hop acts like The Roots:
[MUSIC: “Men at Work” by The Roots, as composed by Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, live at Newport Jazz Festival 2025]
KM: One key challenge to the Mann was the construction of the outdoor concert venue in Camden in the 1990s. It held 10,000 more people, secured deals with the biggest promoters, and quickly became the go-to for top artists and festivals.
As the live music industry went full-on corporate conglomerate, The Mann struggled to stay afloat — fighting to keep its civic reputation, but also pay its bills.
A key change came in 2020, when in true ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join em’ mentality, The Mann inked a deal with mega-promoter Live Nation, which, this season, landed them big-name shows like The Strokes and Shaboozey.
[MUSIC: “Tipsy (A Bar Song)” by Shaboozey, live at Glastonbury in 2025]
KM: And while gone are the days of free orchestra performances, the venue, now rebranded The Highmark Mann, is still a non-profit with a mission to serve the community, and, true to Frederic Mann’s vision, remains the premiere spot in the city to catch a concert under the stars.
[MUSIC: “Summertime” by George Gershwin, as conducted by Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra]
KM: I’m Kevin McCorry and this has been a Jukebox Journey on WHYY.
And once again major shout out to Jack McCarthy and his excellent book “A Century of Music Under the Stars”…a history of the Mann and the Robin Hood Dell.
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