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They played in Chattanooga?: TV personality David Carroll’s book to detail the acts who have performed here

Photo provided by David Carroll / A young David Carroll is shown with singer Tom Jones in 1987. Carroll is writing a book about all of the musicians who have performed here over the last century, and is including a list of the many celebrities who have come through, as well.
Photo provided by David Carroll / A young David Carroll is shown with singer Tom Jones in 1987. Carroll is writing a book about all of the musicians who have performed here over the last century, and is including a list of the many celebrities who have come through, as well.

By Barry Courter 3 min read

If you are one of those music fans who saves every ticket to every show you’ve ever seen in the Chattanooga area, local TV personality David Carroll needs your help. He’s looking for amateur photographers who might have documented any of those shows as well.

Carroll is gathering information for a book that will detail many of the national touring acts that have performed here, and he’s hoping fans can help him. He hopes to have the as-yet-untitled book out in the next few months. You may be surprised to know that Garth Brooks, Cher, Itzhak Perlman and The Who have all played in Chattanooga.

“It started out as a history of Memorial Auditorium, the Tivoli Theatre and the UTC Arena, but it has become much more than that,” Carroll said.

About four years ago, Carroll posted a list of the acts who played McKenzie Arena at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and it proved so popular, people suggested he do one for the auditorium. It seemed like a good idea that proved popular with fans, and Carroll said it led him down a lot of rabbit holes, which he continues to discover.

“Well, the arena one was easy,” he said. “They provided me a list, and I just cut and paste. The auditorium has proven more difficult, but I found a lot of the books [schedules] that were still in existence. But then I realized I’d have to include the Tivoli, too.