Rich Engler with Bruce Springsteen

WHEELING – There are many notable names that are carved deeply into rock ‘n’ roll history, and some are literally etched onto decades worth of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia.

Rich Engler is one of those names.

It’s a name that’s very familiar not only to legions of old-school music lovers but also to many of the biggest stars in the music business, as well. As part of the legendary duo of DiCesare-Engler, the Pittsburgh-based concert promoter went from a college kid helping friends book gigs to one of the most respected industry titans in the nation.

Anyone in the Ohio Valley or the greater Steel City area who has saved a physical, hard-copy concert ticket over the past six decades likely has a stub that says “Produced by DiCesare-Engler” or “DiCesare-Engler Presents” on it.

After producing 6,000 shows, Engler stopped keeping count. Now 79 years of age, he’s slowed his roll a bit in recent years compared to his whirlwind workload during the heyday of rock ‘n’ roll that helped define the ’70s and ’80s. But he’s still very much in the game.

In fact, he teamed with Drusky Entertainment to bring legendary rock band Kansas back to Wheeling on Friday, Aug. 22, for a show at the historic Capitol Theatre.

“I can’t wait to get back down to Wheeling,” Engler said. “I’ve done many, many shows at the Wheeling Civic Center and the Capitol Music Hall, which is an absolute treasure – a palace. I love it, and I can’t wait to get back there.”

Engler has produced shows all over the United States and internationally. But the greater Pittsburgh area has always been home, and the DiCesare-Engler legacy has its deepest roots in the area – including in the Friendly City.

“Denny Magruder and the gang down there – whenever he was in charge – I did countless shows,” Engler said, noting that he worked for decades with Magruder – the former executive director of the Greater Wheeling Sports and Entertainment Authority. Magruder, who is now Wheeling’s mayor, for many years headed the city’s two marquee venues – now known as the Capitol Theatre and WesBanco Arena.

“Jerry Seinfeld was huge down there, and I’ve done many, many rock shows,” Engler said. “I brought Elton John to the Civic Center. I remember I had to supply a whole room of white roses for Elton – I think it was like 12 dozen – for his dressing room.”

The roses were one of the items on his tour rider, Engler noted.

As one of the nation’s premier concert promoters, Engler has worked with countless artists from many different musical genres. He’s broken bread with a who’s who of music icons – from Paul McCartney to Bruce Springsteen and many more – and has helped introduce numerous artists to new audiences.

But Kansas has always had a special place in Engler’s heart.

“Obviously, Kansas is one of my staple acts,” he said, noting that he literally helped launch them to national notoriety.

Rich Engler, far right, is shown in an autographed photo with the band Kansas after selling out two headlining nights at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena in 1977. (Photo Provided)

We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

Hailing from Topeka, Kansas, the band Kansas was truly a progressive rock band with a grassroots beginning. Their raw musical talent, strong songwriting and electrifying live shows earned them opportunities to play across the country, opening for several big bands at the time.

In Pittsburgh, Engler himself was an up-and-coming talent in the realm of regional concert promotion in the mid-1970s. He was busy booking superstars to perform at venues in the area, while at the same time, he was promoting exciting new artists to the local record stores and radio stations.

“I booked Queen for their premier tour in the United States, and they said ‘you can put a couple of acts on the show,'” Engler recalled. “So I put these two unknown acts on the show – Styx and Kansas. The day of the show, Freddie Mercury has a fight with John Reid, his manager. And I get a call telling me, ‘Freddie’s not coming, so Queen’s not coming … good luck!'”

Engler said that since it was already the day of the show, he went to the guys in Styx and Kansas and asked them to fill out the set for some extra money. They took the chance.

The announcement was strategically made on stage to the audience between opening acts that Queen could not play, that ticket holders could get a refund within the next 15 minutes if they wanted one, but then they immediately introduced Kansas – which started playing and took command of the show.

“When Kansas played, they brought the house down,” Engler said. “They did not know that I took their song ‘Can I Tell You,’ to WDVE and all of the other stations and made ‘Can I Tell You’ a huge hit in our area.”

So Kansas played the show and came off stage, but did not play what, unbeknownst to them, was a song that had become very popular locally.

“They didn’t even have it in their set,” Engler said, noting that he urged them to get back out there and play one more song – that song. “I said, ‘I made it a hit, you’ve got to get out there!’ They ran back out there, played the song and tore it up. And it really launched them.”

After that epic show, Engler booked Kansas as a headliner at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh and at venues in Altoona, Erie and State College in Pennsylvania as well as in Wheeling. They were able to headline in big venues across the country after that.

This break for Kansas is noted in the band’s documentary and in Engler’s documentary, as well.

“By Freddie being sick and Rich being supportive of us and putting us in the headline spot is really what changed our career, not only in Pittsburgh but across the country,” Kansas drummer Phil Ehart noted in Engler’s award-winning documentary, “Behind the Stage Door: A Promoter’s Life Behind the Scenes” based on his biographical book of the same title.

“After I really got them going and they came out with ‘Leftoverture,’ I took them to the (Pittsburgh) Civic Arena, and it sold out the first day – we sold 16,000 tickets,” Engler said. “I called them back and I said, ‘listen, are you open the next night? I want to do another night.’ They said, ‘yes.’ So I put that on sale, and they sold out the second night.

“We ended up selling 32,000 tickets for Kansas in Pittsburgh. It broke the Civic Arena record – which was held by Elvis Presley, believe it or not – and it held the record the entire time until the building was torn down. I have a great history with these guys. And I just can’t tell you how great the band has been and has become even better than ever.”

Rich Engler’s biography is unveiled in his book “Behind the Stage Door: a Promoter’s Life Behind the Scenes.” An award-winning film documentary of the same name featuring a number of colleagues and rock stars was produced in 2022. (Photo Provided)

Engler hosted Kansas for their 40th anniversary and 50th anniversary shows at the venue that helped launch them – the Stanley Theater, now known as the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts in Pittsburgh.

Kansas has also played in another historic venue in the region – the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling – and Engler said they are excited to come back. The band can’t wait to get there.

“It’s a wonderful place to see a show and to see Kansas up close. It’s invaluable,” Engler said. “Even the acoustics there – the theater itself is spectacular. They played there many years ago in their early days, and now to bring them back, they’re absolutely thrilled.

“You’re not going to see anything like this. It’s an unbelievable show. Not only Kansas, but Jefferson Starship doing all of the hits – ‘Miracles,’ ‘White Rabbit,’ ‘Somebody to Love’ … it’s a star-studded night of hits.”

Kansas

(Photo by Emily Butler)

Humble Beginnings

Like a lot of young music lovers in the 1960s, Engler started a band – or a “combo” – back in high school. Living in the outskirts of Pittsburgh in the town of Creighton, Pa., Engler said his life was changed when The Beatles came out. He knew he was going to be in the music business in one way or another.

After he went off to college, his band was still getting gigs, but many other friends’ bands were having trouble. So he started helping them get gigs, too.

“The next thing you know, I was booking 30 bands besides my own band – and I go, ‘I have a business here. This is crazy,'” he said.

Engler quit college to dedicate time to this “hobby” of booking acts. He expanded his reach by booking a big name – Johnny Winter. That’s when he learned that he could earn thousands of dollars instead of hundreds of dollars by booking bands.

“I started to learn the craft of being a promoter in college, then I started booking my own shows,” he said.

Still playing drums in his band, Grains of Sand, Engler opened for many of the big name acts he was booking. He opened for David Bowie at the Stanley Theater during Bowie’s first U.S. tour. The show sold out. As did King Crimson, Emerson Lake and Palmer and others.

After the band Yes demanded his attention as a promoter instead of an opening act drummer, Engler dedicated his time to his life as a promoter.

While Engler’s career was taking off, one of his biggest competitors in the Pittsburgh area at the time was taking note. Pat DiCesare had booked The Beatles at the Civic Arena, was older than Engler, was more experienced and was expanding his expertise into the real estate side of the music business.

“Pat DiCesare was watching all of this, and he called me one day, and he asked for a meeting,” Engler said. “He told me, ‘Why don’t we put our businesses together – call it DiCesare-Engler? You run the music business, I run the real estate, and we’ll kick some butt.’ I said ‘deal.'”

That was around 1973, and the partnership flourished for 25 years.

Rich Engler has worked with countless artists over the course of a career that has spanned nearly six decades. (Photos Provided)

DiCesare-Engler acquired the Stanley Theater around 1973, turning it into one of the premier venues in the country. They also owned the IC Light Amphitheatre on the South Side.

Eventually, DiCesare-Engler sold the Stanley Theater in 1983 to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. When the industry shifted from regional promoters to national entities, a company known as SFX eventually took over. DiCesare-Engler was sold in 1998 to SFX Entertainment, which soon afterward became Clear Channel and subsequently became the titan that it is today – Live Nation.

“I stayed with them for a short time and did not like it,” Engler said, noting that DiCesare was out after the sale. “I was president and CEO of the Northeast, but bailed after three years. I had to sign a non-compete to get out of the deal, and after that I was back like a bad rash, and I started promoting shows again. And here we are today.”

Engler, who for many years has made his home in Sewickley, Pa., with his wife Cindy, said he stays in contact with DiCesare, who also still resides in the Pittsburgh area. They reminisce on their magical connection that impacted the lives of so many music lovers.

“We were partners for 25 years,” he said. “The business has changed immensely since then.”

The big acts touring today get a big check from the nationwide promoter, which gets exclusive rights to the entire tour, Engler indicated.

“All independent promoters are in the same boat,” he said. “It’s hard to battle with a publicly traded company as an individual. I get my acts that take care of me and have stuck with me over the years like Ringo (Starr) and Kansas and Styx, and a lot of them. So instead of me doing about 250 to 300 shows a year, now I’m doing about 50 shows a year. It’s not bad.”

One regional promoter that is finding success with booking great bands in small to medium-sized venues is Drusky Entertainment – operated by Brian Drusky, who Engler knows well.

“Brian worked for me for years,” Engler said. “I love Brian. I tell everybody that I taught him all of the good things that he knows! Brian is great. I had an opportunity to work with him on a couple of dates coming up here with Kansas.”

Rich Engler’s collection of autographed guitars is for sale, along with more than 1,000 pieces of concert memorabilia. (Photo Provided)

Autographed Guitar Collection, and More

After meeting backstage with the biggest stars in the music business for nearly six decades, Engler has amassed an impressive amount of memorabilia and autographed guitars.

And today, he’s ready to let them go to an investor who can appreciate them as much as he has over the years.

“I’ve had them for a long time,” Engler said. “It’s the largest one-of-a-kind autographed guitar collection in the world – around 240 guitars signed by a who’s who of stars – Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Jeff Beck, Toby Keith, BB King, Elton John, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, James Brown, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Merle Haggard – you name it.”

The signed guitars have been valued at around $1.2 million, and nearly 1,000 unique concert items have been priced at $400,000. From Willie Nelson’s hat to Tina Turner’s worn jacket and much more – it’s a collection that can be appreciated privately or put on public display.

“It’s a collection and it’s also an attraction,” he said. “It’s an immediate museum. Everybody who does come and see it – it’s a jaw-dropper. It’s just time. This is my 53rd year in the business. I’m going to be 80 years old. It’s time that somebody else can enjoy this.”

Details about the collection can be found on his website at www.richengler.com.

While he’s willing to part with material things, making memories is still part of Engler’s future plans – and the Kansas show in Wheeling next Friday is just another part of the job that keeps him going.

“The music business is something I love,” he said. “I’ve felt that I’ve never worked a day in my life. It’s been so enjoyable. I’ve met so many people.”

For tickets and information about the Kansas and Jefferson Starship show on Friday, Aug. 22, at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling, visit www.capitoltheatrewheeling.com.