Wllz Welcomes The Kinks

Black illustration of half a tire at the top of button with yellow text printed on it. Black text below the illustration on yellow background. 

This was a promotional button celebrating a concert that The Kinks gave at the Cobo Arena. The Arena opened in 1960 and began to host large attractions, serving as the home of the Detroit Pistons until 1978 and legendary bands such as Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, and Jimi Hendrix. 

The Kinks played at the Cobo Arena on  April 7th, 1983. They were  part of the original British invasion music movement of the 1960s. Although the Kinks were at the height of their popularity in the late 60s/early 70s they experienced another surge of popularity in the early 1980s thanks to albums such as Give the People What They Want and State of Confusion. Around the same time a number of other popular bands covered Kinks early songs bringing their sound to a new generation - perhaps the most famous cover being Van Halen's take on You Really Got Me. The mid-1980s saw a decline in popularity for the band and they officially disbanded in 1996 but not before being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990

The radio station 'welcoming' the Kinks as per this button was WLLZ 98.7 "Detroit's Wheels!". The slogan for the station came from the popular nickname for Detroit - "The Motor City". WLLZ-FM also called Detroit's "Rockin' Best!" started in November of 1980 and at the time was the second most popular station in Detroit.