Gary “Igor” Crawford

At an early stage in his career as a promoter, agent and road manager, Gary “Igor” Crawford symbolically and literally established himself as the big man in the Midwest music industry. Standing 6’4” and 400 pounds, Igor was a music industry icon. He looked intimidating, but those who got to know him found him to be a big teddy bear and loyal friend.  

As a road manager working for the Mid-Continent Entertainment Agency, Igor toured with most of the Red Dog Inn brass bands throughout the Midwest, including the Flippers, Blue Things, Red Dogs and Showmen. Later, Gary became the agency’s owner and created a roster of bands that flooded the Baby Boomer Midwest with rock and roll.

His love always was being on the road with the band rather than sitting behind a desk, so in the early ‘80’s, he became both road manager and booking agent for Ivory, relocated to South Dakota and rebuilt his booking agency under the name AME Entertainment. After 1987, with a roster of great bands under his belt, Igor returned to Kansas and continued to run his agency until he died in 2010.

Gary was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame in 2010.

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