1967 June 16-18:
1st Monterey International Pop Festival
One of the most important festivals of them all. launched the Who and Jimi Hendrix in America – Monterey International Pop Festival
Probably the most important festival of them all.
To see which of the bands here are ON TOUR NOW
CONTEXT
VIETNAM AND CIVIL RIGHTS
4 April 1967: Martin Luther King Jr delivered his anti-war speech, Beyond Vietnam
“We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem. So we have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools.”
ROCK FESTIVALS AND EVENTS
10 June 1967: Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival
16-18 June 1967: 1st Monterey International Pop Festival
6 October 1967: Death of Hippie march – Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco
15-16-17 August 1969: Woodstock – “3 days of peace and love”
6 December 1969: Ill-fated Altamont festival – Meredith Hunter killed by a Hells Angel.
BACKGROUND
MONTEREY WAS NOT 1st ROCK FESTIVAL
10 June 1967: Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival
Held at Mount Tamalpais, just north of San Francisco. Arranged by Radio KFRC with an entrance fee of $2. It was originally scheduled for – 3 and 4 June but inclement weather pushed the event back a week. The acts included:
The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish, Canned Heat, Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, 13th Floor Elevators, Moby Grape and The Byrds. Most of which played at Monterey.
1966 MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL
9th year of the Monterey Jazz Festival, held at Monterey Fairgrounds. Performers included, Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Jefferson Airplane.
1ST MONTEREY INTERNATIONAL POP FESTIVAL
The idea came from Alan Pariser, he went to the 1966 Monterey Jazz Festival
with Ben Shapiro and they decided to organise a Rock Festival at the same venue. Their ambition was to legitimise rock – like jazz.
It was devised as a non-profit, 3-day event where all the performers played for free. Although they were treated to great hotels.
Ravi Shankar was the only artist to receive payment for his performance. His concert album turned out to be the best-selling US album of his career. The Indian sitar player came to prominence through George Harrison. He was paid $3,000 for a long set.
The festival was organised in 6 or 7 weeks. The organisers were keen for the Mamas & the Papas to perform and contacted band leader John Phillips and their producer Lou Adler.
A Board of Governors was set up, which included: John Phillips, Lou Adler, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Andrew Loog Oldham, Jim McGuinn, Terry Melcher, Donovan, Smokey Robinson, Johnny Rivers, Brian Wilson and Derek Taylor – the Beatles’ publicist.
CONCERT FILM
ABC TV put up $200,000 for a film about the concert. They commissioned DA Pennebaker to make the film, he’d previously made the Bob Dylan documentary Don’t Look Back. The movie didn’t show on TV at the time, it received a movie release 26 December 1968. Apparently, Hendrix cavorting with his guitar was too much for the sensitivities of the TV executives.
ATTENDANCE
200,000 people across the weekend – estimates vary.
WHY WEREN’T THEY THERE
THE BEATLES
They were now a studio band and had ceased performing.
12 December 1965: Last UK concert – Cardiff.
29 August 1966: Last US concert – Candlestick Park.
THE ROLLING STONES
Various drug busts caused problems in obtaining a work visa for America.
28 July 1966: Brian Jones last US gig.
THE KINKS
Blacklisted by the American Musicians Union after Ray Davies reputedly punched a union man at a gig.
19 June 1965: First American tour opened.
17 October 1969: Next US gig following that first tour.
THE BEACH BOYS – Cancelled
Brian Wilson was a member of the Board of Governors. They were scheduled to play but pulled out.
There is much speculation about this…
Brian was concerned that they might be seen to be out old-hat.
1966 October 10: Single: Good Vibrations released (US)
1967 May 2: Last day of Smile recording sessions
They could have played the new stuff but were concerned that maybe the audience wanted to hear the old hits?
The concert was 6/7 weeks in the planning. When it started Brian was probably still working on Smile. By the time of the concert it had been abandoned – with no real replacement.
DONOVAN
Donovan drugs bust by the notorious Sgt Pilcher – no work visa
CREAM
Apparently, Cream wanted to go but manager Robert Stigwood wanted them to have their own headlining tour.
CHUCK BERRY
Invited but declined, reputedly because he would not be paid.
WHO WAS THERE…
THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS
Closed the festival.
5 February 1966: 1st hit single – California Dreamin’ #4
5 more hits
13 May 1967 Latest hit US single – Creeque Alley #5
mid-1968: Mama & the Papas split up.
John Phillips and Lou Adler were two of the main festival organisers.
THE ASSOCIATION
Kicked off the festival
25 Jun 1966: 1st US hit single – Along Comes Mary #7
3 June 1967: US hit single – Windy #1 for 4 weeks
THE WHO
20 May 1967: 1st hit US single Happy Jack #24
The Who were virtually unknown in America at the time. Pete Townshend did not want to follow Jimi Hendrix onto the stage so they settled the matter with the toss of a coin. Hendrix lost and went on after the Who, telling Townshend that, “I’m going to pull out all the stops”.
The Who were actually followed by Grateful Dead and then, Jimi Hendrix.
The Who ended their set with an equipment smashing My Generation.
JIMI HENDRIX
Jimi Hendrix was introduced onstage by Brian Jones.
The concert album for Jimi Hendrix had him on one side and Otis Redding on the other.
At the time he was completely unknown in America and despite being American, he was billed as “From London, England The Jimi Hendrix Experience”. Their first album was not yet released in America. Paul McCartney insisted that Jimi Hendrix appeared and Rolling Stones’ manager Andrew Oldham also recommended him.
He famously set fire to his guitar during Wild Thing. Following this he smashed up his guitar and threw the neck into the audience.
Monkee, Mickey Dolenz saw Hendrix’s performance and invited him to open the upcoming Monkees tour.
URBAN MYTH
The Daughters of the American Revolution were reputed to have put pressure on the promoters to take Hendrix off the Monkees tour. That turned out to be a myth put about by Australian journalist Lillian Roxon. Hendrix had simply had enough of the “we want the Monkees” chants and remained on friendly terms with the TV musicians.
28 September 1968: Despite becoming a true rock’n’roll icon, his ONLY American hit single was All Along the Watchtower, peaking at #20.
GRATEFUL DEAD
The Dead’s set was squeezed between the Who and the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
They refused to have their set filmed because they were disappointed with their performance. Phil Lesh has commented, “Grateful Dead didn’t deliver”, and of being sandwiched between two of rock’n’roll’s most flamboyant performers, “who’s going to remember Grateful Dead?”
BIG BROTHER AND THE HOLDING COMPANY
Monterey was responsible for breaking Big brother and the Holding Company and catapulting lead singer Janis Joplin to international fame.
10 June 1966: Janis Joplin’s first gig with Big Brother and the Holding Company.
28 September 1968: First hit – Piece of My Heart #12
1 December 1968: Janice Joplin left Big Brother
Janis Joplin and Big Brother so impressed the organisers at Monterey that they were invited back for a second performance. Their first performance was on Saturday and when they returned on Sunday, the set was filmed. This established Janis Joplin’s reputation and the band was signed by Albert Grossman. It also led to a recording contract with Columbia Records.
ELECTRIC FLAG
Mike Bloomfield left Paul Butterfield’s Blues Band to form Electric flag and they made their debut at Monterey.
They were also managed by Albert Grossman.
8 August 1967: Roger Corman’s The Trip movie opened in New York.
The band had yet to settle on a name and at Monterey they were billed as “The American Music Band”. In other billing for the event, they were called “The Mike Bloomfield Thing”.
The band took its name from a novelty American flag. It was on a pole, which flapped in a breeze provided by an electric fan in its base.
mid-1968: Mike Bloomfield left the band claiming exhaustion, similar to when he left Paul Butterfield’s Blues Band in 1967.
28 may 1968: Mike Bloomfield walked out on Al Kooper’s Supersession recording.
PAUL BUTTERFIELD’S BLUES BAND
Paul Butterfield Blues Band also played at the festival.
1963: Paul Butterfield Blues band formed as a racially integrated band, which was rare at the time.
Lineup:
Paul Butterfield harp and vocals, Elvin Bishop guitar, Jerome Arnold bass and drummer Sam Lay. Arnold and Lay had previously been Howlin’ Wolf’s rhythm section.
The band had played the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1966, which inspired this event. They were also a part of the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 and backed Bob Dylan for his notorious electric set. (guitarist Mike Bloomfield, keyboards Al Kooper and Barry Goldberg, rhythm section Jerome Arnold and Sam Lay.
BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD
Advertised as “Buffalo Springfield with David Crosby”. David Crosby, from the Byrds, stood in for Neil Young.
5 May 1968: Last Buffalo Springfield gig
THE BYRDS
David Crosby controversially spoke out on stage, saying that JFK had been killed by multiple shooters. This was disputed in the Warren Commission Report.
October 1967: David Crosby was sacked from the Byrds by Roger McGuinn.
3 January 1968: The Notorious Byrd Brothers album was released in America. The album cover depicted a stable door with a horse’s head in the fourth window – instead of David Crosby.
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE
Jefferson Airplane also performed at the 1966 Monterey Jazz Festival, as well as Magic Mountain, Woodstock and Altamont.
13 August 1965: Jefferson Airplane’s debut gig.
15 October 1966: Drummer Spencer Dryden replaced Skip Spence. Skip Spence moved from drums to guitar and formed Moby Grape.
16 October 1966: Grace Slick’s first concert – Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco.
6 May 1967: First hit single – Somebody to Love #5
1969: Hot Tuna formed by bassist Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen.
Hot Tune ran alongside Jefferson Airplane as a parallel project until the Airplane disbanded.
21 and 22 September 1972: Jefferson Airplane’s last gig – Winterland, San Francisco.
19 March 1974: First gig as the re-formed Jefferson Starship – Auditorium Theatre, Chicago
QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE
late 1964: Quicksilver Messenger Service formed in San Francisco with guitarist John Cipollina and bassist David Freiberg.
Skip Spence was a guitarist in an early lineup, before leaving in October 1965 to join Jefferson Airplane as their drummer.
May 1968: Quicksilver Messenger Service released their first album.
MOBY GRAPE
25 November 1966: first major gig – formed by Skip Spence.
29 May 1967: First album Moby Grape was released in America. The record company released five singles from the album – simultaneously.
COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH
autumn 1965: Country Joe and the Fish formed by Country Joe McDonald and Barry “The Fish” Melton.
April 1967: Released their first album Electric Music for Mind and Body.
FAREWELL GIG – 22 December 2017 – at the Chapel, San Francisco.
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL
Formed as Tom and Jerry
November 1957: Hey, Schoolgirl First Tom and Jerry single
4 December 1965: 1st US hit single – The Sounds of Silence #1 for 2 weeks. When Sounds Of Silence was originally released on their first album Wednesday Morning 3am it was an acoustic version. The album’s producer, Tom Wilson, overdubbed an electric backing band to the song in order to release it as a single.
Four more American hit singles followed. Their current hit at the time of the festival was At the Zoo.
CANNED HEAT
Opened on Saturday. The festival broke the band to a wider audience.
1966: Formed by Alan Wilson and Bob Hite.
1968: First American hit – On the Road Again #16
July 1967: Released first album.
ERIC BURDON AND THE ANIMALS
7 September 1963: First performance of the Animals lineup, as the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo.
15 August 1964: First American hit single House of the Rising Sun #1 for 3 weeks.
7 more American hit singles to mid-1966.
5 September 1966: Last Animals concert: Steel Pier resort, Atlantic City.
5 July 1966: Bass player Chas Chandler saw Hendrix play at the Café Wha?
24 September 1966: Jimi Hendrix and Chas Chandler flew to London.
Eric Burdon continued, with a new “Animals”.
1 October 1966: First Eric Burdon and the Animals American hit single See See Rider #10.
22 April 1967: Current US hit single When I Was Young #15
30 December 1967: With his own song about Monterey, describing most of the bands: American hit single Monterey #15
16 September 1970: Jimi Hendrix jammed with Eric Burdon and War at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London. This was to be Jimi Hendrix’s last-ever performance.
STEVE MILLER BLUES BAND
late 1966: First gig, at the Avalon.
1973: First American hit The Joker #1 for 1 week.
Steve Miller was unknown outside San Francisco before the festival. Then he had fourteen record labels competing to sign him up. He signed to Capitol, with an advance of $50,000 – one of the biggest sign-ups to date.
OTIS REDDING
Otis Redding replaced the Beach Boys when they pulled out. This was the first time that Otis Redding had played to a predominantly white audience.
He was backed by Booker T and the MGs.
mid-1965: First American hit I’ve Been Loving You Too Long #21
His concert album featured, one side Otis Redding and other side Jimi Hendrix.
By the time of the festival he’d had five Top-40 hits and eighteen R&B hits.
Otis Redding died on 10 December 1967, just six months after the festival.
10 Feb 1968: Sitting on the Dock of the Bay #1 for 4 weeks.
