I'm surprised no one has posted on this. This was the first rock n roll festival of note that blazed the trail and set the pattern for all rock festivals to follow.


A Look Back At Monterey Pop, 50 Years Later

In the 21st century, destination music festivals seem like a dime a dozen. But just 50 years ago, there was only one: the Monterey International Pop Festival, which featured more than 30 artists and bands playing over the course of three days in the summer of 1967.

Monterey Pop set the template for all the huge rock festivals that would follow — Woodstock, Coachella, Bonnaroo and all the rest — and its influence would spread even further via a documentary, Monterey Pop, that was helmed by D.A. Pennebaker and would set a gold standard for concert films.

The festival's star-studded lineup reads like a who's who of rock royalty, but four names rise to the top of any conversation about the festival. There was Janis Joplin. ("When she sang, all of her sang," Pennebaker remembers.) The Who left the audience in awe after Pete Townshend concluded "My Generation" by smashing his guitar. As for Otis Redding, "the power and the feeling in his voice was something that a lot of us had never seen before," photographer Henry Diltz says.

Finally, there was Jimi Hendrix, who threw his guitar down onstage and doused it with Ronson lighter fluid. "Then [he] lights it, and then leans back in this sacrificial rite of giving his guitar to the gods," photographer Tom Gundelfinger O'Neal remembers. "One of the most iconic rock 'n' roll moments in musical history."

The musicians who weren't playing were watching Hendrix, transfixed, from behind the curtains at the side of the stage, says Grace Slick, who performed at Monterey Pop with Jefferson Airplane. "We hadn't seen a lot of these people. And everybody was just blown away by Jimi Hendrix in particular, because we hadn't seen him live. But we were amazed at each other."

Those three days of rock communion were initially conceived as a one-day affair. Two promoters, Alan Pariser and Ben Shapiro, were booking musicians for an all-day event at the same fairgrounds that hosted the storied Monterey Jazz Festival. But then record producer Lou Adler got wind of the project.

"Rock 'n' roll was not considered an art form," Adler says. "So when this idea came up to possibly do this at the same venue that had jazz festivals, we thought this might be the chance for that validation."

Adler and his partner — John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas — took over. Planning did not get off to a smooth start: Though the idea for the festival had always been to showcase a wide range of musicians, the psychedelic bands from San Francisco wanted nothing to do with the more commercial pop musicians from Los Angeles. Those meetings that took place in San Francisco, Adler says, "pretty much almost came to blows."

On top of that, local authorities in Monterey were starting to get cold feet over the prospect of their town being overrun by hippies. To smooth things over, Phillips wrote a song, "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)." The song was an instant hit and broke through to the Top 10 charts in the United States.

In the meantime, ABC TV put up a $200,000 advance to get a film made about Monterey Pop for its new "Movie of the Week" series. Pennebaker, fresh off the success of his Bob Dylan documentary Don't Look Back, was hired to make it.

"Usually I just did my films by myself," Pennebaker says. "The idea of having to do a concert film with four or five or six cameramen was something I never even thought about doing before." As a result, Monterey Pop was made by "kinda letting everybody go out and do whatever they thought a concert film should be."

Drugs were everywhere at Monterey Pop, as was par for the course in the '60s and the Summer of Love. In fact, Los Angeles band The Association kicked off the festival with "Along Comes Mary," a thinly veiled salute to marijuana. But the festival wasn't what the Monterey police force expected.

"It didn't take long for them to have flowers in their hair and in their helmets and flowers on their guns," Adler says. "The changeover from what they were told was going to happen to what actually happened in Monterey was very special."

Most of the Monterey Pop musicians played for free, with ticket proceeds going to charity. A foundation set up for the festival still donates royalties from any Monterey-related releases and from Pennebaker's documentary, which was released in theaters the following year. However, Monterey Pop never aired on ABC, the network that bankrolled it — a decision made by Tom Moore, the head of ABC at the time and, according to Adler, "a very conservative Southern gentleman."

"We showed him Jimi Hendrix fornicating with his amp and we said, 'What do you think?' " Adler recalls. "And he said, 'Keep the money and get out.' He said, 'Not on my network.' "

In celebration of the festival's 50th anniversary, a restored version of Monterey Pop will be released in theaters across the country Friday, and this weekend artists like Norah Jones, Regina Spektor and Kurt Vile will take to the same fairgrounds to celebrate the momentous festival whose influence can still be felt half a century on.


[www.npr.org]


plexi

A fantastic lineup with a very low turnout.

Friday, June 16th

The Association
The Paupers
Lou Rawls
Beverley
Johnny Rivers
Eric Burdon and The Animals
Simon & Garfunkel

Saturday, June 17th

Canned Heat
Big Brother and the Holding Company
Country Joe and the Fish
Al Kooper
The Butterfield Blues Band
The Electric Flag
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Steve Miller Band
Moby Grape
Hugh Masekela
The Byrds
Laura Nyro
Jefferson Airplane
Booker T. & the M.G.'s
The Mar-Keys
Otis Redding

Sunday, June 18th

Ravi Shankar
The Blues Project
Big Brother and the Holding Company
The Group With No Name
Buffalo Springfield (played w/ David Crosby)
The Who
Grateful Dead
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Scott McKenzie
The Mamas & the Papas

Several acts were also notable for their non-appearance.

The Beach Boys, who had been involved in the conception of the event[25] and were at one point scheduled to headline and close the show, failed to perform. This resulted from a number of issues plaguing the group. Carl Wilson was in a feud with officials for his refusal to be drafted into military service during the Vietnam War. The group's new, radical album Smile had recently been aborted, with band leader Brian Wilson in a depressed state and unwilling to perform (he hadn't performed live with the group since late 1964, although he would do so in Honolulu, Hawaii in August 1967). Since Smile had not been released, the group felt their older material would not go over well. The cancellation permanently damaged their reputation and popularity in the US, which would contribute to their replacement album Smiley Smile charting lower than any other of their previous album releases.

The Beatles were rumored to appear because of the involvement of their press officer Derek Taylor, but they declined, since their music had become too complex to be performed live. Instead, at the instigation of Paul McCartney, the festival booked The Who and the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

The Kinks were invited but could not get a work visa to enter the US because of a dispute with the American Federation of Musicians.

Donovan was refused a visa to enter the United States because of a 1966 drug bust.

Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band was also invited to appear but, according to the liner notes for the CD reissue of their album Safe as Milk, the band turned the offer down at the insistence of guitarist Ry Cooder, who felt the group was not ready. However, Cooder has also claimed that at a warm-up show several days before, Beefheart refused to sing and jumped off the stage, leaving the band to play a mostly instrumental set. The guitarist said this was the reason he refused to play.

Dionne Warwick and The Impressions were advertised on some of the early posters for the event, but Warwick dropped out because of a conflict in booking that weekend. She was booked at the Fairmont Hotel; the hotel was reluctant to release her and it was thought that cancelling that appearance would negatively affect her career.

Bob Dylan did receive an invitation, but he declined due to the fact that he was still recovering from his motorcycle accident the previous year. Hendrix paid tribute to him by covering "Like a Rolling Stone".

The Mothers of Invention were invited to perform, but their leader Frank Zappa declined because of his refusal to share the stage with any of the San Francisco bands who he felt were inferior.

Even though the logo for the band Kaleidoscope is seen in the film as a pink sign just below the stage, the band did not perform at the Monterey Festival.

Although The Rolling Stones did not play, guitarist and founder Brian Jones attended and appeared on stage to introduce Hendrix. The group was on the short list of invitees, but was unable to get work visas because of the drug arrests of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

It was long rumored that Love had declined an invitation to Woodstock, but Mojo Magazine later confirmed that it was the Monterey Festival they had rejected.

The promoters also invited several Motown artists to perform and even were going to give the label's artists their own slot. However, Berry Gordy refused to let any of his acts appear, even though Smokey Robinson was on the board of directors.

The Monkees were the biggest-selling musical act in the United States in 1967 and were seriously considered to play, but after weeks of deliberation, John Phillips and Lou Adler decided not to invite them. However, group members Micky Dolenz (in full American Indian buckskins and headdress) and Peter Tork attended the festival and mingled with musicians backstage. Tork was asked to introduce Buffalo Springfield, his favorite group, for their set. Tork also introduced Lou Rawls and was involved in a bizarre incident where he walked out onstage in the middle of the Grateful Dead's set to try to stop fans from climbing on stage and dancing. Tork also informed the crowd that The Beatles were not at the festival in disguise.

According to Eric Clapton, Cream did not perform because the band's manager wanted to make a bigger splash for their American debut later that year. However, it has since been revealed that the band were not considered by the festival organizers.

The Doors also were not invited, even though they were a successful group by this time. Keyboardist Ray Manzarek later said “We were quite angry wondering why The Association was at the Monterey Pop Festival, and The Doors were not”.

From Wiki.

"Micky Dolenz (in full American Indian buckskins and headdress)"



More here: [1960smusicmagazines.com]


"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"

It seems kind of a mistake that The Beatles didn't perform there, because they thought their music had become too complex to play live. That only relates to the recent Sgt. Pepper, and maybe certain tracks from Revolver, or the recent singles Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane. They could have played plenty from their catalogue, up to Paperback Writer/Rain -- but I suppose they would have risked being perceived as an oldies act if they had. Still, a missed opportunity -- for once, they would have had a decent sound system, with the audience actually listening to what they played, in addition to being able to hear themselves play. They might have reconsidered their retirement from touring and gained a solid reputation as a live act -- which is one aspect Beatles detractors always like to hammer away at, that they were supposedly not particularly strong in performance. But at least it gave Hendrix and the Who a chance to break through to the U.S. market.

That Manzarek comment was funny, about The Association being invited and not The Doors. Well, let's see now... By that point The Association had already had a #1 single (Cherish) as well as a top 10 (Along Comes Mary) the year before, plus two albums. Their brand of "sunshine pop" was a perfect fit for the event and the times, whereas the Doors were still a month away from topping the charts with Light My Fire. When planning for the Monterey Festival, The Doors might have been moderately "successful", but they were far from well known. Then again, The Doors were on Elektra Records, a label that had only very recently begun crossing over into pop. On the list of performers, the only Elektra act I see is The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Love was the first rock band Elektra signed, and they were more successful than the Doors at the time, having released a number of singles and two albums -- no Love at Monterey either.

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Cristiano Radtke

Jimi: "Do you know why I won't let you touch my guitars Brian?" "Cause' you keep picking your nose."

That pix of Micky Dolenz is hilarious. That the Mamas and Papas and Scott McKenzie are listed as closing out the festival tells much about what became of the "counterculture".

Surprising that the movie didn't hit the theaters until early 1969, more than a year and a half after it was filmed. Woodstock and Gimme Shelter both had far shorter gestation periods, if I remember correctly.

Monterey Pop was a week after the largely overlooked Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival. That's were the Captain Beefheart/Ry Cooder dispute happened, hence no Montery for the Captain; what a missed chance!!
Info on Magic Mountain festival:

[en.wikipedia.org]

German TV was there, but only a short clip exists:

[www.youtube.com]

Pics of the Magic Band:

[www.youtube.com]

Thanks for the links, Rank Stranger. My, how time flies.

From an ARTE documentary on San Francisco ~ a couple of years ago a clip on the Magic Mountain Festival and more in better quality than the link above:

[wetransfer.com]

Link will be deleted on June 25th.

relatedly:
Otis Redding: An Unfinished Life Hardcover – May 16, 2017
by Jonathan Gould (Author)
[www.amazon.com]

I haven't read this yet, but a fairly generous several pages are available as a free preview at this site.

"The musicians who weren't playing were watching Hendrix, transfixed, from behind the curtains at the side of the stage, says Grace Slick, who performed at Monterey Pop with Jefferson Airplane. "We hadn't seen a lot of these people. And everybody was just blown away by Jimi Hendrix in particular, because we hadn't seen him live. But we were amazed at each other."

Also, most of us had never seen Ravi Shankar before and his performance was also a revelation and well received by the crowd.

Janis, Jimi, Otis, Who yeah, but Canned Heat launched themselves after a great set here.

I wasn't there but the film is very evocative and there are many good YouTube posts as tasters for the film

Was lucky enough to visit the site a few years back and it's still there in all its pristine glory. But it's far smaller than I imagined, especially bearing in mind that they could easily have got a crowd of 50,000 had the event happened in Golden Gate Park.

Luckily I even got to walk on the stage and unleashed my inner Hendrix. Ha.

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The Sicilian

Bob Dylan did receive an invitation, but he declined due to the fact that he was still recovering from his motorcycle accident the previous year. Hendrix paid tribute to him by covering "Like a Rolling Stone".


From Wiki.

Ver unlikely as Hendrix was covering the song as early as Feb.67. It's probably just a coincidence not a tribute.

ALO at Monterey 50 years on.




"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-06-20 23:07 by Deltics.

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dcba

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The Sicilian

Bob Dylan did receive an invitation, but he declined due to the fact that he was still recovering from his motorcycle accident the previous year. Hendrix paid tribute to him by covering "Like a Rolling Stone".


From Wiki.

Ver unlikely as Hendrix was covering the song as early as Feb.67. It's probably just a coincidence not a tribute.

I was thinking today about another "tribute" that Jimi played at Monterey...when he played a snippet of "Strangers In The Night" in the middle of his cover of "Wild Thing."

I guess because Frank Sinatra was the founder of his U.S. record label, Reprise.



Oldham now looks like a bearded Larry David.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-06-21 19:11 by loog droog.

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loog droog

Oldham now looks like a bearded Larry David.

Reminded me of George Carlin.

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Silver Dagger
Was lucky enough to visit the site a few years back and it's still there in all its pristine glory. But it's far smaller than I imagined, especially bearing in mind that they could easily have got a crowd of 50,000 had the event happened in Golden Gate Park.

Luckily I even got to walk on the stage and unleashed my inner Hendrix. Ha.

It was the site of my first concert in 1974: Chuck Berry. The king/father of rock n roll at an iconic historical site.


plexi

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loog droog

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dcba

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The Sicilian

Bob Dylan did receive an invitation, but he declined due to the fact that he was still recovering from his motorcycle accident the previous year. Hendrix paid tribute to him by covering "Like a Rolling Stone".


From Wiki.

Ver unlikely as Hendrix was covering the song as early as Feb.67. It's probably just a coincidence not a tribute.

I was thinking today about another "tribute" that Jimi played at Monterey...when he played a snippet of "Strangers In The Night" in the middle of his cover of "Wild Thing."

I guess because Frank Sinatra was the founder of his U.S. record label, Reprise.



Oldham now looks like a bearded Larry David.

oh is that Oldham in the pic with Brian? I wonder why he would have been there for the 50th when the Stones did not play the festival.


plexi

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timbernardis


oh is that Oldham in the pic with Brian? I wonder why he would have been there for the 50th when the Stones did not play the festival.

Oldham and Mick were on the Board of Governors

[montereyinternationalpopfestival.com]

Lou Adler coming up with the title of the Flowers album was another result of this association.

Strange that Brian, who of course had recently been busted 'was able' to attend but not Mick and/or Keith.

Of all the musicians Paul Simon seems to be the one who has maintained his creativity and profile the most.

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jlowe
Strange that Brian, who of course had recently been busted 'was able' to attend but not Mick and/or Keith.

Of all the musicians Paul Simon seems to be the one who has maintained his creativity and profile the most.

Busted but not yet convicted.
He was arrested in May but didn't go to trial until the end of October when he received a nine month prison sentence which was later changed to three years probation.
[www.theguardian.com]


"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-06-23 00:01 by Deltics.

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Deltics

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jlowe
Strange that Brian, who of course had recently been busted 'was able' to attend but not Mick and/or Keith.

Of all the musicians Paul Simon seems to be the one who has maintained his creativity and profile the most.

Busted but not yet convicted.
He was arrested in May but didn't go to trial until the end of October when he received a nine month prison sentence which was later changed to three years probation.
[www.theguardian.com]

As far as I recall Mick and Keith had not been convicted, I believe their trial took place end of July.

Of course Keith never had much time for the peace and love movement..so wouldn't have thought he was that interested in attending the festival.
One final opportunity for Brian to be centre stage (sort of).
And of course take some new(ish) drugs: STP and DMT.

CBS Sunday Morning TV show - Excellent VIDEO: [www.cbsnews.com]







another VIDEO: [www.cbsnews.com]


CBS Sunday Morning TV show preview - Filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker captured the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival, featuring such immortal acts as Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, in a landmark documentary, "Monterey Pop." Now, 50 years after the "Summer of Love" music celebration, the recently-restored film is being re-released in theatres.

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jlowe

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Deltics

Quote
jlowe
Strange that Brian, who of course had recently been busted 'was able' to attend but not Mick and/or Keith.

Of all the musicians Paul Simon seems to be the one who has maintained his creativity and profile the most.

Busted but not yet convicted.
He was arrested in May but didn't go to trial until the end of October when he received a nine month prison sentence which was later changed to three years probation.
[www.theguardian.com]

As far as I recall Mick and Keith had not been convicted, I believe their trial took place end of July.

Of course Keith never had much time for the peace and love movement..so wouldn't have thought he was that interested in attending the festival.
One final opportunity for Brian to be centre stage (sort of).
And of course take some new(ish) drugs: STP and DMT.

Mick and Marianne were in Morocco at the same time that Brian was in California.
Don't know what Keith was up to.
Mick and Keith's trial was at the end of June.
[www.timeisonourside.com]


"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-06-23 00:30 by Deltics.

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The Sicilian

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loog droog

Oldham now looks like a bearded Larry David.

Reminded me of George Carlin.

Or that guy from Jordan's Furniture.