Monterey
International Pop Festival
16 - 18 June, 1967
The most memorable musical event of 1967 was the Monterey
International Pop Festival, held in the Californian sunshine over
three days between June 16th - 18th. If the "Summer of Love" was
largely a media construct, the good vibes at Monterey were definitely
for real. The Monterey city fathers, who had braced themselves for an
onslaught of debauched hooligans, were pleasantly surprised to see
thousands of well-mannered, neatly-groomed (most of then men weren't
even sporting shoulder-length hair) flower children milling peacefully
around the festival grounds.
Organized by record mogul Lou Adler and John Phillips of The Mamas
& The Papas, the festival attracted 50,000 fans and showcased the cream of the San Francisco
music scene, including The Grateful
Dead, Country Joe & The
Fish, Big
Brother & The Holding Company (featuring Janis
Joplin), Moby
Grape, Quicksilver Messenger
Service, Steve Miller Band and
Jefferson Airplane, who were currently
bringing some San Francisco magic to the charts with Somebody To
Love and White Rabbit, from the Surrealistic
Pillow LP.
The festival also fielded a diverse array of acts from around the
globe, including The Who, Ravi Shankar and
Jimi Hendrix. The latter, a
former sideman with Little Richard and
The Isley Brothers, had
transformed himself into a psychedelic guitar god during his recent
stay in England. Monterey marked the first time Jimi had performed for
an American audience since 1966, and he made it count; by the time his
set was finished, his Stratocaster was in ashes and the audience were
shaking their heads in disbelief.
Otis Redding also experienced a major breakthrough at Monterey. A
recording artist for the legendary Memphis record label, Stax (whose
roster included Rufus Thomas, Booker T & The
MGs, Eddie Floyd and Sam
& Dave), Otis specialized in down-home soul. Given the fair to
moderate pop success of singles like Try A Little Tenderness
and I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now), he was
completely unprepared for the ecstatic response he received from the
Monterey festival-goers.
Back home in Georgia after the festival, Otis
penned Sitting On
The Dock of the Bay as a heartfelt tribute to the San Francisco
"love crowd" that had made him feel so welcome. Sadly, he died in a
plane crash on December 10, just three days after recording the song.
Released in early 1968 it would become his first and only Number One
single.
The Beach Boys were supposed to headline the festival but Brian
Wilson backed out at the last minute. Neil Young quit
Buffalo
Springfield just prior to the show and David Crosby of The Byrds
filled in.
D.A. Pennebaker produced an excellent film of the Pop Festival
(imaginatively titled Monterey Pop), including classic
performances from Jimi Hendrix, The
Who and Janis Joplin with Big
Brother and the Holding Company. Several bands did not make it into
the movie including Buffalo
Springfield, The Byrds, Simon & Garfunkel
and The Grateful Dead.
TRIVIA NOTE
A planned 1968 Monterey International Pop Festival was cancelled
due to pressure from local government bodies. In the wake of the
cancellation, $52,000 was found to be missing from the previous year's
profits. The festival's bookkeeper, Mrs Sandra Beebe, was also
discovered to be missing without trace |
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