Rock & Roll never forgets The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead decided to do a free thank you concert in late 1969, so on Dec. 6, 1969 they held their concert at the Altamont Speedway in Altamont Ca. Also on the bill were The Flying Burrito Brothers, Santana and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The show didnt end up as they planned. The Hells Angels were hired for security instead of local police. The Angels did it for $500.00 in beer. Things quickly got out of hand. Members of The Jefferson Airplane were punched on stage and the Grateful Dead refused to play. There were over 300,000 people in attendance. Four people lost their lives including Meredith Hunter, who was stabbed to death by the Angels. It was a terrible way to end the 60s. The Altamont concert is often contrasted with the Woodstock festival that took place less than four months earlier. While Woodstock represented peace and love, Altamont came to be viewed as the end of the hippie era and the de facto conclusion of late-1960s American youth culture. Altamont became, whether fairly or not, a symbol for the death of the Woodstock Nation. Rock music critic Robert Christgau wrote in 1972 that Writers focus on Altamont not because it brought on the end of an era but because it provided such a complex metaphor for the way an era ended. RIP to those who died 45 years ago today. https://youtube/watch?v=Dt0ipUCfdlU
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 23:21:20 +0000
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