First there was love and music. Then there was love, music, and a lot of drugs. Lastly there was love, music, a lot more drugs, and death…
The ugly turn was taken at the Altamont Speedway during a festival promoting free rock music and peace all around. The festival soon turned from carefree to tragedy with one lick of the guitar. The whole idea around the Altamont Speedway music festival was the idea of the ever so present Rolling Stones. The Stones being a rock band, who wanted to, in a way, mimic the basic idea of its predecessors, the Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock. The idea that the people of the time weren’t about fighting and violence; they were all about loving oneself, loving one another, and most importantly, loving the music. Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones lead singer, expresses his views on what they believe will be what people will conceive from this festival, he states, “Its creating a sort of a microcosmic society…it sets an example to the rest of America, as to how one can believe in nice gatherings.” (Remember A Day: Altamont) The Stones saw the positive effect these gatherings had on the people and they also saw the amount that the publicity improved for the performers. So they assembled some of the most prolific bands of the time and chose to put themselves as the headliners. They booked acts such as Santana, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. What could go wrong? You have all the ingredients for a great music festival; you’ve got great music, loving people, loving peaceful time, and it’s free to whoever attends. Although that’s not all that was added. I forgot the main ingredient for this heaven turned hell, I forgot to add the security services of the Hells Angels.
Boylen, 2
The so-called mastermind of the festival was Mick Jagger. He decided to employ the Hells Angels as security since he had previously had good luck with them while doing a free concert in London. Also the Grateful Dead had acquired the help of the Hells Angels before and all went off without a hitch. There was something different about these angels; “ they were notorious for their violent nature and their excessive drug use.” (Remember A Day: Altamont) with this in mind, Rolling Stones road manager, Sam Culter, decided to do his part to maybe calm down the angels. So he bought them $500 in beer (wh...
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...r the stage and fell and one man over-dosed on drugs. Throughout this whole festival there were only three main problems that hindered it from being perfect; the lack of sanitary facilities, numerous reports of people jumping fences to gain access, and the catastrophic traffic jam that took place when it was over. All in all, Woodstock did a wonderful job of getting the points across they feel that needed to be addressed. Nobody really wants violence and nobody will be around violence if they are not put into a violent atmosphere. The Monterey Pop Festival proved it. Woodstock proved it. If only Altamont could of followed in theirs footsteps, who knows where music would be today. One can only imagine.
Works Cited
Altamont. 23 Mar 2000. www.visi.com/~astanley/rad/altamont.html.
Monterey. 23 Mar 2000. www.visi.com/~astanley/rad/monterey.html.
Woodstock. 23Mar 2000. www.visi.com/~astanley/rad/woodstoc.html.
1969 Woodstock Festival & Concert - How Woodstock Happened. 23 Mar 2000. http://www.woodstock69.com/wsrpnt.htm. Woodstock At 25. 23Mar 2000. http://www.publiccom.com/14850/9407/coverstory.html.
Introduction. 23 Mar 2000. www.visi.com/~astanley/rad/intro.html.
After the long wait to get in you found your seat and waited for the group who was first. You would figure that know one would be doing any drugs due to the search before you got in there, but I was wrong not even ten minutes before the show you could smell the pot in the air. That was one of the few things wrong with this wild and crazy concert. After it was over that was all you smelled like and you were feeling the contact buzz as it felt like things were moving in slow motion.
... around famous band. They were an icon to the U.S by trying to send a message in their music that says drugs aren't bad, to the people. Jerry Garcia was a main part in this band and they wouldn't have been this successful without him. The Grateful Dead made rock and roll history from all of these points.
Woodstock started out as the brainstorm of a pig farmer name Max Yasgur. He owned a 600 acre farm in Bethel (White Lake) New York, and offered it free of charge to promote a rock/folk concert dedicated to three days of peace and music. He did this after learning that the town of Woodstock, New York turned down the offer because they didn’t want 60,000 hippies and acid heads converging on their town. Why the festival kept the name “Woodstock” is still a mystery to this day. Woodstock does have a better ring to it than the “Bethel Music Festival”.
...eir surf like music, and sixties pop. They also introduced influential harmonies. From August 15th through the 17th of 1969, a music festival called Woodstock was held on a 600 acre dairy farm in New York. Over 300,000 people were in attendance. Tickets were free of charge, and the festival was also known as “three days of peace and music”. Performers included Richie Havens, Bert Sommer, Joan Baez, Quill, Santana, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Crocker, and so many more talented musicians.
Before 1963, the music being played in the 60’s were closely reflecting the sound, style, and belief of the decades before. After 1963, many social influences changed what peopled were viewing as popular music. The assassination of Kennedy, war in Vietnam, and the Civil Rights Movement all greatly impacted the mood of American culture and how the music began to reflect change. The “British Invasion” was a time period in which many British bands and artists came to the United States, and excelled extremely well. The most famous of these bands were “The Beetles,” who would eventually go down in history as one of the most famous bands in history. At the height of the music industry in the 60’s, one single event changed American music forever. Woodstock was a three-day concert full of sex, drugs, and a lot of hippies. The organizers were only expecting about 50,000 people to show up. To their surprise, more than 400,000 appeared at the infamous dairy farm in New York. With artists like Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, many were drawn to witness this phenomenon. This festival is widely known as the definitive moment for the larger counter-culture generation. The 60’s drastically revolutionized music in a way that shaped music into the powerhouse that it is for generations to
After many of World War II’s harmful effects, the 1950s served as a period of time of musical change that reflected the dynamic of society as well as the traditional norms and values. Many factors contributed to this transformation. For example, the civil rights movement heightened many racial tensions, and the music produced consequently manifested this tension in itself. Rock-n-roll and R&B music universalized music typically associated with African-Americans, and many African-American musicians gained fame; however, as with any relatively-widespread success, there were many musicians as well who missed their opportunities due to the same racial segregation. While “radical” genres such as R&B and rock-n-roll laid the foundation for music future forms of music, the standard pop, jazz, and country music adhered to traditional values, and thus continued to maintain popularity amidst phenomena such as the Elvis craze.
II. Second I will tell you with more detail the numerous events of the 60’s that shaped the way the music industry was ran and the way rock music sounded.
Beginning with the late 1960’s counterculture in San Francisco, music and drugs will forever be inter-linked. Hippie bands such as the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, and Phish are associated with marijuana, mushrooms, and LSD. Modern electronic “rave” , or club music is associated with MDMA or Ecstasy. When one thinks of rock and roll, sex and drugs immediately come to mind. While the use of drugs is not essential for the creation or performance of all new music, it was certainly in important factor for the counterculture music of the late 1960’s. While some of the most important and influential music was made with the help of psychoactive drugs, it was often to the detriment of the artist. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and countless other tremendously talented artists had their lives cut short due to drug use. Drugs were most often good for the music, but deadly for the music makers.
Music can be traced back into human history to prehistoric eras. To this day archeologists uncover fragments of ancient instruments as well as tablets with carved lyrics buried alongside prominent leaders and highly influential people. This serves as a testament to the importance and power of music, as well as its influence in society. Over its many years of existence, music’s powerful invocation of feelings has allowed it to evolve and serve many purposes, one being inspiring change. American journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson once said, “Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel.” This fuel is the very things that powers the influence of Rock ‘n’ Roll on American society, that author Glenn C. Altschuler writes about in his book, “All Shook Up – How Rock ‘n’ Roll Changed America.” Between 1945 and 1965 Rock ‘n’ Roll transformed American society and culture by helping to ease racial integration and launch a sexual revolution while most importantly developing an intergenerational identity.
In 1967, summer of love in San Francisco there were people traveling from across the world to go to Haight-Ashbury street to join the huge crowd. To listen to bands play while going wild. Taking drugs, having sex, dancing to music, people fighting for what’s right. During that year summer lasted a year long and not a lot of people complained. With what happened, there were multiple of things that had an impact on American society and culture, hippie movement became a trend, there were drugs, and music.
Rock and Roll has the most incredible history. Before there was rock and roll, there was blues. Most people think rock music started with Elvis Presley, but he didn’t record his first single until 1953. The first recorded song described as “Genuine Rock-and-Roll” was “Rocket ’88” by pianist Ike Turner and singer Jackie Brenston in 1951. Rock-and-Roll music in the 1950’s was described as a mixture of jazz, blues, country, and has a stronger guitar, bass, and drums. (A&E Biography Channel UK “SAM PHILLIPS The man who Invented Rock & Roll”. 1 Feb. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2013) Over time what was first described as “Rock and Roll” has changed drastically, and will continue to change over time. Even though some people feel Pop has the best history, Rock and Roll really does. It has actually impacted more people’s lives than any other genre, it unites people from all over the world in a positive way, and influenced media culture by breaking down walls no one else had.
Some could say dance events are just as fun sober as they are on something. Some could say substances enhance an individual’s festival experience. Either of these opinions could be right, but what remains a fact is that substances are indeed, in one way or another, deeply involved with music. It is not because of the music itself, however influential it may seem, but rather the choice of fans that has caused this. Everyone wants to have a great experience at a music festival. If they are offered a greater experience, then of course they will be open-minded. Although substances may be an experience for some, they may be the divider between life and death for others. From alcohol poisoning at Toby Keith shows and meth use at Metallica concerts, substance abuse has proven to be something widespread and dangerous throughout music festivals (Baca, par. 8). Society can make substances a taboo, say ...
The rise of rock and roll into the limelight is to a large extent attributed to the teenagers of the 1950’s. Early rock music listened to by teenagers during the 1950’s was formed by blending together Rhythm and blues with country music. This kind of ...
Many people and many styles of music influenced Rock and Roll. The styles included Blues, Jazz, Gospel, Bluegrass, Boogie-Woogie, and Rockabilly. Each was a major factor into the introduction of a new style of music called Rock ‘N’ Roll.
Along with the peak of several movements music began to reach a point of climax. Rock specifically began to flourish in the 1960’s, while expressing the voice of the liberated generation. It is the power of such trends that overall lead to what is known as the greatest music festival of all time: Woodstock Music and Art Fair. The festival started on August 15, 1969 on Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York. Appealing to the time period, Woodstock was designed to be Three Days of Peace and Music. However, many argue that it was more than just a musical art fair of peace, but a historically significant event that shifted American culture. While some regard Woodstock as the beginning of a cultural advancement and the end of a naïve era, others view it as ridiculous hippy festival infested with illegal drug usage. Woodstock cost over $2.4 million and attracted over 450,000 people (Tiber, 1). Despite the debate of whether Woodstock produced a positive or negative effect, it is clear that a note worthy impact was made. When discussing the overall impact of Woodstock it is important to look at the influences and creative plan and the positive and negative effects produced from the festival.