Monterey Pop Festival
Background
The Monterey International Pop Festival was the first large rock concert of the era . Taking place in Monterey, California in 1967, the event started on June 16th and lasted for three days. Never before had there been an attendance of such magnitude at any musical event, and the festival set a precedent for other concerts in the coming decade. A number of bands and artists that went on to become very famous made their debuts at the Monterey Pop Festival, including Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and Otis Redding. The public was not only introduced to new artists, but was introduced to a new way of viewing a style of music that was rapidly growing in popularity.
The Monterey International Pop Festival was the first large rock concert of the era . Taking place in Monterey, California in 1967, the event started on June 16th and lasted for three days. Never before had there been an attendance of such magnitude at any musical event, and the festival set a precedent for other concerts in the coming decade. A number of bands and artists that went on to become very famous made their debuts at the Monterey Pop Festival, including Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and Otis Redding. The public was not only introduced to new artists, but was introduced to a new way of viewing a style of music that was rapidly growing in popularity.
major Performers at Monterey
Otis Redding
A departure from the rock and blues of the festival, Otis Redding was the only major R&B artist that performed. Before the festival, Redding had been playing for predominately black audiences. Monterey provided Redding with an opportunity to enhance his fame among white people, and his performance did just that. In particular, his singing of "respect" and "satisfaction" earned him quite a reputation. Though Redding died only six months after the festival, it was very significant that a black performer had been so well received by a white audience, which created many new opportunities for African-American musicians in the period (http://atyourlibrary.org/culture/music-love-and-flowers-commemorating-monterey-pop-festival). |
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Janis Joplin
Particularly in her performance of "Ball and Chain" (seen to the left), rising female singer Janis Joplin was able to attain national attention for her group, Big Brother and the Holding Company. Not only did this seal the band a record deal with the well-known Columbia Record Company, but it presented the possibility of successful female singers in the rock industry, which before the festival was unheard of. (http://temporalanthropology.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-first-monterey-international-pop.html). |
The Who
The Monterey Pop Festival was the first major American performance for the British rock group. Members of The Who, namely guitarist Pete Townshend, knew the event would be a "critical concert" for the band's success in America (http://ultimateclassicrock.com/pete-townshend-jimi-hendrix-negotiating-monterey/). For this reason, Townshend insisted they play before Hendrix, to which Hendrix responded, "What you really mean is that you don't want me to go on first. You want to be first up there with the guitar smashing" (http://montereyinternationalpopfestival.com/showtime/the-who/). It was known to both musicians that they shared similar plans for instrument-destroying acts. With a flip of a coin, it was determined that The Who would play first. With the smashing of their instruments came a wild reputation in America that the group would always bear. (http://temporalanthropology.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-first-monterey-international-pop.html). |
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Jimi Hendrix
After losing a coin-toss to Pete Townshend of The Who, Hendrix reluctantly followed them in the program for the third day of the festival. In an attempt to one-up the Who's smashing of their instruments, Hendrix poured lighter fluid on his guitar, set it on fire, and bashed it to pieces at the end of his playing of "Wild Thing" (http://ultimateclassicrock.com/pete-townshend-jimi-hendrix-negotiating-monterey/). Only having played in small venues before Monterey, this action and its legacy contributed hugely to Hendrix's increasing popularity in America (http://atyourlibrary.org/culture/music-love-and-flowers-commemorating-monterey-pop-festival). |
Entire Program
Day one
Day one
- The Association
- The Paupers
- Lou Rawls
- Beverly
- Johnny Rivers
- Eric Burdon and The Animals
- Simon and Garfunkel
- 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
- Otis Redding
- Ravi Shankar
- The Blues Project
- Big Brother and the Holding Company
- The Group With No Name
- Buffalo Springfield
- The Who
- The Grateful Dead
- The Jimi Hendrix Experience
- Scott McKenzie
- The Mamas & the Papas
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Behind the Scenes
For the festival to be the success that it was, tremendous organization was needed. It was put together by producers Lou Adler, John Phillips, Alan Pariser, and Derek Taylor, as a way to show the world that "rock was real music and not just noise" (http://temporalanthropology.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-first-monterey-international-pop.html). A huge amount of medical staff and private security were on hand constantly, and also a staff of trained volunteers whose job it was to deal with problems caused by psychedelic drugs (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-monterey-pop-festival-reaches-its-climax). |