The Fat Angel Sings

Today in 1967 : The first Monterey International Pop festival begins at the County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. It was the first of major Rock festival, with The Who, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and The Animals plus many others performing. It was the beginning of the “Summer of Love.”
This video will take you back there. How many bands do you recognize “Monterey” written & performed by Eric Burdon & THE Animals with a slideshow of the Monterey Pop Festival episode…

Held at the Monterey County Fairgrounds, over the middle weekend of June, from 16 – 18 June 1967. The Monterey Pop Festival attracted around 200,000 people, although not all at the same time, to what was the first major rock festival in America. It was organised by Lou Adler, John Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas and Derek Taylor, the former Beatles publicist, and their ambition was to create an event that was multi-cultural, multi-national and multi-styled in the music that was performed. It was truly a ‘first’ and it can be considered the premier event of the Summer of Love’; one at which everything seemed to work and about which nothing bad has ever been written.

In particular Monterey helped launch the careers of many performers, catapulting them from local, or relative obscurity, into the forefront of American and worldwide awareness. Today it’s easy to forget that before Monterey Jimi Hendrix had not had a hit record in America. Neither had The Who managed to get a record into the Billboard Top 20 and only one of their four minor hits had got higher than No.51; nor was Otis Redding very well known among white audiences. Rolling Stone, Brian Jones was there according to one report he was, “In a mind shattering gold lame coat festooned with beads, crystal swastika & lace, looked like a kind of unofficial King of the Festival” Brian Jones was the king of Hippie-chic

Otis Redding Live at the Monterey Pop Festival 1967 Press attention from around the world, and particularly the music press alerted fans to what was happening, but it wasn’t until the end of 1968 that people were able to see the documentary made by D.A Pennebaker – for most people this was the first time that they actually saw Jimi Hendrix set fire to his Stratocaster. It has not had the effect of the Woodstock movie, which could be put down to the fact that the commercial precepts were less well developed at this point.

Performances from the Monterey Pop Festival not released on the original documentary by D.A. Pennebaker. Nearly two hours of bonus footage from the Criterion Collection release of Monterey. The Festival that marked the beginning of the summer of love and spurred one of musics most creative and influential era’s. This includes performances by:

The Association- “Along Comes Mary”
Simon and Garfunkel- “Homeward Bound” 3:55 “Sound of Silence” 6:46
Country Joe and the Fish- “Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine” 10:00
Al Kooper- “Wake Me, Shake Me” 15:20
The Butterfield Blues Band- “Driftin’ Blues” 22:50
Quicksilver Messenger Service- “Dino’s Song” 27:34
The Electric Flag- “Wine” 30:51″
The Byrds- “Chimes of Freedom” 33:40 “He Was A Friend of Mine” 37:36 “Hey Joe” 40:30
Laura Nyro- “Poverty Train” 42:55
Jefferson Airplane- “Somebody To Love” 48:24
The Blues Project- “Flute Thing” 52:29
Big Brother and the Holding Co. w/ Janis Joplin “Combination of the Two” 1:03:07
The Buffalo Springfield- “For What It’s Worth” 1:08:57
The Who- “Substitute” 1:12:30 “Summertime Blues” 1:16:19 “A Quick One” 1:19:57
The Mamas and The Papas- “Straight Shooter” 1:28:14 “Somebody Groovy” 1:32:00 “I Call Your Name” 1:34:53
(Hilarious antics of Mama Cass) 1:38:46 “Monday, Monday” 1:40:36
Scott McKenzie- “San Francisco” 1:44:30
The Mamas and The Papas and Scott McKenzie- “Dancin’ in the Street” 1:48:05

The first American rock festival was held at Mount Tamalpais in California on the weekend of 10/11 June 1967 The week before Montery. Billed as the Fantasy Faire and Magic Mountain Music Festival it had an eclectic mix of performers ranging from Jefferson Airplane,The Doors, Country Joe & the fish and The Byrds to Dionne Warwick and Smokey Robinson. 15,000 people showed up for what was a non-profit event that cost just $2 to get in with all profits going to a nearby child care center.

While the Fantasy Faire was first Monterey is the festival that everyone remembers. With a line up that read like a who’s who in pop music – as in short for popular. Otis Redding got his first exposure to a rock audience and others on the bill included The Mamas & The Papas, Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin and Ravi Shanker. Captured on film it did much to enhance its reputation and the myth.