Gimme Shelter/Altamont

In December of 1969 the Rollings Stones put on a free concert at Altamont Speedway in Tracy California. Amongst the opening acts were Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Crosby Stills, Nash and Young, and Santana.  The Hell's Angels were in charge of the security for the concert but didn't do a very good job of it.  when Jefferson Airplane took the stage fighting broke out in the crowd, and Marty Balin was knocked out by a Hell's Angel. When the Flying Burrito Brothers were singing Six Days On The Road, Gram Parsons had to tell the crowd to stop fighting. Once the Stones started playing, the mood of the audience didn't change.  Mick couldn't even get through a song without having to stop and tell the audience to cool it. You could tell he was really pissed off.  The Altamont concert just proved to be a disaster especially after an 18 year old in the audience was stabbed to death by a Hell's Angel.  Anyway you can see all of this on the documentary film Gimme Shelter.  I was not much of a Rolling Stones fan before I watched this film. I only heard a couple of their songs, but after watching it, the Rolling Stones became my favorite band and still are.  So if you haven't seen Gimme Shelter I definitely recommend watching it.

 

photos-Robert Altman, William L.Rukeyster, Ethan Russell

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

"There were only four people who knew what the Beatles were about anyway."
-Paul McCartney

"Chaos is a friend of mine."

-Bob Dylan

"We were pretty good mates until the Beatles started to split up and Yoko came into it. It was more like old army buddies splitting up on account of wedding bells."
-Paul McCartney

"To me, as long as we've known each other, I've always thought Mick's most brilliant thing was that he could work in an area two foot square and give a very exciting performance."
-Keith Richards

'The movement you need is on your shoulder.'

"I love John's songs, In the Beatles if you said it was one of your songs, it basically meant it was your idea. So Eleanor Rigby was my song, but John helped me finish it. A Day In The Life was his song, but I helped him finish it. He came up with 'I read the news today' and I came up with 'he blew his mind out in a car.'"
-Paul McCartney

" She's all around me, you know. And everybody I know knows her and remembers her. And so I talk a lot about her."

-Paul McCartney

"A Friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself."

-Jim Morrison

photos-Barrie Wentzall, Bob Gruen, Last.fm, Fanpix, Morrison Hotel Gallery, Flickr, David Bailey

Grievous Angel

Today is Gram Parson's Birthday, the king of alt-country. Most people don't know who he is, and his music is often overlooked. But I listen to it everyday. The first Gram Parson's song I heard was Love Hurts. I love the harmony with Emmylou and the pedal steel guitar. After hearing this song Ive been listing to him ever since. Gram Parsons Was once a member of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, which he formed with Chris Hillman But I think Gram was at his best singing with Emmylou Harris.

Nudie Suits!

photos-last.fm, fanpix