December 6, 1969
The Day the Music Died
The Altamont Speedway Free Festival was a one-day rock concert held in northern California, just east of the San Francisco Bay Area. The event took place on a rural pass between Tracy and my home town, Livermore.
It was meant to be another day of peace and love. Nicknamed "Woodstock West," the event was patterned after the highly successful Woodstock festival held four months earlier in Bethel, New York.
The Rolling Stones headlined and organized the event, which also featured, in order of appearance: Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The Grateful Dead were also scheduled to perform, but declined to participate when the mood turned violent.
Just a Shot Away
Peace, Love, and Tragedy with the Rolling Stones at Altamont
by Saul Austerlitz
Just a Shot Away: Peace, Love, and Tragedy with the Rolling Stones at Altamont
by Saul Austerlitz (New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, Rolling Stone)
by Saul Austerlitz (New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, Rolling Stone)
Author Saul Austerlitz
Hippie culture was devoted to the idea of the maximization of personal bliss. Music and drugs and sex were gateways to pleasure, the royal road to a gentler, kinder America.
Hippie culture was devoted to the idea of the maximization of personal bliss. Music and drugs and sex were gateways to pleasure, the royal road to a gentler, kinder America.
Peace, Love, and Tragedy
Despite the stellar talent onstage, the Altamont concert is remembered more for its violence than the music. Footage and photographs taken that day capture a lawless and disorderly crowd. Many of the 300,000 concert goers were fueled by LSD and amphetamines.
There were many injuries, and four deaths. A pregnant woman suffered a skull fracture and required emergency surgery when an airborne beer bottle hit her in the head. Three people died accidentally. Two were killed in a hit-and-run car accident, and one drowned in an irrigation canal. During the Stones' performance, Berkeley, California student Meredith Hunter drew a revolver near the stage, and was fatally stabbed by a member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.
It was rumored that the Angels provided security around the 4-foot-high stage in exchange for $500 worth of beer. It's more likely they were instructed to keep audience members away from the performers and their equipment. The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane had previously enlisted the Angels for this type of security at their concerts without incident.
The concert was immortalized in Gimme Shelter, a 1970 "rockumentary" directed by Albert Maysles, David Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin.
End of an Era
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 sixties hippie era and a farewell to the loving grassroots movement of American youth culture.
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 sixties hippie era and a farewell to the loving grassroots movement of American youth culture.
Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day
by Joel Selvin
Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Dayby Joel Selvin ( San Francisco Chronicle, Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, Billboard, Melody Maker)
by Joel Selvin ( San Francisco Chronicle, Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, Billboard, Melody Maker)
Author Joel Selvin
Woodstock was a disaster. They burned down the concession stand when they got there and saw the prices. They broke the fences, they turned it into a free concert. They blocked the interstate highway. The Woodstock myth is pretty fragile, and don't blow on it too hard because it'll just crack under pressure.
Woodstock was a disaster. They burned down the concession stand when they got there and saw the prices. They broke the fences, they turned it into a free concert. They blocked the interstate highway. The Woodstock myth is pretty fragile, and don't blow on it too hard because it'll just crack under pressure.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Long Time Gone
At the band's request, their performance was not included in the film Gimme Shelter.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Live at Altamont (1969)
Mick Jagger
Altamont Speedway Free Festival (1969)
Altamont Speedway Free Festival (1969)
The Rolling Stones Altamont Concert Poster (December 6, 1969)
Gimme Shelter Mick Jagger Wall Photo (December 6, 1969)
Paul Kantner - Jefferson Airplane
Hey, man, I'd like to mention that the Hells Angels just smashed Marty Balin in the face, and knocked him out for a bit. I'd like to thank you for that.
Hey, man, I'd like to mention that the Hells Angels just smashed Marty Balin in the face, and knocked him out for a bit. I'd like to thank you for that.
Jefferson Airplane
The Other Side of This Life
During the set, Jefferson Airplane lead singer Marty Balin was punched in the head and knocked unconscious by one of the Hells Angels. He was eventually helicoptered to a hospital for the treatment of his injuries. The Grateful Dead were scheduled to play two sets later, following The Flying Burrito Brothers and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. When Santana drummer Michael Shrieve informed them of Marty Balin’s assault and the escalating violence, The Grateful Dead opted to leave the venue.
Jefferson Airplane Live at Altamont (1969)
Grace Slick - Jefferson Airplane
People get weird, and you need people like the Angels to keep people in line. But the Angels also -- You know, you don't bust people in the head for nothing. So both sides are f***ing up temporarily; let's not keep f***ing up!
People get weird, and you need people like the Angels to keep people in line. But the Angels also -- You know, you don't bust people in the head for nothing. So both sides are f***ing up temporarily; let's not keep f***ing up!
Gimme Shelter
Reproduction Poster
Reproduction Poster
The Rolling Stones
Under My Thumb
Upon landing by helicopter at the concert site, Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger was met with a punch from an audience member. He appears visibly shaken in concert videos, urging fans to “Just be cool down in the front there, don’t push around.” The rock star’s appeals for calm were in vain. Shortly afterward, Meredith Hunter was fatally stabbed with a knife. The 18-year-old student was high on speed and began waving a long-barreled .22 caliber revolver near the stage. Hells Angel Alan Passaro reacted by stabbing Meredith Hunter several times in the back, an act that was captured on film. Alan Passaro was tried for murder in the summer of 1971, and ultimately acquitted when a jury concluded he had acted in self-defense.
The Rolling Stones Live at Altamont (1969)
The Rolling Stones Set List
Altamont Speedway Free Festival
- Jumpin' Jack Flash
- Carol
- Sympathy for the Devil (stopped then restarted because of fights breaking out)
- The Sun Is Shining
- Stray Cat Blues
- Love in Vain
- Under My Thumb (stopped then restarted because of fights breaking out)
- Brown Sugar (first live performance)
- Midnight Rambler
- Live with Me
- Gimme Shelter
- Little Queenie
- (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
- Honky Tonk Woman
- Street Fighting Man
Gimme Shelter Audio CD
The Rolling Stones
Altamont 1969 (Martin Parr Foundation)
Photographed by Bill Owens
Grace Slick on Altamont
The vibes were bad. Something was very peculiar, not particularly bad, just real peculiar. It was that kind of hazy, abrasive and unsure day. I had expected the loving vibes of Woodstock but that wasn't coming at me. This was a whole different thing.
The vibes were bad. Something was very peculiar, not particularly bad, just real peculiar. It was that kind of hazy, abrasive and unsure day. I had expected the loving vibes of Woodstock but that wasn't coming at me. This was a whole different thing.
Altamont 1969
by Bill Owens
A self-described "visual anthropologist," photographer Bill Owens proved to be a key player in capturing the deteriorating situation at Altamont. Indeed, the concert is remembered more for violence and property damage than for the music. By early evening when The Rolling Stones finally appeared on stage, the mood was ugly. Several previously unpublished photographs are shared in this volume, timed to commemorate the concert's 50th anniversary.
Bill Owens
Each year prizes are given to photographers who were at the right disaster at the right time: a shot of someone falling to his death, or better yet, a photograph of someone holding a gun on a hostage, and being blasted at by the cops. My photographs of violence are not a source of personal pride.
Each year prizes are given to photographers who were at the right disaster at the right time: a shot of someone falling to his death, or better yet, a photograph of someone holding a gun on a hostage, and being blasted at by the cops. My photographs of violence are not a source of personal pride.
50th Anniversary Altamont Speedway Free Festival
See the Altamont Speedway Free Concert 1969 Collection
Altamont Speedway Free Concert 1969-2019 50th Anniversary Coffee Mug
Altamont Speedway Free Concert 1969-2019 50th Anniversary Two-Tone Coffee Mug
1969: The Year Everything Changed
by Rob Kirkpatrick
1969: The Year Everything Changed
Book Trailer - 1969 Highlights
The Rolling Stones: Gimme Shelter
Criterion Collection DVD
Criterion Collection DVD
The Story of the Altamont Rock Concert
Including Footage from the 1970 Documentary Gimme Shelter
50th Anniversary Altamont Speedway Free Festival
See the Altamont Speedway Free Concert 50th Anniversary Collection
Fifty Years Altamont Speedway Free Concert 1969 Livermore 2-inch Square ButtonFifty Years Altamont Speedway Free Concert 1969 Livermore 2-inch Square Magnet
Archived Comments
Fifty Years Altamont Speedway Free Concert 1969 Livermore 2-inch Square Magnet
Aug 16, 2013
Awesome coverage of the Stones Free concert at Altamont. My husband and I went as it was the day before his birthday. We drove until there was no more places to park and walked 2 miles to the concert. It was an adventure I will never forget. We did not know until the next day what happened by the stage. As soon as the concert was over we had to quickly get up as cars that made it into the area started driving everywhere as there were no roads. We just got up when a car came flying through where we were sitting.
Apr 06, 2013
The Altamont Speedway Festival will always be remembered, more for what went wrong than for the incredible performance of the Stones and other musicians. The film is a phenomenal documentary of the event, and captures the flavor of the era.
Sep 07, 2012
Thanks for the trip down memory lane for the music.
The Rolling Stones
Gimme Shelter Movie Poster (1970)
Gimme Shelter Movie Poster (1970)
The Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter Movie Poster Reproduction (1970)
The Coolest People on Earth Live in Altamont
See the Coolest People on Earth Live in Altamont Collection
The Coolest People on Earth Live in Altamont Pullover HoodieThe Coolest People on Earth Live in Altamont Raglan Baseball Tee
Altamont Speedway Free Festival 50th Anniversary
One of the Darkest Days in Rock-and-Roll History
Courtesies
Bill Owens: Altamont
Bill Owens Photographed the Hells Angels at Altamont, then Hid for 49 Years by Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle, December 6, 2019
Just a Shot Away: Peace, Love, and Tragedy With the Rolling Stones at Altamont by Saul Austerlitz © 2018
Altamont at 50: The Disastrous Concert that Brought the ‘60s to a Crashing Halt by David Chiu, Forbes, December 3, 2019
Mick Jagger Street Art by DamionBlack
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