Monterey Pop Festival
June 16 to June 18, 1967.
Held at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. It was planned by producer Lou Adler, John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas, producer Alan Pariser, and publicist Derek Taylor; the festival board included members of The Beatles and The Beach Boys.
The artists performed for free, with all revenue donated to charity. Over 200 000 people attended the festival, and it is generally regarded as the beginning of the Summer of Love.
It was the first American appearance of Jimi Hendrix ( who was booked on the insistence of board member Paul McCartney) and The Who, and it was the first major public performance for Janis Joplin and Otis Redding (who tragically died only a few months later).
Many record company executives were in attendance, and many of the performers won recording contracts based on their appearance at the festival. Several acts were also notable for their non-appearance -- The Beach Boys were unable to attend due to ongoing problems with lead singer Carl Wilson's refusal to register for the draft, and British musician Donovan was refused a visa to enter the United States because of a 1966 drug bust.
Monterey was the first major rock festival in the world and became the model for future festivals, notably Woodstock -- although unlike Woodstock it was not a profit-making venture and Montereys' various audio and visual products still earn income for the non-profit Monterey Festival foundation.
The festival was also the subject of a superb documentary titled Monterey Pop by D. A. Pennebaker. It has been released on DVD by the Criterion Collection as The Complete Monterey Pop Festival.
Performers
Friday, June 16
Sunday, June 18
