Summer of Love in Monterey
There’s a lot of coverage about the 40th anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival. NPR has a nice segment on it with Michelle Phillips and record producer Lou Adler, who was one of the organizers of the show. [Link] Although it’s funny, because there was almost nothing about the festival that was Pop music. It was, I would say, the moment that Pop music for AM radio lost its dominance. FM alternative radio would appear in cities across the U.S. in a matter of months.
Janis Joplin singing “Ball and Chain” is amazing. One highlight among many, from the Monterey Pop Festival. I checked out the offerings of “Ball and Chain” on YouTube and found all of them lacking, so I’ve made my own video transfer.
Oh my goodness, look how young she was! Unbelievable. So long ago.
Something I find interesting are the parallels and differences between Big Brother and the Holding Company and the Jefferson Airplane. Both were fronted by a forceful and neurotic woman, although Janis was much more bluesy than Grace Slick, of course. The Jefferson Airplane turned political, and Joplin left her psychedelic backup band behind, which I must admit was when I lost interest in her. Play the video again. Now listen to this.
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Hmm… what do you think?
2 comments June 14th, 2007