The rolling stones, the hells angels and the inside story of rocks darkest day, tells the inside story of the notorious 1969 festival. Instead the concert featured a harrowing series of disasters, starting with the concerts. Growing up, i was always fascinated by the sixties decade. The rolling stones, the hells angels, and the inside story of rocks darkest day at book. Books altamont, the rolling stones, and the death of the sixties dream in just a shot away, saul austerlitz revisits the concert that started in hope and ended in bloodshed. Altamont joel selvin hardcover harpercollins publishers.
It was supposed to be a celebration, but it turned into chaos. The chaos of altamont and the murder of meredith hunter. In this breathtaking cultural history filled with exclusive, neverbeforerevealed details, celebrated rock journalist joel selvin tells the definitive story of the rolling stones infamous altamont concert, the disastrous historic event that marked the end of the idealistic 1960s. The rolling stones, the hells angels, and the inside story of rocks darkest day publisher. Altamont came to represent the dark side of the countercultures dream of peace and love, but the forces of ego and power that drove the event to its disastrous conclusion were decidedly oldfashioned. Murder at the altamont festival brings the 1960s to a violent end. In altamont the rolling stones, the hells angels, and the inside story of rocks darkest day selvin corrects the illusion that the hells angels were fully to blame for the mayhem, something that is portrayed in the documentary gimme shelter, lending to the belief that rolling stones management was an innocent party. Joel selvin altamont the rolling stones the hells angels.
The altamont festival of december 1969, a concert near san francisco that featured the rolling stones and others, is often seen as a prime example of the darker side of the sixties. The hells angels provided security and one concertgoer ended. Joel selvin recognised that the accepted narrative was far too simplistic and so he wrote altamont. This piece previously appeared in the criterion collections 2000 edition of gimme shelter. Naturally, the book contains the usual solo shots of stones and their hangersons including cathy and mary, two groupies they picked up in. Altamont was the product of diabolical egotism, hype, ineptitude, money, manipulation, and, at base, a fundamental lack of concern for humanity. This book provides context and perspective, showing the sea change in rock that was taking place as the rolling stones attempted to reassert themselves amid the increasing dominance of san francisco psychedelia and the spirit of woodstock.
The rolling stones, the hells angels, and the inside story of rocks darkest day by joel selvin dey streetwilliam morrow ok, im going to go ahead and assume that all you superhip readers of stomp and stammer already have a pretty good idea of what went down at altamont. Mick jagger and keith richards of the rolling stones eye the hells. The music magazine rolling stone, in a 14page 11author article on the event entitled the rolling stones disaster at altamont. The book is subtitled the rolling stones, altamont, and the end of the sixties, and none could be more fitting. Altamont was the brainchild of the rolling stones, who hoped to burnish their hip bonafides by embracing psychedelic san francisco, but the concert was a disaster of poor planning, greed, and drugaddled na vet about the social forces underlying the event.
Out of our heads by ronnie schneider was one of the most rewarding things i have read in a long time. Altamont wasnt the end of the 60s, it was the start of. The rolling stones, the hells angels, and the inside story of rocks darkest day, published in 2016, the music journalist joel selvin notes that the stones wanted a big. On this day back in 1969, the rolling stones held a free concert in altamont, calif. In the annals of rock history, the altamont speedway free festival on december 6, 1969, has long been seen as. A new book, the cambridge companion to the rolling stones, takes an academic look at their music and their legacy.
Joel selvin probes every aspect of the showfrom the stones hastily planned tour preceding the concert to the bad acid that swept through the audience to other deaths that also occurred that eveningto capture the full scope of the tragedy and its aftermath. On the real altamont and the fake rolling stones popmatters. The rolling stones free concert at altamont speedway on december 6, 1969, captured in the documentary gimme shelter, has long been seen as the distorted twin of woodstockthe day that shattered the sixties promise of peace and love when concertgoer meredith hunter was killed by a member of the hells angels biker club working as security. As saul austerlitz writes in his new the book, just a shot away. October 24, 1951 december 6, 1969 was an 18yearold african american who was killed at the 1969 altamont free concert. The rolling stones, the hells angels, and the inside story of rocks darkest day book online at best prices in india on.
Its chaotic and shambolic planning, vast quantities of dangerous drugs, and ultimately the stabbing death of a concertgoer, seared altamont into one of rocks. A new book explores the deadly concert and the documentary that. The rolling stones, the hells angels, and the inside story of rocks darkest day, now out in paperback. That word always conjures up images of the melee and basic cluster fk of the december 1969 free rolling stones concert in san francisco. Let it bleed published in their january 21, 1970, issue, stated that altamont was the product of diabolical egotism, hype, ineptitude, money manipulation, and, at base, a fundamental lack of concern for humanity. Remembering meredith hunter, the fan killed at altamont. Courtesy of jay siegel saul austerlitz s new book just a shot away. At the altamont concert with the rolling stones time. Fifty years ago this friday, the rolling stones headlined a free outdoor concert at the altamont speedway outside of san francisco. Woodstock was just embraced immediately as this extraordinary event, said longtime san francisco music journalist joel selvin, 69, who wrote the 2016 book altamont. Peace, love, and tragedy with the rolling stones at altamont is the story of the concert that was going. Featuring his day to day account of how life with the rolling stones and the beatles actually went down, ronnie makes it evident that to manage the game changers of rock and roll history, took flexibility, a solid sense of humour, balls, and on. Taking another look at the bloodshed of altamont sfgate. Peace, love, and tragedy with the rolling stones at altamont by saul austerlitz.
Misc nonfiction books audio joel selvin altamont the rolling stones the hells angels and the inside story. The rolling stones, the hells angels, and the inside story of rocks darkest day. Others got beat up like marty balin from the jefferson airplane or killed like meredith hunter. In the annals of rock history, the altamont speedway free festival on december 6, 1969, has long been seen as th. Ronnie schneider the rolling stones, the beatles and me. The rolling stones, the hells angels, and the inside story of rocks darkest day, hinges on the argument that the sixties was already more of an idea than a. A lot has been written about the notorious rolling stones concert at. The rolling stones members bill wyman, charlie watts, mick jagger. The pictures in the book are luscious, stunning, with 56 glorious full doublepage shots.
During the performance by the rolling stones, hunter approached the stage, and was violently driven off by members of the hells angels motorcycle club who had agreed to serve as security guards. Altamont, a new music festival in northern california, was the brainchild of the rolling stones, who hoped to cap off their u. Stanley booth traveled with the worlds greatest rockandroll band in 1969 while writing the true adventures of the rolling stones, chapter 31 of which details the complete events of altamont. Music fans dance and sing to the rolling stones at the free concert at the altamont speedway between livermore and tracy, on dec. A shitload of people showed up for a free concert that was set up in just 36 hours.
As owens explains in his new photo book, bill owens. Publisher description in this breathtaking cultural history filled with exclusive, neverbeforerevealed details, celebrated rock journalist joel selvin tells the definitive story of the rolling stones infamous altamont concert, the disastrous historic event that marked the end of the idealistic 1960s. Altamont book release party author joel selvin movie by. He was the bands only official photographer on the stones 1969 u. Not your typical retread on the rolling stones and some of the big events that shaped our culture and have now become part of the history of rock n roll and the 1960s. A concertgoer was killed there by a member of the notorious bikie gang, the hells angels, who were acting as security. Peace, love and tragedy with the rolling stones at altamont, meredith hunter.
Peace, love, and tragedy with the rolling stones at altamont is the story of the concert that was going to be the west coast. The rolling stones, the hells angels, and the inside story of rocks darkest day by joel selvin video hells angels 1974 full nyc. Rock critic robert christgau called it historys first mythic rock and roll tour, while rock critic dave marsh would write that the tour was part of rock and roll legend and one of the benchmarks of an era. The chaos of altamont and the murder of meredith hunter the. In just a shot away, writer and critic saul austerlitz tells the story of woodstock west, where the rolling stones hoped to end their 1969 american tour triumphantly with the help of the grateful dead, the jefferson airplane, and 300,000 fans. The rolling stones, the hells angels, and the inside story of rocks darkest day dey st. On december 6, 1969 the rolling stones held a free concert at altamont speedway. Altamont explores rocks darkest day, a fiasco that began well before the climactic death of meredith hunter and continued beyond that infamous december night. The rolling stones, the hells angels, and the inside story of rocks darkest day, former chronicle pop music critic joel selvin talks to the key players of. The rolling stones, the hell angels, and the inside story of rocks darkest day by joel selvin is a 2016 dey street books publication. An incisive account of the most infamous concert debacle in rock history. The rolling stones, the hells angels, and the inside story of rocks. Peace, love, and tragedy with the rolling stones at altamont by saul austerlitz is a 2018 thomas dunne books publication. Before i read this book all i knew about altamont was gleaned from the gimme shelter film and a few magazine articles.