Two years before Woodstock, over 200,000 hipsters gathered in Monterey, California for a three day celebration of music that embodied the themes of the new counter-culture and became the template for all future music festivals.
Record producer and band manager Lou Adler, along with John Phillips [Mamas & the Papas], produced Monterey Pop on the site known for the long-running Monterey Jazz and Folk Festivals. In the spirit of "Music, Love and Flowers", just about all the artists performed for free, and all money went to charity.
Thirty-two bands played - stars like The Mamas and the Papas, Simon & Garfunkel and The Byrds shared billing with groundbreaking new acts, showcasing the first major American appearances by Jimi Hendrix and The Who, as well as the first major public performances of Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Laura Nyro, Steve Miller and Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar.
Hendrix, taking cue from Pete Townshend's guitar-smashing, capped his Monterey performance in a firestorm, making hearts sing as he set his still wailing guitar on fire and taunted for more flame during his riveting rendition of "Wild Thing".
As reflected by music writer Rusty DeSoto, "Monterey Pop was a seminal event: it was the first real rock festival ever held, featuring debut performances of bands that would shape the history of rock and affect popular culture from that day forward."
The festival was later hailed as a triumph of organization and cooperation and was subject of an acclaimed documentary by noted documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker.
The people came and listened
Some of them came and played
Others gave flowers away, yes they did
Down in Monterey
Down in Monterey
Young Gods smiled upon the crowd
Their music being born of love
Children danced night and day
Religion was being born
Down in Monterey
The birds and the airplane did fly
Oh, Ravi Shankar's music made me cry
The Who exploded into fire and light
Hugh Masakela's music was black as night.
The Grateful Dead blew everybody's mind
Jimi Hendrix baby, believe me, set the world on fire, yeah
His Majesty, Prince Jones, smiled as he moved among the crowd
Ten thousand electric guitars were groovin' real loud, yeah
You wanna find the truth in life
Don't pass music by
And you know I would not lie, no I would not lie,
No, I would not lie
Down in Monterey
Three days of understanding
of moving with one another
Even the cops grooved with us
Do you believe me, yeah?
Down in Monterey
I think that maybe I'm dreaming
Monterey
Down in Monterey
Did you hear what I said?
Eric Burdon and the Animals