The Sound Poster
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Bill Graham invented "The Sound" to call to mind the home-brew, local San Francisco bands that he featured at his venues. In BG029, Wes Wilson captured the curvaceous female form in one of the best examples of his work.
BG029 has three 1st printing posters, all which pre-date the concert. The black and white version, 1st printing A, is considered the first of the original printings and measures 13 15/16" x 24 7/16".
1st printing B (see BG029-1B) has the figure and words "The Sound" outlined in a magenta/lavender color. It measures 13 7/16" x 24 1/2".
1st printing C (see BG029-1C) has shades of blue/violet outlining the figure and the words "The Sound". It also measures 13 1/2" x 24 1/2".
The post-concert 3rd printing (see BG029-1C) also matches its respective postcard, with a brighter orange, lighter green, and a more purple outline. It measures 13 1/4" x 24 1/2".
In 1986, Wes Wilson reprinted this poster in red, gold and blue (see BG029-4). This 4th printing measures 14" x 24 1/2".
The 5th printing (see BG029-1C) is on smooth glossy stock and has a Wolfgang's Vault notation in the lower right hand margin. It was printed in 2012 by the Bill Graham Archives LLC in a 500 copy run. This reprint measures 20" x 37".
The 6th printing is on coated stock and has "W 2023" in the lower right-hand margin. It resembles the 1st printing A poster. It was printed in 2023 by Wolfgang's in a 250 copy run. This reprint measures 14" x 24 1/2".
When the Avalon Ballroom and Bill Graham's Fillmore Auditorium began to hold weekly dance concerts, Wilson was called upon to design the posters. He created psychedelic posters from February 1966 to May 1967, when disputes over money severed his connection with Graham. Wilson pioneered the psychedelic rock poster. Intended for a particular audience, "one that was tuned in to the psychedelic experience," his art, and especially the exaggerated freehand lettering, emerged from Wilson's own involvement with that experience and the psychedelic art of light shows.