Monterey Pop
By Helen Marketti
Outdoor rock and roll festivals began forty years ago with The Monterey International Pop Festival. 1967 was the "Summer of Love" and an incredible time for music. The Beatles had put Sgt. Pepper on psychedelic tilt while "Flower Power" hippies were wearing flowers in their hair and hopeful that peace and love might make a difference.
Over the course of three days more than 200,000 people attended the festival at the Monterey fairgrounds in California. It is said that the Monterey Pop Festival was not only the first of its kind but also the most organized event ever put together from the sound system, security, transportation and even first class accommodations for the artists. It was the first benefit concert as all artists performed for free. Since the line-ups were do diverse in their own music genres many of them had not met before until Monterey.
"At Woodstock, people remember the weather. At Altamont, people remember the murder. For Monterey, people remember the music." These are the words from Lou Adler during a recent interview conducted by Warren Zanes at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Lou (music producer/manager) and John Phillips (The Mamas and The Papas) were the co-creators of the Monterey Pop Festival.
Many artists made their debut during those three days some forty years ago to later secure their lasting legacy. Such artists included Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix. Performing at the festival gave them the pop culture impact that propelled their careers forward.
Since The Mamas and The Papas were considered one of the major headline acts of the Monterey Pop Festival with Lou Adler as their manager, producer and best friend of John Phillips, it seems fitting that the first rock festival of its kind was held in California. The summer of 1967 was for peace, love, hope, change, music and California Dreamin'.
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