MONTEREY INTERNATIONAL POP FESTIVAL, a two-CD retrospective hand-selected from the stellar line-up of performances at the historic 1967 music festival.
I used to have the album that had Hendrix on one side and Otis Redding on the other, but this collection not only features rare early performances from now music legends including Jefferson Airplane, The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Mamas and the Papas and Big Brother & The Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin, but also features previously-unreleased tracks from Simon & Garfunkel and Buffalo Springfield.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the ground-breaking event held in Monterey, California, which launched the careers of many of the artists who performed.
Held in 1967 on June 16, 17 and 18, the Monterey International Pop Festival was the first major rock festival (preceding Woodstock by two years), drawing hundreds of thousands of people together. Almost every aspect of it was a “first,” including the diversity of the lineup which not only blended all ethnicities but crossed several musical boundaries including rock, pop, jazz, soul, R&B, psychedelia, folk and classical music.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the festival, a series of events will take place over the next few months. These events kicked off with a screening of the film, Monterey Pop, at this year’s South by Southwest conference which was preceded by a panel featuring Lou Adler, Andrew Loog Oldham and The Mamas And The Papas’ Michelle Phillips. In addition, there will be a special exhibit at The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and a Hollywood RockWalk induction ceremony. VH1 is also creating a documentary about the festival to air on the June 16th anniversary.
Listen:
Janis Joplin & Big Brother and the Holding Company – “Down on Me
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – “Like a Rolling Stone”
The Who - My Generation
