There’s a lot of coverage about the 40th anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival. NPR has a nice segment on it with Michelle Phillips and record producer Lou Adler, who was one of the organizers of the show. [Link] Although it’s funny, because there was almost nothing about the festival that was Pop music. It was, I would say, the moment that Pop music for AM radio lost its dominance. FM alternative radio would appear in cities across the U.S. in a matter of months.
Janis Joplin singing “Ball and Chain” is amazing. One highlight among many, from the Monterey Pop Festival. I checked out the offerings of “Ball and Chain” on YouTube and found all of them lacking, so I’ve made my own video transfer.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/JUN07/Monterey.flv 400 300]
Oh my goodness, look how young she was! Unbelievable. So long ago.
Something I find interesting are the parallels and differences between Big Brother and the Holding Company and the Jefferson Airplane. Both were fronted by a forceful and neurotic woman, although Janis was much more bluesy than Grace Slick, of course. The Jefferson Airplane turned political, and Joplin left her psychedelic backup band behind, which I must admit was when I lost interest in her. Play the video again. Now listen to this.
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/JUN07/IPutASpellOnYou.mp3]Hmm… what do you think?
