I was in Junior High and just "getting into" Rock in a big way when Woodstock and then Altamont happened. I live about 90 miles south of Altamont so it was almost a local event for us. I've been a "Rocker" from 1968 to Present and as the Grateful Dead would say; "What a long strange trip it's been"... Peace
Nicely put Sir. Hope youre good and still rockin! :) its a big shame that the actions of such few can spoil things for all of the rest of us. Peace an love back to you.
WOW! Brings back such vivid memories! In the Navy in 1969 Vallejo CA. About 3-5 of us were "indulging" at a brothers apt., (my first time) One brought up "let's go to the concert tomorrow". Next morning we were off! Adventure Time !!! After driving 2 - 3 hours, we came to a " parking lot" field with hundreds of cars on both sides of the road. Parked where we could, & started walking. Could see nothing but cars , people , earth & sky. Lucky along the way, we were picked up by mini-vans & vehicles driving across the fields. Seemed like miles before we arrived. We walked up a huge hill , with cars everywhere, & came to the top. MY GOD! Never seen so many people! EVER!!! Spread out our blankets, opened the wine, tried out some "stuff" just bought there. It was everywhere! Whatever you wanted...it was being "hawked" to people by vendors making a killing! Drank some wine, smoked a few puffs... Getting big time stoned. Laying there listing to fabulous music, I hear this motorcycle at my head! Opened my eyes & saw what looked like a mechanical monster with a very unclean barbarian strapped across it! Kinda worried me, but looked at my buddy & he reassured me....he said "we've gotta move this wine & shit outta the way". We moved the wine & shit outta the way...the mechanical barbarian monster rolled across the middle of our blanket to the next group of people. My first REAL encounter with H.A.'s ! Went up over the hill to pee on a car tire...hardly any ground, just cars. Started peeing........ beautiful California girl walks up within 10 feet & pulls down her pants & looks me in the eyes & says "Hi...are we having fun?!?" Went back up over the hill to Hell & debauchery. Decided to walk down further into the crowd closer to the stage. Big school bus about 25 yds. from front of stage. Women on top of bus as well as guys were throwing cans of beer out & I'm talking THROWING, as in baseball!!! Figured I'd better go back to my safe spot. Left before Stones performed, before dark. Got back around midnight. Oh to be young again... & Know what I now know!
I and a VW bus full of friends drove up from Fullerton, California. We were early, so I parked a mile or so down the road. It was great at first, though we were about halfway back in the huge crowd. The sun came in and out until late afternoon, when it became completely overcast and cold. When the violence started, we didn't know what was going on. But then I saw16-ounce full beer cans flying through the air from the stage area, and the Stones stopped playing, then a bit later the Airplane stopped playing, and the Grateful Dead implored the audience to stop fighting. The positive vibe had turned negative, even scary. I thought "what if a riot starts - I could be trampled". After the concert broke up, one girl who came with us had lost her little dog Ariel. I still remember her crying "Ariel, Ariel!" It was so sad - she never did find it. It turned dark, and there were huge piles of trash that someone set fire to, with burning plastic and paper producing a smoky, choking pall that was held in by the low atmospheric inversion layer. What started as a fun time turned into some kind of hell. Still, it was an experience and we all survived, except perhaps the poor dog.
@gregholmes1289 Airplane played BEFORE the Stones and Grateful Dead didn't play at all. They heard about the violence from some of the members of Santana and they decided they didn't want any part of it, so they left.
A woman in the audience had a can or bottle hit her on the head and she suffered a nasty skull fracture. I believe one of those d!ckheads on the bus may have thrown it but I wouldn't swear to it.
@@deelee6786 he was pointing it at a hells angels member who was near the stage they were picking on him and it wasn't loaded so don't comment please on something u know nothing about how many people do I have to correct you'd all say the same thing look young man peep game don't get to excited that's how Chinese whispers start through people like you people like U who create these fake ass stories get people bashed and or they life took just saying bro peep game ya dig ✌️
Hello Bark I'm getting in my late 60's. When I reflect back on my life I wonder how I could have been so stupid on many occasions. Unfortunate that we don't have a chance to have a redo. I'll bet I'm not the only one who would like a redo. Believe me, being stupid is not limited to one race. Cheers
Nah, man. The media spun it that way because they were salivating to see the end of something good. They also tried to make the Manson murders a "hippie/drug thing" but both incidents were just individuals acting like violent primates. Happens in every era. We let them dictate too much. Good music, love for each other & the environment, peace & consciousness expansion aren't confined to any decade. (Nor is violence).
@@MsNooneinparticular This was, in fact, the end of the Peace Love era though. There weren't anymore free concerts like this for decades, and there weren't any more peace love rallies or anything. The Beatles broke up around this time, Altamont happened, and the 70s brought in an era of violence. Kent State happened, music turned to much darker, heavier sounds like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, etc. The sound of the 60's that was lead largely by The Beatles was replaced by much heavier, brooding sounds and the Singer/Songwriter era had begun. The majority of lyrics in songs were not the same as the LSD fueled 60's, it became much more political and less about peace and love. Vietnam still had 5 more years to go, and people were losing friends faster than ever. It became a much darker time, and this event marked that start.
The hell'angels were hired as security by the management of the Rolling Stones, on the recommendation of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane who both according to the manager of the Rolling Stones' , Sam Cutler, the deal was made at a meeting including Cutler, Grateful Dead manager Rock Scully , they are the culprits, not the Stones.
The stones didn't realize that the American Hells Angels were far different from the HA in England at the time. The HA over there was more docile than the USA HA....that's one story I heard. Then there's the story that the promoters somehow screwed the Los Angeles chapter who were the ones doing security. Plus the location was bad and the lack of any organization. It's like, "Heres a venue, a stage and here you go". There wasn't that unity of Woodstock at Altamont either. I'd like to talk to someone who was there and who is truthful about their story.
The concert originally was originally going to be held at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, but the city wouldn't give a permit after hearing that The Rolling Stones would be on the bill and feared a huge crowd. The concert was then moved to Sears Point (now Infineon) Raceway in Sonoma, but after a dispute with the track's owner, the stage and all the sound equipment was moved to Altamont within 24 hours before the concert was to take place.
Note to self: don't show up at a low security poorly organized rock concert as a black dude in a lime green suit with a white girl waving a large gun around in a crowd of 300,000 acid heads, meth users and drunk, stoned Hell's Angels with pool cues.
@@RICHBLACKCOCK I meant the guy that goes : I'll tell you what's happening...YOU that's what's happening. Then gets lost for words realising 100 thousand zillion people are watching. It was really funny.
It's now been 50 years since that tragic day. A lot has changed with regards to free concerts, security, and proper venues. We learned much from the poor decisions at altamont. Hopefully a tragedy like this will never happen again.
Don't forget that out door concerts were something new and no one had any experience to organise concerts, and there where no proffesional stages so simple scafoldings were used, and there were no stage barriers and no dixi toilets, water supply, medic stands etc etc, so it was all amaturistic as hell. And boy, did the Stones made a mistake to invite the hells assholes to play the security cops, because those low lives ain't suitable for the job. i even heared that some hells assholes wanted to kill Mick Jagger because he was negative about hells assholes. Well they didn't succeed in that thank goodness! Now the crowd should have united and beat the crap out of thos hells assholes, just like a crowd did at a evel knevil show, because one of those hells assholes picked a fight with Evel, so the crowd grabbed some 2 by 4's and beat thos hells assholes right into the intensive care, and that's how i like it, because i hate those hells assholes! And when i would be in charge, then would give out permits to shoot all those hells assholes because they are like a fuckin dissease that no one want's to have!
I would like to see some of the footage that wasn't in the Gimme Shelter film.There must be hours of unseen film that the public never saw.I was in the front of the stage and would like to see the unseen footage before I'm dead.
+slash177 probably because there's not enough money in it.You know there must be hours of unreleased footage;every camera was rolling and all the public saw was "for a movie"..........The footage should be shown for the sake of history.There's another story concerning the guy who was killed......
+slash177 I Recently Read Carlos Santanas Biography...He Talks About What A Mess Altamont Was And How Every Year They Approach Him For Permission To Release The Footage Of Them Playing That Day......He Says He Will NEVER Let It Be Released Because That Day Was Pure Evil
+brian leblanc may I make a comment,that's strictly my opinion,and I loved the Santana band,especially this line up.What Carlos is neglecting to do,by this selfish decision,is leaving one of the best performances of their career unheard.He is taking one of the high points of the concert,and history (and all of us people,fans and historians)s left with a big hole that,for no other reason,but a "new age" ridiculous reason,should be included.Its been 50 years,they played their asses off,and at this point,it should all be public domain.Once music has left the fingers,and voice boxes of their owners,it now belongs to the listeners..............the folks that made them famous in the first place.Get over the drama Carlos,you look foolish at this point.
I Kind Of Agree With You.....He Says In His Book He Doesnt Want That Footage Released Because He Doesnt Want To Be Associated With Such Negativity....The Whole Band Agrees With Him...Bad Vibes All The Way Around That Day.........Plus They Were The First Band To Play....I Would Love To See It Myself
I was there. Sitting up the hill from the stage. We could see the stage but were far enough away we could not make out who was who. Many happenings that would have the music stop or the crowd roar. We didn't know what was happening. From our seat on the hill the wine and joints just passed on through the crowd and we had a good time. Never knew about the deaths until the next day. The news reports all reported what a disaster the concert had been.I suppose it was for some but many had a great time. We had driven cross country in an old Studebaker. Not too many fences at that time. Parked and then walked a couple miles more to get into the crowd.The 2 freeways that converged not far from the speedway had been turned into parking lots.
'Gimme Shelter' is one of the best documentaries ever filmed. It perfectly captures the atmosphere and mood of not just the disastrous Altamont concert but the death of the 1960's as well.
@@RICHBLACKCOCK I'm very glad to hear it and I hope you remain so for a many, many years to come!!! The concert though... In my mind it perfectly captures when the love and peace era came to an end, when it went wrong and the 1970's began. An absolutely *brilliant* documentary, especially if like me you are a big fan of the Stones!!!
"disastrous!" Were you there? Most attendees thought the concert was GREAT. The Gimme Shelter movie was hyped up with extra drama to increase sales and profits. The violence was not brought on by the Hells Angels. It was incited by Meredith Hunter who was high on whatever and kept rushing the stage platform. He'd made several rushes at the stage and stopped by the Hells Angels. When he pulled a revolver he was stopped by a HA who had a knife. The other deaths were parking lot/overdose related. Myself and friends I was with had a great time.
I've always said that. as far as real people in a real situation(which is what a documentary is),it's something you can't take your eyes off of. I went to see it when it was restored & re-mastered, at a revival theater. it didn't have to happen. always considered Jagger to be reasonably bright, but he demonstrated here, he was an imbecile.
@@joemcmillan2089 I am very sorry to say I was not! I was in low single-digits at the time, so while they might have let me in I don't think I would have enjoyed it much! I am English as well so the precursor gig in London would have been more accessible for me. I hear what you are saying and agree there was a lot more to the killing than the simple act of racism that is usually blamed. Hunter definitely pulled a pistol on the biker guy, no question. I think even his relatives admit he was also pretty much out of his mind on several different substances at the time. As to whether the response was proportionate... It was a brutal moment and I think you probably needed to be there to properly understand it--and from what you say you were!
I think the Grateful Dead carry a great deal of responsibility for the disaster that was Altamont, more than the Stones do. The Dead recommended the Hells Angels as the security, describing them as "righteous" and saying they had done similar work at Dead concerts, the Angels according to Sonny Barger had a lot of respect for the Dead however he described the Stones as "looking like faggots". The Dead then refused to play leaving a long gap before the Stones went on in which time the crowd and the angels got more and more agitated.Of course the Stones were not entirely blameless, but neither were the audience themselves. The Dead could have helped calm the situation by providing some common ground on which the various groups of people who were there on that fateful winter's day in 1969
I think the Dead never expected having the Hell's Angels killing someone. That's not their responsibility. The Hells Angels weren't hired to commit murder. Things got out of control. And to answer your question: why they didn't played? Because they were shocked as the Rolling Stones and the crowd was when that happened.
I was there too. There's a book called *The Hippies* One day, a friend of mine told me that he saw my picture in it in the chapter about Altamont. He brought it the next week, and showed me. I couldn't believe it!... there I was with a hat on and a little bottle of wine that I balanced on my head! LOL
you did a good job with this video, I'm 60 and would have been 8 when this concert took place, i think today was the first time i was introduced to this when i saw the gimme shelter doc. There's raw video of the dead being told what was going on, does anyone know if they performed, because the look on their faces said fuck this, we out. Also after the look on micks face when he knows something really bad just happened is amazing, theres video of them loading the whole band and entorage on a chopper and the looks on their faces, wow. This blew me away and I'm entrenched in it for 6 hours now
@@TheJerrykb When you pull out a gun toy or otherwise in the dark with fights and scuffles breaking out all over the place, you lose the benefit of doubt. It turns out to be a long barrel revolver either .22 or .38. If you pull one out people think you intend to use it.
@@beauzer36 thats what i would think regardless if it was a toy or not. In a quick snappy situation, whos going to keep calm to check the gun to see if its real. Some of those Airsoft pistols and rifles these days look like the real thing, you wouldnt tell them apart from a distance.
look, imagine the situation turned around, a white dude in coat and tie with a black woman and waving a gun at a Black Panther gathering....everyone knows the same fucking ending...it wouldn't have taken the Panthers that long to fuck the white dude up...if you don't believe that you are an ass clown
Really well done clip. I saw the title, and I was thinking "Is this another one of the clips w/ false information?"; but I have to apologize to oldiesfan. Great job. Were you there on that day? I think the only angle I would add to your piece, is about the Dead. That it was their camp who suggested the Angels, and then the band refused to even show or perform themselves.
Except the Dead came later to observe the damage---as in the movie "Gimme Shelter", and the young teenage drummer from Santana met them off the plane and was giving Garcia and Lesh a play-by-play report about what was going down, and all they did was shake their heads
I arrived the day before before SUNDOWN...hardly anyone there on the mountainside where we stayed until DAWN when they let us find a place to sit....I was there in front of the stage but decided to find a spot 100 feet back of the center of the stage....between the two scaffold forward of the stage. I was there from 7am to 10pm the day of the concert....I was working in San Mateo and came there right after work.....We camped the night before on the hillside with fires, music and doobies.
The drugs and the negative fighting was around the stage AND ONLY THERE....I was 100 up from the stage all day and NEVER HAD A PROBLEM until the NIGHT TIME waiting for the STONES...all the violence was near and around the stage...with what 5000 total people near there....295,000 other people HAD A GREAT TIME...
@@acidking202 True facts, but the H.A. were responsible for the trouble at Altamont. It was one of the best concerts I have ever attended, and I was at both Woodstock, and, Altamont!!
Hello People I wish people would chill out. My videos are pure fluff and made strictly for fun. This happened close to 50 years ago and was one of many important events that happened in 1969. An interesting year, with great music enjoy the look back and don't get all worked up. Remember an old dumb fart made the video so why get riled up about it.Cheers
Who is the HA speaking at 09:31 ? This was before my time, but I'm interested in this music era, so I'm not trying to talk like I know anything. But aren't the people too close to the performers ? I know it said in the video the stage was only 36 inches high. I'd be so bugged about that if I were a performer ! Seems like a bad vibe on this event from the get-go.
I was there in the crowd, about 20-30 feet from the stage at that point. However, I was so stoned by that time I didn't realize what was happening until it was over. I do remember trying to find my way to the porta-potties only to discover that there were incredibly insufficient facilities to serve the enormous crowd, and most people had simply resorted to pissing on the ground by that time. During the first hour, I remember that a couple of narcs tried to bust someone for dope, but gave up when the crowd began to close in on them. Overall, that entire experience was a bummer, more so for me having swallowed a handful of orange sunshine. By the time I left, I couldn't even speak. Certainly NOT the "Woodstock of the West"! I knew some Angels that lived in the Haight, where I did, and they were pretty good guys. But they were definitely uncool that day.
Yes, a handful. If I remember correctly, baggies of the stuff were being tossed to the crowd by Marty Balin, during the Airplane's set. I was into the "if one is good, more than one is great" drug attitude, and I thank God that I didn't kill myself with my crazy, destructive behavior. I certainly know of plenty of others who weren't so fortunate!
back then, we were all shocked with the one death and scattered beatings....now, we have a machine gun shooter from hotel windows killing everyone in sight ...
Marty Balin was knocked out twice. The first time he was knocked out by an Angel was for saying "fuck you" to an Angel. When he woke up he said it again to the same Angel and got knocked out again. Big balls Marty. Read "Just a shot Away" by Saul Austerlitz,first edition 2018. The Angels parked their bikes in front of the stage and then wondered why the bikes got knocked over.
I was literally backstage at that event. We had gone with our clunky 16mm Auricon movie cameras to film something but in the crush I ended up back stage and did not get much of a sense of what was going on until later. There were rumors floating around that Bob Dylan was going to show up and play after the Rolling Stones but needless to say he never did. Of big music events the Human Be-In on January 1, 1967 was fun and the memorial concert in Golden Gate park for Chet Helms in 2005 was fun. The rest you can more or less have, although I hear that one Monterey Pop festival was good. I was at another music event where the Hells Angels beat up somebody, but you'll have to read one of my novels to find out about that one.
I was at Altamont and the Grateful Dead did not play that day, I did see them the night before at the Filmore West. I think they had planned to play that day but canceled after they saw what was going on there that day.
rick t Hello Rick Now that must have been cool. Being from the centre of Canada I've never talked to anyone who had been there. Were you living in California at the time?
rick t So you were one of the crowd? Tell me what made you guys so mad in the first place? I'm not blaming you specifically or anything...But why did the crowd become so angry? Was it just alcohol and drug fueled, with not enough proper organization?
Hello Vista You raise an interesting point. I remember using google images to find the photo.I find that google images can sometimes be confusing. The photo could easily be incorrect. I just checked google images again and could not find an older image of Passaro. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Cheers
Gimme Shelter captures the mood. Some of my mates from the Valley tried to talk me into going to Altamont with them. It was near the end of my high school term. But something told me not to go. The stories they came back with were horrific. Bad acid was in everything. I heard that you could taste it. And it was so cold they had to burn tires for heat.
Thats the part that i hate most people always tries to drug you putting lsd on something when you dont want to use any of that crap specially hippies ,putting those things in your drinks,food etc,no everybody was a hippie in those days probably just like the fashion but thats all.
Mick still hasn't answered for Altamont. There's plenty of blame to go around, but he's the one guy that could have stopped it and didn't. In order to get "Gimme Shelter" distributed, he needed the other bands appearing in the film to sign a release. He did so by telling them than the money would go to charity. All of it, over $1M, went to the Stones.
@@PisceanGardener The original concert was scheduled to be held in Golden Gate Park which had hosted many concerts previously with minimal problems. But Jagger wanted a Woodstock type event and thought that GG park was too small a venue. So being the big names they were, they insisted the concert be moved elsewhere. The first alternate choice was Sears Point which would have been perfect because the stage would have been up on a hill and the performers easily protected. But the people who managed Sears Point also managed the Fabulous Forum and they were pissed at the Stones for blowing off the final show at one of their concerts at the Forum. They told the Stones to eff off so they ended up at Altamont, a horrible location. Jagger never took responsibility for any of this including leaving Altamont via their private helicopter instead of trying to use it to save the life of the guy who was stabbed. If you get a chance, Joel Selvin wrote a terrific book about Altamont that goes into much detail.
Dude was already chased off by the angels once. He should of sucked up his pride and stayed the fuck away from them. Instead he goes and gets his gun and comes back for more. What, did he think he was going to kill all the angels with a 6 shot revolver? What a terrible idea.
Altamont was a big misnomer: Grateful Dead also used the Hell's Angels as security for several of their concerts. However, the Angels that were at Altamont were later revealed to be neophytes and hardly any of the leaders were present at the show. SONNY BARGER AND CO ARRIVED 4 O CLOCK!!!... PROSPECTS WERE BEATING CONCERT GOERS during the day.... HELLS ANGELS WERE-TOLD-to park there motorcycles in front of the stage.... HELLS ANGELS WERE UNCLEAR TO WHAT THERE "DUTIES" WERE.... GRATEFUL DEAD LEFT AND THE CROWD WAITED FOR 2 HOURS BECAUSE BASS PLAYER BILL WYMAN DIDNT ARRIVE TILL AFTER DARK... THE HELLS ANGELS WERE TOLD TO KEEP THE AUDIENCE OFF THE STAGE... AN AUDIENCE MEMBER CAUSED A MOTORCYCLE TO BLOW UP BY KNEELING ON THE SEAT THE SPRINGS WERE SHORTING THE BATTERY DURING "SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL" (you can see the smoke) DURING THE SONG AUDEINCE MEMBERS GOT THE WRONG IDEA AND STARTED MESSING WITH THE MOTORCYCLES IN FRONT..... 3 more songs were played NO PROBLEMS... UNDER MY THUMB THE BLACK GUY PULLED A GUN AND GOT STABBED TO DEATH... 2 more songs were done with no problems but then DURING LIVE WITH ME they had a problem with a naked woman THATS ALL... 4-5 more songs were done with NO PROBLEMS as a matter of fact BOOTLEGS ATTEST TO THIS when they announced there last song the crowd was like '"aaawww we have to go home..." type reaction ON BOOTLEGS... SOME PEOPLE HAD A GOOD TIME!!!
Nobody turns on a video to WATCH a “documentary” and wants to READ the entire thing! Especially people who know absolutely nothing about it. This SUCKS!!
It amazes me how many people, while accusing others of being stupid, cannot spell or complete a sentence. Using punctuation and the spelling of words are fundamental, people. Seriously, like 2nd grade stuff.
Me and Joanne and Richard Kendall and Cindy Lee in my old VW bug listening to Radio KFRC for directions. Finally arriving at Altamont Speedway that cold day in December1969. We heard Mick Jaggers tell the crowd: . “Today we are all brothers. Everybody cool out, cool out.” I remember it like yesterday. Earlier that day, Mick was standing in the doorway of the Stones guest trailer. There were so many fans (300,000) wanting to hear the Stones sing. A lot of disharmony and apparently bad drugs. Mick couldn’t stop the fools that day. Two years later and Richard was in Vietnam and I went to work for Dept of Corrections for 33 years.
And this ladies and gentleman is the "dark" side of rock and roll. Where ego, greed, narcissism, love, hatred, sex, drugs, alcohol, and violence all come together to form the perfect shit storm.
That was Jerry Garcia's idea because he said that the Hell's Angels would work for beer and drugs. Later , Jerry blamed the "British fairies, Rolling Stones" for all of the violence.
Lived and went to HS in Livermore at that time, every liquor store and all the grocery stores were sold out of liquor. Many friends made some good $ giving rides on tote goats and bikes. We used to party in those hills away from the Alameda county sheriffs. Later years between owners and non op the gates were open and we would take laps in our cars that was late 80s early 90s. Only been to one other Stones concert that took over a town in Belgium. We had to walk about 4 km back to our car out of town. Beer was served in plastic cups and the walk back ALL the way was over plastic cups. Some residents even had 8 ft. chain link fences built around their houses BUT everyone maintained County fairgrounds on the other side of town from where we parked.
One thing about the 21st century, if this were to happen today: the band would be playing to tracks, the hells angels would be actors, the “murder” would be committed in slow motion using CGI and shot before a green screen, and it would air in HBO. The crowds would be created with CGI. The final music mix would be digital. The movie would be in HD stereo.
Well woodstock was a nightmare aswell because there were no facilities like toilets, fresh drinking water and food stalls, so it was a giant mess with only one positive thing and that was that no one got murdered!
Hello, I was in Cali. at the time of this concert....I was in the Marines at Camp Pendelton. I heard about this concert, but dint'd go there, I was on Duty at the Base.....I'm glad I idin't go there......John from North Carolina.
70 years here. I was living in San Leandro at the time and I attended this event. It was quite a scene! Just barely under control, then all he** broke loose...
Hunter was talking he wanted to kill Mick Jagger. The Angels were just doing what they were supposed to do - protect the bands. And they did that. Otherwise Mick Jagger would have been shot.
@@teorijaludaka In the film anyone with two good eyes can see Hunter waving a pistol. Not many in that hippie crowd would have been carrying a pistol around. The pistol itself was a serious threat. And since Hunter was so close to the stage, common sense would suggest he wanted to shoot the band. Witnesses reported that Hunter said he was going to kill Mick Jagger. Hunter foolishly provoked rhe Hells Angels. And paid for his foolishness with his life.
@@clarkewi He never said he was going to kill Jagger. I've read many books and articles. He was acting the fool earlier like a lot of drugged out people, but the Angels were attacking him and that's when he pulled the gun on them. Look at the film, he is pointing it at other Angels, but the stage was only 3 feet high and it looked like he was aiming for the performers.
Who hires a group of drunk, violent felons to handle security for a 300k attendance event? Plus no mention of the Stones going on-stage hours after they were supposed to, even though people were sitting in the glaring sun for hours getting angrier and more wasted. The Oakland HA captain even objected, saying the crowd were getting 'dark'. They showed complete disdain for that crowd - probably because it was a free concert (we know much the Stones love money). As for the stabbing, the dude did pull a fucking revolver out, saying he wanted to kill Jagger, and then starts waving it around the crowd. Any cop that had been there would have shot him on the spot. Don't get me wrong, it's common knowledge the HA's were on a power trip and bullying the hippies. The Stones failed and the Angels failed. Only victims were the people who just turned up for a good time.
0:11 - This concert poster is bogus. A "fantasy" poster. Due to the literally last-day change from Sears Point Raceway to the Altamont Speedway, NO concert posters were printed. There simply wasn't enough time. BTW there were no Sears Point posters, either. Any such posters are fake. Created after the fact.
“Passaro was arrested and tried for murder in 1971. He was acquitted after the jury viewed the concert tape. Three other lives were lost during the concert due to accidental stabbing. The coroner's inquest concluded that the deaths were undoubtedly the worst case of mass suicide he had ever seen”.
The blame lies with so many people, some more than others. The total lack of organisation of the entire 'free' concert from the outset was always going to make this a disaster, the whole thing should have been scrapped when with only 5 days to go before the concert date they had to change venue yet again! Mick said from the outset "No cops" which is why Rock from the Dead offered up the Angels, who btw most had previous offences with the law, so that was never going to go down well. They were high on bad LSD like most of the crowd, drunk and up for a fight, they turned up and started bullying people before the music had even started so to say they were only doing their jobs is laughable. The Angels were in charge and nobody else, they were picking fights with Band members, simply because they had asked them to calm down and stop beating the crowd up! Hunter shouldn't have taken a gun, No, but he was being badly beaten BEFORE he pulled the gun, the Angel stabbed him 5 times and then others came to join in and beat him to a pulp, did they still think he was a danger at that point??..........of course they didn't, they wanted to kill someone, end of story!
In 1969 a black guy pulls out a gun in a crowd of 300k white people, at a Rolling Stones concert, what the hell did anyone think would happen to him? Especially with the Hells Angels doing security. Even back then they were trigger happy.
The Most Deplorable Did you ever think of why a black guy, with a white girlfriend at that, would want to pull out a gun at a racist, violent gang? This is why I do not attend rock concerts or any venue where I would be in the minority. White people love to antagonize. They have the power to do so. The series of events described by the witnesses prove that Hunter was enraged because he was provoked. This is why his girlfriend was there trying to calm him down. Of course the narrative becomes “crazed black guy”.
It's like this was all planned. If the concert was held at the original location where it is was supposed to be, we may would have had a different outcome. Nobody is innocent here. At the same time, we don't Really know what happened with Meredith Hunter and the Hells Angels. One story is they were harassing him and he was going to defend himself and the other is that he was high on drugs and wanted to kill Mick Jagger. There are so many stories about Altamont and what happened but we will never know the real truth. It sucks when a concert goes bad like this. To me, a concert is my church, my sanctuary and a place where I can be with my own people, enjoying bands and music we love. This sort of violence has no place there. At the same time, there are those who get stupid and can't handle their drugs and alcohol. They got no business being at a concert if this is the case. They're disrespectful and trying to show off. They aren't going to enjoy music and fellowship with other people. They think they're going to make a name for themselves somehow. They ruin a good time for everyone else.
Is the picture of the Hell's Angel suppose to be Alan Passaro? He was found dead in 1985 and I don't think he would have been as old as the Hells Angel pictured here? Passaro would have been 38 years old when he died and this Hells Angel looks much older. Alan David Passaro (August 23, 1948 - March 29, 1985)
put a white man in a suit and tie and waving a gun around with a Black woman at a Black Panther gathering...….you know and I know they fuck him the hell up.....so come on...its called, "sauce for the goose"
At 12:58 you can see that the video tape was splice together, at the time of the killing,The screen even flash when that part of the tape reaches the playback head,Something was cut out.Hope this was not the tape the jury viewed.The darker tape on top is video,the brown tape on the bottom is audio
What is not reported is that there was an onstage fight during the Oakland concert that the Stones had just played. The Stones then trashed the dressing room throwing food around. In 1972 Bill Graham and the Stones reconciled when The Stones played Winterland with an audience of 5500 fans.
I was in Junior High and just "getting into" Rock in a big way when Woodstock and then Altamont happened. I live about 90 miles south of Altamont so it was almost a local event for us. I've been a "Rocker" from 1968 to Present and as the Grateful Dead would say; "What a long strange trip it's been"...
Peace
Nicely put Sir. Hope youre good and still rockin! :) its a big shame that the actions of such few can spoil things for all of the rest of us. Peace an love back to you.
@@MrMiD.Life.Crisis I am not a Sir. I am forever young. Thanks to my generation
WOW! Brings back such vivid memories! In the Navy in 1969 Vallejo CA. About 3-5 of us were "indulging" at a brothers apt., (my first time) One brought up "let's go to the concert tomorrow". Next morning we were off! Adventure Time !!! After driving 2 - 3 hours, we came to a " parking lot" field with hundreds of cars on both sides of the road. Parked where we could, & started walking. Could see nothing but cars , people , earth & sky. Lucky along the way, we were picked up by mini-vans & vehicles driving across the fields. Seemed like miles before we arrived. We walked up a huge hill , with cars everywhere, & came to the top. MY GOD! Never seen so many people! EVER!!! Spread out our blankets, opened the wine, tried out some "stuff" just bought there. It was everywhere! Whatever you wanted...it was being "hawked" to people by vendors making a killing! Drank some wine, smoked a few puffs... Getting big time stoned. Laying there listing to fabulous music, I hear this motorcycle at my head! Opened my eyes & saw what looked like a mechanical monster with a very unclean barbarian strapped across it! Kinda worried me, but looked at my buddy & he reassured me....he said "we've gotta move this wine & shit outta the way". We moved the wine & shit outta the way...the mechanical barbarian monster rolled across the middle of our blanket to the next group of people. My first REAL encounter with H.A.'s ! Went up over the hill to pee on a car tire...hardly any ground, just cars. Started peeing........ beautiful California girl walks up within 10 feet & pulls down her pants & looks me in the eyes & says "Hi...are we having fun?!?" Went back up over the hill to Hell & debauchery. Decided to walk down further into the crowd closer to the stage. Big school bus about 25 yds. from front of stage. Women on top of bus as well as guys were throwing cans of beer out & I'm talking THROWING, as in baseball!!! Figured I'd better go back to my safe spot. Left before Stones performed, before dark. Got back around midnight. Oh to be young again... & Know what I now know!
thanks for the good read.
I and a VW bus full of friends drove up from Fullerton, California. We were early, so I parked a mile or so down the road. It was great at first, though we were about halfway back in the huge crowd. The sun came in and out until late afternoon, when it became completely overcast and cold. When the violence started, we didn't know what was going on. But then I saw16-ounce full beer cans flying through the air from the stage area, and the Stones stopped playing, then a bit later the Airplane stopped playing, and the Grateful Dead implored the audience to stop fighting. The positive vibe had turned negative, even scary. I thought "what if a riot starts - I could be trampled". After the concert broke up, one girl who came with us had lost her little dog Ariel. I still remember her crying "Ariel, Ariel!" It was so sad - she never did find it. It turned dark, and there were huge piles of trash that someone set fire to, with burning plastic and paper producing a smoky, choking pall that was held in by the low atmospheric inversion layer. What started as a fun time turned into some kind of hell. Still, it was an experience and we all survived, except perhaps the poor dog.
@gregholmes1289
Airplane played BEFORE the Stones and Grateful Dead didn't play at all. They heard about the violence from some of the members of Santana and they decided they didn't want any part of it, so they left.
A woman in the audience had a can or bottle hit her on the head and she suffered a nasty skull fracture. I believe one of those d!ckheads on the bus may have thrown it but I wouldn't swear to it.
As David Crosby said about the Angels, "If you don't want the tiger to eat your lunch guests, then don't invite the f**king tiger."
Wise Dave
that man was pointing his gun up at the stage you know... ;p;p;p
@@deelee6786 he was pointing it at a hells angels member who was near the stage they were picking on him and it wasn't loaded so don't comment please on something u know nothing about how many people do I have to correct you'd all say the same thing look young man peep game don't get to excited that's how Chinese whispers start through people like you people like U who create these fake ass stories get people bashed and or they life took just saying bro peep game ya dig ✌️
Hello Bark
I'm getting in my late 60's. When I reflect back on my life I wonder how I could have been so stupid on many occasions. Unfortunate that we don't have a chance to have a redo. I'll bet I'm not the only one who would like a redo. Believe me, being stupid is not limited to one race. Cheers
And that was the nail in the coffin of the 60's. RIP Peace and Love, never to be seen or heard from again.
Nah, man. The media spun it that way because they were salivating to see the end of something good. They also tried to make the Manson murders a "hippie/drug thing" but both incidents were just individuals acting like violent primates. Happens in every era. We let them dictate too much. Good music, love for each other & the environment, peace & consciousness expansion aren't confined to any decade. (Nor is violence).
@@MsNooneinparticular Well said.
@@MsNooneinparticular This was, in fact, the end of the Peace Love era though. There weren't anymore free concerts like this for decades, and there weren't any more peace love rallies or anything. The Beatles broke up around this time, Altamont happened, and the 70s brought in an era of violence. Kent State happened, music turned to much darker, heavier sounds like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, etc. The sound of the 60's that was lead largely by The Beatles was replaced by much heavier, brooding sounds and the Singer/Songwriter era had begun. The majority of lyrics in songs were not the same as the LSD fueled 60's, it became much more political and less about peace and love. Vietnam still had 5 more years to go, and people were losing friends faster than ever. It became a much darker time, and this event marked that start.
Daryl ! Blah blah and stones
@@MsNooneinparticular Amen...
THANK you so much For Streaming. I'am Fan since 1962. Best SONG Gime Shelter 💯💯💯
What were they thinking hiring a gang of outlaws for security, and paying them in beer no less?
Their problem was listening to the Dead.
Beer (like cigarettes) were real currency in the 60s.
The hell'angels were hired as security by the management of the Rolling Stones, on the recommendation of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane who both according to the manager of the Rolling Stones' , Sam Cutler, the deal was made at a meeting including Cutler, Grateful Dead manager Rock Scully , they are the culprits, not the Stones.
The stones didn't realize that the American Hells Angels were far different from the HA in England at the time. The HA over there was more docile than the USA HA....that's one story I heard.
Then there's the story that the promoters somehow screwed the Los Angeles chapter who were the ones doing security. Plus the location was bad and the lack of any organization. It's like, "Heres a venue, a stage and here you go". There wasn't that unity of Woodstock at Altamont either. I'd like to talk to someone who was there and who is truthful about their story.
@@cpa54 dont be silly.jpj
The concert originally was originally going to be held at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, but the city wouldn't give a permit after hearing that The Rolling Stones would be on the bill and feared a huge crowd. The concert was then moved to Sears Point (now Infineon) Raceway in Sonoma, but after a dispute with the track's owner, the stage and all the sound equipment was moved to Altamont within 24 hours before the concert was to take place.
Note to self: don't show up at a low security poorly organized rock concert as a black dude in a lime green suit with a white girl waving a large gun around in a crowd of 300,000 acid heads, meth users and drunk, stoned Hell's Angels with pool cues.
very good idea.
HAHA
A very good capsule description of the whole thing.
cant pull and wave a gun after you have been stabbed in the temple with a military dagger...he had the gun out beore the stabbing
David Evans Fucking funny
I was in Army basic training when this happened Ft Campbell Dec 1969. ❤
Huge balls on Paul Kantner for getting on the MIC & calling out the Hells Angels
He was buds with those guys, but it still was ballsy.
Rusty Kuntz. AMEN!!!!
@@RICHBLACKCOCK Is that the guy that looks like a badassed George Harrison?
@@Kelly14UK uh. yeah. with an American "twist' to him. San Francisco style!!! just blond with 'SPECS' on!! yeah they favor a bit. live life man.
@@RICHBLACKCOCK I meant the guy that goes : I'll tell you what's happening...YOU that's what's happening. Then gets lost for words realising 100 thousand zillion people are watching. It was really funny.
Awesome footage HUGE concert my older brother was there and filmed it
It's now been 50 years since that tragic day. A lot has changed with regards to free concerts, security, and proper venues. We learned much from the poor decisions at altamont. Hopefully a tragedy like this will never happen again.
Don't forget that out door concerts were something new and no one had any experience to organise concerts, and there where no proffesional stages
so simple scafoldings were used, and there were no stage barriers and no dixi toilets, water supply, medic stands etc etc, so it was all amaturistic as hell.
And boy, did the Stones made a mistake to invite the hells assholes to play the security cops, because those low lives ain't suitable for the job.
i even heared that some hells assholes wanted to kill Mick Jagger because he was negative about hells assholes. Well they didn't succeed in that
thank goodness! Now the crowd should have united and beat the crap out of thos hells assholes, just like a crowd did at a evel knevil show,
because one of those hells assholes picked a fight with Evel, so the crowd grabbed some 2 by 4's and beat thos hells assholes right into the intensive care,
and that's how i like it, because i hate those hells assholes! And when i would be in charge, then would give out permits to shoot all those hells assholes because
they are like a fuckin dissease that no one want's to have!
They learned from Altamont? Sure about that? 20 years later Woodstock II was a rape fest.
There's hardly ever any free concerts on this scale anymore
I would like to see some of the footage that wasn't in the Gimme Shelter film.There must be hours of unseen film that the public never saw.I was in the front of the stage and would like to see the unseen footage before I'm dead.
+Dougdenslowe Me, too! I have wondered why film of the other bands and more clear film of the fights has not been released.
+slash177 probably because there's not enough money in it.You know there must be hours of unreleased footage;every camera was rolling and all the public saw was "for a movie"..........The footage should be shown for the sake of history.There's another story concerning the guy who was killed......
+slash177 I Recently Read Carlos Santanas Biography...He Talks About What A Mess Altamont Was And How Every Year They Approach Him For Permission To Release The Footage Of Them Playing That Day......He Says He Will NEVER Let It Be Released Because That Day Was Pure Evil
+brian leblanc may I make a comment,that's strictly my opinion,and I loved the Santana band,especially this line up.What Carlos is neglecting to do,by this selfish decision,is leaving one of the best performances of their career unheard.He is taking one of the high points of the concert,and history (and all of us people,fans and historians)s left with a big hole that,for no other reason,but a "new age" ridiculous reason,should be included.Its been 50 years,they played their asses off,and at this point,it should all be public domain.Once music has left the fingers,and voice boxes of their owners,it now belongs to the listeners..............the folks that made them famous in the first place.Get over the drama Carlos,you look foolish at this point.
I Kind Of Agree With You.....He Says In His Book He Doesnt Want That Footage Released Because He Doesnt Want To Be Associated With Such Negativity....The Whole Band Agrees With Him...Bad Vibes All The Way Around That Day.........Plus They Were The First Band To Play....I Would Love To See It Myself
I was there. Sitting up the hill from the stage. We could see the stage but were far enough away we could not make out who was who. Many happenings that would have the music stop or the crowd roar. We didn't know what was happening.
From our seat on the hill the wine and joints just passed on through the crowd and we had a good time.
Never knew about the deaths until the next day. The news reports all reported what a disaster the concert had been.I suppose it was for some but many had a great time.
We had driven cross country in an old Studebaker. Not too many fences at that time. Parked and then walked a couple miles more to get into the crowd.The 2 freeways that converged not far from the speedway had been turned into parking lots.
'Gimme Shelter' is one of the best documentaries ever filmed. It perfectly captures the atmosphere and mood of not just the disastrous Altamont concert but the death of the 1960's as well.
morelemir. death of the 1960`s??? heck/ I was born in the 1960`s. 1963. `I m alive & prosperous. I`m writing this post. so.
@@RICHBLACKCOCK I'm very glad to hear it and I hope you remain so for a many, many years to come!!!
The concert though... In my mind it perfectly captures when the love and peace era came to an end, when it went wrong and the 1970's began.
An absolutely *brilliant* documentary, especially if like me you are a big fan of the Stones!!!
"disastrous!"
Were you there?
Most attendees thought the concert was GREAT.
The Gimme Shelter movie was hyped up with extra drama to increase sales and profits.
The violence was not brought on by the Hells Angels.
It was incited by Meredith Hunter who was high on whatever and kept rushing the stage platform.
He'd made several rushes at the stage and stopped by the Hells Angels. When he pulled a revolver he was stopped by a HA who had a knife.
The other deaths were parking lot/overdose related.
Myself and friends I was with had a great time.
I've always said that. as far as real people in a real situation(which is what a documentary is),it's something you can't take your eyes off of. I went to see it when it was restored & re-mastered, at a revival theater. it didn't have to happen. always considered Jagger to be reasonably bright, but he demonstrated here, he was an imbecile.
@@joemcmillan2089 I am very sorry to say I was not! I was in low single-digits at the time, so while they might have let me in I don't think I would have enjoyed it much! I am English as well so the precursor gig in London would have been more accessible for me.
I hear what you are saying and agree there was a lot more to the killing than the simple act of racism that is usually blamed. Hunter definitely pulled a pistol on the biker guy, no question. I think even his relatives admit he was also pretty much out of his mind on several different substances at the time. As to whether the response was proportionate... It was a brutal moment and I think you probably needed to be there to properly understand it--and from what you say you were!
I think the Grateful Dead carry a great deal of responsibility for the disaster that was Altamont, more than the Stones do. The Dead recommended the Hells Angels as the security, describing them as "righteous" and saying they had done similar work at Dead concerts, the Angels according to Sonny Barger had a lot of respect for the Dead however he described the Stones as "looking like faggots". The Dead then refused to play leaving a long gap before the Stones went on in which time the crowd and the angels got more and more agitated.Of course the Stones were not entirely blameless, but neither were the audience themselves. The Dead could have helped calm the situation by providing some common ground on which the various groups of people who were there on that fateful winter's day in 1969
+Nick The Bastard Exactly. If the Angels were their friends then why were they afraid to play?
You got dat right holmz.
I think the Dead never expected having the Hell's Angels killing someone. That's not their responsibility. The Hells Angels weren't hired to commit murder. Things got out of control. And to answer your question: why they didn't played? Because they were shocked as the Rolling Stones and the crowd was when that happened.
Because their were different more violent unknown Hells Angels from other areas that day . It's in the book Sam Cutler wrote.
Probably responsible for the bad acid too.
I look for myself in this video. I was there but still haven't found me, yet 😎😄😍
Were things as out of control as the news reports said? That must have been a crazy experience for you.
Were you the naked lady crawling onstage lolol
I was there too. There's a book called *The Hippies* One day, a friend of mine told me that he saw my picture in it in the chapter about Altamont. He brought it the next week, and showed me. I couldn't believe it!... there I was with a hat on and a little bottle of wine that I balanced on my head! LOL
Noel Cielo do u use LSD etc.. Today?
Am I the only one absolutely mind blown that this big of a lineup was at a FREE concert???
It was the 60’s
Yep
The bands were millionaires in a time of cheap Everything. Then Nixon got in ...
you did a good job with this video, I'm 60 and would have been 8 when this concert took place, i think today was the first time i was introduced to this when i saw the gimme shelter doc. There's raw video of the dead being told what was going on, does anyone know if they performed, because the look on their faces said fuck this, we out. Also after the look on micks face when he knows something really bad just happened is amazing, theres video of them loading the whole band and entorage on a chopper and the looks on their faces, wow. This blew me away and I'm entrenched in it for 6 hours now
To be fair...he does have a gun
It looked like one of those guns that a little flag comes out of the end with the word "BANG"
@@TheJerrykb When you pull out a gun toy or otherwise in the dark with fights and scuffles breaking out all over the place, you lose the benefit of doubt. It turns out to be a long barrel revolver either .22 or .38. If you pull one out people think you intend to use it.
@@TheJerrykb We'll let you take the shot to prove that only a flag comes out, genius!
Be crazy not to.
@@beauzer36 thats what i would think regardless if it was a toy or not. In a quick snappy situation, whos going to keep calm to check the gun to see if its real. Some of those Airsoft pistols and rifles these days look like the real thing, you wouldnt tell them apart from a distance.
50 years today since Altamont. Dec 6 2019.
look, imagine the situation turned around, a white dude in coat and tie with a black woman and waving a gun at a Black Panther gathering....everyone knows the same fucking ending...it wouldn't have taken the Panthers that long to fuck the white dude up...if you don't believe that you are an ass clown
Really well done clip. I saw the title, and I was thinking "Is this another one of the clips w/ false information?"; but I have to apologize to oldiesfan. Great job. Were you there on that day? I think the only angle I would add to your piece, is about the Dead. That it was their camp who suggested the Angels, and then the band refused to even show or perform themselves.
Except the Dead came later to observe the damage---as in the movie "Gimme Shelter", and the young teenage drummer from Santana met them off the plane and was giving Garcia and Lesh a play-by-play report about what was going down, and all they did was shake their heads
Excellent video,oldiesfan 1968!!
I arrived the day before before SUNDOWN...hardly anyone there on the mountainside where we stayed until DAWN when they let us find a place to sit....I was there in front of the stage but decided to find a spot 100 feet back of the center of the stage....between the two scaffold forward of the stage. I was there from 7am to 10pm the day of the concert....I was working in San Mateo and came there right after work.....We camped the night before on the hillside with fires, music and doobies.
+Duke Feist Did you see any of the fights? What did you think of the Hell's Angels behavior?
how old are you
Duke Feist- Bet that was a helluva good time!?!
I am watching this for music class🎻🎵🎧
How'd you do?
The drugs and the negative fighting was around the stage AND ONLY THERE....I was 100 up from the stage all day and NEVER HAD A PROBLEM until the NIGHT TIME waiting for the STONES...all the violence was near and around the stage...with what 5000 total people near there....295,000 other people HAD A GREAT TIME...
295,000 people and one dog.
@@Gerkinstock True story, The dog on the stage during the stones Set had been separated from her master, and was reunited by the end of the night.
@@acidking202 True facts, but the H.A. were responsible for the trouble at Altamont. It was one of the best concerts I have ever attended, and I was at both Woodstock, and, Altamont!!
acidking202 thank God
@@prebooomer How was the sound? Which was better?
My grandparents were the ones that sued The Rolling Stones for the damages to their property
Did they get anything?
Hello People
I wish people would chill out. My videos are pure fluff and made strictly for fun. This happened close to 50 years ago and was one of many important events that happened in 1969. An interesting year, with great music enjoy the look back and don't get all worked up. Remember an old dumb fart made the video so why get riled up about it.Cheers
Thanks it’s awesome
OMG, ole Melvin Belli. Now that's a name & face from the bloody past!
Que loucura! Tinha gente demais!
Probably my favorite stones song gimme shelter
Somebody dissed that suit one too many times.
Who is the HA speaking at 09:31 ?
This was before my time, but I'm interested in this music era, so I'm not trying to talk like I know anything. But aren't the people too close to the performers ?
I know it said in the video the stage was only 36 inches high. I'd be so bugged about that if I were a performer !
Seems like a bad vibe on this event from the get-go.
Hunter tried to get on stage, the Angels kicked him off, he got mad and pulled a gun
8:41 to 8:51 what is Grace singing or saying it sounds like" easy?"
I think so
I was there in the crowd, about 20-30 feet from the stage at that point. However, I was so stoned by that time I didn't realize what was happening until it was over. I do remember trying to find my way to the porta-potties only to discover that there were incredibly insufficient facilities to serve the enormous crowd, and most people had simply resorted to pissing on the ground by that time. During the first hour, I remember that a couple of narcs tried to bust someone for dope, but gave up when the crowd began to close in on them. Overall, that entire experience was a bummer, more so for me having swallowed a handful of orange sunshine. By the time I left, I couldn't even speak. Certainly NOT the "Woodstock of the West"! I knew some Angels that lived in the Haight, where I did, and they were pretty good guys. But they were definitely uncool that day.
Orange sunshine. Holy crap, I had a wicked bad trip on it. I thought witches and warlocks were going to kill me. Too freakin' real.
Yes, a handful. If I remember correctly, baggies of the stuff were being tossed to the crowd by Marty Balin, during the Airplane's set. I was into the "if one is good, more than one is great" drug attitude, and I thank God that I didn't kill myself with my crazy, destructive behavior. I certainly know of plenty of others who weren't so fortunate!
Orange sunshine?. Think that's what the Stoned guy was tripping on in the footage? A handful? You're lucky to be alive!.. lol
Anyone noticed musical similiarites between Under My Thumb and Gimme Shelter? Especially in the live versions which are just guitar based.
back then, we were all shocked with the one death and scattered beatings....now, we have a machine gun shooter from hotel windows killing everyone in sight ...
Well. USA a sick third world nation
nice job on the video
Marty Balin was knocked out twice. The first time he was knocked out by an Angel was for saying "fuck you" to an Angel. When he woke up he said it again to the same Angel and got knocked out again. Big balls Marty. Read "Just a shot Away" by Saul Austerlitz,first edition 2018. The Angels parked their bikes in front of the stage and then wondered why the bikes got knocked over.
I was literally backstage at that event. We had gone with our clunky 16mm Auricon movie cameras to film something but in the crush I ended up back stage and did not get much of a sense of what was going on until later. There were rumors floating around that Bob Dylan was going to show up and play after the Rolling Stones but needless to say he never did. Of big music events the Human Be-In on January 1, 1967 was fun and the memorial concert in Golden Gate park for Chet Helms in 2005 was fun. The rest you can more or less have, although I hear that one Monterey Pop festival was good. I was at another music event where the Hells Angels beat up somebody, but you'll have to read one of my novels to find out about that one.
I was at Altamont and the Grateful Dead did not play that day, I did see them the night before at the Filmore West. I think they had planned to play that day but canceled after they saw what was going on there that day.
rick t Hello Rick Now that must have been cool. Being from the centre of Canada I've never talked to anyone who had been there. Were you living in California at the time?
oldiesfan1968 I have lived my whole life in California, I was living in the haight at the time of the Altamont concert.
rick t they got scared who can blame them they left
April Gosa they got the hell out of there
rick t So you were one of the crowd? Tell me what made you guys so mad in the first place? I'm not blaming you specifically or anything...But why did the crowd become so angry? Was it just alcohol and drug fueled, with not enough proper organization?
Hello Vista
You raise an interesting point. I remember using google images to find the photo.I find that google images can sometimes be confusing. The photo could easily be incorrect. I just checked google images again and could not find an older image of Passaro. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Cheers
I was there.
girl: "He won't die."
Gets zipped up in a bodybag.
Gimme Shelter captures the mood. Some of my mates from the Valley tried to talk me into going to Altamont with them. It was near the end of my high school term. But something told me not to go. The stories they came back with were horrific. Bad acid was in everything. I heard that you could taste it. And it was so cold they had to burn tires for heat.
Thats the part that i hate most people always tries to drug you putting lsd on something when you dont want to use any of that crap specially hippies ,putting those things in your drinks,food etc,no everybody was a hippie in those days probably just like the fashion but thats all.
@@angelicaquirarte Yep. You could get "dosed" in those crazy days. I'm an old man now and retired.
Ur right, bad choices are made by individuals of all races, not by all people of one race.
13% committed 80% of the crime
13:40 Mick was really shocked when he saw what happened in front of the stage!
Mick still hasn't answered for Altamont. There's plenty of blame to go around, but he's the one guy that could have stopped it and didn't. In order to get "Gimme Shelter" distributed, he needed the other bands appearing in the film to sign a release. He did so by telling them than the money would go to charity. All of it, over $1M, went to the Stones.
@@PisceanGardener The original concert was scheduled to be held in Golden Gate Park which had hosted many concerts previously with minimal problems. But Jagger wanted a Woodstock type event and thought that GG park was too small a venue. So being the big names they were, they insisted the concert be moved elsewhere. The first alternate choice was Sears Point which would have been perfect because the stage would have been up on a hill and the performers easily protected. But the people who managed Sears Point also managed the Fabulous Forum and they were pissed at the Stones for blowing off the final show at one of their concerts at the Forum. They told the Stones to eff off so they ended up at Altamont, a horrible location. Jagger never took responsibility for any of this including leaving Altamont via their private helicopter instead of trying to use it to save the life of the guy who was stabbed. If you get a chance, Joel Selvin wrote a terrific book about Altamont that goes into much detail.
Dude was already chased off by the angels once. He should of sucked up his pride and stayed the fuck away from them. Instead he goes and gets his gun and comes back for more. What, did he think he was going to kill all the angels with a 6 shot revolver? What a terrible idea.
I was there, what a trip literally. No regrets!
5:39 “(The) stage was only 39 inches high.”
That sounds like something from “This Is Spinal Tap.”
Altamont was a big misnomer: Grateful Dead also used the Hell's Angels as security for several of their concerts. However, the Angels that were at Altamont were later revealed to be neophytes and hardly any of the leaders were present at the show. SONNY BARGER AND CO ARRIVED 4 O CLOCK!!!... PROSPECTS WERE BEATING CONCERT GOERS during the day.... HELLS ANGELS WERE-TOLD-to park there motorcycles in front of the stage.... HELLS ANGELS WERE UNCLEAR TO WHAT THERE "DUTIES" WERE.... GRATEFUL DEAD LEFT AND THE CROWD WAITED FOR 2 HOURS BECAUSE BASS PLAYER BILL WYMAN DIDNT ARRIVE TILL AFTER DARK... THE HELLS ANGELS WERE TOLD TO KEEP THE AUDIENCE OFF THE STAGE... AN AUDIENCE MEMBER CAUSED A MOTORCYCLE TO BLOW UP BY KNEELING ON THE SEAT THE SPRINGS WERE SHORTING THE BATTERY DURING "SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL" (you can see the smoke) DURING THE SONG AUDEINCE MEMBERS GOT THE WRONG IDEA AND STARTED MESSING WITH THE MOTORCYCLES IN FRONT..... 3 more songs were played NO PROBLEMS... UNDER MY THUMB THE BLACK GUY PULLED A GUN AND GOT STABBED TO DEATH... 2 more songs were done with no problems but then DURING LIVE WITH ME they had a problem with a naked woman THATS ALL... 4-5 more songs were done with NO PROBLEMS as a matter of fact BOOTLEGS ATTEST TO THIS when they announced there last song the crowd was like '"aaawww we have to go home..." type reaction ON BOOTLEGS... SOME PEOPLE HAD A GOOD TIME!!!
I don't think you know what the word misnomer means
Nobody turns on a video to WATCH a “documentary” and wants to READ the entire thing! Especially people who know absolutely nothing about it. This SUCKS!!
It amazes me how many people, while accusing others of being stupid, cannot spell or complete a sentence. Using punctuation and the spelling of words are fundamental, people. Seriously, like 2nd grade stuff.
Timmy Twothumb Yeahh I hayt that shitt 2!
Wat r yo saysing? I not git it/
Me and Joanne and Richard Kendall and Cindy Lee in my old VW bug listening to Radio KFRC for directions. Finally arriving at Altamont Speedway that cold day in December1969. We heard Mick Jaggers tell the crowd: . “Today we are all brothers. Everybody cool out, cool out.” I remember it like yesterday. Earlier that day, Mick was standing in the doorway of the Stones guest trailer. There were so many fans (300,000) wanting to hear the Stones sing. A lot of disharmony and apparently bad drugs. Mick couldn’t stop the fools that day. Two years later and Richard was in Vietnam and I went to work for Dept of Corrections for 33 years.
Relax man, youtube is full of people who want to make their point know.
Cheers for the effort in this video.
And this ladies and gentleman is the "dark" side of rock and roll. Where ego, greed, narcissism, love, hatred, sex, drugs, alcohol, and violence all come together to form the perfect shit storm.
Over 50 years since this took place.
Am I seeing right, isn't that Michelle Phillips from The Mamas and the Papas? 9:36
Don't get the Hell's Angels to do security at your party!
That was Jerry Garcia's idea because he said that the Hell's Angels would work for beer and drugs. Later , Jerry blamed the "British fairies, Rolling Stones" for all of the violence.
Lived and went to HS in Livermore at that time, every liquor store and all the grocery stores were sold out of liquor. Many friends made some good $ giving rides on tote goats and bikes. We used to party in those hills away from the Alameda county sheriffs. Later years between owners and non op the gates were open and we would take laps in our cars that was late 80s early 90s.
Only been to one other Stones concert that took over a town in Belgium. We had to walk about 4 km back to our car out of town. Beer was served in plastic cups and the walk back ALL the way was over plastic cups. Some residents even had 8 ft. chain link fences built around their houses BUT everyone maintained County fairgrounds on the other side of town from where we parked.
the people around the first 10 feet of the stage had the problems....NOT THE 298,000 OTHERS LIKE ME....
One thing about the 21st century, if this were to happen today: the band would be playing to tracks, the hells angels would be actors, the “murder” would be committed in slow motion using CGI and shot before a green screen, and it would air in HBO. The crowds would be created with CGI. The final music mix would be digital. The movie would be in HD stereo.
The death of Hendrix was the end of the 60's not Lamont...
Or Charles Monson
@@zampieritto Who's he Manson's uncle?
Keith and Charlie sounding SO great on the studio version of Gimme Shelter
Woodstock was the dream..
Altamont was the nightmare...
Well woodstock was a nightmare aswell because there were no facilities like toilets, fresh drinking water and food stalls, so it was a giant mess
with only one positive thing and that was that no one got murdered!
Hello, I was in Cali. at the time of this concert....I was in the Marines at Camp Pendelton. I heard about this concert, but dint'd go there, I was on Duty at the Base.....I'm glad I idin't go there......John from North Carolina.
Keith Richards was entertaining on stage with his banter.
70 years here. I was living in San Leandro at the time and I attended this event.
It was quite a scene! Just barely under control, then all he** broke loose...
Lawrence Klein. U went to ALTAMONT? at age 12?☮✌MISSION IMPOSSIBLE!!
Hunter was talking he wanted to kill Mick Jagger. The Angels were just doing what they were supposed to do - protect the bands. And they did that. Otherwise Mick Jagger would have been shot.
It should have been Keith Richards, He was already dead anyway...
Yeah. One dead
100 ha talking shit.
Who you gonna believe ?
Never heard this ? It's the winners that write history. Most of the time they hide their acts.
You know..
@@teorijaludaka In the film anyone with two good eyes can see Hunter waving a pistol. Not many in that hippie crowd would have been carrying a pistol around. The pistol itself was a serious threat. And since Hunter was so close to the stage, common sense would suggest he wanted to shoot the band. Witnesses reported that Hunter said he was going to kill Mick Jagger. Hunter foolishly provoked rhe Hells Angels. And paid for his foolishness with his life.
@@clarkewi He never said he was going to kill Jagger. I've read many books and articles. He was acting the fool earlier like a lot of drugged out people, but the Angels were attacking him and that's when he pulled the gun on them. Look at the film, he is pointing it at other Angels, but the stage was only 3 feet high and it looked like he was aiming for the performers.
This concert added tothe badass legened ofthe stones.
Who hires a group of drunk, violent felons to handle security for a 300k attendance event? Plus no mention of the Stones going on-stage hours after they were supposed to, even though people were sitting in the glaring sun for hours getting angrier and more wasted. The Oakland HA captain even objected, saying the crowd were getting 'dark'. They showed complete disdain for that crowd - probably because it was a free concert (we know much the Stones love money). As for the stabbing, the dude did pull a fucking revolver out, saying he wanted to kill Jagger, and then starts waving it around the crowd. Any cop that had been there would have shot him on the spot. Don't get me wrong, it's common knowledge the HA's were on a power trip and bullying the hippies. The Stones failed and the Angels failed. Only victims were the people who just turned up for a good time.
Mama told me not to come, mama told me not to come.
She said that ain't the way to FUN son, that ain't the way...
+Tokiofritz...The Dead or the Airplane recommended the Angels to the Stones & told 'em they were totally cool so dont blame them for that fiasco.
0:11 - This concert poster is bogus. A "fantasy" poster. Due to the literally last-day change from Sears Point Raceway to the Altamont Speedway, NO concert posters were printed. There simply wasn't enough time. BTW there were no Sears Point posters, either. Any such posters are fake. Created after the fact.
it's horrible to think that you can just go out for a fun night out and end up stabbed and dead..
Maybe he should have left the pistol at home.
es78xx Luckily, safe spaces are putting an end to that danger! Oh wait, you said a FUN night out... nevermind.
Who is the guy sitting on the hill with the black knit hat with his eyes closed? Its about half way through. I've been trying to find out for 50 yrs.
IF YOU WANT THE REAL STORY Read "Altamont : The Rolling Stones,The Hell's Angels and Rock's Darkest Day" 2016 ,,
Truly the end of the Peace & Love era.
I guess one should not pull guns out at rock concerts and hells angels.
Nothing like peace and love
Point; you dont hire the Hells Angels for security with $500 worth of beer with them dropping acid and expect it to end well
What kind of name is Meredith for a guy?
Better than Simple Simon. Tell me you weren't called that?
Well, there was Meredith Burgess who played Sylvester Stallone's trainer Mick in Rocky
4:35 that guy looks like 1969-1971 George Harrison.
“Passaro was arrested and tried for murder in 1971. He was acquitted after the jury viewed the concert tape. Three other lives were lost during the concert due to accidental stabbing. The coroner's inquest concluded that the deaths were undoubtedly the worst case of mass suicide he had ever seen”.
The creepy media would never talk about the other people who were killed because they were white
Suicide?
The blame lies with so many people, some more than others. The total lack of organisation of the entire 'free' concert from the outset was always going to make this a disaster, the whole thing should have been scrapped when with only 5 days to go before the concert date they had to change venue yet again! Mick said from the outset "No cops" which is why Rock from the Dead offered up the Angels, who btw most had previous offences with the law, so that was never going to go down well. They were high on bad LSD like most of the crowd, drunk and up for a fight, they turned up and started bullying people before the music had even started so to say they were only doing their jobs is laughable.
The Angels were in charge and nobody else, they were picking fights with Band members, simply because they had asked them to calm down and stop beating the crowd up!
Hunter shouldn't have taken a gun, No, but he was being badly beaten BEFORE he pulled the gun, the Angel stabbed him 5 times and then others came to join in and beat him to a pulp, did they still think he was a danger at that point??..........of course they didn't, they wanted to kill someone, end of story!
In 1969 a black guy pulls out a gun in a crowd of 300k white people, at a Rolling Stones concert, what the hell did anyone think would happen to him? Especially with the Hells Angels doing security. Even back then they were trigger happy.
The Most Deplorable Did you ever think of why a black guy, with a white girlfriend at that, would want to pull out a gun at a racist, violent gang? This is why I do not attend rock concerts or any venue where I would be in the minority. White people love to antagonize. They have the power to do so. The series of events described by the witnesses prove that Hunter was enraged because he was provoked. This is why his girlfriend was there trying to calm him down. Of course the narrative becomes “crazed black guy”.
@@LoveTruth86 He pulled the gun out trying to defend himself. He was in the middle of getting his *ss kicked and probably a last resort effort.
It's like this was all planned. If the concert was held at the original location where it is was supposed to be, we may would have had a different outcome.
Nobody is innocent here. At the same time, we don't Really know what happened with Meredith Hunter and the Hells Angels. One story is they were harassing him and he was going to defend himself and the other is that he was high on drugs and wanted to kill Mick Jagger. There are so many stories about Altamont and what happened but we will never know the real truth.
It sucks when a concert goes bad like this. To me, a concert is my church, my sanctuary and a place where I can be with my own people, enjoying bands and music we love. This sort of violence has no place there. At the same time, there are those who get stupid and can't handle their drugs and alcohol. They got no business being at a concert if this is the case. They're disrespectful and trying to show off. They aren't going to enjoy music and fellowship with other people. They think they're going to make a name for themselves somehow. They ruin a good time for everyone else.
Is the picture of the Hell's Angel suppose to be Alan Passaro? He was found dead in 1985 and I don't think he would have been as old as the Hells Angel pictured here? Passaro would have been 38 years old when he died and this Hells Angel looks much older. Alan David Passaro (August 23, 1948 - March 29, 1985)
The "Lime Green Jumpsuit" somehow seems scarier than the "long barreled revolver"
put a white man in a suit and tie and waving a gun around with a Black woman at a Black Panther gathering...….you know and I know they fuck him the hell up.....so come on...its called, "sauce for the goose"
Song name at 6:00 pls?
Gimme Shelter
who's here because of a class essay, anyone?
Aunt Jemima class essay of altamont?
hey you make one hell of a syrup, but could you do away with the high fructose corn syrup.
At 12:58 you can see that the video tape was splice together, at the time of the killing,The screen even flash when that part of the tape reaches the playback head,Something was cut out.Hope this was not the tape the jury viewed.The darker tape on top is video,the brown tape on the bottom is audio
that lime green suit and gun should be in the rock n roll of fame.
LOL !!
Meredith Hunter is in an unmarked grave in California hundreds of miles away from where he was from. No visitors either. Pretty sad. RIP
chev202, you need to seek counseling therapy.
It's venues like this that have turned me into a confirmed misanthropic contrarian.
It's like asking 100 George Zimmermans to play pretend cop and provide "security" at a concert. oh, and with lots of beer. sounds like a great idea.
lol
we need to go back to the times no hate just love an peace
I stumbled across this. I knew it was going to be a show as soon as The hells angels seemed like a good idea for security. And paid in beer. Wtf
Everyone wanted to blame the Hells Angels but the truth is they probably saved lives. Maybe even Jagger’s life.
The Angel's were there to kick rear and take names. Just never got to the name taking part.
What is not reported is that there was an onstage fight during the Oakland concert that the Stones had just played. The Stones then trashed the dressing room throwing food around. In 1972 Bill Graham and the Stones reconciled when The Stones played Winterland with an audience of 5500 fans.
the fight was between Bill Graham and Sam Cutler, who didn't get along at all