"When President Kennedy was killed, he wasn't killed by one man..." R.I.P. David Crosby

[Robert Burrows]

 

Edited January 20, 2023 by Robert Burrows

[Joe Bauer]

Remarkable that Crosby would inject that into his performance at the Monterey Pop love fest.

Socially conscious even then.

I was at the Monterey Pop.

Unfortunately only hanging around outside of the fairgrounds.

I was just 15 in June of 1967.

Driving around with some friends just crowd watching. Up and down Fairgrounds road. Night and day, there were thousands of young people.

This was a fashion show with beautiful young people. The latest in hippie fashion. Not a cheap rags affair. Seemed it was a middle to upper middle class affair more than a poorer one in this regards from what I remember. Lots of fancy tasseled leather vests, coats, boots. Bell bottoms and crazy different, colorful and funny hats.

If Manson and his merry band of rag tag followers-pranksters were there, they might have seemed a little on the poor dress side I would think.

I can still remember the heavy smell of patchouli oil ( always feminine attractive to me ) constantly in the air.  That and the smell of weed. You could smell this for blocks around the fairgrounds. The mix was seductively intoxicating...to me anyways.

The whole scene and vibe was very attractive and exciting.

The youthful hippy love energy and fragrance smells, the music ( which you could hear for blocks around)  and the sight of so many beautiful young people everywhere. Again, with their free and expressive and colorful fashion.

Even the performers could be seen walking around outside from time to time. Look, there's Hendrix walking into a little open booth flower shop on Fremont street! Hey, isn't that the Mommas and The Papas!  The close by Denny's restaurant of Fremont street was constantly packed. Ummm, they weren't half bad back then. Can't screw up eggs and coffee, right?

The entire days of the event were remarkably easy going. No crazy or violent incidents. Everyone seemed mellow.

It is absolutely true what Eric Burdon wrote in his song "Monterey."

"Even the cops grooved with us" "Can you believe me yeah" "Down in Monterey." The police "were" very calm and accommodating it seemed to me.

Scores of young people had simply slept outside during the three days and nights with sleeping bags in open land areas behind the fairgrounds versus all the motels in front which were full. The police didn't bother them.

I wish I had paid to actually go to the indoor shows. The prices were very affordable. And taken a camera to boot.

But, I was not understanding of the historical magnitude of it all. And I was of a different crowd than the hippie movement.

I hung around other rougher edged kids from families like mine. Old school booze, violence, cursing, cops. Parents Nixon lovers, Kennedy haters. No money.

Many kids from our high school had easily immersed into the more gentle "Peace And Love" music, fashion and lingo identity genre.

 Volkswagon bugs and vans, patchouli oil, Beatles style longer hair and music on their cumbersome 8 track players.

I was an angry, shorter haired, pimply faced kid still wearing 1950's style white T-shirts and Levis and Converse tennis shoes. My music preference was mostly black soul and Motown.

Still, even I was attracted to the gentler and more freely expressive new hippie/free love/marijuana/ patchouli oil sea change with young people all around me on the California Coast. The prettiest girls in school were flocking to Peace And Love message and style.

The Monterey Pop Festival was an amazingly powerful event that celebrated and advertised this new cultural movement in a dramatically iconic way.

Much more I think than even the original creators and organizers of it imagined it would be.

 

Edited January 20, 2023 by Joe Bauer

[Simon Andrew]

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Edited January 20, 2023 by Simon Andrew
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[Simon Andrew]

35 minutes ago, Joe Bauer said:

Remarkable that Crosby would inject that into his performance at the Monterey Pop love fest.

Socially conscious even then.

I was at the Monterey Pop.

Unfortunately only hanging around outside of the fairgrounds.

I was just 15 in June of 1967.

Driving around with some friends just crowd watching. Up and down Fairgrounds road. Night and day, there were thousands of young people.

This was a fashion show with beautiful young people. The latest in hippie fashion. Not a cheap rags affair. Seemed it was a middle to upper middle class affair more than a poorer one in this regards from what I remember. Lots of fancy tasseled leather vests, coats, boots. Bell bottoms and crazy different, colorful and funny hats.

If Manson and his merry band of rag tag followers-pranksters were there, they might have seemed a little on the poor dress side I would think.

I can still remember the heavy smell of patchouli oil ( always feminine attractive to me ) constantly in the air.  That and the smell of weed. You could smell this for blocks around the fairgrounds. The mix was seductively intoxicating...to me anyways.

The whole scene and vibe was very attractive and exciting.

The youthful hippy love energy and fragrance smells, the music ( which you could hear for blocks around)  and the sight of so many beautiful young people everywhere. Again, with their free and expressive and colorful fashion.

Even the performers could be seen walking around outside from time to time. Look, there's Hendrix walking into a little open booth flower shop on Fremont street! Hey, isn't that the Mommas and The Papas!  The close by Denny's restaurant of Fremont street was constantly packed. Ummm, they weren't half bad back then. Can't screw up eggs and coffee, right?

The entire days of the event were remarkably easy going. No crazy or violent incidents. Everyone seemed mellow.

It is absolutely true what Eric Burdon wrote in his song "Monterey!"

"Even the cops grooved with us" "Can you believe me yeah" "Down in Monterey." The police "were" very calm and accommodating it seemed to me.

Scores of young people had simply slept outside during the three days and nights with sleeping bags in open land areas behind the fairgrounds versus all the motels in front which were full. The police didn't bother them.

I wish I had paid to actually go to the indoor shows. The prices were very affordable. And taken a camera to boot.

But, I was not understanding of the historical magnitude of it all. And I was of a different crowd than the hippie movement. I hung around other rougher edged kids from families like mine. Old school booze, violence, cursing, cops. No money.

Many kids from our high school had easily immersed into the more gentle "Peace And Love" music, fashion and lingo identity genre.

 Volkswagon bugs and vans, patchouli oil, Beatles style longer hair and music on their cumbersome 8 track players.

I was an angry, shorter haired, pimply faced kid still wearing 1950's style white T-shirts and Levis and Converse tennis shoes. My music preference was mostly black soul and Motown.

Still, even I was attracted to the gentler and more freely expressive new hippie/free love/marijuana/ patchouli oil sea change with young people all around me on the California Coast. The prettiest girls in school were flocking to Peace And Love message and style.

The Monterey Pop Festival was an amazingly powerful event that celebrated and advertised this new cultural movement in a dramatically iconic way.

Much more I think than even the original creators and organizers of it imagined it would be.

 

That’s pretty cool that you were there.

I came after that generation but was always attracted to the music of the 60’s.

I did manage to get a guitar pick from Keith Richards a few years later…that’s my only claim to fame.

People laugh but that generation was on a collision course with Angleton and his ilk.

This is evident in the book Chaos and the nonsense going on with the Manson case.

[Charles Blackmon]

3 hours ago, Joe Bauer said:

Remarkable that Crosby would inject that into his performance at the Monterey Pop love fest.

Socially conscious even then.

I was at the Monterey Pop.

Unfortunately only hanging around outside of the fairgrounds.

I was just 15 in June of 1967.

Driving around with some friends just crowd watching. Up and down Fairgrounds road. Night and day, there were thousands of young people.

This was a fashion show with beautiful young people. The latest in hippie fashion. Not a cheap rags affair. Seemed it was a middle to upper middle class affair more than a poorer one in this regards from what I remember. Lots of fancy tasseled leather vests, coats, boots. Bell bottoms and crazy different, colorful and funny hats.

If Manson and his merry band of rag tag followers-pranksters were there, they might have seemed a little on the poor dress side I would think.

I can still remember the heavy smell of patchouli oil ( always feminine attractive to me ) constantly in the air.  That and the smell of weed. You could smell this for blocks around the fairgrounds. The mix was seductively intoxicating...to me anyways.

The whole scene and vibe was very attractive and exciting.

The youthful hippy love energy and fragrance smells, the music ( which you could hear for blocks around)  and the sight of so many beautiful young people everywhere. Again, with their free and expressive and colorful fashion.

Even the performers could be seen walking around outside from time to time. Look, there's Hendrix walking into a little open booth flower shop on Fremont street! Hey, isn't that the Mommas and The Papas!  The close by Denny's restaurant of Fremont street was constantly packed. Ummm, they weren't half bad back then. Can't screw up eggs and coffee, right?

The entire days of the event were remarkably easy going. No crazy or violent incidents. Everyone seemed mellow.

It is absolutely true what Eric Burdon wrote in his song "Monterey."

"Even the cops grooved with us" "Can you believe me yeah" "Down in Monterey." The police "were" very calm and accommodating it seemed to me.

Scores of young people had simply slept outside during the three days and nights with sleeping bags in open land areas behind the fairgrounds versus all the motels in front which were full. The police didn't bother them.

I wish I had paid to actually go to the indoor shows. The prices were very affordable. And taken a camera to boot.

But, I was not understanding of the historical magnitude of it all. And I was of a different crowd than the hippie movement.

I hung around other rougher edged kids from families like mine. Old school booze, violence, cursing, cops. Parents Nixon lovers, Kennedy haters. No money.

Many kids from our high school had easily immersed into the more gentle "Peace And Love" music, fashion and lingo identity genre.

 Volkswagon bugs and vans, patchouli oil, Beatles style longer hair and music on their cumbersome 8 track players.

I was an angry, shorter haired, pimply faced kid still wearing 1950's style white T-shirts and Levis and Converse tennis shoes. My music preference was mostly black soul and Motown.

Still, even I was attracted to the gentler and more freely expressive new hippie/free love/marijuana/ patchouli oil sea change with young people all around me on the California Coast. The prettiest girls in school were flocking to Peace And Love message and style.

The Monterey Pop Festival was an amazingly powerful event that celebrated and advertised this new cultural movement in a dramatically iconic way.

Much more I think than even the original creators and organizers of it imagined it would be.

 

Joe I very much enjoyed some weekends in Monterey and Carmel in the summer of 2000 when I was working contract up in San Jose. It is a beautiful part of the state.

[Roger DeLaria]

I ran the Big Sur International Marathon some years ago, along the PCH from Big Sur to Carmel. We stayed in Monterey, less than 2min from the ocean. Beautiful area.

[Joe Bauer]

The fairgrounds look remarkably the same as they did in 1967. the main stage pavilion especially.

[James DiEugenio]

What a great guy to do this at the top of his fame in front of tens of thousands.

[Ron Bulman]

Moving.  Thanks for posing this Robert.  I did notice, in the intro he says, was not killed by one man, shot from different directions with different guns.  In the song, they (that's Grahm Nash, right?) sing, from a sixth floor window, a gun had shot him down.  No matter, still a cool and moving tribute.  Less than four years after the assassination.      

[Pete Mellor]

Sad to hear of his passing.  I got to catch CSN's tour in U.K. in 2005 & I've always loved '4 Way Street' album.

Crosby this week, Jeff Beck last week.  Heroes for ghosts.  Now in my 70's, the golden time seems so long ago.

[Rob Couteau]

The lyrics in that song really capture how so many of us still feel: 

He never knew my name
Though I never met him
I knew him just the same
Oh, he was a friend of mine

Leader of a nation for such a precious time
Oh, he was a friend of mine

 

Crosby always had a very inquisitive mind.