On Dec. 6, 1969, a Hell’s Angel member killed a concertgoer during a rock concert at Altamont Speedway in northern California. Rock historians like to call it the end of the 1960s, and the antithesis of Woodstock, four months earlier.
That might be an exaggeration, but it was a day of anarchy.
More than 300,000 people crowded into the speedway. The original idea by the Grateful Dead was to have the concert in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. But the Rolling Stones got involved, and that plan fell through. Altamont became the site only three days before the free Sunday concert.
It was a recipe for disaster. The stage, which was finished just before the opening act came on, was only three feet off the ground and roped off with twine.
The Grateful Dead talked the Rolling Stones into hiring Hells Angels as security. Jefferson Airplane cut their set short when bandmember Marty Balin was knocked unconscious by a Hells Angel member who was trying to break up a fight.
The Rolling Stones were on their second song when the stabbing happened. The death was caught on film and is prominent in the documentary “Gimme Shelter”.
Alan Passaro, the Hells Angel who did the stabbing, was later found not guilty. His attorney argued self-defense.
Our Song of the Day, “Gimme Shelter” was released the day before the concert. Keith Richards wrote most of the song. Mick Jagger said the song fit the times. The lyrics talk about taking shelter against what was happening in the world.
The song landed on their “Let It Bleed” album. It was never released as a single.
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