Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to achieve international commercial success. They headlined the Monterey Pop Festival (1967), Woodstock (1969), Altamont Free Concert (1969), and the first Isle of Wight Festival (1968) in England. Their 1967 breakout album Surrealistic Pillow was one of the most significant recordings of the Summer of Love. Two songs from that album, "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit", are among Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Salesman is a 1969 direct cinema documentary film, directed by brothers Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, about door-to-door Bible salesmen.
The Altamont Speedway Free Festival was a counterculture rock concert in the United States, held on Saturday, December 6, 1969, at the Altamont Speedway outside of Tracy, California. Approximately 300,000 attended the concert, with some anticipating that it would be a "Woodstock West". The Woodstock festival had taken place in Bethel, New York, in mid-August, almost four months earlier.
Martyn Jerel Buchwald, known as Marty Balin, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known as the founder/leader and one of the lead singers and songwriters of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.
Albert Maysles and his brother David Maysles were an American documentary filmmaking team known for their work in the Direct Cinema style. Their best-known films include Salesman (1969), Gimme Shelter (1970) and Grey Gardens (1975).
Michael Scott Lang was an American concert promoter, producer, and artistic manager who was best known as a co-creator of the Woodstock Music & Art Festival in 1969. Lang served as the organizer of the event, as well as the organizer for its follow-up events, Woodstock '94 and the ill-fated Woodstock '99. He later became a producer of records, films, and other concerts, as well as a manager for performing artists, a critically acclaimed author, and a sculptor.
Meredith Curly Hunter Jr. was an American man who was killed at the 1969 Altamont Free Concert. During the performance by the Rolling Stones, Hunter approached the stage, and was violently driven off by members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club who had agreed to prevent members of the audience from mounting the stage. He subsequently returned to the stage area, drew a revolver, and was stabbed and beaten to death by Hells Angel Alan Passaro.
"Under My Thumb" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Under My Thumb" features a marimba played by Brian Jones. Although it was never released as a single in English-speaking countries, it is one of the band's more popular songs from the late 1960s and appears on several best-of compilations, such as Hot Rocks 1964–1971. It was included as the fourth track on both the American and United Kingdom versions of the band's 1966 studio album Aftermath.
"Wild Horses" is a song written by the British rock band the Rolling Stones with Gram Parsons. It was first released in 1970 by the Flying Burrito Brothers as the Stones didn't think the demo was worth recording fully. It was subsequently recorded by the Stones for their 1971 album Sticky Fingers when they felt it was worth reconsideration. It was also released on 12 June 1971 as a single, with "Sway" as its B-side.
Altamont Raceway Park is a motorsports race track in the western United States, located in northern California, west of Tracy. It opened on July 22, 1966, and operated under the names Altamont Speedway, Altamont Raceway, Altamont Motorsports Park, Altamont Raceway Park and Arena, and Bernal Memorial Raceway. After 42 years of operation, the speedway closed in October 2008; the site is just south of the junction of Interstates 205 and 580.
"Gimme Shelter" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Jagger-Richards, it is the opening track of the band's 1969 album Let It Bleed. The song covers the brutal realities of war, including murder, rape and fear. It features prominent guest vocals by American singer Merry Clayton.
The Rolling Stones' 1969 Tour of the United States took place in November 1969. With Ike & Tina Turner, Terry Reid, and B.B. King as the supporting acts, rock critic Robert Christgau called it "history's first mythic rock and roll tour", while rock critic Dave Marsh wrote that the tour was "part of rock and roll legend" and one of the "benchmarks of an era." In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the tour among The 50 Greatest Concerts of the Last 50 Years.
Charlotte Zwerin was an American documentary film director and editor known for her work concerning artists and musicians. However, she is most known for her editing contributions to the direct cinema and cinéma vérité documentaries Salesman (1969), Gimme Shelter (1970), and Running Fence (1978) in which she was given co-director credits along with the two cinéma vérité pioneers Albert and David Maysles.
Porter Bibb is an American financier, media producer, and writer. He is best known as the first publisher of Rolling Stone magazine.
Ronald Schneider is best known for being the business presence at the center of pivotal 1960s events including the Altamont Free Concert, the dissolution of The Beatles and the reorganization of their business arm, Apple Corps. Schneider managed the early US tours of The Rolling Stones while simultaneously dealing with the financial affairs of some of the biggest names in Rock and Roll history including the Stones, The Beatles, Neil Sedaka, Sam Cooke, Nancy Wilson, Bobby Vinton, Herman’s Hermits and The Shirelles.
Wenzell Baird Bryant was an American filmmaker. He was well known in documentary circles for his hand-held ability to almost instantaneously capture live action as it was happening. Hired as the cameraman on Gimme Shelter, the Albert Maysles film of The Rolling Stones 1969 American Tour, Baird caught on camera the fatal stabbing of concertgoer Meredith Hunter by Hells Angel Alan Passaro at the Altamont Free Concert in December 1969.
"Gimme Shelter" is a song by The Rolling Stones.
Crossfire Hurricane is a 2012 documentary film about the Rolling Stones written and directed by Brett Morgen. The film chronicles the early years of the band through to 1981. The film is a series of interviews conducted without cameras, while showing various points of interest that the band is discussing as archival footage. The title of the film comes from the first line of the band's 1968 hit "Jumpin' Jack Flash".
Altamont Diary is the debut album by Melbourne electronica band Black Cab. Released in 2004, it is a concept album based on the ill-fated 1969 free concert at Altamont Speedway in California headlined by the Rolling Stones.
