| Seattle Pop Festival | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Rock, pop, jazz, soul, blues |
| Dates | July 25 to July 27, 1969 |
| Location(s) | Woodinville, Washington United States |
| Years active | 1969 |
| Founded by | Boyd Grafmyre |
| Attendance | 50,000-70,000 (est. for 3 days) |
The Seattle Pop Festival was a music festival held at the Gold Creek Park, 16020 148th Ave NE, Woodinville, Washington from July 25 to July 27, 1969. The event was organized by Boyd Grafmyre. [1]
The plan for Seattle Pop was to have 25 acts play over the course of three days. Promoter Boyd Grafmyre went to great lengths to make sure performers arrived. He chartered a helicopter to fly The Doors from Seattle’s airport, and rented a Cadillac convertible for Chuck Berry. [2]
Tickets for the event cost $6 for a day or $15 for all three days. An estimated 50,000-70,000 people attended the festival. Seattle Pop was one of the festivals to forgo hiring police or off-duty officers as security; instead, Grafmyre hired The Black Panthers to keep watch. [2]
Because attendance was larger than expected, extra food and water needed to be brought into the venue. [3] According to one source: "Sanitary facilities were inadequate, but every attempt was made to meet county requirements ..." Nearby neighbors complained of traffic and the hippie atmosphere, but Chick Dawsey, owner of Gold Creek, noted that spectators were orderly with very few exceptions." [3]
The Seattle Pop's line-up was a mix of established acts, native groups from the Pacific Northwest. Twenty-six musicians and groups performed at the festival. The Doors, Chuck Berry, The Byrds and The Ike & Tina Turner Revue were among the most highly-anticipated acts, but newcomers Led Zeppelin emerged as the highlight. "Sunday night was supposed to belong to The Doors but it was stolen right out from under them by the great English blues group, Led Zeppelin," wrote the Seattle Post-Intelligencer . [2]
Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with his then-wife Tina Turner as the leader of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.
Tina Turner was a singer. Known as the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before launching a successful career as a solo performer. She was noted for her "swagger, sensuality, powerful gravelly vocals and unstoppable energy", along with her well-publicized history with ex-husband Ike Turner and her famous legs.
Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists called the Ikettes. The Ike & Tina Turner Revue was regarded as "one of the most potent live acts on the R&B circuit."
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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.
Claudia Lennear is an American soul singer and educator. Lennear began her performing with the Superbs before becoming an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. She was also a background vocalist for various acts, including Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, and Freddie King. She released her only solo album in 1973. Lennear was featured in the 2013 Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom. She was inducted in the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame in 2019.
Bob Gruen is an American author and photographer known for his rock 'n' roll photographs. By the mid 1970s, Gruen was already regarded as one of the foremost photographers in music working with major artist such as John Lennon, Tina Turner, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, and Kiss. He also covered emerging New Wave and Punk rock bands, including the New York Dolls, The Clash, Sex Pistols, Ramones, and Blondie. Gruen has also appeared in films.
The Ikettes, originally The Artettes, were a trio of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had hits such as "I'm Blue " and "Peaches 'N' Cream". In 2017, Billboard ranked "I'm Blue " No. 63 on its list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.
This article contains information about albums and singles released by the American musical duo Ike & Tina Turner.
Acid Queen is the second solo studio album by Tina Turner. It was released in 1975 on the EMI label in the UK and on United Artists in the US. Although it is a Tina Turner solo album, the first single, "Baby, Get It On", was a duet with Ike Turner, her musical partner and husband at the time. Acid Queen was her last solo album before their separation and her departure from Ike & Tina Turner Revue.
The Laurel Pop Festival was a music festival held at the Laurel Race Course in Laurel, Maryland on July 11–12, 1969.
The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner is the debut album by Ike & Tina Turner. It was released on the Sue Records in February 1961. The album is noted for containing the duo's debut single "A Fool in Love" and their follow-up singles "I Idolize You" and "I'm Jealous."
"The Hunter" is a blues song first recorded by Albert King in 1967 for his landmark album Born Under a Bad Sign. It was written by Stax Records' house band, Booker T. and the MGs, and Carl Wells. Along with "Born Under a Bad Sign" and "Crosscut Saw", "The Hunter" is one of King's best-known and most-recorded songs. In 1969, Ike & Tina Turner's version reached the singles charts in the U.S.
Robbie Montgomery is an American singer and restaurateur. She is noted for being one of the original Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the 1960s. After her tenure as an Ikette, she was a member of the Mirettes, and then became a "Night Tripper" for Dr. John. In the 1970s, Montgomery was a backing vocalist for acts such as Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, the Rolling Stones, and Joe Cocker. She later created the Sweetie Pie's franchise, and starred in the award-winning reality series Welcome to Sweetie Pie's.
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The Club Imperial was a nightclub owned by George Edick, located at 6306-28 West Florissant Ave. in north St. Louis. During the club's heyday in the 1950s through the 1960s, acts such as Ike & Tina Turner, Chuck Berry, and Bob Kuban and the In-Men performed at the Club Imperial. Jimmy Forrest, known for his 1952 hit "Night Train," played piano at the club for years. In the following decades, the building went through different ownership and was almost demolished in 2018, but preservationists fought to save the site of the historic music venue.