Category Archives: Music of the 60s

Music et al, Music of the 60s, Woodstock Music and Art Fair

Bill Hanley Last Seat in the House

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Bill Hanley Last Seat in the House

Bill Hanley, born March 4, 1937
a documentary by John Kane
Bill Hanley Last Seat in the House
Bill Hanley working the boards in 2013 at the annual Yasgur Farm Woodstock Reunion (courtesy of Charlie Maloney)

If you were at Woodstock or have ever listened to any songs from that festival, you have Bill Hanley to thank. He was THE sound man for that event,  John Kane has made a documentary about Bill called “Last Seat in the House.”

It is astounding how many things Bill Hanley has been a part of throughout his career and why he is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is simply a reflection the that Hall’s too common shortsightedness when selecting whom to honor.

A bit of Hanley’s story from the movie’s site:

Bill Hanley Last Seat in the House

Medford, MA

Born in 1937 in Medford, Mass., Parenelli Award winner Bill Hanley was the oldest of five children. By the age of six, his father gave him his first crystal set, followed by a one-tube radio, then a six-tube radio setting off an interest in electronics. During his teens he and his younger brother Terry would install TV antennas on roofs, and fix TVs for neighbors. At Christmas they even hooked up one of the early amplifiers they built to a big speaker, pointed it out their attic window, blaring Christmas music for the neighbors.

Bill Hanley Last Seat in the House

Hanley Sound

Bill Hanley Last Seat in the House

During Hanley’s time in vocational school he became unimpressed with the state of public address driven technology used for the emerging live music scene. However he was impressed by the sound system at a local roller rink, developing a long lasting love for organ music and Jazz.

By 1957, Hanley chased down Newport Jazz Festival promoter George Wein, establishing a long successful career as Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals sound company.  Soon his reputation grew and other big jobs began to trickle in, eventually leaving his day job and establishing Hanley Sound at 430 Salem St in Medford, MA by the late 1950s.

A proud moment for Hanley’s family and community was when the firm handled the sound for the second inauguration of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. That same year, he opened an office in New York City, providing sound for places like Café A Go Go and the Bitter End. Eventually the college circuit broke and a need for concert touring sound reinforcement would emerge.

In 1966 a job for the local Boston band The Remains, allowed Hanley the opportunity to support the group on their accompanying tour with the Beatles. Soon Hanley would find himself behind the mixing console for eastern portion this historic Beatles tour. Known for distributing Altec-Lansing speakers fanned around the bases, Hanley doubled the sound and power typically used, with an impressive (for the time) 600-watt amplifier system… Sadly, his sound system was pulverized by the crushing power of 43,000 screaming teenage girls. Moving on, more bands turned to Hanley Sound, like the Buffalo Springfield for example who put him under contract. While working with the band Hanley introduced them a new device called the on-stage “monitor.” Blown away by the results, Neil Young would  forever be indebted to the sound engineer for allowing them to be able to “hear” while on stage.

Bill Hanley Last Seat in the House

Fillmore East

By 1968 Hanley was brought in to do the sound for Bill Grahams Fillmore East in NYC.  At this point his reputation for quality sound was mammoth, leading him to provide sound reinforcement for some of the largest pop & rock festivals in American history. However, nothing could match Hanley’s culminating performance in sound, the pivotal gig of live event history ~ The Woodstock Music and Art Fair of 1969. Thereafter Hanley would forever be known as the “Father of Festival Sound.”

Bill Hanley Last Seat in the House
Bill Hanley at Woodstock Music and Art Fair
 Bill Hanley Last Seat in the House

World-wide

Moving into the next decade Hanley’s social conscience lead him to work on several large scale anti-war protest rallies, even sending the entire Woodstock sound system to South Africa for their Anti-Apartheid movement.

The post Woodstock, anti -mass gathering initiatives in America at the time set the sound company’s projections back. Unprepared for what was to come Hanley’s company felt the shortcomings of a changing era of technology and live performance. The 1970s also brought a great transformation to the industry where more sound companies were surfacing. From the 1970s on, Hanley would continue to be called on for more sound work, eventually turning his attention to staging.

Bill Hanley walking the festival field

A true pioneer, Bill Hanley’s contributions to live concert sound reinforcement can be felt to this day.

Help get Hanley into the R and R Hall of Fame by signing the petition!

Visit the movie site for a LOT more sound and sights…I get goose bumps just listening!

Bill Hanley Last Seat in the House

Parnelli Audio Innovator Award

In 2006, Hanley was given the Parnelli Audio Innovator Award which recognizes pioneering, influential professionals and their contributions.

2023

And read this amazing October 2023 article in the Eagle Tribune!
Bill Hanley Last Seat in the House
Anniversary, Music of the 60s, Woodstock Music and Art Fair

Ten Years After album

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Ten Years After album

October 27, 1967
Happy anniversary

Ten Years After album

“I Wanna Know” first cut, first album

Ten Years After released its first album, Ten Years After, on October 27, 1967.  The band consisted of Alvin Lee (guitar), Chick Churchill (organ), Ric Lee (drums), and Leo Lyons (bass). Here was another example of a British band bringing American blues back to us. The band did write most of the album’s material, but their sound and the song’s they covered clearly showed those roots.

Ten Years After album

Side one

Ten Years After album

Here’s side one:

Side one
  1. “I Want to Know” (Sheila McLeod as pseudonym Paul Jones) – 2:11
  2. “I Can’t Keep from Crying Sometimes” (Al Kooper) – 5:24
  3. “Adventures of a Young Organ” (Alvin Lee, Chick Churchill) – 2:34
  4. “Spoonful” (Willie Dixon) – 6:05
  5. “Losing the Dogs” (Alvin Lee, Gus Dudgeon) – 3:03

Side two

And side two:

Side two
  1. “Feel It for Me” (Alvin Lee) – 2:40
  2. “Love Until I Die” (Alvin Lee) – 2:06
  3. “Don’t Want You Woman” (Alvin Lee) – 2:37
  4. “Help Me” (Ralph Bass, Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy Williamson) – 9:51

Note how short the majority of the songs were, the single-size under-three-minute good-for-radio-play type. Of course, there are those few where the band gets to stretch it out.

Ten Years After album

Alvin Lee

Ten Years After album

Alvin Lee was the heart of the band and for better or worse the inclusion of the band’s “Goin’ Home”  into the film and onto the record of Woodstock brought fame.

Fame from a single song’s performance that likely sounded like dozens of others performed that summer and likely surprised Alvin Lee.  An albatross that laid a golden egg.  He was already a great guitarist when he began his trek along the summer of 1969’s festivals:

  1. June 28, 1969: Bath Festival of Blues.
  2. July 3 – 6, Newport Jazz Festival.
  3. July 11 – 12, Laurel Pop Festival.
  4. July 25 – 27, Seattle Pop Festival,
  5. Aug 15 – 18 – Woodstock Music and Art Festival.
  6. Aug 30 – Sept 1: Texas International Pop Festival.

How many times did Alvin Lee play “I’m Going Home” that summer? It’s filming in August at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair preserved it and sent it worldwide. His name was and will forever be associated with that song and that performance.

Here are some factoids about Lee:

  • originally influenced by his parent’s collection of jazz and blues records
  • began playing guitar age 13
  • by aged 15 his Jaybirds band formed the core of Ten Years After
  • moved to London and changed the band’s name to Ten Years After in 1966
  • the band’s performance at the Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival in 1967 led to their first recording contract.
  • concert promoter Bill Graham who invited the band to tour America for the first time in the summer of 1968. Ten Years After would ultimately tour the USA 28 times in 7 years, more than any other U.K. band. 
  • After the breakup of Ten Years After, Lee continue to form bands and record music.
  • Lee’s overall musical output included more than 20 albums.

Ten Years After album

Today, the band consists of Marcus Bonfanti, Colin Hodgkinson, Chick Churchill , and Ric Lee

And here is a YouTube review of the group’s album, “Naturally Live” and  a link to the band’s site.

Ten Years After album
Anniversary, Jimi Hendrix, Music et al, Music of the 60s

Curtis Knight Jimi Hendrix

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Curtis Knight Jimi Hendrix

October 1965

Curtis Knight Jimi Hendrix

In October 1965 Curtis Knight recorded “How Would You Feel.” Knight’s guitarist was the young and still-living-in-the-USA Jimi Hendrix.

Curtis Knight Jimi Hendrix

Before Knight

In 1962, Hendrix had left the Army after a brief unproductive stint. At least as far as his military prowess was concerned since he spent much of his hitch playing guitar.

In February 1964, Hendrix had won the amateur contest at the Apollo Theater in NYC.

In March 1964, Hendrix was part of the Isley Brothers band and recorded the two-part single “Testify” before beginning a tour with them.

Earlier in 1965, Hendrix had played a session for Rosa Lee Brooks on her single “My Diary”  Around the same time he also backed Little Richard on  “I Don’t Know What You’ve Got, But It’s Got Me.”

After Knight

September 22, 1966 was Jimi Hendrix’s first day in England after the Animals’ ex-bassist turned producer Chas Chandler “discovered” him in New York City fronting  Jimmy James and the Blue Flames in the various Greenwich Village clubs.

We know the rest of the story. How Paul McCartney’s recommendation let to Hendrix set Monterey afire. How Reprise Records signed Jimi. Woodstock. The Jimi Hendrix sad swan song.

Bandwagon

Though Hendrix only recorded three studio albums, anyone with any of his recordings of any kind tried to jump on the Hendrix goose that seemingly laid only golden eggs.

In 1965, he had signed a contract with PPX records to play with Curtis Knight. After Hendrix and his Experience struck it big with Are You Experienced?, PPX packaged Hendrix’s Knight tracks as its own album while playing up Hendrix’s role in the Squires.

A similar PPX album called Got That Feeling was also planned for the U.K. in 1968 before the courts stepped in and barred the release, with Hendrix himself calling it “musically worthless.”

March 2015

Curtis Knight Jimi Hendrix

47 years later, Hendrix’s estate, Eperience Hendrix LLC, released You Can’t Use My Name: Curtis Knight & The Squires (featuring Jimi Hendrix) The RSVP/PPX Sessions.  The name is an obvious reference to previous legal issues. Experience Hendrix selected 14 of the 88 studio recordings Hendrix had made with Curtis Knight.

Curtis Knight Jimi Hendrix

Curtis Knight Jimi Hendrix