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Festivals, Music et al, Music of the 60s

1969 Midwest Rock Festival

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1969 Midwest Rock Festival

July 25,  26, &  27, 1969

State Fair Park, Milwaukee, WI

1969 Midwest Rock Festival

1969 Midwest Rock Festival

1969 Festival #29

The same weekend as the Seattle Pop Festival and coming in at number 29 on my list of 1969 rock festivals, we have the 1969 Midwest Rock Festival. And there will still be three more before getting to the “one” rock festival of that year.The same weekend as the Seattle Pop Festival and coming in at number 26 on my list of 1969 rock festivals, we have the 1969 Midwest Rock Festival. And there will still be three more before getting to the “one” rock festival of that year.

Once again, a stellar line up of bands and performers languishes in history because of its location (not New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles), smaller number of attendees (not a half-million), not recorded, and not filmed.

There are some recordings, but like so many others outside those of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, the quality is poor.

1969 Midwest Rock Festival

The scheduled line-up

Friday 25 July

  • Led Zeppelin
  • Buffy Sainte Marie
  • First Edition

Saturday 26 July

  • Blind Faith
  • John Mayall
  • Delany and Bonnie and Friends
  • Shag
  • Taste
  • MC5
  • SRC

Sunday 27 July
  • Jim Schwall Blues Period
  • MC5
  • Zephyr
  • Shag
  • LItter
  • SRC

You will notice that some bands played on multiple days. Some were local bands given exposure in a large setting.

1969 Midwest Rock Festival

Notes

  • Led Zeppelin would leave after their Midwest Pop Festival performance to fly to Seattle for the Seattle Pop Festival and play that Sunday.
  • Johnny Winter played on Sunday. He was everywhere that summer.
  • Joe Cocker, Sweetwater, and Winter would all be in Bethel, NY the next month for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair.
  • Like most festivals, the Midwest Pop Festival  was held in an enclosed area–a racetrack in this case. And the stage was simply a flatbed trailer. 
  • there was a total attendance of about 45,000 and it cost $15 for the 3 days.
  • rain cancelled the Sunday performances of Jethro Tull, Jeff Beck and the Bob Seger System.

The djtees site had this description: The coverage of the festival in newspapers mentioned widespread pot-smoking in the stands(well, duh!), and afterward a state legislator from West Allis, Robert Huber, took strong exception to that, saying the weekend “would make Haight-Ashbury blush.” Dude, you need to loosen up and get with the programme. For 3 days in the summer of 69 what made Milwaukee famous was not beer but kick ass rock ‘n’ roll.

There is also a site dedicated to this event with more information. Check it out: Midwest Rock Festival

1969 Midwest Rock Festival

Next 1969 festival: Atlantic City Pop Festival

Festivals, Music of the 60s

1969 Newport Folk Festival

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1969 Newport Folk Festival

July 16 – 20, 1969
1969 festival #26

Newport folk festvial

1969 Newport Folk Festival

Folk counts

The 1969 Newport Folk Festival is the 26th festival I have blogged about for that famous season. I am including a folk festival in what is mainly a rock festival list because the lines between the two genres had blurred.

Remember that day one of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair began mainly with folk. The 1969 Newport Jazz Festival, less than two weeks earlier, had included many rock acts in its line up. Promoters had seen the writing on the wall: many young people’s tastes had expanded from rock to folk, from folk to rock, from rock to jazz and from jazz to rock. Including a diversity of music attracted more guests and these festivals were business ventures. More guests equaled more revenue.

Fear of Rock

At the earlier Newport Jazz Festival, the popularity of rock performers brought an overflow of attendees. Fences fell. Police policed. Residents complained.

As a result, the Newport City Council instituted a “no rock” rule on the folk festival. A heavy wire fence replaced the former smaller wooden one.  Fewer seats. More security. Earlier curfew.

Still the 60s

1969 Newport Folk Festival
photo courtesy of David Marks (thank you)

Despite the locals’ attempt to tame the scene, singers sang of the times. Johnny Cash sang against the Vietnam war; Buffy St-Marie sang about Native American mistreatment; Len Chandler of civil rights; and there was even an anti-interstate highway construction song by Ed Wheeler named “The Interstate is Coming Through My Outhouse.”

YouTube doesn’t seem to have Wheeler’s version, but here’s one by Leroy Pullins.

1969 Newport Folk Festival

Richard Williams

It’s always nice to find a first hand account of an event. Known academically as a primary source, it gives us a better feel for an event than stories written after the event.

Richard Williams attended the 1969 Newport Folk Festival and wrote his impressions about it, particularly the last night on a Facebook comment. Among his observations were hearing an unknown James Taylor participate in a song workshop after which promoters invited Taylor onto the main stage, a rare honor.

On that last night Williams remembers the announcement of Neil Armstrong’s historic steps onto the Moon and leaving the festival while listening to Joan Baez singing “Throw Out the Lifeline” a capella.

That song also is not on YouTube, but here is an Ella Fitzgerald cover of the old spiritual.

Throw Out the Lifeline

1969 Newport Folk Festival

Music Bazaar

A New York Times article headline referred to the 1969 festival as a “music bazaar” and Rolling Stone magazine’s closing paragraph on the festival read: It was the same old shuck. What will happen next year? Who knows but Mr. [organizer George] Wein who closed the Festival by saying: “During the last 16 summers of the Newport Festivals, it’s been the kids who’ve supported us. We’re still concerned with the kids. God Bless You.”

1969 Newport Folk Festival

Next 1969 festival:  Eugene Pop Festival

Today in history

Do They Know We Are Live Aid

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Do They Know We Are Live Aid

July 13, 1985
Do They Know We Are Live Aid
Live Aid 1985 and JFK Stadium, Philadelphia

The best known philanthropic rock concert was George Harrison and Ravi Shankar’s Concert for Bangladesh in 1971. It wasn’t the first though. Likely that honor belongs to the 1967 Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival. That event was also the first rock festival.

Do They Know We Are Live Aid

1983 – 85 famine in Ethiopia

Ethiopia, like other African countries, suffered from political and military corruption and abuse. The abuse resulted in civil uprisings and presented an opportunity to outside infiltration.

In the mid-1980s record low rainfalls added to the intense suffering of a mainly agrarian population, particularly in the northern area of the country.

The country’s own internal disorder hindered international relief group efforts to assist. Over one million people died in 1984.

In October 1984 a BBC news crew with Michael Buerk was the first to document the famine The report motivated British viewers to bring world attention to the crisis in Ethiopia.

Do They Know We Are Live Aid

Do They Know It’s Christmas

Irish musician Bob Geldof organised a supergroup and named it Band Aid.  Released for Christmas, their single, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” became the biggest selling single in British history.

Do They Know We Are Live Aid

We Are the World

The following March, an American  coalition of musicians released “We Are the World.”  Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote the song. The musicians called themselves the United Support of Artists (USA). Quincy Jones produced the song and the album.

Do They Know We Are Live Aid

Live Aid

On the financially successful heels of the British and American releases, and Midge Ure organized Live Aid. Boy George had suggested the idea following a December concert of his that closed with “Do They Know Its Christmas.”

Live Aid was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom (attended by 72,000 people) and John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia (attended by about 100,000 people).

The viewed concert was over 16 hours long, but the total time of the music was more as the two sites sometimes overlapped.

Viewers saw on screen messages and heard organizers ask for donations. Geldolf famously said “fuck the address” when a moderator wanted to give the address to send money to as opposed to giving the phone number to immediately give money with a credit card.

Over 1.5 billion people watched the shows and it is estimated that the concerts raised around $160 million. (see NYT article)

Dozens of artists participated. Below is Eric Clapton and Phil Collins doing “Layla.”

  • Eric Clapton (Guitar ; Vocals)
  • Tim Renwick (Guitar)
  • Donald “Duck” Dunn (Bass)
  • Chris Stainton (Keyboards)
  1. Jamie Oldaker (Drums)
  2. Shaun Murphy (Backing Vocals)
  3. Marcy Levy (Backing Vocals)
  4. Phil Collins (Drums)
Do They Know We Are Live Aid

Rolling Stone’s description began, “It was superstar heaven. Keith Richards was laughing and talking with Jimmy Page. A bodyguard handed Bob Dylan a beer. Across the room Jack Nicholson and Neil Young chatted. Andy Taylor, guitarist for Duran Duran and the Power Station, took a hit off a joint and screamed out, “Don,” then gave ‘Miami Vice’ star Don Johnson a hug. “We gonna get high!”

Do They Know We Are Live Aid