Altamont part 1: How the ’60s most disastrous concert came to be
50 years ago the Rolling Stones headlined a free concert that ended in chaos, with a young man killed feet from the stage as the Stones played. Episode 1 (of 2) explores the decisions that led up to this festival and asks, "Why didn't anyone stop it?"
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About All Told
Engaging stories, important issues, new perspectives. All Told is about people -- about the struggles and triumphs of those living inside some of the biggest issues facing our country, about those whose stories rarely get told, and about what it means to be human in today's world.
In this episode
In the year of Woodstock and other free festivals, a California concert featuring the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones seemed like a good idea. It started with some conversations in London, and then at the Grateful Dead's California ranch. But when Mick Jagger announced at a Nov. 26 press conference that a massive free concert would be happening only 10 days later, the concert still didn't have a venue. And that wasn't the only questionable decision leading up to a festival that closed out the 1960s with death and chaos.
In this episode Sam Cutler, the Stones's tour manager, Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, Georgia Bergman, assistant to the Rolling Stones at the time, and others tell the story of turning the idea of a "West Coast Woodstock" into a reality. The chaos along the way would set this show up to become the disaster that followed.
[Listen: Episode two takes you inside the concert and the aftermath, with recordings from the day and memories from those who were there]
Credits:
Reporter/host: Geoff Edgers
Production/sound design: Bishop Sand
Editing: Carol Alderman with contributions from Lillian Cunningham
Archival audio provided by:
The Hunter S. Thompson archives
The Howard K. Smith archives
About All Told
Engaging stories, important issues, new perspectives. All Told is about people -- about the struggles and triumphs of those living inside some of the biggest issues facing our country, about those whose stories rarely get told, and about what it means to be human in today's world.