KSAN's Post-Altamont Broadcast

From the Gimme Shelter DVD:
Recorded December 7, 1969, KSAN's four-hour post-Altamont broadcast fielded calls from a range of people who attended the event and a few who helped organise it. Among those included in the excerpts that follow are Sam Cutler, Road/Production Manager for the Rolling Stones' 1969 tour; Emmett Grogan, a leader in San Francisco's counter-cultural movement; and Sonny Barger, then head of the Oakland chapter of the Hell's Angels. Stefan Ponek, the host of the original show, has recorded new introductions to the material especially for this Criterion DVD release.
"Well done, Sonny..."

[@charlesnolan7602]

I had a Rolling Stone subscription in 1973, and at the time, RS offered back issues so I circled issue #2, Tina Turner on the cover, and also circled #50....which was the Altamont 1969 ..."gig." Several pages...it's all there in print and pictures...

[@emolnar20012]

Paying the security with beer was a stroke of genius!!!

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

almost everybody audience members were stoned drunk frying

[@clarkewi]

Yeah, and you get what you pay for...

[@soulsearching6539]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXeTaGuFardjd5I

[@MrUndersolo]

Like they wouldn’t have had beer on them anyway...

[@scottmcgregor562]

Yeah, Mick Taylor said it was like using Nazis to take care of selling tickets and stage security.

[@SwingRiots]

The way he talks about tragedy and then just segues into a random ad for Tower Records and then just continues like nothing happened is crazy. America is wild.

[@normanchristiansen1864]

2 weeks later the grateful dead replied with 'new speedway boogie' ... one way or another this darkness got to give...

[@jamesmack3314]

Love that tune

[@lamper2]

i'd like an hour interview with the girl in the crocheted dress,and those front row people. you know those i mean

[@jay-cf8kd]

Bro I’ve been searching for an interview with the girl in the crochet

[@johnathanrush4666]

@@jay-cf8kd why do we assume someone freely wants to talk about someone they love dying? If you've seen Gimme Shelter, she was devastated. Might still be an issue for her to talk about

[@lamper2]

@@johnathanrush4666 A lot of people who don't WANT to talk about a painful event eventually do.

[@DrKnipe]

12/7/23 I here listening to this 54 years to the day later! So great that it’s been saved.

[@johnconnell4503]

This is the most unbelievable thing I ever heard on youtube...love youtube

[@robertspencer2647]

I was 10 in 1969. I was beginning to read newspapers at that time. There are certain events that stood out in my mind . I remember developing a distrust of adults . I always felt that the two assassinations in 1968 and the Altamonte concert and the Manson People destroyed the innocence of that time. Just as the horrible event of 2001 changed us .

[@lucidhurricane]

This was great, thanks for posting!

[@billshank6266]

Man, broadcasting has come a long way since then. Could the hosts make any more noise behind the callers? Unreal!

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

THANK GOD THAT THIS IS ON HERE BECAUSE IT MAKES MORE SENSE THE FULL SONNY BARGER STATEMENT

[@keithscostello4139]

This is by far the most complete source of fact for my research... Outstanding

[@StephenWorth]

I have a reel to reel tape that is a four hour version of this. I also have a bunch of air checks of Stefan Pontak and other KSAN DJs as well. I need to pull out my deck and transfer them.

[@dirtlevel]

Any plans on sharing? I’d sure love to hear it.

[@commontater8630]

Stefan Pontak??

[@robparker2497]

‘Altamont’ by Joel Selvin released in 2016, is the seminal book about the debacle that was Altamont. Such a brilliant read. . A must for all Stones fanatics.

[@scatrrr]

The book doesn't explain WHY Stones management swooped in and f*cked up the negotiations for Golden Gate Park.

[@frogger1952]

That book was terrific. I tried getting the owner of my company to read it as he is a super Stones fan. I explained that the Stones, particularly Mick, don’t come off so great. As a result, he had no interest in it. Hard to believe, but the people calling into this show are now most likely in their 70s, or not with us at all.

[@dummytree]

Some of the chronology is a bit off in the book, as to what happened when during the day or even during the Stones set. There's also footage that surfaced after the book, I think, with Keith and Mick standing on the side of the stage during the day, with Tony Funches, while another band was playing, and there's no mention of that. It was a good book for sure, but maybe there'll be a better one one day.

[@IndependentGeorge76]

Great to hear Sir Mick Jagger telling the world how the Beatles should never have accepted OBE's!

[@tonteriaslasprecisas6897]

InterdependentGeorge76, Do you mean Sir Mick Jagger? I see......

[@ShakepearesDaughter]

Yeah, a few righteous words from the future Sir Mick

[@turkrane12]

We went the night before sat the middle of the crowd. Everything was great except for a Hell's Angel cancer down by the stage. They parked two school buses by the the stage, were on the roofs throwing half filled beer cans into the crowd. I wanted to kick Angel ass but to move through the crowd and get enough guys to do the job was impossible. When the Stone's sang Sympathy for the Devil, it was a memory i will never forget.

[@plasticweapon]

you wanted to kick angel ass, huh?

[@richmotroni]

Even though Woodstock was chaotic, it was a year in preparation. Here, they tried to put everything together in less than two weeks which is totally impossible.

[@davidellis5141]

This should be archived in R&R Hall Of Fame.

[@RustedTelevisione]

Long live Stefan Ponek, the DJ who hosted this program. Stefan passed in 2001 Stefan Paul Ponek Jr. September 14, 1939 - October 15, 2001 Stefan Ponek was born in Middlebury, Vermont to Stefan and Elizabeth Ponek, followed by his sister Susan twelve years later. Stefan was fascinated with radio and was broadcasting stacks of his grandmother's 78's out of her attic through a homemade transmitter by the time he was 13. During high school, Stefan operated a pirate radio station that he built and ran from his barn until an FCC representative arrived to close him down. But radio was in his blood. At the age of 16, Stefan escaped the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont to wash dishes and work part time at a local radio station in Henrietta, Oklahoma. He served in the Air Force from 1957 to 1960, stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi. He also operated a radio station at a base in Pagwar, Ontario. In 1961 he attended the Leland Powers School in Boston and in 1962 he moved to San Jose to work with Philco, repairing military radar units at the Air Force base at Mt. Almaden. While newly married, Stefan attended college in Santa Barbara and worked at KMUZ in 1965. He was then hired by classical KSFR in San Francisco in 1967--the same year his son Seth was born. KSFR became KSAN under new management in 1968 and instituted a free-form progressive format, which has been later hailed as the nation's best. Stefan won the Billboard Magazine "FM Disc Jockey of the Year" award in 1971 while at KSAN. "When you have the best radio gig, making lots of money, and it still doesn't turn you on, where do you go?" Stefan asked. One place he found was the Delancey Street Foundation. Stefan was involved for several years, from 1971 to 1978.

[@jamesmack3314]

Thanks for that tribute

[@blachubear]

Read the book "You Can't Always Get What You Want" bu Sam Cutler. It really explains lots of things especially that concert wasn't supposed to be at The Altamont in the first place but some how too many forces wanted it to be there. Read this book, it will explain why Altamont happened the way it did.

[@johnw.8323]

blachubear one of the people calls up and said something that makes a lot of sense. Some of the people wanted to have their "Woodstock west" for six or seven hours on a Saturday afternoon and screw everybody else. The planning was awful that stage was way too low also the stones should have went on played and just went back to their hotel while it was still light out, they waited till it got dark before they started to play. the Rolling Stones wanted this concert to look good for their movie.

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

@@johnw.8323 accually the stones were supposed to go on after dark which was understood by bass player BILL WYMAN who decided to sleep at the hotel then arrive after the sun was setting THE GRATEFUL DEAD WAS SUPPOSED TO PLAY BEFORE THE STONES BUT THEY BAILED AND THE CROWD WAS KEPT WAITING FOR TWO HOURS then after dark bill wyman arrived then the stones started tuning then hit the stage-THE FIRST PROBLEM HAPPENED WHEN A MOTORCYCLE BLEW UP IN FRONT OF THE STAGE DURING SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL that ignited everything else but different statements differ vary

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

it was supposed to be golden gate park but that deal fell through then sears point raceway but then that deal fell through BADLY so the stage and everything had to be moved at the last minute!!!

[@RicArmstrong]

@@MichaelHansenFUN I don't think the . motorcycle blew up, but rather the crowd knocked it over and damaged it causing a few of the Angels to beat some people up during that song.

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

@@RicArmstrong yes it blew up watch the movie it shorted out because an audience member sat on it because in the front row a THUMP was heard

[@AugustMedia]

Powerful. The whole thing.

[@Bopalena]

I saw the same thing happen at an Andy Williams show in '72. Three Angels stomped a guy to death during "Moon River". Bad scene, man.

[@merlecelestebrownlee3035]

I still have PTSD from the melee at Wayne Newton's show in 74

[@PetroniusArbiter2]

None of that could hold a candle to the late '50s, though. When Lawrence Welk foolishly hired them to work security at one of his 1958 shows, the Angels stomped an entire family to death just as the Lennon Sisters set was getting started.

[@tomthefunky]

+Petronius Arbiter II I was at that Lawrence Welk concert in 58 when the Angels stomped that family to death. That family deserved it. The kids wouldn't shut up or stay still. They had it coming. If the Angels didn't stomp them to death the crowd would have. Everyone knows how crazy a Lawrence Welk crowd could get after a few martinis.

[@tedkier3264]

my car's on fire i remember hearing bout that.alot of the audience had been experiencing a bad trip from doing 'less-than-quality milquetoast'!

[@gregking2571]

@ MERLE CELESTE BROWNLEE That is awful, I hope you don't still convulse and slobber uncontrollably at the sound of "Danke Schoen".

[@treehouse722]

Amazing document.

[@Arbeedubya]

I see what the guy meant about not being able to get a word in edgewise when Sonny was on his rant.

[@dgmaffi]

Call me crazy but I think the major difference between Altamont and Woodstock, other than the obvious things like the stage and overall lack of infrastructure, was that Woodstock had Wavy Gravy and The Hog Farm there. Woodstock used Wavy Gravy's Hog Farm as "security" and they truly helped people with many things including helping out bad trips, fed people, offered medical help. The Hog Farm was such a strong commune that they could handle it in stride. Altamont used Hell's Angels as security which only added to the bad enhancement of people's bad trips and overall belligerent attitudes.

[@gregking2571]

Yeah I bet Wavy Gravy could've disarmed the pistol pointing thug with LSD enhanced meta telekinesis and good vibes man.

[@gregking2571]

Or better yet with a rack of ribs.

[@teleguy5699]

Very good point.

[@th.burggraf7814]

@@gregking2571 PLINK - that was a hit. 😂👌🏻👍🏻

[@dirtlevel]

@@gregking2571 lol

[@ADAMSIXTIES]

It was the Airplane's idea to use Hell's Angels as security and The Stones okayed it. Then someone decided to pay them with beer. Then there was the whole venue of Altamont, the small stage, etc. Khrishna was looking over Woodstock. Kali oversaw Altamont.

[@highoctanechampion]

Nearly 50 years on this is the most insightful overview of Altamont and the incidents that marred the concert involving the Hells Angels. With 300,000 people in attendance I find it hard to believe the Angels parked their bikes in front of and around the stage, but fuelled by beer and asked to protect the Stones I guess they did what was asked of them with little to no direction. The killing could be deemed self defence. The best line by an Angel is, that gun had six bullets so six people could have died. Sonny Barger was obsessed over the bikes and I find this pathetic and a reflection of their mindset as drunk gang members became enraged and violent.

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

yes he was aquitted and the guy did fire the gun and hit a member in the arm-flesh wound...

[@billshank6266]

@@MichaelHansenFUNnot true. The gun was tested and they found it did not fire. But it could’ve, so the not guilty verdict for the Angel was correct IMO

[@laddeveritt8933]

It's strange to hear Cutler calling in the next day and refusing to take the Angels to task. But then I thought about it a bit more. Sam was down there at Altamont at that point with just 15 people cleaning up. He probably figured the Angels would be listening to KSAN like a lot of other folks. If he had criticized them, what would have stopped the Angels from riding down to the site and beating the hell out of him or killing him?

[@MoMo-nj2oc]

Ladd Everitt very good point. Although he just generally seems like a pompous ass, who didn’t want to shoulder any of the responsibility surrounding the violence at Altamont.

[@johnw.8323]

This whole radio call-in show is included in the movie package for Gimme Shelter the movie (1970)on the disc I think. It's a very long.

[@jackstraw3934]

Just watched it. The director’s commentary from Mayles is fascinating and provides a circa @2000 perspective vs. this day after view.

[@hankrosenfeld8433]

the whole show is not included in Maysles....just an excerpt

[@hankrosenfeld8433]

oh i see, a boxed set package, thanks I'll check!

[@hankrosenfeld8433]

==== BONUS FEATURES ==== SAME AS ABOVE AUDIO LOOKS LIKE: from Maysles Criterion version of Gimme Shelter *** KSAN'S RADIO ALTAMONT--(01-hour and 29-minutes)--Indexed & "Play All" * This is audio only, over a static image, of excerpts from the KSAN radio broadcast that followed the next day after Altamont. DJ Stefan Ponek describes what the content of the radio show was and what you're about to hear, sometime in 2000? before his death, but it can get confusing because you don't know who is talking. Basically Ponek and other guests discuss what happened at the event and have people calling in.

[@robertdominguez2466]

I was very very young at the time when this was on the radio I remember it like it was yesterday I was in the kitchen with my mother when Sonny Barger came on the radio and I remember very vaguely saying to my mother uncle Sonny is mad and my mother replied back to me yes honey he is

[@timothycarlson8936]

Listened to KSAN getting in from altamont,2.5 hours stayed in Newark ca.

[@WitchyWagonReal]

lolwut... "Tower Records has a special on the Rolling Stones Let it Bleed for $2.77" ...time machine, please. 😜

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

where was that at?

[@rosspadden4201]

This is great. Cheers.

[@lynnreider6179]

Sonny "my way or the highway" Barger shows the same aggression imo in his behavior on this call-in show as the whole of the Angels showed at the concert. And everyone seems to want to call in but no one admits they saw the main event which was the stabbing. Yet they are so defensive of the "poor angels just doing what they were hired to do." What a joke.

[@Jay-vr9ir]

I had a run in with The angels years ago , they ran a red light ran me off the road and started cursing me out.

[@gregking2571]

The stabbing was clearly justifiable homicide, mr. pimpsuit killed himself pulling and pointing his gun in the crowd.

[@georgemetesky5519]

I'm not saying anything bad about them either. They live around here, in the Bay Area and everyone respects them as decent neighbors and good taxpaying citizens.

[@ShakepearesDaughter]

Yeah, but you can still see that Sonny Barger felt totally justified in what went down, and why. The HA were asked to provide some heat on the stage to protect the bands and they did. But when some frustrated AHs started kicking over the bikes, priorities changed...which is the Angels all over. In Barger's world, all was done as it had to be. From HIS viewpoint. As the Maximum Leader, his official title, he represented them all and laid down the gang law of behavior. As always. That Cutler and his employers knew nothing about the HA code of conduct meant zero to Barger. HAs were not a secret organization. Reasonably informed people in Cali would know they would bust heads to clear a path. These hippie event-planning masterminds should've known better than to unleash them on stoned kids. I really blame them---the organizers and yes, to some degree, the idiot kids---not just Barger and his guys. His group was doing what they always did in the event of confrontational chaos. Acted like Hell's Angels and got on with the situation at hand. It's just like getting mad at a tiger for acting like a tiger. You stay away from their environment, you don't tease them with steaks... And no, I don't admire them. I just accept that this is who they are, and behave accordingly to avoid them. We had 'em on the East Coast too. And since high school, back in the 70s, I frankly despise people being stoned idiots and figuring everybody should just tolerate their lack of situational awareness. You really gotta look after yourself. I have chaperoned people who were having bad trips. I felt I had to. Leaving someone in that condition would have been like abandoning a child. But I also knew they did it to themselves, and it made me impatient with the self-indulgent crap dangerously young people routinely pulled, even when I was that young myself. So many bad decisions had to be made to create Altamont.

[@vistacruiser67d]

The Stones left Cutler behind at Altamont with no money got get back home to England. As a result he became involved with the Grateful Dead.

[@josevillarreal9920]

True, until he realized there was no managing the Dead you just had to jump in and swim.

[@robparker2497]

Poor Sam was being hunted by Sonny and the Angels and was hidden and looked after by Rock Scully, Garcia and the Dead crew at their HQ for over 9 months.

[@roverton7]

Joel Selvin's book is the best book on this subject. Stones needed to finish a movie, spend as little as possible on a free concert, and wait 2 hours to take the stage. The Stones conjured up the subject of one of their songs that night...please to meet you, can you guess my name?

[@dannygray4898]

Alan Pizarro (the hell's angel) actually saved many lives, taking that gun off Hunter Meridith (the black guy with the gun). He was gonna shoot at the band, wired to fuck on god knows what.

[@johnathanrush4666]

@@dannygray4898 few things: a) kid's name was Meredith Hunter, not the other way around, b) we know what he was messed up on: acid and amphetamines, just like the Angels were c) you're leaving out the part where they provoked ol boy all day because he was there with a white woman

[@bradfordpauler2538]

I read it. Why does nobody give any justice to the family of the kid that got killed? I'm not talking black or white

[@dummytree]

It's a good book, very comprehensive and enjoyable, but Joel Selvin got some facts wrong and his chronology is sometimes off. A deep study of the various recordings (especially the full Stones set , but also the amateur footage of the various bands shot that day) doesn't always match with what he wrote.And chronology is very important that day. But overall, yes, good book.

[@gayjustinbieber6225]

The 70s began at Altamont

[@acidqueen69]

getting actual real California Hells Angels as concert security must be one of the dumbest decisions of the 20th century.

[@WillieDuitt1]

I think if the whole thing would have been organized better with a taller stage and a barrier in front they may have done better. Bad attitudes and drugs make group scenes get ugly fast, and by drugs I mean wine and beer as well.

[@wolfedavid3700]

where were the speedway police?

[@rexterrocks]

The Angels were used as security at other concerts in Golden gate park previously. No one anticipated the number of people who turned up.

[@this_is_angel74]

I wouldn’t put all the blame in the Angels although their participation was an unpredictable variable. Not to mention the different chapters that were there that weren’t necessarily under the same trip as the SF crew. Either way, there wasn’t any consideration for the audience or the bands except the Stones.

[@scottmcgregor562]

San Francisco Hells Angels chapter were Owsley Stanley's distributors and worked with The Dead and Jefferson Airplane. The concert was originally was supposed to take place in Golden Gate Park with The Dead and The Airplane and The Stones were going to be unannounced guests. The Stones management botched things with the San Francisco Mayer's office. Also unfortunately they listened to Michael Lange in choosing Altamont. Once they chose Altamont, the San Francisco Hell's Angels no longer had jurisdiction and a new chapter took over. The Dead were warned about this new chapter. They were drinking along with LSD speed and reds and beer (the Hell's Angels).

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

35:58 SONNY BARGER

[@tenbroeck1958]

Woodstock was the hippie generation, whereas Altamont was dark, hard rock, harder drugs, spoiled kids, etc.

[@cdavidlake2]

Speed kills.

[@tenbroeck1958]

@@cdavidlake2 Very true. The only "bad trip" that I had to babysit a person through was Speed related. I walked my friend around his cabin and gave him some wine, to relax and calm him down. I wanted to take him to the hospital, but he would have none of it, so I made do with compassion and Merlot. I was afraid weed might mix with the speed and freak him out.

[@jamesmack3314]

Marty Balin,rest his soul,got knocked out by an Angel...

[@str8satan]

Twice

[@billyray8062]

@@str8satan LOL yup Don`t tell a HA fuck you,he`s lucky he only got knocked out!!

[@billshank6266]

Yep, tried to be a tough guy. 😅

[@jasonjaxxson]

HA are tuff when there are many of them.....animals.....sad end to the 60's...great radio historical data captured! !

[@gregking2571]

This comment is completely nonsensical given the fact that there were 300,000 hippies there and only around 100 or so HA...

[@commontater8630]

Hysterical how the broadcaster pronounces it 'AL-TA-MON-TAY'. I went to the event: everybody there, and in the Bay Area generally, pronounced it 'AL-TA-MONT'. Altamont Pass has a major freeway going through it, then as now, and was surely mentioned, pronounced correctly, every day of the week in traffic coverage. How would a radio guy, of all people, get it wrong? He must have picked it up from the field recording we hear at the beginning of the coverage, of some guy on his way to the event, who pronounced it that way.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

The Angels were such badasses, they should've all volunteered for the Green Berets. Like, you know.

[@stevechampion2593]

I wouldn't blame everything on the Angel's, they were highly outnumbered, a lot of the fan's were completely out of control.

[@rainblaze.]

Yeah i mean like butter would melt right? Don't really know if "the angels" would agree with you though . They after all have a reputation to uphold.

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

In the original version, played to theatre audiences, Mick Jagger used foul language on two or three occasions - appropriate for the moment but later censored out for TV broadcast with a "guitar strum" sound overdub to block the "offending" word. Only early copies of the film contain the original uncensored dialogue.

[@lamper2]

Now it's restored on DVD. I'm writing from the future, 2022

[@CARETAKER89able]

Hells Angels on Bad Acid and mixing it with Alcohol, not a good mix!!

[@reeceschrock396]

And speed

[@WillieDuitt1]

The Angels were not the only ones on the stuff!!! Listen to Jagger he was all messed up!

[@timothycarlson8936]

Tell them that...

[@rogerfournier3284]

That and crack Cocaine! And speed!

[@rogerfournier3284]

On point!

[@jefsco]

Is there a reason they call it Altamonte instead of Altamont?

[@ksol1460tv]

They bring that up early in the broadcast and say they'll have to learn to pronounce it. There are a lot of things out there that are Monte-this or that, and I wondered if they had just kind of assumed it was the same.

[@jasonjaxxson]

Haha. ...yeah its funny hearing them call it that! Probably the only funny thing about the whole orgy fest! !

[@andrews527]

Too many Sergio Leone movies. But seriously - it's because Tower Records paid for some New York City studio assholes to record this exploitative crap, and along the line some dumb flack decided to type in an E at the end of Altamont, because it looked "more California." It's doubtful that even the on-the scene interviews are real.

[@Ronbo710]

Altamontay sounds sooo ghet-toe

[@davidellis5141]

You learn something everyday ! 😆

[@FijneWIET]

Sam Cutler didn't organize the whole thing, it wasn't even a Rolling Stones concert. it was supposed to be a free festival, organized by the local Bay Area scene.. Also: Cutler didn't hire the Angels.. Grace Slick, Paul Kantner, Jerry Garcia and Rock Scully convinced them that the Angels did security in the past and could do it at Altamont. Actually, it was Cutler who payed them in advance but he never got his money back from the band. nor did the Stones ever pay him for the US tour..

[@gregking2571]

The Bay area hippies/yippies and their dopey scene were to blame, it had to come crashing down eventually. What gets high must get low, F with an Angel's bike things will come to blows.

[@scatrrr]

Hearing more of the interview with Jim Marshall would have been an improvement.

[@wallofvideo]

is the entire original 4-hour broadcast available anywhere?

[@susaninmaine]

I'd like to know too

[@mathewhunt8262]

Id love to hear the whole show also. Its fascinating

[@MoMo-nj2oc]

Me too!

[@hankrosenfeld8433]

this is awesome piece of counterculture history---caption it please?

[@CKMyers]

trying ta make another woodstock, started a (dumb as it sounds) a rivalry to everybody! bands, producers, fans, media, it created a rush to equal a moment that could not be redone. the fans tried to put a 4 ta 5 day high into one day, massive discern for each other. bands, try a match for fame! producers, the obvious down the road match for money. this makes last minute decisions turn this whole juggernaut into the disaster it is known for. whether stage, security, bands (decisions to go on with a second rate setup) producers who told them it would be fine? the whole thing i feel did have some huge detriments to a great era of a decade that certainly had its faults, but up until that point, had helped change the country in a positive way! just the way i saw/see it a half century later. Peace, DaKwala

[@jeffsmith2022]

Especially the kid with his cap on backwards who kept shaking his head saying no,no...no...never heard Altamont pronounced this way..."Well done Sonny"...

[@indy_go_blue6048]

Pronunciation set me off a little too. I'd never heard an "ee" on the end of Altamont.

[@commontater8630]

@@indy_go_blue6048 Apparently the broadcaster (who should have known better) picked it up off the field recording we hear at the beginning, of some guy on the way to the event. I lived there then (and went to the concert), AL-TA-MONT was the correct pronunciation. I missed the radio broadcast at the time, or I would have been laughing as hysterically at the pronunciation then as I am now.

[@rainblaze.]

So the guy was reaching .... leave him alone lol

[@dannygray-mi3xn]

I blame Altamont for the start of the health and safety nightmare, we all suffer today.

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

read sonnys book but he is RIGHT especially when he says that he wants to be our friend

[@hankrosenfeld8433]

Way to go Scoopji! loving you brother

[@nockee]

Sonny Barger was a monster.

[@timsan55]

It would have been really good to get interviews from some of those near the stage, especially the girls, who is the crying girl, and the dark haired one who seems to be having a really good time in the chaos. Way too late now, I imagine.

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

one of the girls in the front was seen earlier IN A PHOTO watching the PROSPECTS 9not full fledged hells angels members) beating audience members with pool cues

[@WillieDuitt1]

I would interview the German Shepard that went across the stage in the movie, none of the Angels messed with him!

[@hamupinhere]

@@WillieDuitt1 You can't interview that German Shepard, dude. That makes no sense. I mean, concert settings are so sonically loud, the dog must've absolutely gone deaf. Unless you know sign language, the dog wouldn't even be able to hear you asking it questions. I mean, think about it, c'mon.

[@simonyip5978]

Do you mean the girl on the left who has a tambourine?

[@timsan55]

@@simonyip5978 Any one would be interesting to hear from. I guess most would be into their early 70's by now. I'm 3 years older than when I posted lol !

[@lynnreider6179]

And Barger says they were to sit on the stage so no one could crawl past them yet they were all standing like menacing agents on the stage, not sitting.

[@WillieDuitt1]

The Angels were told to put their bikes in front and those people kept pushing forward messing over their bikes...so as Sonny said "they got got!

[@BurtonRdForever]

@@WillieDuitt1 Stupid bastards shouldn't of parked the bikes at the front of the stage. Which Angel is gonna be "told" where to park his chopper? They just made a dumb decision. Its obvious to anyone that as soon as one of the biggest bands on the planet come on stage 300,000 people are gonna push forward? Especially if they were late on stage.? Why not park the bikes backstage and just stand at the front of the stage all around the front of the stage? To be fair the way the stage was built was fuckd it should've been built at the top of the hill not the bottom!!!! It was just a perfect storm of bad shit. Stones late, poorly built stage, bad drugs and pissed up Angels, cold weather, shit venue.

[@dannygray4898]

RIP Sonny Barger! Bad acid was the problem, and people kicking/smashing hell's angels bikes- of course they're gonna get got.

[@dannygray4898]

@Deli 6505 He'll always be alive. God bless the 60s

[@dannygray4898]

@The right honourable Matty Mc Hoon Ya can't blame Alan Pizzaro for what he did. He saved 6 lives potentially from that gun

[@stddisclaimer8020]

Is there any film or at least a photo of the crowd lifting Meredith Hunter's body onto to stage in front of Kieth Richard, with Jagger covering his face and looking away? This certainly was not shown in "Gimme Shelter." Does either footage or photo(s) exist?

[@Camille_Anderson]

it does exist. I just started watching the footage of the event recently, but I cant remember who's channel its on though, sorry.

[@stddisclaimer8020]

@@Camille_Anderson I've since discovered that yes, it *_does_* exist. However, it's a photo, not film footage.

[@arthurcaminha4310]

"And you know what?"

[@johnasbury3856]

The Angel's were abusing their power. The one guy with the gun had it coming but the rest of it was just Angel's picking on hippies. Well fast forward to the Cow Palace Evel Kneivel jump and it was a different story fighting 300 bad ass other bike riders with 2×6 and 4×4 posts who were Evel fans. 9 Angel's hospitalized and 2 in ICU. The video is on KZbin

[@WillieDuitt1]

Great Point Man!!! The fans had no problem taking on the Angels that night.

[@venturamichael50]

It was a different crowd than a bunch of timid hippies.It was a tough,blue collar crowd there that day.

[@dickwelts8817]

The stage was poorly designed, it was too small and it was only 40' wide and about 5' above the audience, it should have been 12' above the crowd to keep unauthorized people from getting on the stage they should have also had a moat around the stage

[@dickwelts8817]

***** Not at the indoor venues

[@dickwelts8817]

***** The stage is way higher at MSG, plus they have an extra guard rail around the stage to keep people 5 extra feet from the stage

[@dickwelts8817]

***** OK show us the chapter in the Rolling Stones stage specification book where it says what height the stage is required to be. You sound like that guy that was tripping out on the stage that the Angels had to throw off and that is why you thought the stage was so high because it was a long way down as you took the plunge

[@dickwelts8817]

***** Sam Cutler said the stage was slapped up in a hurry over night and was not up to Rolling Stones specs. If you want to discuss the matter further, I live in Battery Park and am a regular at Giginos Bar, just stop in an scream for Dick Welts and scream to the bar tender about the height of the stage at MSG, he used to work there for the Knicks

[@dickwelts8817]

***** Looks like you are drunk already with all the misspellings in your comment . And Anthony sure is and authority on the stage and facilities at MSG, he helped roll away the stage when the Knicks played

[@swami1]

Is it “Alta-mont” or “Alta-mon-TAY”? This tape has both.

[@danielgolus4600]

It was "AltaMONT". The mis-pronunciation by some of the KSAN staff may have been because they weren't racing fans and may have never heard of the Altamont Speedway.

[@aarond23]

Altamont Speedway would have been completely obscure to a 'hip' person in SF at that time. It hosted demo derby's and that things, stuff for the white lower class.

[@commontater8630]

They should have known better regardless. Altamont Pass was well-known, then as now, as having a major freeway running through it.

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

things happened differently at grateful dead concerts

[@ianokser2787]

it was the terrain

[@aarond23]

Or the super low stage which was constructed in 30 hours.

[@Ronbo710]

Not really a "hot valley" on December 6 lol.

[@danielgolus4600]

Right. But it was a hazy sunny day that did get hot by the early-mid afternoon, with the sun bearing down on you. By sundown though, it started to get chilly. And downright cold by the night.

[@dflf]

Altamonte’?

[@johnw8990]

smart move pulling that gun.

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

meradeth was stabbed to death 2 people were run over at a campsite one person drowned people were arrested at woodstock

[@kevinjoseph517]

mh drew a gun... so the killer didnt get convicted. simple.

[@rogerfournier3284]

356,000 plus people!

[@georgefeist8190]

I was offered wine and tabs of acid...and grass...but I did not take any of it....I was there the night before and left the day of at 10pm.... My experiences were printed in the San Mateo Times (would love it if someone had that letter) It was also printed in GOLDMINE MAGAZINE.... I cannot find those articles.

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

try at a university or college in the microfilm section

[@DualityofManLimited]

@ George Feist. I have just retrieved your article from The Times (December 18, 1969) (San Mateo, CA) and posted it to your Facebook profile page. Enjoy!

[@gregking2571]

@ DualityofManLimited You are an archivist and a gentleman.

[@LordGreystoke]

The HA spread bad vibes throughout the concert...

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

not necessarly, they went to grateful dead shows and nothing happened. The Grateful Dead also used the Hell's Angels as security for several of their concerts. However, the Angels that were at Altamont were later revealed to be neophytes and hardly any of the leaders were present at the show.

[@smith7674]

+Byron Gordon It was the death of Meredith Hunter that ruined the hippies reputation as peacefull. The Rolling Stones hired the HA's to do the Security which was ridiculous. In Holland they had a much bigger concert and they didnt even need security. They were civilized in Holland and West Europe.

[@randalclarke5487]

Byron Gordon I agree. To this day I am leary of biker-heavy gigs. As a musician, I've found, when you get a group or club of them together, you never know WHAT they'll do.

[@klmullins65]

Smith chaos and violence were normal occurrences at Stones shows in the mid to late 60s, especially in European tours. Plus Charles Manson, and the Chicago Riots in 68 helped killed the "peace vibes"

[@ksol1460tv]

Mick Jagger despised the fans and frequently goaded them into mindless violence. Harlan Ellison tells of being at a Stones show in Sacramento in the mid-60s where the fans were being whipped into frenzy and some were starting to climb onto the stage. Toward show's end, the manager asks the Stones to step back 3 paces so he can lower the fire curtain. Jagger and Jones take three steps FORWARD, teasing the girls mercilessly; Jagger removes his jacket, pretends he's going to toss it into the crowd -- THEN DROPS IT BEHIND HIM. He and Jones run like hell and the girls storm the stage. "They came right through the cops, slamming them into the walls.... The first onslaught of young girls fell into the orchestra pit and the others went right over their backs like troops crossing barbed wire on the backs of their buddies." Fifteen girls had their backs broken.

[@KenTeel]

Altamont vs Altamon-tey. These guys lived within 75 miles of Alamont, and they didn't even know how to pronounce it? Like anything outside of San Francisco is in outer space.

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

35:58 SONNY BARGER!!!

[@NilezII]

why TF does he keep saying "Altamonte"?

[@georgefeist8190]

THE FIRST TIME FANS HEARD "BROWN SUGAR" WAS AT ALTAMONT.....AND I THINK IT WAS RELEASED THE FOLLOWING YEAR AS A SINGLE.... ALL ABOUT A BROWN GIRL MICK MET....

[@georgefeist8190]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iavZhpqIaaiFrKc

[@BurtonRdForever]

Sure its not about heroin?

[@Camille_Anderson]

Bianca is the girl he's singing about isn't it?

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

35:58 read sonny bargers book...

[@markwatts2532]

you can't have a stage at crowd level.

[@th.burggraf7814]

Right ! 👍🏻 39 inches high, I mean, WTF?

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

sonny barger didnt notice the fights during Stray Cat Blues? Stanley Boothe did

[@erikbrentonjohnson7837]

Doing their duty...

[@tedkier3264]

that lady caller arrived at Woodstock on sunday? why not just wait til monday morning and skip it?

[@danielgolus4600]

Then you'd miss it.

[@meeeka]

@Ted Kier Because it was truly hard to get there.

[@martinintrospective3491]

“It’s always somebody’s fault “( Bart Simpson)

[@nanchanger]

the nut with a pistol

[@SingleMalt77005]

Emmett Grogan at 56:25.

[@barefootfrolick]

are we sure it's Emmett?

[@SingleMalt77005]

@@barefootfrolick Yep! At 56:33 the host talks about him,

[@stfnjng]

MY NAME IS STEFAN ALSO...FAR OUT MAN

[@FijneWIET]

I know

[@aarond23]

The Who concert in Cincy or the Eagles of Death Metal shootings were more tragic, but this one was an early example of a terrible mix of bad drugs and violence.

[@danschreffler1280]

Yeah, this takes the cake though. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Station_nightclub_fire

[@nanchanger]

one guy

[@plasticweapon]

@@nanchanger four people.

[@nanchanger]

@@plasticweapon he referenced violent acts, there were not 4 murders at Altamont, and no more deaths than at Woodstock, so...

[@plasticweapon]

@@nanchanger i didn't say they were all murders.

[@andrewgillis8572]

poor Chip Monck - luckily he escapes the shame spread upon Barger, Cutler and Jagger

[@robparker2497]

Chip got beat up and lost two front teeth by the Angels that took the red mat that was on the stage. The mat was laying over the bikes and Chip took the mat and damaged one of the bikes. Story is the book ‘Altamont’ by Joel Selvin.

[@andrewgillis8572]

@@robparker2497 Thank you Rob. And was that the damage which caused the battery short circuit short - which lit up the one bike? I do think flame can be seen in the movie footage, that danger was real, plus I heard it from Barger himself in KPFA archive. Worse, though, and maybe I'm way off: could be that the mat, used maybe without permission, but left over those bikes long enough, would have prevented damage, then the short-circuit, then the falmes, then gun and knife-pulling? Sad beyond words, if so.. Instead MSM used Altamont to bring disgrace on the put on the 60s, as did Manson & his mystery acid supply;, the supposed OD of Hendrix; the Groovy & Linda murders in the East Village; the supposed arson by students, not spooks, at Kent State The MSM portrayal was convincing and young people bought in, that they should feel, shame. But hey - for the want of a nail.

[@robparker2497]

@@andrewgillis8572 no this was the day AFTER when Chip was dismantling the stage, the Angels had stayed and partied all night and were pilfering anything they could find. And Chip wouldn’t let them take the red mat. Anyway it’s all in Joel Selvin’s book. Hava read Andrew, you’ll love it. Cheers from Sydney.

[@andrewgillis8572]

@@robparker2497 first call-in radio show with same-day tales & takes was KSAN (naturally) & Barger called in - not Chip, Or Marty Balin though - my understanding is, the carpet belonged to the Dead - makes sense, you're describing the second attempt to get it back, from the Angels. Barger said Cutler broke various [promises, & members were getting equal & even before they left, in their minds.Same cheers over there to teh only harbour that beats ours - here in Halifax, Canada!

[@dirtyworks13]

5 people died? How did the others die, besides Meredith Hunter. Weren't there some deaths @ Woodstock?

[@kevinjoseph517]

read comments here

[@robparker2497]

Only 4 died, Hunter, stabbed and beaten, one on a bad trip drowned in a dam near the site, and two got run over from a stolen car that raced up a hill near the stage and collided with a car and camp site.

[@Matthew_Eitzman]

Altamonte?

[@aarond23]

Funny how the pronunciation has changed over the years, the track was only 3 years old and was pretty obscure to the SF area, it had a demo derby of 6500 once but that was the biggest event it had ever hosted.

[@commontater8630]

@@aarond23 I don't know what you're talking about, pronunciation change. I lived in the Bay Area at the time and went to the event, it was pronounced AL-TA-MONT. Altamont Pass has a major freeway going through it, then as now, so it was pretty well known.

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

all reports say he was knocked cold, but quickly revived after THEN you have to watch the "Fly Jefferson Airplane" dvd for another side of the story. the hells angel apologised!

[@plasticweapon]

"the hells angel"?!

[@b1sayan]

Drugs(bad drugs), booze and violence. Altamont "festival"

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

sonny barger was loaded read his book

[@libtards1393]

The death of the '60s

[@tedkier3264]

My mom and her bf visited Sonny Barger in San Quentin (i'm told) in the 70's. when he was doing a bit for murder. took him a carton!

[@tedkier3264]

darth kahless candied cigarettes. that's all that HA uses for currency in San Quentin.

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

SONNY BARGER 35:00

[@joefrazier226]

I think Sonny Barger and the other Hell's Angel did a good job telling their side of the story.

[@mathewhunt8262]

Why did they call it altamontA speedway if they were there the day before and knew its correct name?