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On December 6, 1969, 18-year-old Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death by Hells Angels at the Altamont Free Concert.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_6• 1969 – Altamont Free Concert: At a free concert performed by the Rolling Stones, eighteen-year old Meredith Hunter is stabbed to death by Hells Angels security guards.
Altamont Free Concert
Altamont Speedway Free Festival
Mick Jagger stops performing to address Hells Angels
Genre: Rock and folk, including blues-rock, folk rock, jazz fusion, Latin rock, country rock, and psychedelic rock styles.
Dates: December 6, 1969 (56 years ago)
Locations: Altamont Speedway, Tracy, California, U.S.
Coordinates: 37°44'22"N 121°33'40"W
Founders: Jorma Kaukonen, Spencer Dryden, Grateful Dead
Attendance: 300,000 (estimated)
The Altamont Speedway Free Festival was a counterculture rock concert in the United States, held on Saturday, December 6, 1969, at the Altamont Speedway outside of Tracy, California. Approximately 300,000 attended the concert, with some anticipating that it would be a "Woodstock West". The Woodstock festival had taken place in Bethel, New York, in mid-August, almost four months earlier.
The event is remembered for its use of Hells Angels as security and its significant violence, including the killing of Meredith Hunter and three accidental deaths: two from a hit-and-run car accident, and one from a drowning incident in an irrigation canal. Scores were injured, numerous cars were stolen (and subsequently abandoned), and there was extensive property damage. During the Rolling Stones’ headline performance, violence erupted close to the stage, resulting in the fatal stabbing of Hunter, a spectator. MusicRadar noted that the tragedy, captured on film in Gimme Shelter, eclipsed the event and marked a dark ending for the 1960s counterculture. The concert featured performances (in order of appearance) by Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY), with The Rolling Stones taking the stage as the final act. Grateful Dead were also scheduled to perform after CSNY, but shortly before their scheduled appearance, they chose not to due to the increasing violence at the venue. "That's the way things went at Altamont—so badly that the Grateful Dead, the prime organizers and movers of the festival, didn't even get to play," wrote staff at Rolling Stone magazine in a detailed narrative on the event, terming it, in an additional follow-up piece, "rock and roll's all-time worst day, December 6th, a day when everything went perfectly wrong."
Filmmakers Albert and David Maysles shot footage of the event and incorporated it into the 1970 documentary film titled Gimme Shelter.
{snip}
Altamont Speedway Free Festival
Mick Jagger stops performing to address Hells Angels
Genre: Rock and folk, including blues-rock, folk rock, jazz fusion, Latin rock, country rock, and psychedelic rock styles.
Dates: December 6, 1969 (56 years ago)
Locations: Altamont Speedway, Tracy, California, U.S.
Coordinates: 37°44'22"N 121°33'40"W
Founders: Jorma Kaukonen, Spencer Dryden, Grateful Dead
Attendance: 300,000 (estimated)
The Altamont Speedway Free Festival was a counterculture rock concert in the United States, held on Saturday, December 6, 1969, at the Altamont Speedway outside of Tracy, California. Approximately 300,000 attended the concert, with some anticipating that it would be a "Woodstock West". The Woodstock festival had taken place in Bethel, New York, in mid-August, almost four months earlier.
The event is remembered for its use of Hells Angels as security and its significant violence, including the killing of Meredith Hunter and three accidental deaths: two from a hit-and-run car accident, and one from a drowning incident in an irrigation canal. Scores were injured, numerous cars were stolen (and subsequently abandoned), and there was extensive property damage. During the Rolling Stones’ headline performance, violence erupted close to the stage, resulting in the fatal stabbing of Hunter, a spectator. MusicRadar noted that the tragedy, captured on film in Gimme Shelter, eclipsed the event and marked a dark ending for the 1960s counterculture. The concert featured performances (in order of appearance) by Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY), with The Rolling Stones taking the stage as the final act. Grateful Dead were also scheduled to perform after CSNY, but shortly before their scheduled appearance, they chose not to due to the increasing violence at the venue. "That's the way things went at Altamont—so badly that the Grateful Dead, the prime organizers and movers of the festival, didn't even get to play," wrote staff at Rolling Stone magazine in a detailed narrative on the event, terming it, in an additional follow-up piece, "rock and roll's all-time worst day, December 6th, a day when everything went perfectly wrong."
Filmmakers Albert and David Maysles shot footage of the event and incorporated it into the 1970 documentary film titled Gimme Shelter.
{snip}
Fri Dec 6, 2024: On this day, December 6, 1969, the Altamont Free Concert was held.
Fri Dec 6, 2024: On this day, December 6, 1969, eighteen-year-old Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death by Hells Angels at Altamont.
Sun Mar 17, 2024: On this day, March 17, 1948, the Hells Angels were formed.
Wed Dec 6, 2023: On this day, December 6, 1969, eighteen-year-old Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death by Hells Angels at Altamont.
Wed Dec 6, 2023: On this day, December 6, 1969, eighteen-year-old Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death by Hells Angels at Altamont.
Fri Mar 17, 2023: On this day, March 17, 1948, the Hells Angels were formed.
Tue Dec 6, 2022: On this day, December 6, 1969, the Altamont Free Concert was held.
Tue Mar 17, 2020: On this day, March 17, 1948, the Hells Angels were formed.