On June 16, 1967, a friend and I decided to go to Monterey, an hour-and-a-half drive from our hometown of San Jose.
We heard The Beatles or Stones might be playing at a festival at the fairgrounds and as huge fans of both, we had to go see what it was all about.
Well, neither The Beatles or Stones, except Brian Jones, was there, but that was OK, as we soon learned.
We were at the Monterey International Pop Festival, an event billed as a benefit, produced by record executive Lou Adler and Mamas and Papas head honcho John Phillips. The roster, while missing Lennon and Jagger, did include Simon and Garfunkel, Canned Heat, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, an often heard but rarely seen in America, British group The Who, a too often heard and seen in America, British group the Animals, The Grateful Dead, Moby Grape, Otis Redding and another black musician who played his right-handed Fender Strat left-handed and concluded his act by lighting said Strat on fire.
Another band, relatively unknown outside of San Francisco that had its coming out to the world, was Big Brother and the Holding Company. This was the ultimate San Francisco psychedelic band, featuring roaring guitar breaks that defined the San Francisco sound, as well as a girl singer from Texas named Janis.
Sam Andrew, founding member and guitarist for the group, said Monday - 40 years after the 1967 concert - that the San Francisco bands were told the festival was a benefit.
"That's how they got us and the others to play," Andrew said by phone from his Marin County home. "I suppose there were several charities that did benefit, but I'm sure Lou Adler benefited the most."
The concert was filmed by D.A. Pennebaker to air on CBS Television, but Hendrix's performance, complete with sexually explicit choreography that might seem tame today, put the kibosh on that and it ended up being a theatrical release.
"The San Francisco bands all refused to be filmed and signed off on it," Andrew said. "We did too, but when we saw Hendrix and The Who and the response they got, we changed our minds."
The band played Saturday afternoon and was asked to play a second set the following evening.
"We really weren't good that second night. About 75 percent what we should've been and we were out of tune," Andrew said. "Now, it's on film to haunt me."
As for Janis Joplin (who died in 1970), Andrew said she was a great talent who was just about to realize her full potential.
"There were voices and a range she had that no one heard," Andrew said. "I genuinely liked her."
Asked about whether he feels frustration about the early deaths (from drug overdoses) of icons like Hendrix, or a friend like Joplin, Andrew said, "Well, we were all doing it. It just got out of hand sometimes. People don't understand the pressures of being in the spotlight, travel and the demands on you personally. That's why I can completely sympathize with someone going through it like Lindsay Lohan."
After Monterey, the band took off after signing with a Albert Grossman (Bob Dylan's manager among others) but the focus was more on Joplin and not the whole unit.
"That didn't really bother me. I didn't feel like I was this great talent. I was along for the ride and figured it would last forever," Andrew said. "It irritated some of the guys that she was singled out, but I was busy writing the songs and just being in the band. Now it's 40 years later and I still like just being in the band."
Andrew will be performing along with Big Brother July 28 and 29 at the same Monterey Fairgrounds venue he played 40 years ago, along with other musical acts from the era including Ray Manzarik and Robbie Kreiger of the Doors, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Starship.
For information and tickets, www.sfsummeroflove.com/performing.
Editor's note: Comedian Robin Williams said if you remember the '60s, then you weren't there. I beg to differ, because I remember times, people, concerts and events of that era with a clarity that sometimes scares me. I was able to talk with someone else who performed at a festival in 1967 that has been called the apex of the Summer of Love .
-- Jack Carrerow is sport editor at the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza and an avid lover of music from the '60s.
