111-657: The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California . The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix Experience , the Who and Ravi Shankar , the first large-scale public performance of Janis Joplin and the introduction of Otis Redding to
222-707: A writer's block after his close collaborator (and fellow Miracle), Marv Tarplin , who joined him on the road in 1973 after Robinson left the Miracles, presented him a tune he had composed on his guitar. Robinson later wrote the lyrics that became his first solo top ten Pop single, " Cruisin' ". The song hit number one in Cash Box and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 . It also became his first solo number one in New Zealand . Robinson would follow
333-537: A 20-minute segue of "Alligator" into "Caution (Do Not Stop on Tracks)". Lydon commented: "The Grateful Dead were beautiful. They did at top volume what Shankar had done softly. They played pure music, some of the best music of the concert. I have never heard anything in music that could be said to be qualitatively better than the performance of the Dead, Sunday night. Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones introduced
444-479: A Hold on Me ", " Mickey's Monkey ", " I Second That Emotion ", " Baby Baby Don't Cry " and the group's only number-one hit during their Robinson years, " The Tears of a Clown ". Other notable hits such as " Ooo Baby Baby ", " Going to a Go-Go ", the multi-award-winning " The Tracks of My Tears ", " (Come Round Here) I'm The One You Need ", " The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage " and " More Love " peaked in
555-570: A big act in the UK, and now gaining some attention in the U.S. after playing some New York dates two months earlier, the Who were propelled into the American mainstream at Monterey. The band used rented Sound City amps for their set, which were not as powerful as their regular Vox amps which they had left in England to save shipping costs. At the end of their frenetic performance of " My Generation ",
666-672: A capacity of about 275,000 spectators, but has " fallow years " roughly every five years, so it is the biggest non-annual greenfield festival in the world. The oldest annual dedicated pop music festival in the world is Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands , though in other genres, there are much older ones: the Three Choirs Festival in the UK has run annually since 1719. The Queensland Music Festival, established in 1999 and headquartered in Brisbane Australia,
777-555: A designated arts mentor under Turnaround Arts. On July 31, 2018, Robinson appeared on the Fox network's show Beat Shazam as a special guest. Robinson appeared on the song "Make It Better" from Anderson Paak 's 2019 album Ventura . In 2023, Robinson announced that he would release his first album in almost a decade in April 2023. The nine-track album will be called Gasms , and will feature entirely new music. The first single from
888-584: A few successful shows at the Whisky a Go Go . Redding's show, received well by the audience ("there is certainly more audible crowd participation in Redding's set than in any of the others filmed by Pennebaker that weekend") included a version of the Stones' " Satisfaction ". The festival would be one of his last major performances: Redding died only six months later, in a plane crash, at the age of 26. Ravi Shankar
999-410: A form of seasonal, cultural festivity, structured around a schedule of music performances, or concerts. Music festivals generally feature regular and extensive programming, than more spontaneous or improvised forms of music festivity. In traditional genres such as folk and classical music, a music festival can be defined as a community event , with performances of singing and instrument playing, that
1110-521: A job he had taken on by the mid-1960s after Esther Gordy Edwards had left the position. However, the success of the group's "Tears of a Clown" made Robinson stay with the group until 1972. His last performance with the group was in July 1972 in Washington, D.C. After a year of retirement , Robinson announced his comeback with the release of the eponymous Smokey album, in 1973. The album included
1221-555: A light skinned black man but that's not true. When Robinson was 10, his mother died, and he began living with older sister, Geraldine, with her husband, who had 10 children together. He attended Northern High School , where he was above average academically and a determined athlete. However, his main interest was music, and he formed a doo-wop group named the Five Chimes. He and Aretha Franklin lived several houses from each other on Belmont; he said he'd known Franklin since she
SECTION 10
#17327726926271332-451: A manifestation for creating escapism and a seasonal cultural economy to experience ritually and collectively. Another type of music festival is the music education , often organized annually in local communities, regionally, or nationally, for the benefit of amateur musicians of all ages and grades of achievement. Entrants perform prepared pieces or songs in front of an audience which includes competitors, family and friends, and members of
1443-409: A mass American audience. The festival embodied the theme of California as a focal point for the counterculture and generally is regarded as one of the beginnings of the " Summer of Love " in 1967 and the public debut of the hippie , flower power and flower children movements and era. Because Monterey was widely promoted and heavily attended, featured historic performances, and was the subject of
1554-507: A partnership with George Tobin and with Tobin, Robinson released his next several Motown albums, Yes It's You Lady , which produced the hit "Tell Me Tomorrow", Touch the Sky and Essar . In 1983, Robinson teamed up with fellow Motown label mate Rick James recording the R&;B ballad, " Ebony Eyes ". In 1987, following a period of personal and professional issues, Robinson made a comeback with
1665-552: A poor family in the North End area of Detroit, Michigan . He had two maternal half-sisters, and his parents divorced when he was three years old. Robinson's ancestry is also part Nigerian , Scandinavian , Portuguese , and Cherokee . His uncle Claude gave him the nickname "Smokey Joe" when he was a child. In 2012, Robinson explained: My Uncle Claude was my favorite uncle. He was also my godfather. He and I were really, really close. He used to take me to see cowboy movies all
1776-691: A popular theatrical documentary film, it became an inspiration and a template for future music festivals, including the Woodstock Festival two years later. Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner said "Monterey was the nexus – it sprang from what the Beatles began, and from it sprang what followed." In early 1967, Michael Bowen produced the Human Be-In at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco , where many attendees dropped acid for
1887-533: A reporter that "Brian was afraid that the hippies from San Francisco would think The Beach Boys were square and boo them." Wilson's assistant Michael Vosse recalled that Wilson thought the Beach Boys would have been criticized by festival goers who were intent on seeing British acid rock groups. Writer David Leaf posited that the band dropped out because they had no fitting material in their repertoire besides " Good Vibrations ". Mike Love stated that none of
1998-675: A similar approach with his next album, Warm Thoughts , which produced another top 40 hit, "Let Me Be the Clock", though it did not repeat the success of "Cruisin'". In 1981, Robinson topped the charts again with another sensual ballad, " Being with You ", which was another number one hit in Cash Box and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It also hit number one in the UK Singles Chart , becoming his most successful single to date. The Gold-plus parent album sparked
2109-495: A specific charitable cause . At music festivals associated with charitable causes, there may be information about social or political issues . The Pythian Games at Delphi included musical performances, and may be one of the earliest festivals known. During the Middle Ages , festivals were often held as competitions. The music festival emerged in England in the 18th century, as an extension of urban concert life into
2220-403: A trippy Headlights liquid light show projected overhead, enticing hundreds to join the band on stage dancing. Grace Slick "sang as if possessed" while she swayed in a full-length blue robe. After this, Booker T. & the M.G.'s played a handful of instrumental R&B tunes, wearing brilliant lime green suits, then they were joined by an identically attired Otis Redding who electrified
2331-414: A unique image for it and attracting visitors. For example, Lollapalooza, Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, Ultra Music Festival, Electric Forest, and others. While contemporary festivals are often represented as flourishing grounds for extraordinary experiences, they increasingly serve as a way to create cultural identity, lifestyle, community, belonging and self-actualisation. Furthermore, festivals are
SECTION 20
#17327726926272442-403: Is often presented with a theme such as a music genre (e.g., blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality , locality of musicians, or holiday . Music festivals have developed as an industry which contributes to national economies. For example, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival earned $ 115 million in 2017. Music festivals can be a way of building a brand for a destination, creating
2553-572: Is that participants can learn from one another rather than compete. Such festivals aim to provide a friendly and supportive platform for musicians to share in the excitement of making music. For many, they provide a bridge from lessons and examinations to performing confidently in public; for a few of the top performers, they provide a pathway to further professional study of music in a college, university or conservatory. Milwaukee , Wisconsin 's 11-day event, Summerfest , promotes itself as "The World's Largest Music Festival." Operating annually since 1968,
2664-552: Is the current owner and host of the SiriusXM channel Soul Town , a station that plays R&B and soul hits from the 1950s to the early 1980s. Released under the banner Smokey's Soul Town , Robinson occasionally appears on the channel, recalling his best moments with Motown and meeting other artists as well as pick his favorite songs during that time period. On February 22, 1983, Smokey was awarded an individual star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. Four years later, in 1987, Robinson
2775-422: Is the largest music festival by land mass, as a state-wide music biennial music festival, over a three-week period during July. Lists of music festivals in: Smokey Robinson William " Smokey " Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive . He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group
2886-886: The Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival . Star performers included the Doors , the Sons of Champlin , Moby Grape , the Steve Miller Blues Band , Jefferson Airplane , Hugh Masekela , Country Joe and the Fish , Canned Heat and the Byrds ; the latter seven acts also played Monterey Pop one week later. We are holding a large pop festival here in June and we hope you can all come. ... Already booked:
2997-474: The 1990s, Pennebaker picked out an audience member saying "beautiful", and invited Nyro to witness it, but she died before this could be arranged. With two huge singles behind them, San Francisco–based Jefferson Airplane was one of the major attractions of the festival, having built a large following on the West Coast. Lydon wrote that the band "thoroughly proved themselves" masters of psychedelia, aided by
3108-530: The 2016 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for his lifetime contributions to popular music. He is a double Hollywood Walk of Fame Inductee, as a solo artist (1983) and as a member of The Miracles (2009). In 2022, he was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame . William Robinson Jr. was born to an African-American father and a mother of African-American and French descent in
3219-577: The American children's animated series ToddWorld for Discovery Kids , TLC and Mike Young Productions. Two years later, Robinson released the standards album, Timeless Love , in 2006 on Universal Records. In 2009, he issued the album, Time Flies When You're Having Fun on his own label, Robso Records. It reached number 59 on the Billboard album chart, his highest showing since One Heartbeat . He subsequently released "Now And Then" in 2010, which peaked at number 131. Smokey & Friends
3330-463: The American theater. Jacob's groundbreaking Monterey sound system was the progenitor of all the large-scale PAs that followed. It was a key factor in the festival's success and it was greatly appreciated by the artists—in the Monterey film, David Crosby can clearly be seen saying "Great sound system!" to bandmate Chris Hillman at the start of the Byrds' soundcheck. Lighting by Chip Monck attracted
3441-476: The Byrds on June 17, the second evening of the event. During mid–1967, the Beach Boys were struggling with numerous personal and professional issues. At the last minute, they announced that they could not play the gig due to Carl Wilson 's dispute with officials over his refusal to be drafted into military service, as well as the band's commitments to finishing the long-overdue " Heroes and Villains " single for Capitol Records . Another (unofficial) reason given for
Monterey International Pop Festival - Misplaced Pages Continue
3552-444: The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shankar, Jimi Hendrix, the Who, Hugh Masekela , Grateful Dead , and the Rolling Stones' Brian Jones ("His Majesty Prince Jones smiled as he moved among the crowd"). The instruments used in the song imitate the styles of these performers. The festival did not become an annual event. However, in 2017 on the 50th anniversary of the festival, the "Monterey International Pop Festival – Celebrates 50 Years"
3663-625: The Byrds, the Buffalo Springfield, the Jefferson Airplane and numerous of the Tomorrow groups now flourishing on the psychedelic San Francisco scene (what DOES psychedelic mean?) ... [I]t should be great too because nothing like this has ever been done and if pop music was ready, it is now and there never was a time like the present anyway. – Derek Taylor , Disc and Music Echo , March 25, 1967 The festival
3774-763: The Heritage Award at the Soul Train Music Awards . In 2005, Robinson was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. At its 138th Commencement Convocation in May 2006, Howard University conferred on Robinson the degree of Doctor of Music, honoris causa . In December 2006 Robinson was one of five Kennedy Center honorees, along with Dolly Parton , Zubin Mehta , Steven Spielberg and Andrew Lloyd Webber . On March 20, 2009,
3885-536: The Holding Company returned for a short set designed to capture on film Janis Joplin singing "Ball and Chain". A team led by Cyrus Faryar , called Group With No Name, played a "terrible" set, as judged by Lydon. Buffalo Springfield , introduced by Peter Tork of the Monkees , appeared with a competent and efficient delivery of a half dozen songs, with "Bluebird" called out as memorable. Although already
3996-432: The Holding Company on the basis of their performance at Monterey. Country Joe and the Fish came next, delivering a funny performance with an anti-war message. Guitarist and songwriter Barry Melton said afterward that he put political messages in the band's music because "we feel that in this society, you have to make your stance clear. Others don't want to speak up in songs, be right up front." Melton said that taking LSD
4107-606: The Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Monterey Pop Festival on the evening of Sunday, June 18. Jimi Hendrix 's use of extremely high volumes, the feedback this produced, and the combination of the two along with his dive-bombing use of the vibrato bar on his guitar, produced sounds that, with the exception of the British in attendance, none of the audience had ever heard before. This, along with his look, his clothing, and his erotic antics onstage, had an enormous impact on
4218-489: The Miracles were finally honored as a group with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Smokey was present with original Miracles members Bobby Rogers , Pete Moore , (Bobby's cousin) Claudette Rogers , and Gloria White, accepting for her husband, the late Ronnie White , whose daughter Pamela and granddaughter Maya were there representing him as well. Smokey's replacement, 1970s Miracles lead singer Billy Griffin ,
4329-478: The Miracles , for which he was also chief songwriter and producer. He led the group from its 1955 origins, when they were called The Five Chimes, until 1972, when he retired from the group to focus on his role as Motown Records vice president. Robinson returned to the music industry as a solo artist the following year. He left Motown in 1999. Robinson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and awarded
4440-423: The Miracles met songwriter Berry Gordy after a failed audition for Brunswick Records . At that time during the audition, Robinson had brought along with him a "Big 10" notebook with 100 songs he wrote while in high school. Gordy was impressed with Robinson's vocals and even more impressed with Robinson's ambitious songwriting. With his help, the Miracles released their first single, "Got a Job", an answer song to
4551-463: The Miracles tribute song, "Sweet Harmony", and the hit ballad "Baby Come Close". In 1974, Robinson's second album, Pure Smokey , was released but failed to produce hits. Robinson struggled to compete with his former collaborators Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and former Temptations member Eddie Kendricks , as all three had multiple hit singles during this period. Former Beatle George Harrison featured
Monterey International Pop Festival - Misplaced Pages Continue
4662-417: The Monterey Pop Festival. Lydon wrote that Nyro's "melodramatic" set, "accompanied by two dancing girls who pranced absurdly", was a disaster during which "the evening hit bottom". Other critics wrote that the black-gowned Nyro was out of sync with the psychedelic sensibilities of the event. Upon the conclusion of her set, Nyro was upset, having heard booing from the audience. While reviewing the raw footage in
4773-486: The Saturday afternoon show; their set was deemed "uninspired" by Lydon. In a thrilling display of raw emotion, Janis Joplin sang next, backed by Big Brother and the Holding Company . Joplin's wildly elemental interpretation of the blues standard " Ball and Chain " was described by Lydon as "the blues big mama style, tough, raw, and gutsy, and with an aching that few black singers reach." For the first time at Monterey Pop,
4884-546: The Silhouettes' hit single "Get a Job" on End Records . It was the beginning of a long and successful collaboration. During this time, Robinson attended college and started classes in January 1959, studying electrical engineering . He dropped out after only two months, following the Miracles' release of their first record. Gordy formed Tamla Records , which was later reincorporated as Motown. The Miracles became one of
4995-461: The Stones went on tour, by which time Jones was dead. The Beatles had already stopped touring altogether. Meanwhile, the Who's striking performance brought them widespread fame in the US. Also notable was the festival's innovative sound system, designed and built by audio engineer Abe Jacob , who started his career doing live sound for San Francisco bands and went on to become a leading sound designer for
5106-544: The Street" was the final song performed at the festival, with Cass Elliot telling the audience "You're on your own". After the concert, members of Jefferson Airplane, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and the Grateful Dead jammed together backstage for four more hours, stopping for breakfast at dawn. The Beach Boys ' Brian Wilson was among the festival's board members. His group was, at one point, slotted to perform after
5217-658: The Temptations ; " Still Water (Love) " for the Four Tops ; " When I'm Gone " and " Operator " for Brenda Holloway ; " Don't Mess With Bill ", " The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game " and " My Baby Must Be a Magician " for the Marvelettes ; and " I'll Be Doggone " and " Ain't That Peculiar " for Marvin Gaye . After the arrival of Holland–Dozier–Holland and the team of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong , Robinson
5328-564: The U.S. – San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Memphis, Tennessee, and New York City – and it was the first time many of these bands had met each other in person. It was a particularly important meeting place for bands from the Bay Area and L.A., who had tended to regard each other with a degree of suspicion, and until that point the two scenes had been developing separately along fairly distinct lines. Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane said "The idea that San Francisco
5439-432: The UK group ABC released a tribute song, " When Smokey Sings ". He was inducted as a solo artist to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, later igniting controversy as the committee had inducted only Robinson and not members of his group, the Miracles, which Robinson saw as an affront. In 2012, however, the committee rectified the mistake announcing that the group would be inducted on their own merit. Though Robinson
5550-539: The Who, who played for only 26 minutes. Monterey's bill boasted a lineup that put established stars like the Mamas and the Papas, Simon & Garfunkel , Jefferson Airplane and the Byrds alongside groundbreaking new acts from the UK and the U.S. Crowd estimates for the festival have ranged from 25,000 to 90,000 people, which congregated in and around the festival grounds. The fairgrounds' enclosed performance arena, where
5661-404: The acts, but for certain others, particularly the Who and Hendrix, to film as much of the sets as possible. As a result, only one song was not captured in part at least from both acts' performances. Big Brother's scheduled set was not filmed because of a disagreement. However, due to the huge reaction the band got, they were asked to return to play two songs on Sunday, to be filmed specifically for
SECTION 50
#17327726926275772-561: The album Live: Ravi Shankar at the Monterey International Pop Festival . A dhun based on the raga Panchamse-Ghara (later miscredited as raga Bhimpalasi ) concluded the Monterey Pop film. The Blues Project opened the final night of the festival. Lydon said that their blues fusion music was "part blues, part Scottish air, part weird phrases that became images of ambiguity." Big Brother and
5883-510: The album, One Heartbeat and the singles, " Just to See Her " and " One Heartbeat ", which were Top 10 hits on Billboard ' s Pop, Soul, and Adult Contemporary charts. They were aided by popular music videos. "Just to See Her" won Robinson his first Grammy Award in 1988. The album became one of his most successful ever, selling over 900,000 copies in the United States alone. In the same year, Robinson released One Heartbeat ,
5994-667: The album, called "If We Don't Have Each Other", was already available on streaming services by January 2023. Robinson married a fellow Miracles member, Claudette Rogers , in 1959. The couple had two children: a son, Berry Robinson (born 1968), named after Motown's first label founder Berry Gordy , and a daughter, Tamla Robinson (born 1971), named after the original "Tamla" label set up by Gordy that would eventually become Motown. According to Robinson, he had affairs with multiple women while married to Claudette, among them an approximately year-long affair with Diana Ross . According to Robinson, Ross ended it because she felt uncomfortable as she
6105-583: The arena: Friday night, Saturday afternoon and night, and Sunday afternoon and night. Ticket prices varied by seating area, and ranged from $ 3 to $ 6.50 ($ 27–59 in 2024, adjusted for inflation). The song " San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) " was written by Phillips and sung by Scott McKenzie , released in May 1967, to promote the event. The Los Angeles–based band the Association with hits such as " Along Comes Mary " and "Never My Love"
6216-459: The assumption that they were jamming together. Townshend said later, "It was just Jimi on a chair playing at me. Playing at me like 'Don't fuck with me, you little shit.'" The Mamas & the Papas closed the festival. They also brought on Scott McKenzie to play his John Phillips–written single " San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) ". Their set included their hits " Monday, Monday " and " California Dreamin' ". The song "Dancing in
6327-499: The attention of the Woodstock Festival promoters. Electronic music pioneers Paul Beaver and Bernie Krause set up a booth at Monterey to demonstrate the new electronic music synthesizer developed by Robert Moog . Beaver and Krause had bought one of Moog's first synthesizers in 1966 and had spent a fruitless year trying to get someone in Hollywood interested in using it. Through their demonstration booth at Monterey, they gained
6438-488: The audience rose to their feet. This Saturday set was not recorded by filmmaker Pennebaker, so the group was asked to play again on Sunday night. San Francisco Examiner music critic Phil Elwood wrote that Joplin proved to be "the real queen of the festival". This ended up being Joplin's breakout appearance, bringing her fame far beyond the San Francisco Bay Area . Columbia Records signed Big Brother and
6549-523: The audience was stunned as guitarist Pete Townshend smashed his guitar and slammed the neck against the amps and speakers. Smoke bombs exploded behind the amps and frightened concert staff rushed onstage to retrieve expensive microphones. At the end of the mayhem, drummer Keith Moon kicked over his drum kit as the band exited the stage. During Jimi Hendrix's stay in England, he and the Who had seen each other perform; they were both impressed with and intimidated by each other, so neither wanted to be upstaged by
6660-526: The audience with his sexually charged singing style. He sang his 1965 song " Respect " which was topping the charts because of a popular new interpretation by Aretha Franklin . Redding finished with a riveting " Try a Little Tenderness ". The crowd responded by standing and screaming for more. Redding had been included on the bill through the efforts of promoter Jerry Wexler , who saw the festival as an opportunity to advance Redding's career. Until that point, Redding had performed mainly for black audiences, besides
6771-408: The audience. To take things further, aware of the Who's planned explosive finale, he asked around for a can of lighter fluid, which he placed behind one of his amplifier stacks before beginning his set. He ended his Monterey performance with an unpredictable version of " Wild Thing ", which he capped by kneeling over his guitar, pouring lighter fluid over it, setting it on fire, and then smashing it onto
SECTION 60
#17327726926276882-486: The band members "were afraid to perform at Monterey" and explained that "Carl was to appear in federal court the Tuesday after the concert, but for all we knew, they were going to arrest him again if he performed onstage ... ". In a 1974 interview, he stated that he was "ready to go", but Brian "got sort of cold feet on the situation because he didn't trust that the people there in that organization were going to do right with
6993-492: The band pulled out of their performance, the ascendant underground effectively wrote the Beach Boys—one of the biggest American hitmakers of the decade—out of the '60s rock narrative that followed." The festival launched the careers of many who played there, making some of them into stars virtually overnight, including Janis Joplin. Monterey was also the first high-profile event to mix acts from major regional music centers in
7104-401: The band's cancellation was that Brian had had disagreements with the promoter. Carl later commented: "Brian was on the board and [the festival] changed several times, the concept of it, and he decided 'This is shit, let's not play it.' I think there were some people getting hostile about the group at the time, about the surfing thing and he figured, 'Fuck you,' or something like that." Asked about
7215-550: The blues to give their music more substance. Beverley Martyn sang a short set followed by Johnny Rivers . After Rivers was Eric Burdon leading his new incarnation of the Animals , introduced as the New Animals, re-interpreted the Stones song " Paint It Black ", adding electric violin . With this appearance, Burdon signaled a change to more of a politically charged hard rock style mixed with psychedelia . He later wrote
7326-522: The community, along with one or more adjudicators or judges. These adjudicators, who may be music teachers, professors, or professional performers, provide verbal and written feedback to each performer or group. The adjudicator may be someone whom they might never meet in any other way, as is the case when an adjudicator from another city is brought in to judge. They also usually receive a certificate, classified according to merit or ranking, and some may win trophies or even scholarships. The most important aspect
7437-479: The crowd with "precisely" interpreted blues without being "uptight". One of Paul Butterfield 's standout harmonica solos was described as an exercise in serialism , breaking a "few notes into tiny bits and experiment[ing] with their regroupings." The next two bands were dismissed by Lydon as forgettable sets: Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Steve Miller Band . The final set of Saturday afternoon
7548-546: The decision, Bruce Johnston said "it went from 'Here's the money, here's the offer, you're headlining' to 'Now this is gonna be a non-profit show' so we pulled out." Other issues plaguing the group involved Brian and Dennis Wilson 's drug use. Many of the people involved with the festival thought that the group was simply too scared to compete with the "new music". Derek Taylor, who had previously worked as their publicist, presumed that "it had to be down to Brian. Those sorts of decision were always his, really." John Phillips told
7659-686: The festival attracts between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people each year, and hosts over 800 musical acts. The Woodstock Festival in 1969 drew nearly 500,000 attendees, and the Polish spin-off Przystanek Woodstock in 2014 drew 750,000 thus becoming the largest open air annual festival in Europe and the second largest in the world. In comparison, the Roskilde Festival in Denmark, attracts about 135,000 spectators each year. Glastonbury Festival has
7770-694: The festival on March 25, 1967, in his regular column for Disc and Music Echo magazine. The festival's board of governors included some such as Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy who displayed initial enthusiasm but did little to organize the event. Local Big Sur resident and Stage Manager for the Monterey Jazz Festival, Paul Vieregee was brought in to be the Stage Manager for the Monterey Pop Festival, along with McCune Sound for production. The artists performed for free, with all revenue donated to charity, except for Ravi Shankar , who
7881-425: The film was too commercial and refused permission for their performance to be shown. The screening of the film in theaters nationwide helped raise the festival to mythic status, rapidly swelled the ranks of festival-goers looking for the next festival, and inspired new entrepreneurs to stage more such festivals around the country. Adler said the cameramen were instructed to capture at least two complete songs for most of
7992-445: The first acts signed to the label, although they had actually been with Gordy since before the formation of Motown Records. In late 1960, the group recorded their first hit single, " Shop Around ", which became Motown's first million-selling hit record. Between 1960 and 1970, Robinson would produce 26 top forty hits with the Miracles as lead singer, chief songwriter and producer, including several top ten hits such as " You've Really Got
8103-599: The first lineup of The Five Chimes with childhood friend Ronald White and classmate Pete Moore . Two years later, they were renamed the Matadors and included Bobby Rogers . Another member, Emerson (Sonny) Rogers, Bobby Rogers' cousin, was replaced by his sister, Claudette Rogers (who would marry Smokey Robinson in 1959). The group's guitarist, Marv Tarplin , joined them sometime in 1958. The Matadors began touring Detroit venues around this time. Eventually they changed their name to The Miracles. In August 1957, Robinson and
8214-606: The first time ( lysergic acid diethylamide or LSD) and listened to Timothy Leary tell the crowd that people living in cities should reorganize as tribes and villages. This was one of the important precursors to the Summer of Love five months later. The Human Be-In directly inspired the Monterey International Pop Festival. The first American hippie-style rock festival was held during June 10–11 at Mount Tamalpais in Marin County , California, produced by radio station KFRC as
8325-675: The group was not included in the Pennebaker-produced film. Some of the Moby Grape footage was shown in 2007 as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of the film. An outtake of Moby Grape's performance of "Hey Grandma" appears on the bonus disc of the Criterion release of the film. Regarding the decision for Moby Grape to open the evening, guitarist Jerry Miller recalled that "everybody was arguing. Nobody wanted to play first and I said that would be fine for me." Moby Grape
8436-443: The group. Taylor remembered that dropping out of the program "undoubtedly set the band in a very bad light. They were certainly heavily criticized at the time for it. It seemed rather like an admission of defeat." Biographer Steven Gaines writes that the band's cancellation "had a snowballing effect" that came to represent "a damning admission that [they] were washed up". In the description of Pitchfork contributor Jesse Jarnow, "when
8547-483: The interest of acts including the Doors , the Byrds, the Rolling Stones, Simon & Garfunkel, and others. This quickly built into a steady stream of business, and the eccentric Beaver was soon one of the busiest session men in L.A. He and Krause earned a contract with Warner Brothers. Eric Burdon and the Animals later that same year, in their hit " Monterey ", quoted a line from the Byrds' song "Renaissance Fair" ("I think that maybe I'm dreamin'") and mentioned performers
8658-417: The money and everything, and sure enough there was a scandal about that about a year or two after." Stephen Desper , who was a sound engineer for the event, wrote that the band dropped out due to Love's objections toward Coca-Cola , one of the event's sponsors. In 2017, Love reflected that drugs were influencing the band's decisions at the time and maintained that pulling out of Monterey was not his doing. In
8769-439: The movie. Music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock , blues , folk , jazz , classical music ), nationality , locality of musicians, or holiday . Music festivals are generally organized by individuals or organizations within networks of music production, typically music scenes,
8880-487: The music industries, or institutions of music education. Music festivals are commonly held outdoors, with tents or roofed temporary stages for the performers. Often music festivals host other attractions such as food and merchandise vending, dance, crafts, performance art , and social or cultural activities. Many festivals are annual, or repeat at some other interval, while some are held only once. Some festivals are organized as for-profit concerts and others are benefits for
8991-409: The music took place, had an approved festival capacity of 7,000, but it was estimated that 8,500 jammed into it for Saturday night's show, with many extra attendees standing around the sides of the arena. Festival-goers who wanted to see the musical performances were required to have either an 'all-festival' ticket or a separate ticket for each of the five scheduled concert events they wanted to attend in
9102-554: The nineties (though he would make a notable cameo appearance in The Temptations 1998 miniseries ), making a brief comeback in 1999 when he re-signed with Motown and issued the album, Intimate , which included the song "Easy to Love". In 2003, he once again split ties with Motown, releasing the gospel album, Food for the Spirit on Liquid 8 Records in 2004. In 2004, Robinson sang the main title theme song "Colorful World" to
9213-728: The number-one R&B hit " Baby That's Backatcha ", "The Agony & The Ecstasy" and "Quiet Storm" (the radio format quiet storm , originated by DJ Melvin Lindsey , is named after the album). However, Robinson's solo career suffered from his work as Motown's vice president, and his own music took the backseat. As a result, several albums including Smokey's Family Robinson , Deep in My Soul , Love Breeze and Smokin , saw poor promotion and received bad reviews. At this point Robinson relied on other writers and producers to help him with his albums. Following these albums, Robinson got out of
9324-466: The other. They decided to toss a coin, resulting in the Who winning the right to play first. The festival crew cleared the mess left behind by the Who, and set the stage for the Grateful Dead . While a psychedelic light show was projected overhead, the band, fronted by lead guitarist and singer Jerry Garcia , played extended jams, starting with "Viola Lee Blues" for 14 minutes, and finishing with
9435-422: The showboating does distract from the history made that night—the dawning of an instrumental technique so effortlessly fecund and febrile that rock has yet to equal it, though hundreds of metal bands have gotten rich trying. Admittedly, nowhere else will you witness a Hendrix still uncertain of his divinity. Backstage before their sets, Hendrix played his guitar while staring at guitarist Pete Townshend , who denied
9546-451: The song " Monterey " about his experience at the concert. The headliner of Friday night was Simon & Garfunkel , who started after midnight, and performed minimally with just two voices and one guitar. They finished at 1:30 am on Saturday morning. Lydon reviewed their set as sweetly retrospective, but "they seemed sadly left behind" by the shifting of rock music away from the duo's established folk rock style. Canned Heat started
9657-559: The stage seven times before throwing its remains into the audience. This performance put Hendrix on the map and generated an enormous amount of attention in the music press and newspapers alike. Robert Christgau later wrote in The Village Voice of Hendrix's performance: Music was a given for a Hendrix stuck with topping The Who's guitar-smashing tour de force. It's great sport to watch this outrageous scene-stealer wiggle his tongue, pick with his teeth, and set his axe on fire, but
9768-459: The time when I was a little boy because I loved cowboy movies. He got a cowboy name for me, which was Smokey Joe. So from the time I was three years old if people asked me what my name was I didn't tell them my name was William, I told them my name was Smokey Joe. That's what everyone called me until I was about 12 and then I dropped the Joe part. I've heard that story about him giving it to me because I'm
9879-598: The top twenty. In 1965, the Miracles were the first Motown group to change their name when they released their 1965 album Going to a Go-Go as Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. Between 1962 and 1966, Robinson was also one of the major songwriters and producers for Motown, penning many hit singles such as " Two Lovers ", " The One Who Really Loves You ", " You Beat Me to the Punch " and " My Guy " for Mary Wells ; " The Way You Do The Things You Do ", " My Girl ", " Since I Lost My Baby " , " It's Growing " , and " Get Ready " for
9990-486: The track " Pure Smokey " on his 1976 album Thirty Three & 1/3 as a tribute to Robinson. (Harrison's fellow Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney were also fans of Robinson's songwriting and the group covered "You Really Gotta Hold on Me" on their second UK album With the Beatles and US album The Beatles' Second Album , respectively.) Robinson answered his critics the following year with A Quiet Storm , released in 1975. The album launched three singles –
10101-572: The week after the festival had occurred, Brian traveled to the Monterey County Fairgrounds to pick up programmes of the event. According to journalist Domenic Priore , the band attempted to "make up for their non-appearance" by recording a live album, Lei'd in Hawaii , but it was never released. The Beach Boys' sudden cancellation drew much criticism from the music press, and it had a long-lasting impact on critics' opinions of
10212-431: Was Eastman Kodak 's recently released "high-speed" 16mm Ektachrome 100 ASA color reversal motion picture stock, without which the nighttime shows would have been virtually impossible to shoot in color. Sound was captured by Wally Heider 's mobile studio on a then state-of-the art eight-channel recorder , with one track used for the crystal-sync tone, to synchronize it with the film cameras. The Grateful Dead believed that
10323-583: Was the Electric Flag , a band led by guitarist Mike Bloomfield , containing Buddy Miles on drums, Barry Goldberg on organ, and Nick Gravenites singing in front. Their act was hailed as a "smash success" by Lydon. David Crosby announced later that night that if anyone in the audience had failed to see Electric Flag play, "man, you are out of it, so far out of it." Moby Grape kicked off Saturday evening's concert with an unmemorable performance, according to Lydon. Due to legal and managerial disputes,
10434-459: Was about five, overhearing her play the piano when he had come to play with her older brother Cecil after her family first moved to Detroit. Robinson's interest in music started during childhood after he heard the groups Nolan Strong & the Diablos and Billy Ward and his Dominoes on the radio. He has cited Barrett Strong , a Detroit native, as a strong vocal influence. In 1955, he formed
10545-472: Was also awarded Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. In 2009, Robinson received an honorary doctorate degree—along with Linda Ronstadt —and gave a commencement speech at Berklee College of Music 's commencement ceremony. In 2015, he was given a BET Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2016, Robinson received the Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song; and, on August 21, 2016, he
10656-491: Was also honored. Controversially, original Miracle Marv Tarplin was not honored, against the wishes of his fellow Miracles and the group's fans, who felt that he should have also been there to share the honor. Later, Tarplin did receive his star. He was also inducted with the rest of the original Miracles, Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, Ronnie White, and Claudette Robinson, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, 25 years after Robinson's controversial solo induction in 1987. He
10767-439: Was another artist who was introduced to the U.S. at the festival. Shankar's set began Sunday afternoon following a rainy morning, and the audience filled the arena to about 80% capacity. All other musical acts played to a packed house. He and his group of East Indian instrumentalists played for three hours, after asking everyone to refrain from photography and smoking. Shankar performed several ragas , two of which were released on
10878-455: Was blues singer Lou Rawls fronting a big band , the song arrangements conveying a "rock 'n' soul" style. Rawls also spoke to the crowd about the gritty experiences of African American life. After his set, he said to reporters that he was confident that "the blues is the way of the future. The fads come and go, but the blues remain. The blues is the music that makes a universal language." He described how rock artists were increasingly drawing from
10989-875: Was eclipsed as a top writer and producer for the label, and other Motown artists such as Gaye and Stevie Wonder began to compose more original material. Later in his career, Robinson wrote lyrics and music for the Contours such as " First I Look at the Purse ", as well as the Four Tops ' " Still Water " and The Supremes ' " Floy Joy ". The other Miracles—Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, Ronnie White, and Marv Tarplin—collaborated with him as writers on many of these hits, and Pete Moore also doubled as co-producer with Robinson on several of them. By 1969, Robinson wanted to retire from touring to focus on raising his two children with his wife Claudette, and on his duties as Motown's vice president,
11100-681: Was finalized in 1986. The Robinsons had also separated in 1974 and during that separation, Robinson engaged in an extramarital affair that inspired the song "The Agony & The Ecstasy" (later featured on A Quiet Storm ). Robinson married Frances Gladney in May 2002. They own a home in Pittsburgh and use it as a winery . Robinson has not eaten red meat since 1972. He practices Transcendental Meditation . Robinson has golden green eyes, which he believes were passed down from his French great-grandmother. Beginning in November 2023, Robinson
11211-470: Was followed by a "terrible" showing by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela , helped only by a spirited display by Danny "Big Black" Rey on the congas . The Byrds sang some hits and some new songs, but did not energize the crowd. The band ended with a new single, " So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star ", featuring Masekela on trumpet, reprising his participation in the studio recording. A 20-year-old Laura Nyro gave one of her earliest performances at
11322-467: Was friends with Claudette, whom Robinson admitted he still loved. (A representative for Ross had no comment on Robinson's claim.) Robinson says that loving multiple people in that way simultaneously is natural. Robinson also had a son named Trey (born 1984) with another woman during his marriage to Claudette. After Robinson admitted to having fathered a child with a woman other than his wife, he filed for legal separation and later filed for divorce that
11433-456: Was held at the same venue on the same weekend, with the participation of Lou Adler. Norah Jones, daughter of Ravi Shankar, was one of the headliners. The festival was the subject of a documentary movie titled Monterey Pop by noted documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker . Pennebaker's team used recently developed portable 16mm crystal-sync motion picture cameras that stayed synchronized with double-system sound-recording systems. The film stock
11544-461: Was heralding was a bit of freedom from oppression." Monterey also marked a significant changing of the guard in British music. The Who and Eric Burdon and the Animals represented the UK, with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones conspicuously absent. The Stones' Brian Jones was seen many times strolling through the crowds, resplendent in full psychedelic regalia, and appeared on stage briefly to introduce Jimi Hendrix. It would be two more years before
11655-615: Was inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame . Robinson's single " Just to See Her " from the One Heartbeat album was awarded the 1988 Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance . This was Robinson's first Grammy Award. One year later, in 1989, he was inducted to the Songwriter's Hall of Fame In 1993, Robinson was awarded a medal at the National Medal of Arts . Two years before, he won
11766-418: Was not listed as an inductee, he was due to induct his former group at the ceremony in April 2012. After MCA purchased Motown in 1988, Robinson relinquished his position as vice president. Following the release of the album, Love Smokey , in 1990, Robinson left Motown for a deal with SBK Records in 1991. However, the album, Double Good Everything failed to chart. Robinson remained virtually quiet during
11877-414: Was paid $ 3,000 for his afternoon-long performance on the sitar . Country Joe and the Fish were paid $ 5,000, not by the festival, but from revenue generated from the D. A. Pennebaker documentary, Monterey Pop . The artists did, however, have their flights and accommodation paid for. Apart from Shankar, each act was given up to 40 minutes for their performance. Several ended their sets earlier, including
11988-507: Was part of his "liberation", allowing him to draw from many different musical genres. "When I hear a sound that is groovy I use it. I try to find music all over the place. Listening to anything can give you musical ideas. That's freedom, and maybe that's psychedelic." Organist Al Kooper sang and played two extended songs for a half hour, followed by the Butterfield Blues Band who were appraised by Lydon as reinvigorating
12099-438: Was planned in seven weeks by John Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas , record producer Lou Adler , Alan Pariser and publicist Derek Taylor . Monterey and Big Sur had been known as the site for the long-running Monterey Jazz Festival and Big Sur Folk Festival ; the promoters saw a notional Monterey Pop festival as a way to validate rock music as an art form in the way in which jazz and folk were regarded. Taylor announced
12210-553: Was released in mid-August 2014. It was an album of duets, including songs with Elton John , Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor . It reached number 12 on the Billboard album chart. Christmas Everyday was Robinson's first post-Miracles Christmas album, and was released on November 10, 2017. In 2018, he appeared on an episode of CMT Crossroads alongside country singer Cam . In April 2017, Robinson visited Fremont-Lopez Elementary School in Stockton, California, where he served as
12321-667: Was the first act to perform at the festival. Newsweek magazine's reporter Michael Lydon reviewed their performance as having a "professional style and entertaining manner," especially on their latest hit single " Windy ", which was rising steadily on the Billboard Hot 100 . The Association was followed by the Paupers , a rock band from Toronto, who delivered a "screaming volume and a racy quality," according to Lydon. The Paupers were proud to be judged on their music alone, not relying on "gimmicks" or lighting effects. The next act
#626373