Altamont: The end of the Age of Aquarius

When the moon is in the Seventh House

And Jupiter aligns with Mars

Then peace will guide the planets

And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius

Can you get more optimistic than that classic from the 5th Dimension?

We remember the 1960s fondly:  The age of Aquarius.

It was a time of optimism and promise.  

US President John F Kennedy made the bold promise of successfully landing a man on the moon and bringing him home within the decade.  

This was most apparent in the music and broad hippie culture of peace and love…combined with protests over the Vietnam war.  

The 60’s came to a screeching halt on December 6, 1969 at the Altamont music festival in California. 

The Altamont Speedway Free Festival as it was called, was billed as Woodstock West in reference to Woodstock, the iconic event on Max Yasgur’s farm in New York a few months earlier.  

"I'm going down to Yasgur's Farm

Gonna join in a rock 'n' roll band

Got to get back to the land

Set my soul free"

Those lyrics are from ‘Woodstock’ by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.  It was their first live performance with that lineup and they defined Woodstock.

At Altamont only a few months later, Santana, Jefferson Airplane and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead were on the lineup. It was to be another celebration of peace and love!

By all accounts things were bad from the start.  “A bad vibe was in the air”. 

Planning was chaotic.  

The venue changed location at the last minute, the stage setup was problematic and to cap it off, the Hells Angels were hired to provide security.

Rowdiness and violence during the performances prompted 

The Grateful Dead to cancel their performance…and they were the main organizers!

When The Rolling Stones finally took the stage to close out  the event, all hell broke loose! 

Fans had been storming the stage and the Hells Angels played fast and loose with their interpretation of security.  There were multiple altercations with fans…fights broke out…lots of bruised heads.

The Stones stopped their set and pleaded for calm.

That’s when things got crazy.

Meredith Curly Hunter was among those who had been beaten back by the Hells Angels as he tried to get closer to the stage.  He took it badly, left and came back with a pistol, out for revenge for the bad treatment.  

He was killed in the ensuing melee.  Figuratively and in reality, the 60s died that day.  Best captured in the opening lyrics from the Rolling Stones, Gimmie Shelter:

A storm is threatening my very life today

If I don't get some shelter…I'm gonna fade away

Altamont symbolized the breakdown of the love and peace idealism of the 1960s and the potential dangers of large, poorly planned gatherings. 

It is remembered as a tragic and violent event that had a profound impact on the history of rock music festivals and the cultural perception of the 1960s.

The 1970s were marked by significant cultural movements, shifts in fashion and music, and pivotal moments in civil rights, feminism, and environmental awareness. 

However, it was also a decade of economic uncertainty and political turmoil, making it a complex and transformative period in history.

These lyrics from ‘One Tin Soldier’ by the Canadian band, The Original Caste speak to the boiling up 1970’s culture:

Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend

Do it in the name of heaven, you can justify it in the end

Until next time…