Chapter 15: San Francisco and the Psychedelic Rock Scene

In Chapter 15 of his book, “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test”, Tom Wolfe tells the story of the psychedelic rock scene that developed in San Francisco in the 1960s.

San Francisco’s Psychedelic Rock Scene

The San Francisco psychedelic rock scene was a music subculture of the late 1960s and early 1970s. San Francisco was the epicenter of the psychedelia movement, which was often associated with the use of mind-altering drugs such as LSD, ” Acid ” became a popular term to describe the experience of taking LSD. The San Francisco psychedelic rock scene was home to some of the most influential bands of the time, such as The Grateful Dead, The Jefferson Airplane, and The Byrds.

The Fillmore

In the early days of the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco, The Fillmore was one of the main venues for new and upcoming bands. Hosting such legendary acts as The Grateful Dead and The Jefferson Airplane, The Fillmore quickly became a hotspot for the burgeoning counterculture movement.

In 1966, Bill Graham took over management of The Fillmore, and under his direction it became one of the most iconic concert venues in the world. Through its association with acts like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, The Fillmore came to be emblematic of the psychedelic rock era.

Despite its reputation as a mecca for hippies and dropouts, The Fillmore continued to be a major force in the music industry throughout the 1970s and 80s, hosting everyone from punk bands to metal bands to new wave acts. Today, it remains one of San Francisco’s most popular music venues, attracting both up-and-coming acts and established stars.

The Avalon Ballroom

The Avalon Ballroom was a San Francisco music hall located at 1268 Sutter Street, which was active from 1966 to 1969. The Avalon was founded by Chet Helms, family members Stanley Mouse and Al Binney, and Bill Graham. The venue provided psychedelic bands with a place to play and helped give birth to the San Francisco Sound.

The Avalon was one of the larger concert halls in San Francisco at the time, with a capacity of up to 2,400 people. The ballroom stage was on the second floor, with a dance floor on the first floor and a bar in the basement. The venue also had an outdoor area called the Garden of Eden, which was used for performances and parties.

The Avalon began hosting shows in 1966, with early performers including The Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Moby Grape, Buffalo Springfield, Strawberry Alarm Clock, and Country Joe and the Fish. The ballroom quickly became one of the most popular venues in San Francisco, known for its excellent sound quality and lively atmosphere.

In 1967, Chet Helms turned over control of the Avalon to Bill Graham, who began booking more mainstream acts such as Sly and the Family Stone, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Donovan, Steve Winwood’s Traffic as well as many rock bands. By 1968 Graham was using the Avalon for three or four nights a week for various events including rock concerts (both ticketed and free), dance parties (including his famous “Fillmore West All-Nighters”), fundraisers for political causes such as Eugene McCarthy’s presidential campaign), comedy shows (including Bill Cosby), movies (such as “Titicut Follies”and “Festival”), high school proms (such as Lowell High School’s), corporate events (for companies such as Xerox), press conferences (such as Jerry Garcia announcing the formation of Old & In the Way), graduation ceremonies (for San Francisco State College), private parties (including gatherings of Fraternity Row during Fleet Week) and more.

The Avalon continued to be a major player on the San Francisco music scene until 1969 when it closed its doors due to financial difficulties. Although it reopened briefly in 1970-71 under new management (with Bruce Hornsby & The Range being one of the last acts to play there), it could not regain its previous level of popularity and finally closed for good in 1971.

The Haight-Ashbury

The Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco was the epicenter of the 1960s psychedelic rock scene. The “Summer of Love” in 1967 saw an influx of young people from across the United States flocking to the Haight in search of peace, love, and music. This period saw the rise of many influential bands and artists, including the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Janis Joplin. Psychedelic rock came to define a generation and has left a lasting impression on popular music.

The San Francisco Sound

The Grateful Dead

Formed in 1965, the Grateful Dead was one of the most important bands in the psychedelic rock scene that developed in San Francisco during the mid-1960s. The band was led by singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia, and its music combined elements of folk, country, blues, and rock. The Dead’s extended improvisations became a signature feature of their live performances, and their fans—known as “Deadheads”—often followed them from one concert to the next. The band’s popularity waned in the late 1970s, but it continued to perform until Garcia’s death in 1995.

Jefferson Airplane

San Francisco’s Jefferson Airplane was one of the first American rock bands to achieve mainstream success with a psychedelic sound. The group was formed in 1965 by singer/songwriter Marty Balin, and they quickly became a staple of the city’s burgeoning music scene.

The Airplane’s breakthrough came with their 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow, which featured the hit singles “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit.” The album helped to define the San Francisco Sound, and the band became symbols of the counterculture movement.

Jefferson Airplane continued to enjoy success in the 1970s with such albums as Volunteers and Bark, but internal tensions led to a series of lineup changes and the group finally disbanded in 1974. Balin, guitarist Paul Kantner, and bassist Jack Casady went on to form the short-lived Jefferson Starship, while Grace Slick pursued a solo career. Jefferson Airplane were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

The Santana

The Santana is a type of psychedelic rock that was developed in San Francisco in the late 1960s. This style of music is characterized by its use of feedback, distortion, and extended improvisation.

Santana was one of the first bands to bring this style of music to a mainstream audience, and their debut album, released in 1969, is considered one of the classic examples of the genre. The band continued to experiment with their sound throughout their career, incorporating elements of Latin music and jazz into their later work.

The Summer of Love

In the summer of 1967, young people from all over the world converged on San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, creating a countercultural phenomenon known as the “Summer of Love.” The Psychedelic Rock Scene that developed in San Francisco during that time would change the course of rock music forever.

The Monterey Pop Festival

In the summer of 1967, the counterculture coalesced around a massive musical event known as the Monterey Pop Festival. Taking place over three days in mid-June, Monterey Pop was inspired in part by the successful British music festival held the previous year in Monterey, California.

More than 200,000 people attended the event, which featured a lineup of some of the biggest names in music at the time, including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and The Who. The festival was also notable for its focus on peace and love as central themes, with many attendees dressing in flowery or tie-dyed clothing.

The Monterey Pop Festival is widely regarded as a watershed moment for both the counterculture and rock music as a whole. It helped to cement San Francisco’s reputation as a hub for psychedelic rock and set the stage for similar festivals in the years that followed, such as Woodstock.

The Human Be-In

On January 14, 1967, an event called the “Human Be-In” was held in Golden Gate Park. The event was organized by Gary Snyder, Allen Ginsberg, and Michael McClure as a “gathering of the tribes” forumb for the various San Francisco rock bands to meet and play for each other. Approximately 20,000 people attended the event, which featured music by the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin, and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

The event was also notable for its strong visual display. There were numerous psychedelic banners and posters hung around the park and stage area, as well as people dressed in colorful costumes. Floaters—people who had taken LSD and were “floating” on a cloud of hallucinogenic visuals—were also in attendance. The media coverage of the event helped to promote San Francisco as a center for psychedelic activity, which further added to the city’s allure for young people looking for an alternative to mainstream society.

The Legacy of the San Francisco Sound

The San Francisco Sound was a musical movement in the 1960s that produced some of the most influential and iconic bands of the era. The sound was a blend of psychedelic and hard rock that was unique to the Bay Area. The bands that came out of this scene were the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Santana. These bands defined a generation and their music is still revered today.

The Grateful Dead’s influence

The Grateful Dead were one of the most influential bands to come out of the San Francisco sound. Their combination of folk, rock, blues, and country music was unlike anything else that was being made at the time, and their live shows were legendary. The Dead’s improvisational style was a major influence on the jam band scene that would develop in the 1990s, and their music is still revered by fans today.

The influence of the San Francisco Sound on popular music

The San Francisco Sound was a music scene that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The sound was characterized by a fusion of rock, blues, and folk music, with a focus on extended improvisation and jamming. The scene was centered in the city of San Francisco, but it also included bands from the surrounding Bay Area.

The San Francisco Sound had a significant impact on popular music, both in the United States and internationally. The sound was an important precursor to the development of psychedelic rock, and it also influenced the formation of other genres such as jazz-rock fusion and jam band music. In addition, the San Francisco Sound served as a major inspiration for the British Invasion of the 1960s. Many of the most famous bands from that era, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, cited the San Francisco Sound as a major influence on their music.