This week’s blog follows up our Jefferson Airplane coverage with a focus on one of Jim’s big-time rock ’n roll queen crushes: Grace Slick . Just a few years younger than Jim, Grace had it all – looks, talent, charisma, craziness plus the upper crust background (she went to “finishing school” and her Daddy was an investment banker who always wore three piece suits) that, in my opinion, street-kid Jim always hankered for deep down.
We’ve noticed that more than a few of you are interested in San Francisco and its seminal music scene of the late ’60s, a time and place and sound that Jim Marshall is synonomous with, and that he captured with a thoroughness and passion that remains unmatched.
As the debut of the Jack & Jim Gallery draws near (next Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011), we wanted to offer some insights about the vignette display cases that were assembled so lovingly by Amelia Davis and Bonita Passarelli in the new Jack Daniels-sponsored gallery at Austin City Limits Live. For those unable to see it in the flesh, the installation of the 30-photo exhibit was movingly captured in this video now on YouTube.
An outdoor music festival in the dusty, white-hot heat of Texas in July? Willie Nelson’s reprise of the Dripping Springs Reunion in 1973 was supposed to be a “country Woodstock,” the launch pad for hippies and rednecks to do the whole “kumbaya” thing, musically, socially, and whatever other which way.
And now for something completely different … Monterey Pop and Woodstock are tough acts to follow, festival-wise, so we thought we’d change it up a bit and focus over the next few weeks on some early and legendary country, western and bluegrass music gatherings, starting with The Dripping Springs Reunion of 1972.
This seminal country music festival, which Jim’s photos document so wonderfully, happened on a ranch near Dripping Springs in Hays County Texas in March 17-19, 1972 and inspired the (mostly) annual Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic.
Today marks the final edition of our Woodstock ’69 coverage and what better way to round things up than with this shot of Jim and yet another gorgeous mystery blonde (noted only as “Sally” on the print which was uncovered and graciously provided to us by Aaron Zych at Morrison Gallery). This shot was taken by musician and extraordinary music photographer in his own right, Henry Diltz.
Our next Woodstock ’69 festival installment offers up more rare and unseen images from Jim’s voluminous work generated during those three (well, really four considering it all ended on Monday morning) frantic, freakish and fantastic days in August.
Though Monterey Pop generated my favorite of Jim’s festival documentation, the most over-the-top festival for social impact, size of crowd, quality of vibe and quantity of mud, plus nausea-inducing porta-potties was (conga drumroll please): 1969’s Woodstock Music & Art Fair. Held Aug. 15-18 on 600 or so acres leased from Max Yasgur’s dairy farm near Bethel, NY (which is more than 40 miles southwest of Woodstock, NY.
OK, you all asked for more, more, more Monterey Pop photos so in this week’s festival fantasia we break out the heavy guns (so to speak), starting off with Jimi offering up his ultimate sacrifice, burning one of his prized Fender Stratocasters at the climax of his incendiary version of “Wild Thing,” changing his career, and quite possibly the world, in one hot, feedback-drenched stroke.
