Today in Rock History, in 1991, Bill Graham was killed in a helicopter crash near Vallejo, California, while returning home from a Huey Lewis and the News concert at the Concord Pavilion. Mr. Graham, aka Wolodia Grajonca, born in Berlin in 1931, was given the nickname Wolfgang by his family early in his life. He was a rock promoter, known for promoting San Francisco groups like the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane and booking them into his venues the Fillmore ballrooms and the Winterland ballroom, among others. If you’ve ever heard a recording entitled “Live at the Fillmore” or “Live at Winterland,” you have Bill Graham to thank for that excellent music. On November 3, 1991, a free concert called "Laughter, Love and Music" was held at Golden Gate Park to honor Graham, Gold and Kahn. An estimated 300,000 people attended to view many of the entertainment acts Graham had supported including Santana, Grateful Dead, John Fogerty, Robin Williams, Journey (reunited), and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (reunited). Graham is also remembered by the concert recordings owned by his estate, which can be accessed at http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/. Let’s check a vid from that historic concert, and celebrate ol’ Wolfgang’s life. Thanks to http://www.bgo-records.com/today/today_in_rock_history.htm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Graham_(promoter) for the info, and keep on rockin’!
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2 comments:
Ah, Uncle Jerry. This song would be more persuasive to me if he didn't drop dead 10 minutes after writing it, but on the other hand, it's all the more poignant for that. Man, this band has seen more in one lifetime than most of us would see in ten ...
Speaking of the Grateful Dead - last week, during Jarad's bachelor party, we saw a killer GD tribute band at Whiskey Jct in Mpls, and the fix was in ahead of time - at the start of the 3rd set, Jarad (a huge Deadhead) got called up on stage to sit in on "Truckin'" Highlight of the evening, man!
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