
Altamont
The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day
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Narrated by:
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John Pruden
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Written by:
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Joel Selvin
About this listen
In this breathtaking cultural history filled with exclusive, never-before-revealed details, celebrated rock journalist Joel Selvin tells the definitive story of the Rolling Stones' infamous Altamont concert in San Francisco, the disastrous historic event that marked the end of the idealistic 1960s.
In the annals of rock history, the Altamont Speedway Free Festival on December 6, 1969, has long been seen as the distorted twin of Woodstock - the day that shattered the '60s' promise of peace and love when a concertgoer was killed by a member of the Hells Angels, the notorious biker club acting as security. While most people know of the events from the film Gimme Shelter, the whole story has remained buried in varied accounts, rumor, and myth - until now.
Altamont explores rock's darkest day, a fiasco that began well before the climactic death of Meredith Hunter and continued beyond that infamous December night. Joel Selvin probes every aspect of the show - from the Stones' hastily planned tour preceding the concert to the bad acid that swept through the audience to other deaths that also occurred that evening - to capture the full scope of the tragedy and its aftermath. He also provides an in-depth look at the Grateful Dead's role in the events leading to Altamont, examining the band's behind-the-scenes presence in both arranging the show and hiring the Hells Angels as security.
The product of 20 years of exhaustive research and dozens of interviews with many key players, including medical staff, Hells Angels members, the stage crew, and the musicians who were there, Altamont is the ultimate account of the final event in rock's formative and most turbulent decade.
©2016 Joel Selvin (P)2016 HarperCollins PublishersYou may also enjoy...
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What listeners say about Altamont
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Roberta W
- 2024-04-18
Very good
If you thought you knew what happened at Altamont, you didn’t. Or that was my experience listening to this. I knew a fraction. I liked this book because it set the context well for the year, the Rolling Stones returning to North America, how the idea for the concert came up, the Grateful Dead’s involvement, events during the Stones tour (such as writing and recording beloved songs in two takes… this was the Sticky Fingers era), the scramble for the site, and then the dreadful day. Good telling of what came after. Highly recommended.
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