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Steppenwolf – 1968-08-27 – Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA  [SBD]

While 1967 was the Summer of Love, 1968 may have been America’s darkest hour. Violence erupted throughout the country – riots in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention, the My Lai massacre in Viet Nam, and of course, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert kennedy. Perhaps its not a surprise that music that year also had a darker tone.  In 1967, a band called The Sparrows changed their name to Steppenwolf, inspired by the Hermann Hesse’s novel of the same name. That novel portrays man’s struggle between spirituality and aggression, similar to what was transpiring in America in 1968. About a year later, in June 1968, the band skyrocketed to fame when they released the single Born To Be Wild. The song contains the lyric “heavy metal thunder”, which of course became the name for the more aggressive, thunderous genre of music that emerged as the 1960’s evolved into the 1970’s.  The song climbed to #2 on the Billboard singles charts, and over the years it has become one of rock’s legendary tunes. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Born To Be Wild at No. 129 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. Since being included in the soundtrack for the movie Easy Rider in 1969, Born to Be Wild has been featured in dozens of other films, such as Coming Home, Borat, Dr. Dolittle 2, and Mr. Bean’s Holiday, as well as countless TV shows, such as Married With Children and Miami Vice. This soundboard recording captures Steppenwolf at the Fillmore West, just 2 months after the release of Born To Be Wild, on August 27, 1968.  Download this one this one to catch John Kay and his band at the start of a 7 year run of success that, in addition to Born To Be Wild, would include such tunes as The Pusher, Magic Carpet Ride, Sookie Sookie, and Move Over.   (At the end of this broadcast segment, there is a shout-out to some very special TAS alumni.)

Curtis Knight & The Squires, feat. Jimi Hendrix – 1965.12.26 – Georges Club 20, Hackensack, NJ [SBD]

In 1967, he would be the newcomer who burned his guitar at Monterrey Pop.  In 1969, he would be the rock god who closed Woodstock with the Star Spangled Banner. In 1970, he would be the icon that we lost way too soon. But in 1965, he was simply Jimi, playing guitar for Curtis Knight and the Squires. He hooked up with Curtis Knight after his brief enlistment in the US Army with the 101st Airborne, as well as performing with the Isley Brothers in 1964 and Little Richard in the beginning of 1965.  Later that year, he joined a New York based R&B band, Curtis Knight and the Squires, after meeting Knight in the lobby of a hotel that they were all staying at.  Hendrix performed with them a total of eight months, and recorded a single, How Would You Feel, backed with Welcome Home.  Knight was part of the 1960’s music scene in Harlem, so the Squires played most of their gigs in small clubs in the New York and New Jersey area. On December 26, 1965,  Knight, Jimi and the Squires found themselves in Hackensack, NJ, at Georges Club 20 for a post Christmas gig. By some miracle, a soundboard recording exists from that show! Download it here to listen to Jimi Hendrix long before his rise to stardom.

The Beatles – 1965-08-15 – Shea Stadium, Flushing, NY [SBD]

The Beatles were an English band formed in Liverpool in 1960 by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.  I was 6 years old, just about to enter first grade, and way too young to understand what it meant when The Beatles took the stage at Shea on August 15, 1965, fifty years ago the night of this Happy Hour broadcast.  Once again, The Beatles would make history. The show was the first on their 1965 summer tour, but more importantly, it was also the first-ever stadium rock concert.  Beatlemania, which was in full swing,  required a setting larger than any band before had ever needed.  Rock & roll would never be the same after this show.  Today’s mega outdoor events, complete with video screens, giant stages, special effects and pyrotechnics are the legacy of the Beatles performance that August night in Queens. This soundboard recording, taken from the master tapes of the show, captures the entire 30 minute performance (a 1/2 hour!!  — today, I’m annoyed if a band plays less than 2 hours!), including the introduction by Ed Sullivan. A dozen songs, 30 minutes and the show was over, but its impact has lasted a life time.

Santana – 1971-03-23 – The Forum, Los Angeles, CA [SBD]

In 1970, Santana had an enormous commercial and critical success with the band’s second album, Abraxas, which featured such soon to be classics as Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen and Oye Como Va.  The album went to #1, and drew widespread acclaim for its mix of Latin influences with traditional rock arrangements. Then in early 1971, the band added San Francisco teenage guitar prodigy Neil Schon to its lineup, giving the group two dynamic lead guitarists.  This soundboard captures the new line up at The Forum in Los Angeles on March 23, 1971

In addition, Carlos is joined by Jose Feliciano for the last 3 songs of the night.  This is truly classic Santana, and a show that you just can’t miss.  By the way, the artwork lists this show as March 21, but as you can see from the poster that is included in the archive, March 23 is the correct date!