The second version of the Newport Pop Pageant opened auspiciously on June 20, 1969. The Friday night time headliners have been the Jimi Hendrix Expertise, simply 9 days earlier than their remaining efficiency.
The three-day occasion hosted appearances by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joe Cocker, the Byrds, Eric Burdon, Jethro Tull, the Chambers Brothers, the Rascals, et al. With audiences stated on the time to complete between 150,000 and 200,000 throughout the weekend, the pageant additionally featured the blues of Albert Collins, Albert King, Taj Mahal, and Johnny Winter.
There was the psychedelic rock of Love and Spirit, and soul artists included Marvin Gaye, Ike & Tina Turner and Booker T and the MGs. Conventional rock was represented, amongst others, by Steppenwolf and Three Canine Night time. Pop artists like Brenton Wooden and the Pals of Distinction have been there. So was gospel, with the Edwin Hawkins Singers and far more.
Dwell from Devonshire Downs
The pageant happened in Devonshire Downs, Northridge, within the north San Fernando Valley, California. The sheer scale of the occasion grabbed headlines within the US and past, however inside a couple of weeks it could be dwarfed by Woodstock.
Newport ’69 was deemed successful, nevertheless it was removed from a contented expertise for all involved. It was “policed,” with no nice subtlety, by the Hell’s Angels. The occasion was dogged by insufficient meals, drink and restroom amenities and poor sound. Certainly, the Metropolis Fathers of Northridge banned any future festivals from the realm.
‘Violence has mauled the face of rock’
“Once again violence has severely mauled the face of rock,” reported Rolling Stone, “with several hundred persons injured in rioting outside Newport ’69, [in] what probably was, in attendance, the world’s largest pop festival.”
Hendrix’s efficiency on that opening night time was broadly seen as a low level. “I think someone spiked Jimi,” stated Expertise drummer Mitch Mitchell in Johnny Black’s Eyewitness Hendrix e-book. “Or maybe he’d taken something of his own and then someone had spiked him on top of that. It was a disaster. I kept thinking, ‘This is weird, all this money…’ One of the worst gigs we ever played.”
Fortunately, that prompted the band’s return for the pageant’s Sunday night time nearer, in a two-hour present that includes Burdon, Buddy Miles, and others that, conversely, handed into folklore as one of many group’s landmarks. Los Angeles Occasions critic Pete Johnson was moved to jot down that the viewers “may have heard the best performance of their lives.”
Creedence/‘Creedance’
Creedence Clearwater Revival (misspelled “Creedance” on the poster) got here to Newport having headlined their very own Hollywood Bowl present per week earlier. That was on a invoice that additionally featured the Grass Roots and Lee Michaels, each of whom additionally performed at Newport. As Creedence did so, “Bad Moon Rising” was shifting in the direction of its No.2 peak on the Scorching 100.
Like Hendrix, Cocker, and others, CCR have been sure for Max Yasgur’s farm: in April, they’d change into the primary band to enroll in Woodstock. As soon as that happened, Newport ’69 was within the shade.
