The Palm Beach Pop Festival 40 Years Later
Now after 40 years you can find Information and Photos about The 1969 Palm Beach Pop Festival, a 3 Day Event. There were act such as Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter, Spirit, Iron Butterfly, Grand Funk Railroad, King Crimson, Sly and The Family Stone, Pacific Gas and Electric, The Chamber Brothers, Rotary Connection, Vanilla Fudge, Jefferson Airplane, Terry Reid, Chicago Transit Authority, Country Joe and The Fish, Edgar Winter, The Byrds, and The Rolling Stones as the Closing act at 4:00 am . Just after arriving from New York, after doing The Album Recording Live 'Get Yer Ya Yas Out" at Madison Square Gardens . They Performed In Freezing Florida Weather, after what seemed to be only 3,000 fans left out of what began with nearly 40,000 Festival Goers. There were more acts that what I listed I would like any additions that are accurate. I do appreciate any memories from that weekend almost 40 years ago.
There was also a lot of OPPRESSION in South Florida at that time of the festival and even much later. Most of the outcome from these kind of Evolutionary Events that happened in Palm Beach County stopped later underground Cultural development that would have happened in Palm Beach. This same development was taking place all over the rest of Country except in the South. Just as an example Ken was the photographer of Florida Governors Claude Kirk's wedding at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fl. The most famous guest at this wedding was non other than the President of The United States Richard M. Nixon. There were armed guards on the roof of The Breaker's during the ceremony .
One of the important things I am seeking is information regarding what transpired during that weekend in Singer Island, all of the acts stayed at The Colonnade's Hotel. It was almost like a slight of hand , they were jamming and having a blast while waiting to get flown to the location via helicopter. So there was 2 Events going on at the same time . Ken was at the festival location the whole time after it began, so there are no photos or experiences for him to share. I personally want to know more!
There are a lot of newspaper interviews that talk about a lot of the Sheriffs dirty deeds in the case of the Festival. Sheriff Heitman ordered his men to stop all Hippies from entering the area, he also had them spread fire ants through out the camping area and diverted alligators into the waterways surrounding the Festival the Hippies liked to bath nude and they did ! These news articles will be posted on our site very soon .
"This is to be continued"
Written by Jack Connell Webmaster
There was also a lot of OPPRESSION in South Florida at that time of the festival and even much later. Most of the outcome from these kind of Evolutionary Events that happened in Palm Beach County stopped later underground Cultural development that would have happened in Palm Beach. This same development was taking place all over the rest of Country except in the South. Just as an example Ken was the photographer of Florida Governors Claude Kirk's wedding at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fl. The most famous guest at this wedding was non other than the President of The United States Richard M. Nixon. There were armed guards on the roof of The Breaker's during the ceremony .
One of the important things I am seeking is information regarding what transpired during that weekend in Singer Island, all of the acts stayed at The Colonnade's Hotel. It was almost like a slight of hand , they were jamming and having a blast while waiting to get flown to the location via helicopter. So there was 2 Events going on at the same time . Ken was at the festival location the whole time after it began, so there are no photos or experiences for him to share. I personally want to know more!
There are a lot of newspaper interviews that talk about a lot of the Sheriffs dirty deeds in the case of the Festival. Sheriff Heitman ordered his men to stop all Hippies from entering the area, he also had them spread fire ants through out the camping area and diverted alligators into the waterways surrounding the Festival the Hippies liked to bath nude and they did ! These news articles will be posted on our site very soon .
"This is to be continued"
Written by Jack Connell Webmaster
Jack,
This is an incredible story and a historic event for Palm Beach. Until recently i was unaware of this event and find it amazing that this event is almost at it's 40th anniversary. The site has some amazing photos and the story behind it is so interesting that i think that anyone who is interested in music and the history of those by-gone days will really enjoy this. I have to say that as a musician and music freak i love this site and the stories. Keep on going man, this is a time capsule that has been forgotten and you are bringing back to life. I am interested in just how different Palm Beach and South Florida must have been 40 years ago. I love it...Great job and i look forward to more! I'm hooked on this...JoeD
Reply to this
This is so amazing, i am blown away. What a story! What History keep up the work it's something many people don't know about...JoeD
Reply to this
i went to this event...i was 17 i also went to the miami pop#2 in may of 69..RE the PB fest....i was living in largo @ the time..had just graduated HS..and .i went with 5 or 6 of my buds in a vw microbus...i remember seeing king crimson and grand funk both days..vanilla fudge..johnny winter and his lil bro edgar was about 16..stones..iron butterfly.. the first day was way hot..we parked ourselves in the middle of the crowd ,about 60 yards from the stage..we drank lots of ripple and bali hai wine laced with who knows what...the bottles just passed thru the crowd, alongwith funny cigarette tha smelled curiously pungent...Its all a kind of a blur,if you know what i mean..im sorry i dont have any photos,only foggy memories..toward the end of the evening we went back to the bus for beanie weenies and stuff..while eating , we heard janis joplin and chambers bros..then had to scramble back to stage to see mick jagger...we were never harassed, except by the cold and rain that soon set in on us..all you could do was roll up your bell bottoms and party on...it was really a trip!!!that same group of guys later came up to where i went to college in georgia and we all went to the 1st atlanta pop fest in byron ga...we saw jimi there doing star spanged banner...it was the 4th of july you know...also allman bros..procol harum..jose feliciano.....brown owsley..orange sunshine..mishamikan...that fest was even more of a blur...its hard to believe, but i still hang out with 3 of those old buddies 3 of us are doctors and one married a doc...now we just work ..drink beer ..play golf..and sit around shooting the bull about our grandkids/ex-wives/and the good old pop fest days...i cant believe its been 40 years...thanks for creating this site!!its a real blast from the past
Reply to this
Good story,, I was 15 & had to run away from home for the weekend,,paid dearly for that stunt..funny thing is; I also went to the Atlanta Pop Festival... & was with the same buddy at the PB Pop..
we grw up together & are still friends
Reply to this
i was a roadie for Johnny Winter at the time & i remember that festival quite well - Janis came up & sang w: Johnny & much later i got to catch the Stones - i'm in the Ryder truck pics on the "backstage " fotos # 11 & 13 : http://www.palmbeachpopfestival.com/p-bstage.html
Reply to this
After a failed attempt to get from Fort Lauderdale to Woodstock earlier in 69, I went to the Palm Beach festival with friends. They left me, taking my duffle bag, cash and blankets. Who needed that at a concert? Well, the cash woulda been nice. I may have exaggerated my condition just a bit to get an overnight cot in the OD tent, but it was cold and rainy. Damned if I remember how I got home, but it was the summer of love - who cared? Thanks to all of you who helped pull that one off!
Reply to this
i WILL NEVER FORGET THE FESTIVAL i REMEMBER BEING IN RUPPS OFFICE WHEN HE SIGNED SPOOKYTOOTH TO PLAY. AT THAT TIME I WAS PLAYING IN A LOCAL BAND CALLED THE GENERATION GAP. J WINTERS WAS GREAT
Reply to this
OMG - I thot I'd hallucinated this festival!?!? Nobody I've talked to in the last 30 years could remember this 3-day concert. I was there with three other people - have no clue where they are now. I was 17 and dad let me take his '67 Thunderbird with the promise I'd be on time for school (Vero Beach High School)on Monday morning. Nowadays I suffer from 'CRS' and back then things got a bit foggy from the smoke but think we arrived at raceway on Friday. Remember climbing on some stadium seats to look out over the crowd to locate my car. Recall playing in puddles and mud. I know we took turns sleeping in the car. Think it rained all day on Sunday. Know that the music was fabulous - remember dancing alot, all the bands were great, was my only time seeing King Crimson (fell in love with the music), loved the Winter brothers, the crowd was fun to be in, lots of smoke and lsd was prevalent. Some of the bands arrived by helicopter. Remember announcements over the loud speakers about staying off of the scaffolding and that bad drugs were out there and where to find the OD tents. On Sunday, kept anticipating the Stones arrival but had to leave in order to keep promise, so we had to miss the Stones and headed home around 1a.m. Monday morning.
Reply to this
I have similar memories. It rained and we played in it.It would be nice to get more photos. Linda
Reply to this
My twin brother Richard and myself both attended the Palm Beach Pop Festival in 1969. We were kids who and had run away from home in New England,hithhiking South to join the great warmth and promise of the Miami Hippie and music scene. We both sat in the front row for nearly three days and saw music history made. I remember Kieth Richards guitar being constantly out of tune because of the cold weather at 4:00 AM-Joplin and Winter jamming with the help of a passed bottle of Southern Comfort!I wonder if anybody remembers the Image on Collins Ave,(saw Led Zep live first time)Greynolds Park love-ins on Sunday,163rd Street with the Fig Leaf,and other "HEAD SHOPS" along the beach.I would love to hear from somebody who has memories of that time! I know mine are really great!
Reply to this
I was 16 at the time and was thrilled to be a part of this weekend. I remember seeing Johnny Winter,Edger Winter, Janis Joplin, and Sly all while tripping which made it all the wilder experience. The news coverage got my parents nervous and I was later told that my father had gone out to the raceway to look for me. He never found me and I didn't see him. I thought they were kidding me. I was there from beginning to end waiting up for the Rolling Stones to appear. By then it was very cold and everything that would burn was being set on fire,except for the stage. Looking back it was some mud pit but everyone seemed to be having fun. Despite all the hype about the law presence I hardly noticed them.
Reply to this
A story developed behind the scenes. Just prior to going to this festival some friends and I wanted to see a movie that was playing at the Skydrome drive-in in Lake Worth called Alice's Restaurant. I was under age at the time so they tried to sneak me in by hiding me in the trunk of the car. We got caught and were ejected that night. They took info on us and said don't come back. I didn't give it much thought except for being disappointed for me and my friends about not seeing the movie. Now flash forward to the festival weekend. I can remember seeing the few pay phones that were available and the long lines at them. I thought to myself there is no one that I need to call that bad and did not give it another thought. When I got home from the festival I learned that the Lake Worth Police had called and wanted to speak to me. For what? I asked. Someone had called in a bomb scare at the Skydrome over the weekend and the theater had given the police our names as suspects. In a nut shell I explained the story about the pay phones (no cell phones then) and they must have believed me because I never heard from them again. No one in my group admitted doing this either and in my judgment none of them seemed the type to do something like this. Ended up seeing Alice's Restaurant at a later date and different venue. I am so glad my mind was on music and not getting even. After all the main theme of the festival was Peace and Love. Thanks for the memories.
Reply to this
I never knew about this "Woodstock South" Festival until now. My rock/blues band worked every weekend for about a year in 1987 at The Colonnades Hotel on Singer Island and I never heard any mention of it! The Colonnades in '87 was already a very old hotel/resort, a curious place - any history posted about it would be appreciated. The audiences when we played there ("The Hunt Band") were very cool, and supported our music enthusiastically, so it's a fond memory for me. I am interested now to learn more about the Palm Beach Festival, The Colonnades, and the "Sheriff's dirty deeds". Thanks for posting this blog and site. I lived in Florida off and on for many years, it is one of my spiritual homes......
Reply to this
I was at this concert in 1969! It was one of the most exciting eqperiences of my life. My most fond memory is of Janis Joplin . I loved her then and love her music even more now. I am so glad I found this website and this article. I have such fond memories and really grieve for that time in my life. I worked on most of the apollo shots working for Grumman Areospace at Kennedy Space Center and that combined with this concert was wonderful!
I went with a very dear sweet and wonderful person who I have completely lost contact with. It stands out in my memory that we stayed in a tent, cooked our own food and didnt change clothes for 3 days. Needless to say I threw those white jeans away!! I wish I could see more pictures and read more about it. It suffices to say
IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!
Reply to this
Great comment, Thanks for sharing
Reply to this
We hitchiked down from Champaign Illinois. I was 2 months out of the Nam and this was my first festival since the Sky River Rock Festival and Lighter than Air Fair in Washington in the summer of 68. Johhny Winter was the bomb. Janis was OK but FUll Tilt wasn't Big Brother. The Chambers Brothers in the middle of the night still rocks my head. . .Time Has Come Today, Young Hearts Can go their way!
Reply to this
I was 16 at the time and was very excited to be part of this weekend. I remember seeing Johnny Winter, Edger Winter, Janis Joplin, Sly and all while shooting that made the whole experience more wild. The news coverage of nervous and my parents told me later that my father had gone to the raceway for me. He never found me and I do not see. I thought they were joking. I was there from start to finish waiting for the Rolling Stones to appear. By then it was very cold and everything that burns is being set on fire, with the exception of the stage. In retrospect, it was a pit of mud, but everyone seemed to be having fun. Despite all the hype about the presence barely noticed law.
Reply to this