Before Coachella, before Bonnaroo, before Lollapalooza, before Woodstock..... there was Monterey.... the Monterey Pop Festival. Taking place the weekend of June 16-18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The performance area capacity was 7,000 but as many as 90,000 congregated in and around the festival grounds. The festival's star-studded lineup read like a who's who of rock royalty, from Janis Joplin to The Who to The Byrds to Eric Burdon and The Animals to a legendary breakthrough performance by Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix would pay tribute to Bob Dylan by covering "Like a Rolling Stone" but it was during Jimi's cover of The Troggs "Wild Thing" that he decided to sacrifice his guitar, a move that would be immortalized thanks to the documentary, Monterey Pop, directed by D.A. Pennebaker.
Here are some highlights, as we remember Monterey Pop - 58 years ago this week
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