by John Glatt
First published 2015
John Glatt examines the rise and sudden fall of Bill Graham's iconic music venues through biographical portraits and cultural analysis. In 1968, rock promoter Graham opened the Fillmore East in New York City and Fillmore West in San Francisco, creating stages where every major rock act of the era performed. Glatt traces how these venues shaped the careers of musicians like Janis Joplin, who opened the Fillmore East and delivered career-defining shows at both locations, Carlos Santana, who developed as a performer after Graham discovered him during an audition, and Grace Slick, whose unpredictable Jefferson Airplane became the unofficial house band. The author contrasts the distinct cultural atmospheres of each coast during the late sixties and early seventies, from New York's speed and heroin scene with the Velvet Underground to San Francisco's LSD-fueled Summer of Love. The narrative explores how Woodstock in August 1969 shifted the power dynamics between promoters and musicians, ultimately leading to Graham's surprising decision to close both venues within weeks of each other in 1971 at their peak popularity. Glatt investigates whether Graham's explanation that the scene had changed tells the complete story.
Genres: 20th-century, biography-memoir, music, american-history
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: biographical, cultural-analysis
Setting: Fillmore East, Fillmore West, New York City, San Francisco
Period: 1960s, 1970s
440 pages · Paperback · Lyons Press