Altamont Raceway Park is a speedway in Northern California, in Tracy near Livermore. It is best known for hosting a rock music festival in December 1969 which was marred by violence, including one killing and three accidental deaths (two of the deaths were caused by a hit-and-run car accident, another death was the result of a person drowning in a drainage ditch). Northern California, sometimes abbreviated NorCal, refers to the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. ... The city of Livermore highlighted within Alameda County Livermore is a city located in Alameda County, California. ... A music festival is a festival that presents a number of musical performances usually tied together through a theme or genre. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

The festival included the Rolling Stones and other bands (including the Grateful Dead, Santana, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Jefferson Airplane). About 300,000 people attended the festival, and some speculated it would be "Woodstock West." This article is about the rock band. ... The Grateful Dead was an American psychedelia-influenced rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco from the remnants of another band, Mother McCrees Uptown Jug Champions, the Grateful Dead were known for their unique and eclectic songwriting style—which fused elements of rock, folk music, bluegrass, blues, country... Santana during concert in Barcelona 2003 Carlos Santana (born July 20, 1947) is a famous Mexican rock and roll guitarist, originally from Autlan de Navarro, Jalisco. ... The Flying Burrito Brothers were an early country rock band, best known for their massively influential debut album, 1969s The Gilded Palace of Sin. ... Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band from San Francisco, a pioneer of the LSD-influenced psychedelic rock movement. ... Woodstock redirects here. ...

The festival was originally supposed to be at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. However, the permits were never issued for the concert, or were revoked after the fact. This was a result of Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones announcing in a press conference that they would be performing at the event; they were to be a surprise appearance. With the announcement that the Stones would be performing, the city of San Francisco feared a repeat of the crowd control problems that occurred at Woodstock. Accusations have arisen that Jagger made this announcement to ensure a large crowd for a planned concert movie. The venue was then changed to the Sears Point Raceway, but after a dispute with the owner of Sears Point, Filmways, Inc., over film distribution rights, the festival was moved to the Altamont Raceway. This was finalized less than 24 hours before the event was to take place, resulting in many problems. Most importantly, facilities such as portable toilets and medical tents were lacking in number. The stage, which was only one foot high, was surrounded by Hells Angels, led by founder Sonny Barger who acted as bouncers. The sound system was hardly sufficient for such a large audience. The domed Conservatory of Flowers is one of the worlds largest. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... This article is about the rock band. ... Woodstock may refer to: Woodstock Music and Art Festival, a 1969 U.S. rock festival which inspired a 1970 Warner Bros. ... Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip in the golden hills of northern California, near Sonoma, north of San Francisco. ... Filmways, Inc. ... Hells Angels logo (Smithsonian Institution) The Hells Angels is a motorcycle club formed in 1948 in Fontana, California (where the local chapter remains active), taking the name of the movie Hells Angels based on the Royal Flying Corps directed by Howard Hughes. ... Sonny Barger (born ?1939) is a founding member of the original Oakland, California chapter of Hells Angels, and perhaps the best-known member of the Hells Angels. ...

By some accounts the Angels were hired by the Rolling Stones' road manager, Sam Cutler, for $500 in free beer, other accounts claim that the initial arrangement was for the Angels to watch over the equipment, but that Cutler later moved the Angels and their beer near the stage in order to settle them down or to protect the stage. Hell's Angels had provided security at Grateful Dead shows in the past without reported violence, and some have speculated that the Rolling Stones thought that their experience with the Angels would be a peaceful affair, much in the way The Dead had experienced their presence. Unfortunately, The Dead did not set up the security, and the atmosphere at Altamont Raceway Park had none of the Dead's "take care of your fans" mindset. Beer, generally, is an alcoholic beverage produced through the fermentation of sugars suspended in an aqueous medium, and which is not distilled after fermentation. ...

The crowd management proved to be a disaster and many people were hurt and four were killed. Over the course of the day, the Hells Angels became increasingly violent due to a combination of alcohol and drugs, and due to a panic of not being able to control such an enormous crowd. The Angels' used sawn-off pool cues to control the crowd, and after one of the Angel's motor bikes got knocked over, nobody was safe anymore, including band members. After Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane was knocked uncounsious, The Grateful Dead refused to play and left the scene. The organization hoped to cool down the situation by having the Stones play, but it took hours before the Stones could take the stage. Accusations that Mick Jagger did not want to take the stage during daylight hours due to the filming of the documentary have been voiced in the past, but in the official DVD set of the Gimme Shelter movie by the Maysels Brothers, it is reported that Stones' bassist Bill Wyman was having difficulties reaching the scene of the concert. Marty Balin (born Martyn Jerel Buchwald on January 30, 1942, in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American musician. ... Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band from San Francisco, a pioneer of the LSD-influenced psychedelic rock movement. ... The Grateful Dead was an American psychedelia-influenced rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco from the remnants of another band, Mother McCrees Uptown Jug Champions, the Grateful Dead were known for their unique and eclectic songwriting style—which fused elements of rock, folk music, bluegrass, blues, country... // The Song Gimme Shelter is a song by The Rolling Stones, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. ... Bill Wyman (born William George Perks on 24 October 1936) was the bassist for the English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones from its founding in 1962 until 1991. ...

The most famous death was that of Meredith Hunter. Hunter, an 18-year-old African American was assaulted by Hell's Angels and drew a long-barreled revolver to protect himself. He was then stabbed eighteen times and kicked to death during the Rolling Stones concert just in front of the stage, and in front of the running cameras. The killer, Alan Passaro, was trialed in the summer of 1972, but acquitted after a jury concluded he acted in self-defence because Hunter was carrying a gun, drew it, and pointed it at the stage. Meredith Hunter Meredith Hunter (October 24, 1951 – December 6, 1969) was stabbed to death directly in front of the stage at the Altamont Speedway rock festival during the Rolling Stones performance. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black), is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... Alan David Passaro (died 1985) was a notorious Hells Angels member famous for the 1969 stabbing of Meredith Hunter at the Altamont Speedway rock-festival during the Rolling Stoness set. ...

There had been rumours over the years that a second unidentified assailant had inflicted the fatal wounds, and as a result, the police had considered the case to still be open. On 25 May 2005, the Alameda county sheriff's department announced that it was closing the stabbing case. Investigators, concluding a renewed two year investigation, have now dismissed a theory that a second Hells Angel took part in the stabbing. [1] May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

News agencies reported the event as a "drug induced riot." The Rolling Stones, who reacted rather helplessly in the face of the brutality within the crowd, had to interrupt their performance. Unaware that Hunter's stabbing was fatal, they decided to go on in order to prevent a riot. The Altamont concert is often contrasted to the Woodstock festival that took place earlier in 1969, and is sometimes said to mark the end of the innocence embodied by Woodstock or the de facto end of the 1960s. Woodstock redirects here. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ...

In popular culture, the events at Altamont have been characterized as Hell's Angels attacking innocent hippies. Various drugs were present at the event, some of which were of poor quality. These drugs were distributed to unknowing victims during the concert, with a resulting increase in "bad trips." Hell's Angels acting as security guards were not only using some of these drugs, but were probably not the best people to handle these cases. Unlike Altamont, Woodstock's security had been provided by members of the hippie commune, the Hog Farm, led by Wavy Gravy. Obviously, fellow hippies would understand what those on LSD were going through. Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational rather than for working or for medical or spiritual purposes, although the distinction is not always clear. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Hog Farm was a hippie commune or collective near Los Angeles in the 1960s. ... Wavy Gravy Wavy Gravy (born Hugh Romney on May 15, 1936) is a life-long activist for peace and personal empowerment, best known for his hippie appearance, personality, and beliefs. ...

Some commentators saw coincidences with the astrological situation, while others connected it with the Stones dealing with the Voodoo fashion. The album and song titles Let It Bleed, Sympathy for the Devil, and Gimme Shelter, seemed appropriate terms for the riotous atmosphere at Altamont. Contrary to a popular urban legend, Sympathy for the Devil was not playing while Hunter was being stabbed, rather, the song was Under My Thumb. Let It Bleed is an album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1969. ... This article is about a song. ... // The Song Gimme Shelter is a song by The Rolling Stones, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. ... Urban legends are a kind of folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them (see rumor). ...

The events of the concert are recounted in the documentary film, Gimme Shelter which includes the stabbing. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... // The Song Gimme Shelter is a song by The Rolling Stones, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. ...

Several Grateful Dead songs were written about - or in response to - what lyricist Robert Hunter called "the Altamont affair," including "New Speedway Boogie," featuring the line, "One way or another, this darkness got to give," and the unrecorded "Mason's Children." Both of these songs were intended to be part of the early 1970 album Workingman's Dead, but "Mason's Children" was viewed as too "popular" stylistically. Robert Hunter (b. ... Workingmans Dead (Warner Brothers 1969) is one of the most commercially successful albums by the American rock/folk group the Grateful Dead. ...

Melbourne, Australia band Black Cab released a CD called 'Altamont Diary' [Interstate 40 Music INTER05]in 2004 which is dedicated to 'Jerry Garcia and all those who were there'. It includes original music relating to Altamont and the death of the 60s ideal plus one Grateful Dead song "New Speedway Boogie".