Musically speaking, I was lucky. Lucky to grow up in the Bay Area. Lucky to grow up during the 70’s and 80’s. And very lucky to be attending concerts promoted by the late Bill Graham. Bill Graham Presents was already a juggernaut by the time I came aware of them . The man himself was already a legend. Going to a concert in the 80’s was a no-brainer. A very easy, fun experience. The sound was good, the venues were safe and EVERYONE who was anyone came through the Bay Area.
They did so because it was a big market and because they knew that Bill Graham would take great care of them. This is probably Graham’s greatest contribution to music. He put on shows that both fans and artists left feeling very satisfied. Bill Graham invented the modern day concert experience. Promoters today still use his practices. Countless musicians and fans have Graham to thank for today’s robust live rock concert formula.
Tough Beginning
Bill Graham’s life story is one of tragedy, survival and entrepreneurship. Born to Jewish parents in 1931,.Bill’s life was immediately met with tragedy when his father died two days after his birth. His mother was taken by the Nazis and placed in Auschwitz. She did not survive. Bill, along with thousands of other orphans, were shipped off to America.
He was taken in by a foster family in New York City. It was a tough life for the young Bill but he grew up hardened and street smart. Bill got a bachelor’s degree in Business from New York City College but was soon drafted into the Korean War. Upon his return from the war Bill worked for a time in the Catskill Mountains resort area as a waiter/maître d . After saving enough money, Bill left the east coast and headed west to San Francisco to be closer to his sister, with the hopes of becoming an actor. The year was 1965.
“Hello San Francisco”
A particular set of circumstances got Bill into the music business. He attended a free concert in Golden Gate Park and met the San Francisco Mime Troupe, a radical theater group. During one of their performances, Their leader R. G. Davis was arrested on obscenity charges. Graham raised money for the man’s legal fees by promoting a benefit concert. Evidently Bill liked this work and saw it as a great business opportunity. However renting places for shows was expensive. To make it work he would have to find a cheaper way.
Graham befriended a man who held the master lease to the Fillmore Auditorium. This man was Charles Sullivan, “The Mayor of the Fillmore”, a black entrepreneur who owned many buildings in the thriving Fillmore district. Sullivan brought many famous black musicians to the play in his halls in the Fillmore District. One was called The Ambassador Dance Club which he renamed to The Fillmore Auditorium. The city of San Francisco developed massive redevelopment plans for the Fillmore area. A great travesty and cultural annihilation began to take place as the redevelopment program forced the black business owners and residents out.
A Murder Opens The Door
Charles tried to stay afloat by renting the hall to white promoters. Bill became friends with Charles when he rented the hall to hold a benefit for the San Francisco Mime Troupe. Bill could NOT get a permit from the city. This worked out wonderfully for all parties and Bill signed an agreement with Charles to book all open dates at the Fillmore. Charles was murdered one fateful night in 1966 . To this day, the case is unsolved. As the story goes, Bill Graham gathered over 40 letters from prominent San Franciscans, advocating to the city to grant Bill a permit to book acts in the hall. The city had refused permits before. It resulted in a 3 yr lease and the San Francisco music scene in the late 60’s became world famous as a result.
Right Guy, Right Place, Right On!
Like a perfect storm: Unrelated factors joined forces to create something completely different.. Enter the psychedelic era of music. Enter the counterculture and hippie movement centered in San Francisco. A spiritual awakening was happening all over the country fueled by the youths of the day in response to the horrors of the Vietnam War. Enter the music of the day that addressed this awakening. Enter a seemingly square adult who booked these musical pioneers to play in his little auditorium. Bill Graham didn’t look like he belonged hanging out with The Jefferson Airplane or The Grateful Dead but he was, indeed, their partner as they all embarked on this journey. Both entities were making it up as they went along.
What Bill Graham did was revolutionary. He wanted everyone at his shows to be comfortable and attended to the details that made it so. That meant artists and audiences. Bill knew that the only way to be successful was to have a quality product. If you didn’t have the same approach, you would have problems with Bill. When you stepped into a Bill Graham promoted venue, you stepped into Bill’s house with Bill’s rules. If you could abide by those rules, everything would go smoothly. If not, the soon-to-become-famous Bill Graham temper would make an appearance.
The Local Scene Was Famous Worldwide
And those shows were legendary! Bill was a huge music fan himself, but not necessarily the current modern fare. He loved jazz and Latin rhythm. Because of this he often booked non-rock acts to share the stage with the rock stars. He booked Miles Davis to open for Neil Young, for example. Even into the 90s, I remember going to the Fillmore to see Eddie Money and the opener was Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. The two could not have been more different and it was fantastic!
BGP Management
Graham saw the opportunity to grow his business by managing some up and coming local San Francisco bands. Bill once caught a young man who headed a local band sneaking into his shows That young man had something exciting going on with his own band that Graham felt should be out in front. Bill took over management of this band at a very opportune time. Another promoter reached out to Bill for help with a huge music festival. Bill agreed to help if this young band he was managing could play at this festival. An outrageous request, but Michael Lang needed help because Woodstock was growing beyond anything he could handle. So the agreement was made and Lang could be heard saying, “What the hell is a Santana?”. Carlos and his band made history that day and never looked back. Soon after, their first album was even released.
Graham managed a few bands but there was one that is most associated with the movement and the man. The Grateful Dead was a popular local band in San Francisco when Graham took over management. Graham’s choice to manage the Dead was a genius one. This band had (and still has) the most dedicated fan base. Deadheads are everywhere in the world and, at this point, their members are multi-generational. This unprecedented musical family owes a lot to Bill Graham. He provided the venue and the Deadheads provided the atmosphere.
Clear Headed
San Francisco in the Sixties had a wild, psychedelic music scene. Bill’s genius was taking this carefree lifestyle and corralling its participants into an organized production that fans could count on. The times were foggy for many in the 60’s as drugs were prevalent among young people. It must have been like herding cats to get the artists to the stage. Stories about chasing an LSD tripping Jerry Garcia around Winterland because it’s time for him to play. Bill once said. ‘“I always felt that someone had to relate to reality. That was me.”
Graham Makes It Happen With Firm Hand
As a local, I can tell you that Bill Graham brought many one-off shows to the area. Mostly benefits like the S.N.A.C.K. concert for SF Public schools in 1975. The infamous Last Waltz which was The Band’s all-star Farwell show, made into a movie, directed by Martin Scorsese! The show also had a sit-down diner before the music. It was Thanksgiving!
Every year Bill would put together The Bammies (Bay Area Music Awards) where the best of the SF area would gather for the awards show and performances. In the 70s and 80s this show had names as big as any Grammy show. Also, I wish I was able to see one of the New Year’s Eve Grateful Dead shows where Bill would hit the stage as Father Time. The Day on the Greens were popular all-day, multi-band festivals in the baseball stadium. My first rock concert was one of these. “For medical attention, please visit The Haight Ashbury Free Clinic set up in the visitor’s dugout.”
Untimely Death
Graham had such a fantastic life that it is hard to list all his accomplishments here. Primarily, Bill Graham made it possible for musicians to play their music live and get paid well. Bill Graham Productions invented the stadium concert, perfected the music festival, streamlined the touring process, including security practices and crowd control. He cared enough about quality to make sure that ticket-buying fans left the show happy. Was he a cuddly guy? Hell no! He was tough. He would scream at artists if they were late. He hated unprofessionalism. His brashness would rankle managers and agents. I seriously doubt that any other approach would have been successful. It was Bill Graham. It was ALWAYS Bill Graham whose ferocity made it happen.
I remember the night he died. It was a shocking helicopter accident, on a stormy night in 1991, after a Huey Lewis and the News concert in Concord, CA. I remember selfishly thinking how his death would hurt the local concert scene. Little did I know that Bill Graham Presents was very capable of continuing on in his name. Proof of this was exhibited by the massive free concert tribute to Bill in Golden Gate Park, put on by BGP, with dozens of artists and over 300,000 people attending. The show came off without a hitch.
Beautiful Legacy
Well, the Fillmore West (different location than the original) is still operating today in SF. Many of the same traditions have carried forward. Such as the bin of apples available at the top of the stairs for anyone who needs something in their stomach. The fabulous Fillmore posters are still handed out after every sold out show. Its history is on display in the upstairs room where the 20 foot walls are covered in historic Fillmore posters.
The Shoreline Amphitheater in Mtn. View California, which Graham helped design, is still operating. It was at this venue that I had my one and only interaction with Bill Graham. I always told myself that if I ever met him, I would just say “Thanks” for bringing the gift of music to my front porch. Well, there I was, sitting in the last row of reserved seats waiting for The Doobie Brothers to come on. I lean back in my seat and look to my left down the wide walkway that separates the seats from the lawn. I see Bill, walking purposely, coming my way. As he gets closer, I lean way back and yell, “Hey Bill! Thank you!” He sees and hears me and pats me on the shoulder as he walks by! Not much there but enough for me to treasure the moment forever.
Thank you Bill Graham!
