"The Cold of the Altamont Pass Is a Whole Different Animal..."

(brief excerpt from The Night Before Altamont radio documentary

Today is the 46th anniversary of the Free Concert known as "Altamont" (December 6, 1969). Click on the photo below to hear a brief excerpt from one of the 20 interviews conducted for my forthcoming radio documentary, "The Night Before Altamont."

AC Smith (aka "Bells"): in 1969 was a 19-year-old Bay Area native working for Chet Helms at the Family Dog on the Great Highway. "Bells" and still-friend Lee Brenkman [also interviewed] drove out to the Altamont Speedway the day before Altamont--along with dozens of volunteers from the Bay Area music community--working all through the night to set up the sound and light infrastructure for the next day's Free Concert. In this brief clip, "Bells" talks about the briskness of that night...     

click photo