Summary: The Tragedy Of Rolling Stones

The day the music died, a whole movement for that matter, ended with the Altamont Speedway concert on December 6, 1969. One this day, 300,000 to 500,000 people gathered for one of the largest rock music events in the United States in which lives were also lost and brought into this world. After a criticized tour and multiple venue changes, the Rolling Stones faced one of the greatest music disasters which no was prepared for. This day has lived on in history, but could have been prevented. Although this tragedy could have been prevented, there were managerial falters that ultimately led to the fateful day. Due to overwhelming criticism of high-ticket prices, the Stones wanted to end the tour with a free concert in San Francisco. After disagreements

Alan Passaro, a Hells Angels member, came at Hunter, pushed away the gun, and stabbed him. Although this appears to be what has been caught on footage from the concert, there are first hand witnesses whose accounts differ from this popular report. Hunter’s own sister Dixie Ward made the statement, “I’m not aware of any drug use. I’d given him some antihistamines because he had such bad allergies that day.” Another eye witness that day who stood next to Meredith during the Stones’ set claimed in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, “He was really straight, he was really . . . Feeling really weird about being pushed around and stuff, but he was really pretty straight.” This witness went on to tell what he experienced that night at the front of the stage. He never knew the man’s name until after the fact but he told of one of the Hells Angels reaching over and jerking the two away from the stage. Hunter yanked away from the Angel. This is when the Angel punched Hunter and when he tried to run, four other Angels tackled him. At this point, he still hadn’t pulled the gun. As the men kept hitting him, one of them pulled out a knife. Described as ”his last resort,” Hunter pulled the gun and held it up. People of the crowd began to panic but Hunter never shot, rather the Angels took the gun and he was stabbed and killed. The man who recounted this chain of events was also the man

Rolling Stone magazine did an investigation of the concert in its “Let It Bleed” article. It has been depicted in novels including Dery’s Imaginary Report from an American Pop Festival, Spinrad’s Little Heroes, and Stephenson’s Snow Crash. A number of bands have written songs or created albums inspired by the event. It has been conveyed in sculpture and mentioned in a number of television series like “Glee”, “Daria”, and “The Cable