| The End of an Era: 1966-70 |
| Sixties British rock was an
era of incredible musical and cultural change. What began as an industry
in the doldrums, pumping out imitations of American products, ended with
both radical reimaginings of the nature of popular music and a return
to basics. Again, technology and society play an important role in this
musical process that will see old hands reinvent themselves, old dreams
brought to fruition, and new minds turning everything that industry heads
expected on its head. |
| One feature of the end of the sixties was the emergence of music festivals. In the US, the Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock were perhaps the most prominent of the many contexts in which thousands of fans congregated to hear their favorite bands play. Part of what made that possible were the advances in amplification technology. Perhaps the largest festival was the one held on the Isle of Wight in 1970 where an estimated 600,000 gathered to see one of the last performances by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, as well as notable appearances by the Who, Procol Harum, and otehrs. |
