The Atlanta Pop Festival turns 40…
Check photog, Philip Rauls account of the storied festival.
In what is widely regarded as one of the top concerts events of all time, the Atlanta International Pop Festival of 1969 was held over the Fourth Of July weekend at the Atlanta International Raceway. The concert featured the entertainment industry’s top bands and attracted extremely large crowds from distant locations. Attendance for the Atlanta Pop, as it would be later coined, ranged from estimates of over 100,000 people to 250,000. The concert was organizied by promoter Alex Cooley and set the stage for the greater acknowledged Woodstock Festival which took place later that summer. The holiday weekend event was canvassed by a heat wave that soared to temperatures of over 100 degrees and set-up an additional story within. Yet strangely enough, only a few photographers have captured this historic milestone and put the landmark event into documentation form. With that being the case, several months back I was speaking with my friend Carter Tomassi, a well-respected photographer who has also chronicled the pop festival on his web site. Carter suggested that I post an updated story on my blog in honor of the 40th anniversary timeline. So, with his recommendation in mind, I decided to piece together a photo journal of previously unviewed festival photographs and share with fellow concert attendees and loyal PHOTOLOG blog enthusiasts. (more…)
Did You Know??
The last recording that Janis Joplin made was “Happy Trails”, which she made for John Lennon’s 30th birthday in October ’70. Lennon received the recording after Joplin had already died. Click here to hear her gift to John.
Atlanta Pop Festival (1969-1970)
Spanning the fourth of July celebrations of 1969 and 1970, the Atlanta Pop Festival, predated Woodstock and was an astounding collection of musical acts and personalities from a very different time. Some noteworthy performers were: Janis Joplin, Canned Heat, Led Zeppelin, Allman Brothers Band, Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, BB King, Johnny Winter, Spirit, Grand Funk Railroad. Click here to go to this comprehensive site that chronicles the weekend through photos and stories of this legendary festival.
Jimi Hendrix at the festival performing “Stone Free” and “The Star Spangled Banner” on July 4, 1970 amidst festival fireworks:
