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Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day Audiobook
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In this breathtaking cultural history filled with exclusive, never-before-revealed details, celebrated rock journalist Joel Selvin tells the definitive story of the Rolling Stones’ infamous Altamont concert in San Francisco, the disastrous historic event that marked the end of the idealistic 1960s.
In the annals of rock history, the Altamont Speedway Free Festival on December 6, 1969, has long been seen as the distorted twin of Woodstock—the day that shattered the Sixties’ promise of peace and love when a concertgoer was killed by a member of the Hells Angels, the notorious biker club acting as security. While most people know of the events from the film Gimme Shelter, the whole story has remained buried in varied accounts, rumor, and myth—until now.
Altamont explores rock’s darkest day, a fiasco that began well before the climactic death of Meredith Hunter and continued beyond that infamous December night. Joel Selvin probes every aspect of the show—from the Stones’ hastily planned tour preceding the concert to the bad acid that swept through the audience to other deaths that also occurred that evening—to capture the full scope of the tragedy and its aftermath. He also provides an in-depth look at the Grateful Dead’s role in the events leading to Altamont, examining the band’s behind-the-scenes presence in both arranging the show and hiring the Hells Angels as security.
The product of twenty years of exhaustive research and dozens of interviews with many key players, including medical staff, Hells Angels members, the stage crew, and the musicians who were there, Altamont is the ultimate account of the final event in rock’s formative and most turbulent decade.
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“Prescient…A fascinating account of the festival and its repercussions, this is also a cultural historical portrait of the West Coast rock scene, a history of the bands involved, and of the counterculture itself.”
— Library Journal
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“Meticulous research, evocative detail, and a brave conclusion—exactly what a history book should be.”
— Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author -
“Selvin cuts through woolly cop-out rhetoric, offering clarity and detail…Altamont was a tragedy in the classical sense—a disaster born of hubris and folly—and Selvin nails every last shred of both.”
— Mojo magazine (London) -
“An incisive account of the most infamous concert debacle in rock history..A compelling analysis of an event that hadn’t seemed like it needed anything more written about it.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
“Music journalist Selvin provides a cultural coroner’s report..His reconstruction brings events nearly a half-century past as close as yesterday.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Rock journalist Selvin fills in all of the details, fleshes out major and minor players, and provides expert analysis of the cultural significance and lasting legacy of Altamont, ‘the day the sixties died.’”
— Booklist -
“As Selvin investigates all the mind-boggling details of what went wrong, Pruden’s level tone results in a smooth and engaging performance.”
— AudioFile
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About Joel Selvin
Joel Selvin is an award-winning journalist and music critic who covered pop music for the San Francisco Chronicle for over thirty-five years. His writing has appeared in Rolling Stone, the Los Angeles Times, Billboard, and Melody Maker, and he has contributed liner notes to dozens of recorded albums. He is also the bestselling author of over a dozen books about pop music, including Fare Thee Well: The Final Chapter of the Grateful Dead’s Long, Strange Trip; Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock’s Darkest Day; and Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues.
About John Pruden
John Pruden is an Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator. His exposure to many people, places, and experiences throughout his life provides a deep creative well from which he draws his narrative and vocal characterizations. His narration of The Killing of Crazy Horse by Thomas Powers was chosen by the Washington Post as a Best Audiobook of 2010.