Monterey Pop By Terry Solowey
I was catapulted back in time watching the classic rockumentary Monterey Pop. In celebration of its 50th Anniversary, D. A. Pennebaker, the original director supervised, restored and re-mastered this amazing documentary with vibrant color and sound. Ushering in the 1967 Summer of Love, he captures the beginning of a new era of rock n’ roll music as well as a counterculture life style. This was just the beginning of the big concert formats.
Legendary performances introduce us to Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Otis 
Redding along with a diverse cast of more known artists at that time – Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas & The Papas, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Hugh Masekela and Ravi Shankar.
We observe behind the scenes’ preparations, hear concerns about crowd size, expecting 50 to 55,000 (a small number compared to the legendary Woodstock 
Festival of 500,000). We must remember that this concert set a precedence for what was to come, including other charitable music events such as Live Aid and Farm Aid.
I was a teenager in the 60s and remember seeing the original film when it came out in 1968. Legendary moments of Jimi Hendrix lighting his guitar on fire and Pete Townshend destroying his are captured along with the facial expressions of 
an audience in amazement, shock and awe! Janis Joplin’s performance is mesmerizing in both her stage presence and her voice. Mama Cass’s reaction to her performance is captured in posterity and lives on. This was just the beginning of my concert going years and I enjoyed reminiscing and singing long with classic songs like “Feeling Groovy” by Simon and 
Garfunkel and “Today” by Jefferson Airplane among others.
Two performances really stuck out to me. Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness” captured in a silhouetted camera shot, engaged the audience to sing along with him and the amazing close of the film and concert 
featuring Ravi Shankar, who introduced us to the sitar, the tabla and Indian ragas. It was in this close that the director truly captured the audience’s reaction in a meditative state to a different style of music. As I looked at the audience, I related to the counter-culture clothing, hats and painted flower-power faces. The standing ovation of appreciation at the conclusion is quite remarkable and inspiring.
I give this film 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it to baby boomers to reminisce as wel
l as the generations that followed from age 8 to 18 and beyond. This film allows you to witness and enjoy a remarkable and classic time in music and the beginning of a new consciousness. It opens in New York on June 14, in Los Angeles on June 15 and across the country on the weekend of June 16, alongside a new celebration of the festival in Monterey, California!
