Top 10 Most Iconic Music Concerts of All Time
#10: The US Festival
Top 10 Iconic Music Festivals of All Time
September 3rd-5th, 1982 Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak didn't just focus his energies on computers, as evidenced by his involvement bringing this three day musical festival to San Bernardino, California in 1982. The US Festival was presented, in part, as a reaction to what Wozniak saw a period of self-obsession during the 1970s. The lineup for the inaugural edition was brought together with the idea of promoting community activism and international relations during the Cold War, and featured bands as diverse as The Ramones, Pat Benatar, Fleetwood Mac, Eddie Money and The Grateful Dead. The US Festival was a success despite reports of violence and drug overdoses amongst some audience members, with a sequel featuring genre "theme days" of New Wave, Heavy Metal, Rock and Country being booked a year later.
#9: Johnny Cash at San Quentin
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February 4th, 1969 Call this next concert one that you'd love to see...just not under the same circumstances. That's because the audience in question for Johnny Cash on this record just happened to be prisoners at San Quentin Penitentiary. The country icon was no stranger to performing in front of an incarcerated audience, as evidenced by Cash's other hit live album, "At Folsom Prison" and the energy the prisoners give back to Cash is palpable. Songs like "A Boy Named Sue," "I Walk the Line" and "Folsom Prison Blues" feed off the give and take between audience and performer, just like good live albums should, while the track "San Quentin" is actually performed twice at the crowd's request. Oh to be a fly on the wall at this gig.
#8: James Brown Saves Boston
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April 4th, 1968 The week following Martin Luther King Junior's assassination was marked by historic riots and unrest in major cities such as Chicago and Washington D.C. Boston was another major hub marked by civil unrest, yet this powder keg of potential violence was quelled by the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown. His show at the Boston Garden was broadcast on a local television station in an attempt to keep people in their homes, while Brown himself got personally involved when fans and police clashed in front of the stage. The show was not only dynamite from a musical and performance perspective, but its cultural significance as a snapshot of American history cannot be overstated.
#7: The Concert in Central Park
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September 19th, 1981 Benefit shows are usually a great way to promote awareness or raise money for a good cause, but they're even more special when you manage to reunite a major recording artist for the event. The Concert in Central Park did just that with Simon and Garfunkel, who were booked to play a set of hits from their solo careers, as well as their iconic 1960s collaboration. The performance did not disappoint, either, despite the pair's old tensions rising almost from the get-go. Sometimes, the most combustible relationships can create some truly affecting music, as evidenced by Art Garfunkel's definitive delivery of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" or Paul Simon's reworking of the classic "Kodachrome" for a live rock audience. It's pure performance magic.
#6: Freddie Mercury Tribute Show
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April 20th, 1992 The void left by Freddie Mercury's death in 1991 was immense for fans of rock icons Queen. However, this tribute show held a year later did a great job at promoting A.I.D.S. awareness during a time when a lot of misinformation still existed in the public consciousness. The lineup boasted an enviable lineup of acts who offered up musical tribute to Queen's work, including Metallica and Def Leppard, while Queen themselves headlined with a virtual who's who of guest vocalists. Axl Rose, Elton John, Robert Plant, Seal, Annie Lennox, George Michael and more all joined the band for a set that not only paid respect to Queen's music, but to Mercury's legacy as rock's undisputed master showman.
#5: Altamont Speedway Free Festival
December 6th, 1969 Sometimes, an iconic part of the rock festival experience, for better or worse, is an element of danger, that frightening thrill of what could go wrong. Well, EVERYTHING seemed to go wrong for the Altamont Speedway Free Festival in 1969, a perfect storm of events that made the concert a turning point in American pop culture. Many point to the show's haphazard organization and violent clashes between audience members and Hell's Angels security as the unofficial death of the sixties' hippie ideal. One member of the crowd, Meredith Hunter, was even stabbed by Hell's Angel Alan Passaro after drawing a gun during the headlining set by The Rolling Stones. The incident was caught on camera and released as part of the Stones documentary, "Gimme Shelter."
#4: The Monterey Pop Festival
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June 16th-18th, 1967 Speaking of the "hippie ideal," a comparatively more optimistic tone is struck by the next festival on our list, a three day precursor to another famous rock concert we'll be getting to later. Monterey Pop was a hub where both fans and artists alike were exposed to exciting new musical voices, often for the very first time. Groups as diverse as The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Otis Redding, Ravi Shankar, Jefferson Airplane and Laura Nyro all brought their folk, soul and psychedelic rock to a receptive audience, while Janis Joplin's performance of "Ball and Chain" went on to become the stuff of legend. If you're looking for a true document of the "peace, love and music" era of the 1960s, this is a great place to start.
#3: Live Aid
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July 13th, 1985 It doesn't matter whether or not you view large scale fundraising festivals as a vehicle for social change, or an excuse to get out there and rock: NO ONE could ignore Live Aid back in 1985. The festival's lineup was just too damn impressive, with performances from Queen, U2 and David Bowie being simulcast all over the world. Sure, there was that impromptu Led Zeppelin reunion with Genesis drummer Phil Collins sitting in that's since become somewhat....let's say "infamous." Still, there's no denying that Live Aid wasn't just a rock concert: it was a moment in time when Bob Geldof's "global jukebox" for Ethiopian famine relief made just about everyone sit up and take notice.
#2: Woodstock
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August 15th-18th, 1969 It's the de facto example of an outdoor rock festival, the first thing that comes to the mind of many when they think of the sixties, hippies and psychedelic rock. Woodstock went beyond a mere "three days of peace, love and music," it became a definitive statement for a generation, a group of young people who were excited to break away from the traditions of old and blaze a trail for personal freedoms for music, sexuality and community. And they couldn't have asked for a better soundtrack, with performances from Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, and Joe Cocker setting the stage for what would become one of the most famous concert experiences of all time. Before we name our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions! Pink Floyd "The Wall" Tour Conceptual Prog Rock at Its Most Grandiose Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special The King Can Still Kill It Led Zeppelin's First American Tour Infamous for the Debauchery As Well as the Music Monsters of Rock 1991 Heavy Metal Goes Behind the Iron Curtain Michael Jackson's Bad Tour The King of Pop Dominates Worldwide
#1: Beatlemania at Shea Stadium
August 15th, 1965 Beatlemania was officially here to stay during this landmark concert at Shea Stadium. The band were on their second American tour, and capitalizing on the momentum afforded them by their iconic performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." This show was a landmark for the British Invasion's influence on American culture, and the excitement present here by the throngs of screaming fans is feverish to the point of madness. Sure, The Beatles hadn't yet begun their experiments into psychedelic and progressive recordings, but it didn't matter: songs like "Can't Buy Me Love," "A Hard Day's Night" and "Ticket to Ride" might as well have been throbbing tribal dances for the rapturous Beatle faithful. In this case, the old adage remains true: you just had to be there.