It was a fertile time for music during the 1960s and early 1970s when I grew up. Perhaps because I was involved with school bands, and my brain could plug in to the new movements rising from the culture of that time, I was fascinated with the popular music of the day. Even at an earlier age, while riding the school bus from Harbison Canyon to Alpine in the mid 1950s, we entertained ourselves by singing songs we heard on the radio. It was less than six miles from where we boarded the bus to Alpine Elementary School, but with all the stops along the route to gather students, the daily journey lasted most of an hour to complete.
This ritual started in 1954 and continued until 1959. A core group of us would gather at the back of the bus and sing the songs of the day. And we knew all the words (or we thought we did). Sometimes we would make up our own words. We weren’t shy about belting out Elvis, the Everly Brothers, Johnny Horton, Roy Orbison, Ray Stevens, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard. Anything our six year old ears could hear, we’d give it our all to imitate.
In 1961, my family moved to Poway. I continued in school bands until my sophomore year, but my love of popular music never faded. When the Beatles arrived on scene, it changed the world for me and many others. My senior year marked the beginning of my interest in attending pop and rock concerts. A favorite memory of mine was a trip to San Francisco in my pal Chris Bain’s Volkswagen bus. We shared a strong interest in the day’s music, and we whetted our appetites for live music earlier in the year. We spent our Christmas vacation touring the city by the bay. It was 1966, and the winter before the “Summer of Love”. For less than $10, we bought tickets to a memorable concert at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium. On the bill for the evening were the Beach Boys, Jefferson Airplane, the Seeds, the Music Machine, Sopwith Camel, and the Royal Guardsmen.
Concerts such as this were cheap in the 1960s and 70s. The venues may not have always had the best acoustics, but that could not deter those of us who loved the music. A few months ago, I began searching my memory banks to recall those times and the musical acts I enjoyed. I suspect I’ve forgotten a few, and some dates may be slightly off. But it was fun to reminisce about those happiest of times.
- 1966
- The Association (“Along Comes Mary” edition) (San Diego Community Concourse)
- Tijuana Brass (San Diego Community Concourse)
- Mommas and Papas (San Diego Community Concourse)
- Sue Thompson (sang “Norman”) (San Diego Community Concourse)
- Beach Boys (sang “Good Vibrations”) (Civic Auditorium, San Francisco)
- Jefferson Airplane (sang “My Best Friend”) (Civic Auditorium, San Francisco)
- The Seeds (sang “Pushin’ Too Hard”) (Civic Auditorium, San Francisco)
- Music Machine (sang “Talk Talk”) (Civic Auditorium, San Francisco)
- Sopwith Camel (sang “Hello, Hello”) (Civic Auditorium, San Francisco)
- Royal Guardsmen (sang “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron”) (Civic Auditorium, San Francisco)
- Peter, Paul and Mary (San Diego Civic Theater)
- 1967
- Blood Sweat and Tears (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs (San Diego Sports Arena)
- 1968
- Jose Feliciano (University of San Diego)
- Grassroots (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Mommas and Papas (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Cream (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Three Dog Night (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Andres Segovia (San Diego Civic Theater)
- Iron Butterfly (San Diego Community Concourse)
- Lovin Spoonful (Sports Arena)
- Deep Purple (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Steppenwolf (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Lee Michaels (Balboa Stadium)
- Vanilla Fudge (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Ten Years After (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Quicksilver Messenger Service (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Love (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Creedence Clearwater Revival (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Simon & Garfunkel (San Diego Sports Arena)
- The Byrds (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Buddy Miles (Costa Mesa Music Festival)
- 1969
- Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young (Balboa Stadium)
- Spirit (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Fifth Dimension (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Canned Heat (Music Festival Costa Mesa)
- James Cotton Blues Band (Music Festival Costa Mesa)
- Canned Heat (Balboa Stadium)
- It’s a Beautiful Day (San Diego Sports Arena)
- John Mayall (“Room to Move” edition) (San Diego Community Concourse)
- John Sebastian (solo San Diego State)
- Country Joe and the Fish (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Taj Mahal (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Chicago (Gnurl Festival, Balboa Stadium)
- Merryweather (Gnurl Festival, Balboa Stadium)
- Framework (Gnurl Festival, Balboa Stadium)
- Poco (Gnurl Festival, Balboa Stadium)
- Country Joe and the Fish (Gnurl Festival, Balboa Stadium)
- Sly and the Family Stone (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Jethro Tull (San Diego Community Concourse)
- Led Zeppelin (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Jethro Tull with Led Zeppelin (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Vanilla Fudge (Community Concourse)
- 1970
- Neil Young (with Crazy Horse (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Country Joe & the Fish (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Dave Mason (San Diego Sports Arena)
- 1971
- Ellen McIlwaine (Starlight Bowl, Balboa Park)
- Jim Croche (Starlight Bowl, Balboa Park)
- Neil Young (one man show at Palomar College)
- Sugarloaf (Green-eyed Lady) (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Steely Dan (w/ Michael McDonald, Jeff Baxter, Denny Dias, and a lot more) (a large dance bar in Bay Park, San Diego)
- Seals and Croft (San Diego Sports Arena)
- Seals and Croft (The Funky Quarters (a small Bar on University near San Diego State)
- John Lee Hooker (The Funky Quarters)
- BW Stevenson (The Funky Quarters)
- Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee (The Funky Quarters)
- Loggins and Messina (The Funky Quarters)
- Taj Mahal (small club in a converted bowling alley in Pacific Beach)
- 1972
- Joe Walsh (Barnstorm) (San Diego Civic Theater)
- Robin Trower (San Diego Civic Theater)
- Iron Butterfly (SE Portland)
- War (Portland)
- Tower of Power (Portland)
- 1973
- Earth, Wind & Fire (Portland Oregon)
- Edgar Winter (w/ Rick Derringer in Portland)
- Dan Fogelberg (in Portland)
- Phoebe Snow (in Portland)
- Pat Benetar (Portland)
- Heart (Portland)
- Jethro Tull (Portland)
- Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee (NW Portland)
- 1974
- Joe Macdonald (solo) (Portland)
- 1979
- Big Sky Mudflaps (Missoula)
- Waylon Jennings (Missoula)
- 1981
- Bobby Hebb (a small bar in Glouster Massachusetts)
- 1983
- Michael Martin Murphey (The San Diego Wild Animal Park)
- 1991
- Robert Cray (Humphries by the Bay, San Diego)
- Taj Mahal (Humphries by the Bay, San Diego)
- Mommas and Papas reformed with Elaine “Spanky” McFarlane, Mackenzie Phillips, Scott McKenzie, and John Phillips (San Diego Wild Animal Park)
- 1992
- Larry Carlton (Humphries by the Bay, San Diego)
- Stanley Jordan (Humphries by the Bay, San Diego)
- Stanley Jordan (Rancho Penasquitos, San Diego)
There were several acts I remember attending, though I can recollect neither the exact dates nor the venues. Among these were John Hammond, Grand Funk Railroad, Hot Tuna (w/ Papa John Creach), and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
