Atlantic City Pop Festival

by Andy Fischer
Philadelphia Daily Pennsylvanian
July 1, 1969

The concept of summer music festivals began some fifteen years ago in Newport with the still existing jazz and folk festivals. At first just the property of very hip folkies and jazz buffs, the festivals slowly grew, with Newport Folk leading the way. Not until 1966, with the phenomenal success of the Monterrey Pop Festival (now documented in a full-length movie well worth seeing), did the summer festival concept spread to rock.

Since then, the growth of summer festivals, especially rock festivals, has been rapid, with rock festivals this summer in Memphis, and Woodstock (home of Dylan, Tim Hardin and others), as well as the old standbys, Newport jazz (featuring a number of rock groups) and folk, Monterrey, and the usual number of folk and folk lore festivals.

Philadelphia has also been drawn into the festival fever this summer. The Electric Factory, a local psychedelic nightclub, is sponsoring the Atlantic City Pop Festival, August 1-3. Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and her new group, and Iron Butterfly are topping a bill that already includes some 30-odd acts intended to provide the Festival with three days of continuous hard rock, heavy blues, and gentler folk and country music.

In addition to the Airplane, with the fine intertwining of vocalists Marty Balin and Grace Slick with Jorma Kaukomen’s outstanding guitar work in one of the most complex and artistically developed rock interpretations in existence; Joplin, with her fantastic sexual expression and equally fantastic following; and primitive hard-rock group Iron Butterfly, top names include Procol Harum, The Moody Blues, Credence Clearwater, Canned Heat, the Byrd, and Joni Mitchell.

Featured in the Friday night concert will be Crosby, Stills and Nash, a newly formed group consisting of Dave Crosby, formerly of the Byrds and also producer of Joni Mitchell's first album, Steve Stills, formerly of Buffalo Springfield, a member of the first Super Sessions album, one of the back-up musicians on both Judy Collins outstanding “ Who Knows Where the Time Goes" album and Joan Baez’ Dylan anthology, and generally one of the finest rock musicians playing today, and Graham Nash, one time leader of the Hollies, who also helped in the production of Joni Mitchell’s second album. The group has just released a long awaited album, and will appear at the festival as part of their first concert tour.

Joni Mitchell, long a favorite of the folk set and now accepted by a universal audience, after two very lovely albums, is also scheduled for Friday, and should provide Stills and Nash, with her mystically enchanting songs of colors, flowers and emotions.

In contrast to Joni Mitchell, Friday also features Iron Butterfly, Procol Harum, with their frightening lyrics and eerie blues style. Mother Earth, who plays some very tight blues, some very funky country music, and who features a female vocalist, Tracy Nelson, who wails a little bit like Joplin, and a little bit like Big Mama Thornton, as well as Santana, a group that Joplin calls her favorite blues band, Chicago Transit Authority, and Johnny Winter, who could be the highlight of the entire festival.

Johnny Winter, a white albino from Texas, has been living and playing the blues for years. He has mastered the styles of most of the traditional black blues men over his years of playing small clubs. He was discovered recently by record agents and has released an album which cost Columbia records $500,000 in contract rights after a huge quarrel over the signing of what some critics consider the hottest blues phenomenon in a long while.

Jefferson Airplane leads the load Saturday, with a second night of talented acts listed behind them. Appearing Saturday will be Credence Clearwater, perhaps the most talented top-forty group around, now riding the crest of another smash single, “ Bad Moon on the Rise"; Arthur Brown, and his crazy show featuring "Fire"; the Butterfield Blues Band, featuring the harp work of Paul Butterfield as well as one of the best white blues sounds around, despite continual changes in personnel; B.B. King, still the acclaimed king of traditional electric blues; jazz-man Hugh Masekella; the Grateful Dead, led by Pigpen and Jerry Garcia, and recognized as one of the founders of the psychedelic movement; the Byrds, who despite many changes in personnel, retain their distinctive clear, country tainted sound; Lighthouse, the hot new Canadian group; and one of the best of the local Philadelphia groups, American Dream.

Sunday, Miss Joplin, doing two shows with her new group, leads a lineup, starring blues group Canned Heat, who haven’t yet recorded an album equal to their live performances; Sir Douglas Quintet, who had a hit single a few years ago, but are returning to prominence after a sojourn of anonymity; the Mothers of Invention, with their reknown leader Frank Zappa, musician, poet and social critic, 3 Dog Night, a highly overrated group from Los Angeles; freaky Dr. John the Nighttripper; England's Moody Blues; Buddy Miles Express, the Baggage of Mike Bloomfield’s Electric Flag; jazz-man Buddy Rich; Little Richard, one of the originators of rock and roll, and more.

The biggest surprise of Sunday could be Joe Cocker, whose first album “With a Little Help From My Friends” (his friends include Stevie Winwood, leader of the now defunct Traffic, Jimmy Page, of the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin, Matthew Fisher, of Procol Harum, Beachboy Brian Wilson and others), has already become a success. Englishman Cocker has been acclaimed as the hottest blues singer since Ray Charles, and has been the fastest rising star in the rock field in quite a while, gaining rapidly the respect primarily of rock musicians themselves.

The Festival will be held at the Atlantic City Race Track, 48 miles from Philadelphia, and close to most of the Jersey shore areas. In addition to the three concerts, each scheduled for at least 10 hours, the festival will feature a carnival area, an exhibition area, with hundreds of booths anticipated, and a flea market. Promoters expect crowds to exceed 100,000 and have set up provisions for lodgings in nearby hotels and motels, as well as provided for special busses from Philadelphia and shore areas.

In addition in AC Pop, Philadelphia retains its touch of traditional authenticity with the eighth annual Philadelphia Folk Festival, sponsored by the ethnically pure Philadelphia Folksong Society. Last year's festival provided three days of continuous banjo, guitar and singing. The entertainment was highlighted by the local debut of the Young Tradition, the performance of several new songs, like her Midway Song, by Joni Mitchell, and Phil Ochs flying in special delivery after posting bail in Chicago to tell Philadelphians about Grant Park.

This year’s festival, held on the same Schwenksville farm as the last three festivals, also promises to be a large success. Although most of the bookings are not yet definite, Judy Collins has been scheduled for the feature concert Sunday afternoon. Refusing to be drawn into the craze for rock, the Philadelphia Folk Festival features a large collection of traditional country performances in the evening concerts, as well as the contemporary and blues acts, and a number of active and interesting workshops in the afternoons.

Like last year's festival, the festival will be a three-day affair, during the weekend before Labor Day.