Altamont — featuring the Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Grateful Dead — was supposed to be “Woodstock West,” a weekend of peace, love and music that rivaled the iconic festival four months earlier. But poor planning and an abundance of drugs made Altamont memorable for all the wrong reasons.
The Stones, who headlined the show, hired the Hells Angels as security at the recommendation of the Grateful Dead. Trouble began early, and the day and never let up.
As soon as the Stones arrived, singer Mick Jagger was punched in the face by a random concertgoer. When Jefferson Airplane took the stage, their singer, Marty Balin, was knocked out by a Hell’s Angel, and David Crosby was stabbed in the leg multiple times.
When the Dead decided not to take the stage due to the violence that was occurring, it left a three-hour break in the day, which made the audience and Angels even more on edge. Multiple fights broke out, and by the time the Stones began their set, chaos ensued.
Eighteen-year-old Meredith Hunter, who attended with his girlfriend, tried to make his way up to the stage, but was beaten back by the Angels. Enraged, he tried again, and pulled out a gun. An Angel stabbed him five times in the back, and others kicked him while he lay on the ground dying.
The whole event was caught on camera by Albert and David Maysles for their documentary, “Gimme Shelter.” Three other people also died that day — two in a hit-and-run accident and one by drowning in an irrigation canal.
