On December 6, 1969, the Rolling Stones staged a massive free concert at Altamont Speedway in Northern California, hiring local Hells Angels chapters for stage security in exchange for $500 worth of beer. The event quickly descended into violent bedlam fueled by bad LSD and armed biker enforcers beating crowd members with weighted pool cues. As the Stones played 'Under My Thumb,' 18-year-old Meredith Hunter was stabbed and beaten to death by Hells Angel Alan Passaro near the stage after drawing a revolver in panic. The tragedy resulted in four deaths and was widely memorialized as the grim, symbolic death of 1960s hippie idealism.
Daily darkside
Archive Record · 1960sTuning in to the daily selection…
AI concept artworkThe Altamont Free Concert Catastrophe and the Murder of Meredith Hunter
The Rolling Stones / 1960s
On December 6, 1969, the Rolling Stones staged a massive free concert at Altamont Speedway in Northern California, hiring local Hells Angels chapters for stage security in exchange for $500 worth of beer. The event quickly descended into violent bedlam fueled by bad LSD and armed biker enforcers beating crowd members with weighted pool cues. As the Stones played 'Under My Thumb,' 18-year-old Meredith Hunter was stabbed and beaten to death by Hells Angel Alan Passaro near the stage after drawing a revolver in panic. The tragedy resulted in four deaths and was widely memorialized as the grim, symbolic death of 1960s hippie idealism.
Archive: verified
The daily selection is taking a break. The archive is still yours to explore.