This is a wild memory for me. I was eighteen and ended up in the middle of the crowd, about 300 yards from the stage. I was abandoned by the 2 friends(so called) that I went there with. I was definitely not sober, but I experienced stuff that I'll never ever forget. I do remember the Grateful Dead being great. I somehow made it back to the car late, during the Allman Brothers performance, I kinda freaked out. Oh well, it was 50 years ago. The craziest memory was the fact that I was wearing flip-flops while walking the 3 to 4 miles (in mud) to the car, and never lost them. Rock on !
I remember it well ... I was 15 camping out at the Glen with my older family members just back from Asia and we watched a Jeep run over a Dude's head in the mud ... loved the Allman Brothers sets ... crazy time!
Pam, I was there. I was 22 yrs old. I hitchiked from Pa to get there. Arrived early on Thursday afternoon. Didn't have much money or food. But I had a great time. It was my youth and I was free. I just discovered these videos about the concert. What a wonderful memory! Love upstate NY. Eventually spent a lot of time at Cornell(Law School)
I was there. Drove up from Philadelphia and then was stopped by the police in the area of the Lakes who said the road was closed. Parked up on the grass and started the long walk to Watkins Glen with some other people. I remember we got picked up by someone with a truck and all of us hopped in. I do recall the fence was down once we got to the track. Found a great place to watch the show from. It was next to a cache of water bottles so I could have plenty to drink during the concert. It was also not to far from Port-O-Potties. Like I said it was a great spot. I remember the storm that interrupted The Band's set. It was an awesome day with the Allmans. The Band and Dead. After the show I got a ride back to my car and it wasn't there. They had towed all the vehicles where we parked. The police directed us to the impound lot. Lucky for me I had enough to get my car back. I had run into someone who I knew and he asked for a ride, I gave it to him but taking him back I had to go well out of my way to drop him off. I was running on no sleep and had to pull over somewhere on the Northeast Extension of the PA Turnpike to nap. I know I was up well over 30 hours and just completely spent being outside in a very hot and humid Watkins Glen. Didn't know it then but later to find out I was part of the largest concert ever was something even after 50 years is special.
I lived in Horseheads in '73. I remember the parked cars lined up on the shoulder of Rt 17 there. They went on as far as you could see. It was pretty apocalyptic looking. I was a high school freshman and had no wheels of my own, nor did I know anyone going to the concert. I just remember how wild it was to have that many empty cars in our town all at once, considering it was 25 miles from Watkins.
I'm from Horseheads. By the airport. We had cars parked on Sing Sing Rd. In front of our house. My brother went. I was only 12. Just a tiny bit too young. My brother went. My Best friend got to ride around with her brothers.
My guess is they drowned. It was a dry summer, so there were probably few places to swim that were deep enough. Plus the River runs North of I86 between Elmira and Binghamton. I've rafted that River a few times. It has under tows. But not a lot of rough fast moving water.
I was there too Pamala...WE had a Great Time, I was Hanging out in Santa Cruz , Ca, When word got around the Dead and Allmans and the Band were gonna be in Upstate, NY...Me and a Buddy drove to NJ , Picked up some Friends and Headed North...I had a Van, with a Bed , Water Bottles, Sleeping Bag and a Tent,,,I was 19 and had seen the Dead and the Allmans Previously, I did not want to miss this one...WE got there a day early and found a Great Place to camp..set up tents and Be Part of that Whole Scene,..Unforgettable I must say...I still have my Ticket Stub and The Poster from that Weekend. As well as Newspaper Articles from NY and NJ Papers. Great Job on Your Reporting...I Bet You weren't Even Born then ...HAHA.....IT WAS A TRIP !
What a great commentary and tribute to what sounds like an amazing event! I was 11 and on the other side of the globe. But to ‘hear’ the reverberations of this concert still reaching my ears 50 years later is inspirational! Thank you!
Got high as hell on green Kansas City Acid, huddled under a tarp during the thunderstorm.. Great music all day, Jerry blew everybody off the stage during the Jam at the end. Unforgettable
Seneca lake is my favorite lake too! Parents had a cottage near Lodi point. Was there during this event and could hear sound check coming up the lake. All those hippies! Yea!!! This 9 year old loved it! Yes, I grew up to follow the Dead!!!
My dad went to this concert. We live in the area and he told me he had to park his car at the bottom of the hill in Watkins and walked up the hill. Not too far considering some people's journey. Wished I could have been a part of it. Probably the coolest lineup you could ask for. He has newspaper clippings and his ticket that I look at occasionally
I was there drove all night from Boston with two friends. We were 18 years old each of us left our jobs at local gas stations at 10pm. I was on parole for after being busted with an ounce of marijuana and was not supposed to leave the state. Watching this brought back a flood of memories 51 years later! RIP John M. this was one of our many adventures.
I was 18. My husband, at the time, and I drove to Watkins Glen from North Jersey in the van that we were living in. I had the BEST TIME EVER. Just being part of a crowd that large was an event in itself. I remember being high and walking around just marveling at the size of this instant city! Hard to believe that it's been 50 years ago.
I hitchhiked from Northern New Jersey, and in a crowd of 600,000 people managed to run into my sister, and a fellow I knew from a school I attended in Massachusetts. I have no recollection of getting there, but I remember the music, the crowd, the rain, and the mudslide that people played in right beside where we were seated. There was a guy doing a sport-announcer-styled commentary on the mudsliders, critiquing form and talking about how some people attend concerts to hear music, but these people were there to play in the rain. It was all very much of its time. I also remember the ride home, from a vanful of concertgoers who had financed their trip by selling acid. They wouldn't take money for gas, as I recall, but they DID sell me some very fine LSD!
Who knows, you might have been near us. There was a mud pit to our left that people were sliding through. One guy was so caked with mud, we called him Adobe Man. Our location before the rain was not ideal. We were at the top of a rise and could only see the top of the stage. It was so hot, we baked. Then the downpour came, the temperature dropped considerably and many people must have left because we could easily make it down the hill to see the Allman Brothers.
@@martinlyons8790 I bet that was us! 👋 I had a camera with me, but only one image stands out in memory: an animated closeup of a yellow Norton motorcycle -- just the tank and handlebars -- as the rider edged their way through the crowd. I would LOVE to find those negatives now -- goddess only knows what might be on there! -- but it was the '70s, and I was young and restless. I had miles to go before finding my own home. Those negatives aren't the only things that fell by the wayside as I drifted through the decade. Alas! I was so proud of that Norton photo, too.... dang it! 😒
It is good to see more coverage of the Summer Jam. What little there is, have very little video, and what they have will make you dizzy! I was there with some Army buddies. Thank you for your video.
Correct...not much video or pictures! If there were i would see myself near the stage! The Band did make a live album from the concert. I guess that is the best we get! 👍🏻😉
I was there lived in Millport....it was so fun..actually was with a bunch of locals ,at a swimming hole..2cd day of concert and greg allman & Co. Was playing..jus acoustics..at Montour falls swimming hole.. I lived 5 miles away..the 1st concert I ever attended!!
I was there and WHAT A BLAST! It took me almost a half day to step by step on peoples blankets to get to the front of the stage from the campgrounds in the back. It was a hot day and beer was hot too! The concert was great and I took photos on a Kodak camera and still alot of them survived until now. I saw the guy burning with his parachute...Sad! The Alman Brothers did not have Duane or the original bass player. I saw them with Duane and the bass player at Sunset Series on the Boston Common in 1971 just a couple years earlier. Great day in history...missed Woodstock a few years earlier but refused to miss this one! Great time to be alive! Ray A. Boston Massachusetts
So when this concert happened I was living in a small village in the Pocono Mtns, Pa I was 20 yrs old at the time . I had tickets for this concert . A group of us rented a UHaul truck to make the trip . I was a fan of all three bands and had seen the Allman Brothers Band and the Grateful Dead a few times before this . Unfortunately the night before a friend had a birthday party and I’ll just say I wasn’t feeling well the next day . I showed up at the meeting place for the truck but knew I was in no shape to make the trip and gave away my ticket . It was probably a blessing as looking back I know myself and friends were not properly prepared for the weather and had insufficient food and camping gear except for beer . We had several kegs of beer . It is fun to see this post and I enjoy the host and her enthusiasm. 🙏👌😊☮️❤️
I had $10 to my name when I arrived Thursday night. Bagels were 50 cents and mescaline was a buck a hit. I survived on 6 bagels and a few handouts throughout a hell of a mescaline high. Was absolutely the greatest show on earth to me then and still to this day.
was 15 yrs parked 5 miles from venue....had a cast on my right leg , a station wagon with red cross in on stoped said i could not walk that far get in so i did an we gut to back stage area,,,,,was a great show ....
Lucky you to be from Watkins Glen! It's not too late to go to the July 29, 2023 tribute: Summer Jam ’23, o at Lincoln Hill Farms in Canandaigua, NY. Young people need to mix in with the old! This show will feature tribute bands for the original three, plus Friends of the Brothers and Terrapin Flyer. Tickets are $35/45. Calendar & Ticket Info: lincolnhillfarms.com/calendar/
I lived in Southern Connecticut at the time. It was just before my senior year of high school. After the concert there were lots of people in my home town hitchhiking back to their homes. I had been to Watkins Glen myself with a friend to see a motorcycle race.
That story is so tragic. How the families of those kids must have suffered over the decades, never knowing what became of their children. I hitchhiked to the show, myself -- I hitchhiked all over America in the '70s, as did my siblings; coast to coast and border to border -- and goddess only knows what draw of the cards spared our parents that same fate. I hope the families of Mitchel Weiser and Bonnie Bickwit may someday receive the answers they need. Shalom.
Buffalo guy here , all my friends were at this show. I missed it cause I was in Europe that summer. I did get to see the Stones up close in Germany in a smallish arena though, based on the tapes I’ve heard of summer jam , I think I got the better deal. Sounds like the Bands were more drugged up than the crowd.
Thanks Pamela for posting this! I was up in this beautiful area in April and looked hard for any information, sign, plaque, etc to commerate this historic event!. "There Is Nothing". I went to the raceway, fields, streets around it and WG chamber of commerce and there is No Information. Pam do you or anyone else have more detail or know exacly where near WG Raceway it was located? Thanks, Joe
Watch this video: ua-cam.com/video/7R6pTttYWBo/v-deo.htmlsi=VsErmMyKp1VvKeQg The site occupied the corner of Meads Hill Rd. and Wedgewood Rd. and spilled west of Meads Hill Rd. You can still see the old barn in the video still there with a circle road around it if you Google Earth it. Wish I was at it, but I was only 10. We couldn't make it to our summer house 5 miles away that weekend from Rochester due to the traffic.
Thanks Matthew for the info and news video. Love the abandoned cars. I went to the raceway gate, but they were younger and had no idea. Glad the TV reporter got in. Awesome@matthewburris7736
So my brother and his best friend wanted to go but my parents did not want them to go. So he asked me to get up before my parents did and to drive them to the bus station to take them up there, which of course I did. I remember getting home at about 8or so after dropping them off , and my mother was waiting for me , needless to say she was not happy with me. She said she would never forgive me, of course she did we had a few laughs about it many years later!
For us Dead Heads the Summer Jam was the beginning of The Dead's greatest sound system, The Wall Of Sound. Members of The Dead's sound crew went to Binghamton, to the McIntosh Audio factory and bought a bunch of their best amplifiers, so the massive crowd could hear clearly. Later on, they incorporated these amps, and a few more, into The Wall Of Sound, a 600 speaker ensemble designed by Owsley "Bear" Stanley, the Grateful Dead's Sound Engineer. I lasted about a year and a half, but became too much to truck around the country, so they dispersed it, and found smaller and easier gear to tour with. Thanks Pamela for the in depth description of an amazing event.
Was20 and got out of the hospital the day before with a friend I crashed into a truck with my motorcycle5 days earlier! We were banged up but had some fun!
I see keller Williams realty around here. Also is a music artist. Wondered if related. This is interesting i like the bands especially the Grateful Dead
I sell real estate with Keller Williams Realty in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes, and do these videos to meet people and promote my business. My target area is Watkins Glen and Seneca Lake. Then there is a singer named Keller Williams. Totally a coincidence! He is a singer and songwriter and has a band called the WMDs.
Check out my College Professor in New Jersey Robert Santelli who wrote a book about the great outdoor concerts called 'Aquarius Rising: The Rock Festival Years.' Professor Santelli also wrote for Ron Spagnardi's Modern Drummer Magazine back when the Spagnardi Family still published MD from their basement in North Jersey.
I have Mr. Santelli's book. It's an impressive retrospective of the festival years. I learned about shows -- big major events -- that I'd never even heard of!
It was a gargantuan festival, with incredible sound engineering, including delay processing for the rear most speaker towers. But maybe the performances weren’t the finest or most exemplary for each of the three bands. Consider that only small bits and pieces of each band’s performances (only 1 or two songs/jams) were ever formally published . I don’t believe the entire set has ever been formally released by either the GD or ABB organizations. The mid 90’s Band album “Live at Watkins Glen,” was a fraud of studio outtakes with crowd noise mixed-in.
I was there and thought there were 2 skydivers that died and when I got home a few days later I read that they charged the pilot of the plane they jumped from was charged with manslaughter because he didn't get permission from the faa or something, yea I thought the other jumper landed in some high voltage wires.
I wish this whole original event would be officially released on CD like the Woodstock 69 event was. I have heard that the Band's performance was rather weak compared to the GD & ABB, but all three are not at their best overall in the larger picture of the 1st part of the 70s.
What? The GD was on fire. I've listened to alot of their shows from this period, can't speak on the other 2 but I don't think they were struggling. ABB did lose Duane but recovered considering that huge loss.
Drove up with a friend of mine from Brooklyn in my 1959 MGA. We didn't have tickets or any idea that we were heading into the biggest human gathering on the North American gathering in history. It was quite a show. I understand that there were some deaths, but it could have been worse. It wasn't as documented as Woodstock which of course had multiple artists. Watkins Glen did have the best of the bands who were at their peak at this time. At 69 years old I wouldn't go near a venue like this any more. I am glad that I did get to experience the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen on July 28th, 1973.
@@eddykidd you're REALLY hung up about that trash, aren't you? Yes, people left a mess. Whether it's a New Year's Eve celebration, Fourth of July, a concert or political rally, large gatherings always leave messes. Is it right? Not the best, but you coming on here constantly sniping at total strangers -- and on a UA-cam page designed to celebrate a momentous event in many viewers' lives -- is not going to sway people's hearts and minds.
All I remember is my Mom putting her hands over my eyes when we saw hippie chicks walking around with hardly any clothes on in the medians of the southern tier expressway before it became an interstate expressway like I ... whatever 😂
I saw my first nudist at Watkins Glen -- a fellow from California who was tanned from head to toe, with nary a tan line to show for it! At the time I thought 'Ooh, radical, to be so free and unselfconscious!' Looking back now, all I can think is 'melanoma'! 🤠
This is a wild memory for me. I was eighteen and ended up in the middle of the crowd, about 300 yards from the stage. I was abandoned by the 2 friends(so called) that I went there with. I was definitely not sober, but I experienced stuff that I'll never ever forget. I do remember the Grateful Dead being great. I somehow made it back to the car late, during the Allman Brothers performance, I kinda freaked out. Oh well, it was 50 years ago. The craziest memory was the fact that I was wearing flip-flops while walking the 3 to 4 miles (in mud) to the car, and never lost them. Rock on !
I was there came a day early and camped out ,got very close to stage! Wish I had some pix from then!
Imagine those photos today ... we didn't even own a camera to bring up with us in those days.
I remember it well ... I was 15 camping out at the Glen with my older family members just back from Asia and we watched a Jeep run over a Dude's head in the mud ... loved the Allman Brothers sets ... crazy time!
Pam, I was there. I was 22 yrs old. I hitchiked from Pa to get there. Arrived early on Thursday afternoon. Didn't have much money or food. But I had a great time. It was my youth and I was free. I just discovered these videos about the concert. What a wonderful memory! Love upstate NY. Eventually spent a lot of time at Cornell(Law School)
I was there. Drove up from Philadelphia and then was stopped by the police in the area of the Lakes who said the road was closed. Parked up on the grass and started the long walk to Watkins Glen with some other people. I remember we got picked up by someone with a truck and all of us hopped in. I do recall the fence was down once we got to the track. Found a great place to watch the show from. It was next to a cache of water bottles so I could have plenty to drink during the concert. It was also not to far from Port-O-Potties. Like I said it was a great spot. I remember the storm that interrupted The Band's set. It was an awesome day with the Allmans. The Band and Dead. After the show I got a ride back to my car and it wasn't there. They had towed all the vehicles where we parked. The police directed us to the impound lot. Lucky for me I had enough to get my car back. I had run into someone who I knew and he asked for a ride, I gave it to him but taking him back I had to go well out of my way to drop him off. I was running on no sleep and had to pull over somewhere on the Northeast Extension of the PA Turnpike to nap. I know I was up well over 30 hours and just completely spent being outside in a very hot and humid Watkins Glen. Didn't know it then but later to find out I was part of the largest concert ever was something even after 50 years is special.
I lived in Horseheads in '73. I remember the parked cars lined up on the shoulder of Rt 17 there. They went on as far as you could see. It was pretty apocalyptic looking. I was a high school freshman and had no wheels of my own, nor did I know anyone going to the concert. I just remember how wild it was to have that many empty cars in our town all at once, considering it was 25 miles from Watkins.
Peter from Horseheads…did you know any Neelys?
I'm from Horseheads. By the airport. We had cars parked on Sing Sing Rd. In front of our house. My brother went. I was only 12. Just a tiny bit too young. My brother went. My Best friend got to ride around with her brothers.
My guess is they drowned. It was a dry summer, so there were probably few places to swim that were deep enough. Plus the River runs North of I86 between Elmira and Binghamton. I've rafted that River a few times. It has under tows. But not a lot of rough fast moving water.
I was there too Pamala...WE had a Great Time, I was Hanging out in Santa Cruz , Ca, When word got around the Dead and Allmans and the Band were gonna be in Upstate, NY...Me and a Buddy drove to NJ , Picked up some Friends and Headed North...I had a Van, with a Bed , Water Bottles, Sleeping Bag and a Tent,,,I was 19 and had seen the Dead and the Allmans Previously, I did not want to miss this one...WE got there a day early and found a Great Place to camp..set up tents and Be Part of that Whole Scene,..Unforgettable I must say...I still have my Ticket Stub and The Poster from that Weekend. As well as Newspaper Articles from NY and NJ Papers. Great Job on Your Reporting...I Bet You weren't Even Born then ...HAHA.....IT WAS A TRIP !
What a great commentary and tribute to what sounds like an amazing event! I was 11 and on the other side of the globe. But to ‘hear’ the reverberations of this concert still reaching my ears 50 years later is inspirational! Thank you!
Got high as hell on green Kansas City Acid, huddled under a tarp during the thunderstorm.. Great music all day, Jerry blew everybody off the stage during the Jam at the end. Unforgettable
Seneca lake is my favorite lake too! Parents had a cottage near Lodi point. Was there during this event and could hear sound check coming up the lake. All those hippies! Yea!!! This 9 year old loved it! Yes, I grew up to follow the Dead!!!
I was 23 and just out of the USN. We got there Friday and the Dead set up and played that night. What an trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That Mountain jam with the dead and the allmans sharing the stage is one of my favorite pieces of music of all time
I was 14 lived in millport went to horseheads hs...loved it!
My dad went to this concert. We live in the area and he told me he had to park his car at the bottom of the hill in Watkins and walked up the hill. Not too far considering some people's journey. Wished I could have been a part of it. Probably the coolest lineup you could ask for. He has newspaper clippings and his ticket that I look at occasionally
I was there drove all night from Boston with two friends. We were 18 years old each of us left our jobs at local gas stations at 10pm. I was on parole for after being busted with an ounce of marijuana and was not supposed to leave the state. Watching this brought back a flood of memories 51 years later! RIP John M. this was one of our many adventures.
I was 18. My husband, at the time, and I drove to Watkins Glen from North Jersey in the van that we were living in. I had the BEST TIME EVER. Just being part of a crowd that large was an event in itself. I remember being high and walking around just marveling at the size of this instant city! Hard to believe that it's been 50 years ago.
I hitchhiked from Northern New Jersey, and in a crowd of 600,000 people managed to run into my sister, and a fellow I knew from a school I attended in Massachusetts. I have no recollection of getting there, but I remember the music, the crowd, the rain, and the mudslide that people played in right beside where we were seated. There was a guy doing a sport-announcer-styled commentary on the mudsliders, critiquing form and talking about how some people attend concerts to hear music, but these people were there to play in the rain. It was all very much of its time. I also remember the ride home, from a vanful of concertgoers who had financed their trip by selling acid. They wouldn't take money for gas, as I recall, but they DID sell me some very fine LSD!
Who knows, you might have been near us. There was a mud pit to our left that people were sliding through. One guy was so caked with mud, we called him Adobe Man. Our location before the rain was not ideal. We were at the top of a rise and could only see the top of the stage. It was so hot, we baked. Then the downpour came, the temperature dropped considerably and many people must have left because we could easily make it down the hill to see the Allman Brothers.
@@martinlyons8790 I bet that was us! 👋 I had a camera with me, but only one image stands out in memory: an animated closeup of a yellow Norton motorcycle -- just the tank and handlebars -- as the rider edged their way through the crowd. I would LOVE to find those negatives now -- goddess only knows what might be on there! -- but it was the '70s, and I was young and restless. I had miles to go before finding my own home. Those negatives aren't the only things that fell by the wayside as I drifted through the decade. Alas!
I was so proud of that Norton photo, too.... dang it! 😒
Thank you Pam, I was there!❤
It is good to see more coverage of the Summer Jam. What little there is, have very little video, and what they have will make you dizzy! I was there with some Army buddies. Thank you for your video.
Correct...not much video or pictures! If there were i would see myself near the stage! The Band did make a live album from the concert. I guess that is the best we get! 👍🏻😉
I was there lived in Millport....it was so fun..actually was with a bunch of locals ,at a swimming hole..2cd day of concert and greg allman & Co. Was playing..jus acoustics..at Montour falls swimming hole..
I lived 5 miles away..the 1st concert I ever attended!!
I was there and WHAT A BLAST! It took me almost a half day to step by step on peoples blankets to get to the front of the stage from the campgrounds in the back. It was a hot day and beer was hot too! The concert was great and I took photos on a Kodak camera and still alot of them survived until now. I saw the guy burning with his parachute...Sad! The Alman Brothers did not have Duane or the original bass player. I saw them with Duane and the bass player at Sunset Series on the Boston Common in 1971 just a couple years earlier. Great day in history...missed Woodstock a few years earlier but refused to miss this one! Great time to be alive! Ray A. Boston Massachusetts
You guys left a damn mess
Shame
Yup...we sure did! I guess someone got paid to clean it up. I was in a hurry to get back to Boston. Das 😎 all! 👍🏻😉👏
So when this concert happened I was living in a small village in the Pocono Mtns, Pa I was 20 yrs old at the time . I had tickets for this concert . A group of us rented a UHaul truck to make the trip . I was a fan of all three bands and had seen the Allman Brothers Band and the Grateful Dead a few times before this .
Unfortunately the night before a friend had a birthday party and I’ll just say I wasn’t feeling well the next day . I showed up at the meeting place for the truck but knew I was in no shape to make the trip and gave away my ticket .
It was probably a blessing as looking back I know myself and friends were not properly prepared for the weather and had insufficient food and camping gear except for beer . We had several kegs of beer .
It is fun to see this post and I enjoy the host and her enthusiasm.
🙏👌😊☮️❤️
I had $10 to my name when I arrived Thursday night. Bagels were 50 cents and mescaline was a buck a hit. I survived on 6 bagels and a few handouts throughout a hell of a mescaline high. Was absolutely the greatest show on earth to me then and still to this day.
See all those speakers? That would be the Grateful Dead's wall of sound.
OWSLEY
was 15 yrs parked 5 miles from venue....had a cast on my right leg , a station wagon with red cross in on stoped said i could not walk that far get in so i did an we gut to back stage area,,,,,was a great show ....
Watkins Glen is my home town…. I was born in 1978, so unfortunately i missed the good times…
Lucky you to be from Watkins Glen! It's not too late to go to the July 29, 2023 tribute: Summer Jam ’23, o at Lincoln Hill Farms in Canandaigua, NY. Young people need to mix in with the old! This show will feature tribute bands for the original three, plus Friends of the Brothers and Terrapin Flyer. Tickets are $35/45. Calendar & Ticket Info: lincolnhillfarms.com/calendar/
Sad...😢
I was there
I had just turned 16 omg 😊
I lived in Southern Connecticut at the time. It was just before my senior year of high school. After the concert there were lots of people in my home town hitchhiking back to their homes.
I had been to Watkins Glen myself with a friend to see a motorcycle race.
I was there, 21 years old, came down from Rochester for the show w/several friends. An absolute blast of a weekend!
And you left a mess . Shame on you guys
Love this!
The story of the couple hitchhiking to the concert and never returning brought me here.
That story is so tragic. How the families of those kids must have suffered over the decades, never knowing what became of their children.
I hitchhiked to the show, myself -- I hitchhiked all over America in the '70s, as did my siblings; coast to coast and border to border -- and goddess only knows what draw of the cards spared our parents that same fate. I hope the families of Mitchel Weiser and Bonnie Bickwit may someday receive the answers they need.
Shalom.
Buffalo guy here , all my friends were at this show. I missed it cause I was in Europe that summer. I did get to see the Stones up close in Germany in a smallish arena though, based on the tapes I’ve heard of summer jam , I think I got the better deal. Sounds like the Bands were more drugged up than the crowd.
What time we had there in 73, we drove across country in 23 to visit the town and lakes area
You make great videos
My aunt went to this show!
Thanks Pamela for posting this! I was up in this beautiful area in April and looked hard for any information, sign, plaque, etc to commerate this historic event!. "There Is Nothing". I went to the raceway, fields, streets around it and WG chamber of commerce and there is No Information. Pam do you or anyone else have more detail or know exacly where near WG Raceway it was located? Thanks, Joe
Watch this video: ua-cam.com/video/7R6pTttYWBo/v-deo.htmlsi=VsErmMyKp1VvKeQg
The site occupied the corner of Meads Hill Rd. and Wedgewood Rd. and spilled west of Meads Hill Rd. You can still see the old barn in the video still there with a circle road around it if you Google Earth it.
Wish I was at it, but I was only 10. We couldn't make it to our summer house 5 miles away that weekend from Rochester due to the traffic.
Thanks Matthew for the info and news video. Love the abandoned cars. I went to the raceway gate, but they were younger and had no idea. Glad the TV reporter got in.
Awesome@matthewburris7736
I was there baby!
Great job! I was there, just 17, and it was awesome fun!
Oh yeah??? Well you so called hippy’s left a bloody environmental mess
So my brother and his best friend wanted to go but my parents did not want them to go. So he asked me to get up before my parents did and to drive them to the bus station to take them up there, which of course I did. I remember getting home at about 8or so after dropping them off , and my mother was waiting for me , needless to say she was not happy with me. She said she would never forgive me, of course she did we had a few laughs about it many years later!
For us Dead Heads the Summer Jam was the beginning of The Dead's greatest sound system, The Wall Of Sound. Members of The Dead's sound crew went to Binghamton, to the McIntosh Audio factory and bought a bunch of their best amplifiers, so the massive crowd could hear clearly. Later on, they incorporated these amps, and a few more, into The Wall Of Sound, a 600 speaker ensemble designed by Owsley "Bear" Stanley, the Grateful Dead's Sound Engineer. I lasted about a year and a half, but became too much to truck around the country, so they dispersed it, and found smaller and easier gear to tour with. Thanks Pamela for the in depth description of an amazing event.
Was20 and got out of the hospital the day before with a friend I crashed into a truck with my motorcycle5 days earlier! We were banged up but had some fun!
I see keller Williams realty around here. Also is a music artist. Wondered if related. This is interesting i like the bands especially the Grateful Dead
I sell real estate with Keller Williams Realty in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes, and do these videos to meet people and promote my business. My target area is Watkins Glen and Seneca Lake. Then there is a singer named Keller Williams. Totally a coincidence! He is a singer and songwriter and has a band called the WMDs.
Check out my College Professor in New Jersey Robert Santelli who wrote a book about the great outdoor concerts called 'Aquarius Rising: The Rock Festival Years.' Professor Santelli also wrote for Ron Spagnardi's Modern Drummer Magazine back when the Spagnardi Family still published MD from their basement in North Jersey.
I have Mr. Santelli's book. It's an impressive retrospective of the festival years. I learned about shows -- big major events -- that I'd never even heard of!
I was there :)
I was lucky enough to work security backstage and had an awesome time.
So you contributed to the mess? Did you help clean up?
@@eddykidd I was backstage and and didn’t contribute anything to the mess, I left with everything I came with.
Now why didn't this get more attention like woodstock.
It was a gargantuan festival, with incredible sound engineering, including delay processing for the rear most speaker towers. But maybe the performances weren’t the finest or most exemplary for each of the three bands. Consider that only small bits and pieces of each band’s performances (only 1 or two songs/jams) were ever formally published . I don’t believe the entire set has ever been formally released by either the GD or ABB organizations. The mid 90’s Band album “Live at Watkins Glen,” was a fraud of studio outtakes with crowd noise mixed-in.
I was there and thought there were 2 skydivers that died and when I got home a few days later I read that they charged the pilot of the plane they jumped from was charged with manslaughter because he didn't get permission from the faa or something, yea I thought the other jumper landed in some high voltage wires.
I can't imagine how terrible it was to see that skydiver die, from the crowd below or the plane above. Wow.
I still have my ticket
I wish this whole original event would be officially released on CD like the Woodstock 69 event was. I have heard that the Band's performance was rather weak compared to the GD & ABB, but all three are not at their best overall in the larger picture of the 1st part of the 70s.
What? The GD was on fire. I've listened to alot of their shows from this period, can't speak on the other 2 but I don't think they were struggling. ABB did lose Duane but recovered considering that huge loss.
Drove up with a friend of mine from Brooklyn in my 1959 MGA. We didn't have tickets or any idea that we were heading into the biggest human gathering on the North American gathering in history. It was quite a show. I understand that there were some deaths, but it could have been worse. It wasn't as documented as Woodstock which of course had multiple artists. Watkins Glen did have the best of the bands who were at their peak at this time. At 69 years old I wouldn't go near a venue like this any more. I am glad that I did get to experience the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen on July 28th, 1973.
Did you clean up after yourselves? Nope
@@eddykidd you're REALLY hung up about that trash, aren't you? Yes, people left a mess. Whether it's a New Year's Eve celebration, Fourth of July, a concert or political rally, large gatherings always leave messes. Is it right? Not the best, but you coming on here constantly sniping at total strangers -- and on a UA-cam page designed to celebrate a momentous event in many viewers' lives -- is not going to sway people's hearts and minds.
@@katesteele5128 zip it hippy
where's the show? LOL
Me and my Bros are coming from California for the Reunion. I hear we can get in for free based on the original😁
Is it possible to sneak into Coachella? Lol
The Dead has 2 lead guitarists and 2 drummers, so the Allmans weren't exactly unique in that regard.
All I remember is my Mom putting her hands over my eyes when we saw hippie chicks walking around with hardly any clothes on in the medians of the southern tier expressway before it became an interstate expressway like I ... whatever 😂
I saw my first nudist at Watkins Glen -- a fellow from California who was tanned from head to toe, with nary a tan line to show for it! At the time I thought 'Ooh, radical, to be so free and unselfconscious!' Looking back now, all I can think is 'melanoma'! 🤠
@katesteele5128 oh I always heard women aren't visually stimulated as much as they are more stability stimulated for multiple o's .lol
Lynard skynard created southern rock..lets get that straight now
No way! Love LS, but The ABB where way ahead of Skynard by many years!
I was there sporting a flattop haircut and kicked me some hippie ass.
And you are so proud of your display of unprovoked violence that you write of it despite the fact that most people here will think you are an As@hole.
Yea, sure you did tough guy
So that was you being cared for by the hippies in the medic's tent! I wondered how you got all those cuts and bruises.
I have a few of those news papers.
There was a death of a guy who swallowed a bee that was in his beer.
That stolen pig became BBQ