Monterey Pop Festival Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Association

The Association kicked off the festival, an event some heralded as the beginning of the "Summer of Love". "Along Comes Mary" broke The Association nationally in 1966 and by the time they played at the festival their follow up hit, "Cherish", had already peaked at number one. Along with the festival founders The Mamas and The Papas, members of the Beatles and the Beach Boys were on the board of directors.

The Beach Boys were originally scheduled to perform but declined at the last minute citing the fact that they were busy recording their "Smile" album. Producer Lou Adler and Beatles publicist Derek Tayler were also involved in the project.

Answer: Wild Thing

Jimi's performance came after the Who because of a coin toss. Pete Townsend and Jimi could not agree which act should follow the other. Jimi's performance with his guitar included playing feedback against his amplifier, playing with his teeth and playing behind his back. By 1967 he had formed his band called The Experience with Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums.

They accompanied him at Monterey. Mitch Mitchell played an extended drum solo while Jimi lit his guitar on fire and danced around it. Chas Chandler played bass for the Animals and is responsible for bringing Jimi to London and introducing him to the London music scene.

Answer: Big Brother and the Holding Company

The third act on the final day of the festival was Big Brother and the Holding Company. Janis was a singer for the band at the time and not the band's headliner. They initially refused to authorize the filming rights to their performance so the powerful rendition of her singing "Ball and Chain" while taking a belt of whiskey almost didn't get filmed.

The performance opened a lot of doors for the band including a change of management and a recording deal. By the time the band was touring and making television appearances they were being billed as Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company.

The Kozmic Blues Band backed her at Woodstock. The Full Tilt Boogie Band was the last band Janis worked with and she played a major role in the formation of the group.

The Group With No Name is a band formed by Cyrus Faryar who played the third evening of the festival. Faryar went on to record tracks with Mama Cass and Linda Ronstadt.

Answer: Ravi Shankar

Ustad Allah Rakha accompanied sitar player Ravi Shankar on tabla. Shankar had been performing since the early fifties and had become acquaintances with The Beatles. Indian music had recently come into vogue because of his affiliation with George Harrison, so Shankar was chosen to play an extended four hour set Sunday afternoon. Even though the audience was initially attracted to the unique sitar and tabla music, after a while they started becoming restless and moving about, checking out the art booths and other features of the festival. Shankar would go on to play at "Woodstock" and at George Harrison's "Concert for Bangladesh". Hugh Masekela's band, The Electric Flag and Canned Heat played Saturday. Canned Heat opened the second day of the event.

Answer: Otis Redding

One of the songs that Redding performed at the festival was "Respect", a song he had written that became a hit for Aretha Franklin. He also did a cover of "Satisfaction". Redding had been a recording artist for Stax records before appearing at Monterey.

His performance at the event would give him exposure to a mainstream audience. Within six months Redding would die in a plane crash three days after recording "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay". The song went on to be number one. Lou Rawls was part of the Friday night lineup. Booker T and Steve Miller were performers on Saturday night. Booker T and the MGs had their own set before backing Otis Redding. David Crosby appeared with both Buffalo Springfield and the Byrds.

Answer: The Who

The Who were filling the void that was created when The Beatles stopped touring and the Rolling Stones were on a hiatus from performing on the road. They had been slowly breaking ground with American audiences, but after their appearance at the event they soon became one of the hottest rock bands on both sides of the Atlantic.

Their demolishing of instruments at the conclusion of their set was revolutionary and caught the audience by surprise. They followed up with similar antics when they appeared on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour". Later in 1967 the band released their "The Who Sell Out" concept album.

The Kinks were invited but could not appear because of passport issues. Cream reportedly wanted to headline a similar event. The Animals didn't break any instruments during their performance.

Answer: Brian Jones

Keith and Mick were fighting visa issues because of drug related arrests, but Brian came along and hung out in the crowd. He was dressed in full flower-power regalia and introduced Jimi and his band to an unsuspecting crowd. By the time The Rolling Stones resumed touring, Brian would no longer be part of the group.

Answer: The Animals

The Animals appeared at the concert, although there had been a lineup change from the original band. Eric Burdon gave a powerful performance fronting the band. Following the appearance at Monterey the band changed direction and released more psychedelic style hits such as "Sky Pilot", "San Franciscan Nights" and "Monterey".

By the end of the decade Eric would be a member of the Los Angeles band War. Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band was invited but declined to appear. Grateful Dead went on between Jimi Hendrix and the closing Mamas and Papas. Neil Young had already left Buffalo Springfield by the time they appeared at the festival.

Answer: Scott Mackenzie

Scott and John Phillips had originally conceived of the idea of a band called Mamas and the Papas, but Scott preferred to pursue a solo career, so John and Michelle recruited Mama Cass and Denny Doherty to form the band. John Phillips wrote "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)" for Scott, who had been working with a variety of folk genre outfits before embarking on a solo career.

The song reached number four during the "Summer of Love" and became the unofficial anthem of that unique time in history. Al Kooper was a founding member of the Blues Project and Blood, Sweat and Tears.

He was one of the performers on Saturday. Johnny Rivers is remembered for his Friday performance sporting a Beatle haircut and a fur vest. Donovan had been invited to perform but was dealing with visa issues.

Answer: Quicksilver Messenger Service

Other bands that performed both events are Jefferson Airplane and Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Country Joe performed his memorable "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag". The Fish was not originally the name of his band, but the nickname of his lead guitar player, Barry Melton. Quicksilver Messenger Service was on the soundtrack for the album "Revolution" with fellow Monterey Festival performer, Steve Miller.

They were both on the Capitol Records roster as well. Canned Heat's first appearance before a major audience was at the festival. "Down Beat" magazine gave them rave reviews for their performance.