Bill Graham: Rock Impresario
Bill Graham was a legendary rock concert promoter from the 1960’s up until his untimely death in 1991. He was born Wulf Wolodia Grajonca on January 8, 1931 in Berlin, Germany and at the age of eleven immigrated to the United States as part of a Red Cross initiative to help Jewish children fleeing the Holocaust. He was fostered by a family in the Bronx and grew up in New York City, graduated high school, and obtained a business degree from City College. When he turned eighteen, he changed his last name to Graham, and at age twenty was drafted into the army where he served in the Korean War. After returning home from the war in which he was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, he worked as a cabbie for a while …show more content…
His next move was to San Francisco where he planned to pursue a career in acting but didn’t have much success, only managing to land a couple of small roles. Eventually he would become the business manager of a radical cutting-edge theater group called the San Francisco Mime Troupe. After a member of the group was arrested on obscenity charges during a performance in 1965, Graham staged a benefit concert to raise money for their legal fees. The concert was a huge success with a line-up that featured rock, jazz, and poetry acts with performers that included Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, the Fugs, John Handy, and Jefferson Airplane. He organized two more successful benefit concerts and soon began producing regular concerts which included special lighting effects and lively psychedelic concert posters. Graham had finally found his niche and realized his true talent. This would be the beginning of his rise to becoming the most influential …show more content…
It became known as “The Church of Rock and Roll.” Rock and roll shows had never received the kind of attention to detail that Graham brought to the Fillmores. Notable acts to play the Fillmore East include Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the Allman Brothers Band, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Led Zeppelin. During this time, he also moved to the Carousel Ballroom. The original Fillmore Auditorium was starting to fall apart so he bought a new building and named it Fillmore West. Once he had established his name, he used his venues as a way to promote up and coming artists. He gave any worthy musician a place to play. By 1971, he was burned out and closed both the Fillmore East and West in order to “find himself.” He said he wanted out of rock and roll. This break didn’t last very long (about six months) and he soon returned to promoting. He still owned a venue in San Francisco called the Winterland Arena and it was there that he presented the Rolling
Bill Graham was a legendary rock concert promoter from the 1960’s up until his untimely death in 1991. He was born Wulf Wolodia Grajonca on January 8, 1931 in Berlin, Germany and at the age of eleven immigrated to the United States as part of a Red Cross initiative to help Jewish children fleeing the Holocaust. He was fostered by a family in the Bronx and grew up in New York City, graduated high school, and obtained a business degree from City College. When he turned eighteen, he changed his last name to Graham, and at age twenty was drafted into the army where he served in the Korean War. After returning home from the war in which he was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, he worked as a cabbie for a while …show more content…
His next move was to San Francisco where he planned to pursue a career in acting but didn’t have much success, only managing to land a couple of small roles. Eventually he would become the business manager of a radical cutting-edge theater group called the San Francisco Mime Troupe. After a member of the group was arrested on obscenity charges during a performance in 1965, Graham staged a benefit concert to raise money for their legal fees. The concert was a huge success with a line-up that featured rock, jazz, and poetry acts with performers that included Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, the Fugs, John Handy, and Jefferson Airplane. He organized two more successful benefit concerts and soon began producing regular concerts which included special lighting effects and lively psychedelic concert posters. Graham had finally found his niche and realized his true talent. This would be the beginning of his rise to becoming the most influential …show more content…
It became known as “The Church of Rock and Roll.” Rock and roll shows had never received the kind of attention to detail that Graham brought to the Fillmores. Notable acts to play the Fillmore East include Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the Allman Brothers Band, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Led Zeppelin. During this time, he also moved to the Carousel Ballroom. The original Fillmore Auditorium was starting to fall apart so he bought a new building and named it Fillmore West. Once he had established his name, he used his venues as a way to promote up and coming artists. He gave any worthy musician a place to play. By 1971, he was burned out and closed both the Fillmore East and West in order to “find himself.” He said he wanted out of rock and roll. This break didn’t last very long (about six months) and he soon returned to promoting. He still owned a venue in San Francisco called the Winterland Arena and it was there that he presented the Rolling