Altamont

The Rolling Stones’ free concert at Altamont Speedway on December 6, 1969, captured in the documentary Gimme Shelter, has long been seen as the distorted twin of Woodstock—the day that shattered the sixties’ promise of peace and love when concertgoer Meredith Hunter was killed by a member of the Hells Angels biker club working as security. As journalist Joel Selvin explores rock’s darkest day, he probes every aspect of the show—and the many forces working against it—to capture the full scope of the tragedy and its aftermath. Moving beyond easy explanations, Selvin delves into the powerful musical and cultural forces that left Altamont poised for calamity even before the first performer took the stage. Exploring the two bands at the center—the Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead—Selvin recounts the largely forgotten but crucial role that the Dead played in orchestrating the concert, offering a fresh look at how, in an era remembered for musical idealism, English and American rock worlds collided with devastating consequences. The product of thirty years of research, Altamont is the definitive account of the final event in rock’s formative and most turbulent decade.