Where Were You in 1974?

When you talk about mega-concerts, Woodstock usually takes the cake as far as importance.

But something happened in 1974 to perhaps dispel that rumor. On April 6, 1974, 250,000 people assembled at the now gone Ontario Motor Speedway fifty miles due east of Los Angeles to an event that defined modern day classic rock. With the British Invasion about to be over, we came to experience the biggest, most monumental event of all time. The California Jam.

Sponsored by ABC/TV, it was a beast of a television show, probably the biggest television show in American history. It took six months to build the set and to do the rest of the planning. The entire Holiday Inn building at the Speedway was seized by ABC executives while all the regular guests were put on leave with no new bookings allowed.

There was another mega-concert in New York State nine months prior called the SummerJam at Watkins-Glen. This was the model for the California Jam. Watkins-Glen supposedly drew 600,000 making it much bigger than Woodstock itself. The drawbacks about Woodstock and Watkins-Glen were first of all the sound systems were both way too inadequate. This problem was remedied for the California Jam. At 54,000 watts, we had enough juice to cover a square mile, and we needed every watt. Separate power sources came from power poles. The speaker towers rose to a combined height of fifteen 1974 stories. A million and a half gallons of water were shipped to the site, unlike more modern Woodstock remembrances where riots broke out over $7 bottled water. Water was distributed free at the Jam. Fifteen hundred employees were hired for the show. Keep in mind it was actually a TV show!

Unlike modern day times where we have the Internet, this whole thing was sparked by one ad in Southern California newspapers on February 17, 1974. That was it. That was the extent of the advertising. Not that we didn't have a budget; in those days we knew a full page ad strategically placed in such newspapers was all that was needed for the desired result.

Although you've probably never heard of Watkins-Glen either, California Jam is probably the most arcane of the mega-concerts of old. It was here and then it was gone; the biggest item of evidence was the 30 tons of trash left behind by the concert goers. But there was something else. It turns out in one of the freakiest events probably in music history, I wound up with the broadcast quality recordings. Not that I was at the site, but a classmate gave me the tip off about "some big show that coming on television" and being broadcast at the same time on the FM radio. I already had a Panasonic RS736US reel-to-reel tape deck in place, along with a Pioneer stereo receiver. I had already been recording other music from late 1973 and on into 1974.

Why is it that with something of the magnitude of California Jam was not deciphered properly by the ABC/TV execs and at least the bands' management themselves? Why were the recording duties left to the single amateur recordist holed up int he Bronx, New York with $600 worth of recording equipment? And why did no one else in the nation think of taping and preserving the behemoth California Jam except for me?

These should be questions passed on from generation to generation. As we revert back to Retro, we should recognize the meaning, the scope and the importance of these Recordings. I told you in the beginning when listened to the California Jam has got a lot more soul than even the much talked-about Woodstock. Because the sound of the Recordings transcends all other festival recordings, and sound is where it's at.

This entire California Jam recording reality should become a statistical study for the likes of UCLA and USC. The world must be made aware of these California Jam recordings because if you want to be part of magnificence this is certainly one way to go. The recordings may have come from rock and roll, but they dwarf rock and roll. This is the biggest thing that ever came out of Seventies music. All you have to do is hear it.

For those of us serious about life, because life is so short you must give a listen to this California Jam recording. It's the only three hours of radio that matters, and according to the whole rest of the Internet this is biggest thing that has ever happed to everyone. It is more socially significant than War Of The Worlds, Woodstock, and perhaps even The Beatles as well. The recording was made about the same time as Watergate, but these are more socially relevant and will make you feel a lot better. As they say about Nuclear Warrior, and now the California Jam recordings as well, don't miss the highpoint of the evening.

Source: http://www.rtironline.com/blog?cmd=search&keywords=LIFSHINE