Found this on Facebook this morning. Sly was late for a free concert and a riot broke out. Three people were shot and hundreds arrested. Tensions sure were high in those days between the races, between police and youth. Now they can hold Lolapalooza for three or four days on the same grounds with few incidents. Couldn't do it for three or fours then.
You can read the July 29th, 1970 Chicago Tribune article here .... Pot, Wine, Heat Mixed, Make Park Ripe For Riot ... http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1970/07/29/page/2/article/pot-wine-heat-mixed-made-park-ripe-for-riot
The Daley response article is good too.
Done a lot at concerts, but never got to riot!
Done a lot at concerts, but never got to riot!
Been there, done that. 
Zeppelin 6-3-'77
Sometimes it's not so fun to be front and center...:o
Sly Stone apparently missed like 2/3 of his shows in 1970. This riot was sort of the culmination of the chaos....
Flash forward to 2013, Sly Stone was scheduled to appear at Chiller Theatre, a horror and sci-fi movie expo in Parsippany, New Jersey. ( http://www.chillertheatre.com/)
At Chiller, he would sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans (probably at a high price).
I was excited, and bought my tickets. I wanted him to sign my new Sly & The Family Stone box set. Having Sly's autograph would be great because he never appeared like this. A Sly autograph was super-rare!! But in the back of my head there was a little voice telling me "Sly will probably cancel." "Why would Sly Stone come to a movie expo to sign autographs??" "He's not going to show up, just like what happened in 1970!!" Well, my premonition was absolutely correct because within a few weeks of signing on, there was an announcement that Sly Stone was not going to appear at Chiller Theatre. I was bummed, but sort of knew that this was coming.
I still went to Chiller Theatre but not happy with what went down! 🙁
[Edited on 10/9/2014 by BarrySmith]
I must admit I got sidetracked and didn't even read the article about the Sly concert. There was another one about Linda Kasabian's testimony about the Manson murders of Sharon Tate and others. Gripping and somewhat horrifying stuff..........bloody people walking out on the front lawn, begging for their lives. And a tale of a sex orgy involving 23 Manson family members.
I remember that,sly stone...in fact I remember lots of riots; Zeppelin,Stones,Sly (was always cancelling,or late or just no-show),there was a blown up sound truck now & then (for what reason I don't know) Mountain w/felix & corky riot,Winter. Back then there were lots of riots...one had to learn the art of 'self preservation' & rock concerts were not for the 'faint of heart' in those days.
I can remember broken glass flying all around me or Riot police in full armour marching in unison towards us in the stadium. From what I remember it was the 'wild west' of concerts & one never really knew what to expect!! But it was all about those 'special moments' of shows that made it all worth it!! ...like Duane & the Allman Bros,or Page & Zeppelin the 1st time or Tull & fires...the riots were just 'background noise' & forgotten really fast.It was all about the Show & music
[Edited on 10/10/2014 by bettyhynes]
I remember that,sly stone...in fact I remember lots of riots; Zeppelin,Stones,Sly (was always cancelling,or late or just no-show),there was a blown up sound truck now & then (for what reason I don't know) Mountain w/felix & corky riot,Winter. Back then there were lots of riots...one had to learn the art of 'self preservation' & rock concerts were not for the 'faint of heart' in those days.
I can remember broken glass flying all around me or Riot police in full armour marching in unison towards us in the stadium. From what I remember it was the 'wild west' of concerts & one never really knew what to expect!! But it was all about those 'special moments' of shows that made it all worth it!! ...like Duane & the Allman Bros,or Page & Zeppelin the 1st time or Tull & fires...the riots were just 'background noise' & forgotten really fast.It was all about the Show & music
[Edited on 10/10/2014 by bettyhynes]
I remember that,sly stone...in fact I remember lots of riots; Zeppelin,Stones,Sly (was always cancelling,or late or just no-show),there was a blown up sound truck now & then (for what reason I don't know) Mountain w/felix & corky riot,Winter. Back then there were lots of riots...one had to learn the art of 'self preservation' & rock concerts were not for the 'faint of heart' in those days.
I can remember broken glass flying all around me or Riot police in full armour marching in unison towards us in the stadium. From what I remember it was the 'wild west' of concerts & one never really knew what to expect!! But it was all about those 'special moments' of shows that made it all worth it!! ...like Duane & the Allman Bros,or Page & Zeppelin the 1st time or Tull & fires...the riots were just 'background noise' & forgotten really fast.It was all about the Show & music
[Edited on 10/10/2014 by bettyhynes]
Great post bettyhynes!
I sent you a pm
thx,those were the days...you'd leave the concert at 2 am & there'd either be riot police still hangin' around or Jesus freaks out in the streets....It made for an interesting time
