Wolfgang's Vault is the world's most exceptional collection of poster art, vintage t-shirts, concert photos, concert tickets and other rock music memorabilia. The Vault's holdings feature the complete archives of legendary rock impresario Bill Graham, whose headliners included Johnny Cash, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Chuck Berry, Janis Joplin, Aerosmith, Jefferson Airplane, AC/DC and Phish. Here, you'll find rock posters, concert photos, remarkably preserved vintage t-shirts and more from over 17.000 concerts worldwide.
There's only one place you can hear Bill Graham introduce the Allman Brothers at the Fillmore East, Steve Miller ask for more PA volume at Winterland, or Robert Plant kill time with the Fillmore audience while Jimmy Page re-tunes in the background. It's the same place you can listen to the greatest live music of all time in full concert format.
Bill Graham launched the rock and roll concert industry in the mid-1960s. From then until his sudden death in a 1991 helicopter crash, he and his company Bill Graham Presents promoted more than 35,000 concerts worldwide at venues including the Fillmore West and Winterland in San Francisco and the legendary Fillmore East in New York City. Graham's first venue, the ground-breaking Fillmore Auditorium, was home to many of rock's greatest performers; Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Chuck Berry, The Grateful Dead, Otis Redding and Jefferson Airplane.
Graham also taped thousands of live performances and stored the tapes in the basement of the BGP headquarters. No one is quite sure what he intended to do with these recordings; in any case these tapes and the concerts they captured lay dormant until the Bill Graham archive was acquired by Wolfgang's Vault (Bill Graham's given first name was Wolfgang) in 2003.
We're now presenting these concerts in their entirety in the Concert Vault. The Concert Vault broadcasts unaltered, live-performance music from many of the greatest bands of the last 40 years. Listeners hear what the band played that night; nothing more, nothing less and nothing short of incredible.
It's not Heaven, though it may feel like Heaven to rock music purists. It's the Concert Vault, the world's greatest collection of vintage concert recordings.
Where does it come from? In 2003, Wolfgang's Vault acquired master recordings from the archives of Bill Graham Presents. These live concerts were recorded at legendary venues like the Fillmore East and Winterland between 1965 and the late 1980s.
In early 2006, Wolfgang's Vault augmented the Graham archives by acquiring the archives of the King Biscuit Flower Hour, the nationally famous syndicated rock radio broadcasts of live concerts from the 1970s and '80s. Also added the Silver Eagle Cross Country archive of country music concerts in 2006.
CHUCK BERRY
with the Steve Miller Blues Band
Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA
March 19 / 1967
Chuck Berry - guitar, vocals
Steve Miller - guitar, harmonica
Jim Peterman - keyboards
Lonnie Turner - bass
Tim Davis - drums
Licensed by ASCAP, BMI and SESAC
© Wolfgang's Vault 2007
There are those who will argue that it was Chuck Berry, not Little Richard or Elvis, who was the real architect of rock'n'roll. In reality, it was the combined influence of all those early rock pioneers that built the foundation of this style of music, but Chuck Berry certainly was one of the four main cornerstones. This show, recorded at the Fillmore West in March, 1967, took place during a time when Berry was enjoying somewhat of a resurgence in his career, mostly thanks to the successful "rock'n'revival" concerts shat were then being spearheaded by east coast promoter Richard Nader. These shows introduced Berry to the hippie generation, who knew little about the man that introduced us to "Johnny B. Goode" and "Roll Over Beethoven," even though everyone from the Beatles to the Jimi Hendrix Experience were covering his songs. His influence was omnipresent during the time this concert was captured; even Brian Wilson was calling his group, the Beach Boys: "the four lads backed by Chuck Berry".
This historic recording marks the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship that Berry would enjoy with promoter Bill Graham, who booked him often at both Fillmores East and West during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The night this show was recorded, Berry shared the bill with the Grateful Dead. Berry grew his hair longer and donned bell-bottoms for this show, but never changed his sound or style. The show was a virtual greatest hits package, with Berry faithfully re-creating such 1950s classics as "School Days", "Reelin And Rockin", "Let It Rock" and, of course, "Johnny B. Goode." Of special note: during this show, Berry played a little known risqué gem called "My Ding A Ling" which in 1972 became his last Top 10 hit.
CHUCK BERRY
with the Steve Miller Blues Band
Winterland, San Francisco, CA
December 29 / 1967
Chuck Berry - guitar, vocals
Steve Miller - guitar, harmonica
James Curly Cooke - guitar
Jim Peterman - keyboards
Lonnie Turner - bass
Tim Davis - drums
Licensed by ASCAP, BMI and SESAC
© Wolfgang's Vault 2007
Bill Graham invited Chuck Berry to perform many times during 1967. San Francisco audiences embraced the man, inspiring some of his finest performances of the era. In June of that year, Berry even recorded a live album at Fillmore Auditorium, backed by the Steve Miller Band, who greatly contributed to his San Francisco sets being so memorable. Fans of Berry's Live at the Fillmore Auditorium album will be pleased to discover that little of the material from that album is repeated here.
This December 1967 set, taken from a bill headlining with local heavyweights Quicksilver Messenger Service and Big Brother and the Holding Company (featuring Janis Joplin), shows Berry in fine form. Once again, the Steve Miller Band was recruited to back him. By this point, it had become a fruitful pairing, with Berry feeling comfortable enough to experiment. Always an audience to embrace spontaneity, the Fillmore crowd encouraged Berry to stretch out more than usual, and he even veers off into a jam here and there.
The mix on the recording favors Berry's guitar, and his playing is often revealed as being more technically proficient than he gets credit for. All the classic riffs are here, but it's the fluidity in the way he expresses them that’s really impressive. The rhythm section of Lonnie Turner and Tim Davis also deserve recognition, as they propel this music and provide a distinctive punch that brings out the best in Berry.
Many of the familiar classics are here, and they've rarely sounded better in a live context. Some of the highlights include outstanding versions of "Around And Around", "Let It Rock," "Sweet Little Sixteen" and an impressive jam on "Memphis" that proves the San Francisco music scene was indeed having an effect on Berry's approach. "Don't Lie To Me," which begins the encore, lets Berry flourish as the bluesman he is before closing with more classic rock ‘n’ roll.
This may be the finest Chuck Berry performance of 1967, full of energy and backed by a band with far more empathy and experience than his usual pickup bands. Keith Richards based an entire career on the riffs heard here, and at his best, the English axeman sounds remarkably similar to the Berry featured on this recording. The mix could be better balanced, but those interested in rock ‘n’ roll guitar will be thoroughly delighted regardless – Berry comes through loud and clear.
Go to the concerts at Wolfgang's Vault
Many thank's to Peter Kaleta
for the information about these concerts.
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