In the mid 1960s a heavy drug scene had developed in the
San Francisco Bay area and a number of musical groups formed that were
connected to the scene. Some of the musicians in these groups experimented
with hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD and tended to be uninterested in the
typical rock scenes found elsewhere.
Among the earliest groups to emerge was Big Brother and the Holding
Company, Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Grateful Dead, and The Jefferson
Airplane. There really wasn't such a thing as the San Francisco
sound per se but there were some common elements to many of the groups
that were there at the time. The music borrowed from the blues, jugband
music, folk, and also sometimes had qualities associated with Indian Raga
style music. The heydey of this era was from about 1966-70.
Big Brother and the Holding Company. This group was fronted by Janis
Joplin, a singer from Port Arthur, Texas who had come to the Bay Area in
search of a band. She had a gravelly, raw voice and a charismatic stage
presence. The album she did with the band in 1968 (Cheap Thrills) made it to
#1 and featured her wild, energetic vocals on tunes like A Piece Of
My Heart and Summertime. She left the group after only two years
and formed her own band Full Tilt Boogie. She died of a heroin overdose in
1970 at age 27.
The Grateful Dead. This group was closely connected to the Acid Tests
that author Ken Kesey and chemist Owsley Stanley organized. The strongest
musical personality in the band was guitarist Jerry Garcia, but the band
tended to make decisions as a group. They were legendary for their live
performances that could last for hours and feature tunes that were 20 or 30
minutes long. Their group improvising was uneven and could be either
inspired or insipid but the people who loved them REALLY loved them. The
band developed an intensely loyal cult following (Deadheads) that still
survives today in spite of Garcia's death in 1995. Some of their best work
is on their first album Grateful Dead (1967) and Live Dead
(1970).
Jefferson Airplane. The Jefferson Airplane was the first of the Bay Area
groups to get a major label contract and their 2nd album,
Surrealistic Pillow (1967) reached #3 nationally. Led by vocalists Grace
Slick and Marty Balin, their songs Somebody To Love and White
Rabbit resonated deeply with a youth that was fascinated by drugs and
disturbed by the political climate in the U.S. at the time.
Quicksilver Messenger Service. Guitarist and vocalist John Cipollina led
this band which was distinguished by tight arrangements and the twin
guitars of Cipollina and Gary Duncan. Their first album was released
in 1968 and featured a great version of Hamilton Camp's Pride of Man
as well as a cover of the Buffy St. Marie song, Codine.
Son of San Francisco Sound
These bands are not less important than those listed above; they were
chronologically a little later, that's all.
The Steve Miller Band. Miller was born in Milwaukee and raised in Dallas,
Texas. He got his first guitar lesson at age 5 from a family friend---the
friend was Les Paul! Another family friend let him jam on a record about 5
years later, that was T-Bone Walker! Through the late 50s and early 60s
Miller gigged around Texas and played with the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin'
Wolf, The Butterfield Blues Band, and James Cotton. In 1966 he moved to San
Francisco and formed the Steve Miller Band. His group was soon performing in
concert with the Quicksilver Messenger Service, Buffalo Springfield, the
Doors, and the Grateful Dead. Their first album, Children of the
Future, was released in 1968. Miller's band featured simple but catchy
tunes that had more of a pop sound than the other Bay Area groups.
Moby Grape. This group formed in San Francisco in 1966 and consisted of
two Californians, a Canadian, and two members from the Northwest (Seattle
and Tacoma). The group had a three guitar lineup and strong vocals in tight,
well-crafted songs. Their self-titled debut album came out in 1967.
Santana. Carlos Santana was born in Autlan' de Navarro, Mexico. His
family moved to San Francisco in 1963 and he graduated from Mission High
School there in 1965 before forming the Carlos Santana Blues Band the
following year. The band played around the area while Santana held a job as
a dishwasher at the Tick Tock Drive In Diner. In 1968 the bands name changed
to Santana and two additional percussionists were added creating a very
Latin sound. Two of Santana's early big hits (both in 1971) were covers---Black
Magic Woman and Oye Como Va. Santana's spare guitar solos and the
band's dense percussion section gave the group its characteristic sound.
