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We who cherish those sunny days when music was the commonality and cultural acceptance was the rule of the day, any death of a “mover & shaker”, a pillar of our basic existence as “flower children” brings the harsh reality of our own existence. We seem to be of less importance while dealing with a mourning period and pondering over the void that has been left. There is no shape or color that defines the deeds of these noted, legendary people, but their nurturing of the tumultuous sixties and following years have allowed us to revere the past and brace for the future.
It’s just a few months after the untimely demise of my friend Chet Helms and the cloak of darkness and despair has been somewhat alleviated by The Chet Fest at GAMH in San Francisco in July and the subsequent all day Chet Helms Memorial in Speedway Meadow, i.e., Golden Gate Park on October 29th. Tribal Stomp indeed as aging icons inclusive of Paul Kantner, Country Joe McDonald, Lydia Pense, Annie Sampson, Barry Melton, Prairie Prince, Jerry Miller of Moby Grape, Terry Haggerty, Merl Saunders, Dave & Linda LaFlamme, The Charlatans David Freiberg, Pete Sears, Peter kaukonen, Lee Michaels, Harvey Mandel, Eric Burdon, the newer versions of Jefferson Airplane chanteuse personalities, Darby Gould & the sultry Diana Mangano…and the return of legendary bass player Dickie Peterson.
It was the late sixties and with the youth of America in search of their own identity, the burgeoning political drama in a useless struggle in Vietnam swirling through the air on a regimented basis, the pilgrimage to the hippie capital of the world seemed imminent.
The” big five” had made their mark on the now embryonic genre known as psychedelia and Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, The Charlatans, Big Brother & The Holding Company and Quicksilver messenger Service would forever be synonymous with the suburban area adjacent to Golden Gate Park. The Matrix, The Ark, The Carasoul Club, The Fillmore Auditorium, The Fillmore West, Winterland, and The Avalon Ballroom would become a second home to these legendary bands but there were others who established a definitive cult following within the parameters of the counter culture and entrepreneurs like Bill Graham & Chet Helms.
Sons Of Champlain, It’s A beautiful Day, Moby Grape, Steve Miller Blues Band, and…Blue Cheer. Chet often spoke about his admiration for Dickie and as a youthful malcontent after the military; I saw the band during the early days as a power trio.
Much like Jack Casady, Dickie was the prototypical musician/hippie of the day with perfect hair, adorned with the correct attire for a fledgling band amidst the backdrop of bare feet, flaxen haired women and the rolling knolls of Hippie Hill and Haight Street.
How proud Chet would have been to see the masses come to celebrate the life of one of the last true “hippies” on this planet.
After years in Europe the following for Dickie Peterson has not drifted into the recesses of our minds and after his blistering performance with Leigh Stevens and Prairie Prince on the 29th, and a return to continental United States, we wait to see the second coming of Blue Cheer. He’s a link to the glory of the sixties, The Golden Age of “rock n roll” and as he lives and breathes the ideology of the day, we do the same. There are but precious few of his ilk left and it is our responsibility to se that his name and impact on the genre and culture is not forgotten.
As I promised Chet, I will do the same for Dickie; I think he deserves that much from all of us.
As always,
Cheers
Don Aters – Haight Street Music News – 11/14/05
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