In the late '60s, rock promoter Bill Graham purchased a theater in New York called 'The Village Theater,' and renamed it the 'Fillmore East.' At the time of the purchase, the theater had fallen into a state of disrepair. It was originally built in the 1920s as a Yiddish theater, and had changed ownership a few times, even being a Loews movie theater at some point. The theater had a capacity of almost 2,700 (some sites say 3,600). After renovations, the Fillmore East opened on March 8, 1968 (48 years ago today) with a concert by Big Brother & The Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin, with support from Tim Buckley and Albert King.
Bill was known to mix different types of music on the same bill, as illustrated by opening night acts Big Brother (psychedelic rock), Tim Buckley (folk singer), and Albert King (blues guitarist).
The Fillmore East was an east coast version of Bill Graham's Fillmore Theater in San Francisco, and he would book two shows per night with multiple acts, and many acts would alternate between the east coast venue and the west coast venue.
Bands too numerous to mention performed at the Fillmore East; including Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Miles Davis, The Doors, Grateful Dead, Spirit, Jethro Tull, The Who, Allman Brothers Band, Santana, Joe Cocker, Van Morrison, and more.
Numerous well-known artists also recorded and released live albums from performances at the Fillmore East, including the Grateful Dead, Miles Davis, Allman Brothers Band, Neil Young & Crazyhorse, Jefferson Airplane, King Crimson and more.
A little over three years after it opened, Bill Graham would close the Fillmore East. The final concert was on June 27, 1971, with The Allman Brothers Band, The J. Geils Band, Albert King, and special surprise guests – Edgar Winter's White Trash, Mountain, The Beach Boys, and Country Joe McDonald – in an invitation-only performance.
A few years ago, musician Elvin Bishop was asked what the difference was between the Fillmore East, and concerts now. "Today, you can’t visualize a big venue like that letting people jam until four or five in the morning. It’s just so cold-blooded about the money these days. Nowadays the venues sell those tickets, they do the show and they get your ass out of there and that’s it."
The building that formerly housed the Fillmore East is now a bank.
In 2007 Live Nation renovated the New York City venue 'Irving Plaza' and changed the name to the 'Fillmore New York.' Three years later they would admit the name never was accepted, and they changed it back to Irving Plaza.
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On September 8, 1945 Ronald McKernan was born. Nicknamed 'Pigpen' for his funky way of life and sanitation, he was a founding member of the Grateful Dead. He befriended Jerry Garcia and played with him in a few bands, before suggesting they start their own band. He played harmonica and organ, and was the original frontman for the Grateful Dead. Over time, he would play a gradually declining role in the band.
Pigpen was heavily influenced by the blues, and was the one who brought most of the old blues songs into the Dead's repertoire. His father was a blues DJ who went by the name 'Cool Breeze.' He had a unique look, often looking like a Hell's Angel biker. As Garcia and Phil Lesh became more involved in psychedelic drugs and music, Pigpen struggled to keep up with the changing music. Due to this, the band hired a second keyboardist, Tom Constanten, who was friends with Pigpen.
Pigpen did not share his friends' newfound joy of psychedelics, but very much enjoyed whiskey, wine, Thunderbird, and Southern Comfort. In 1968 Garcia and Lesh felt Bob Weir and Pigpen were holding them back musically, and told their manager at the time to fire them. Weir promised to improve and stayed, Pigpen was upset, but after 3 days also vowed to improve, and stayed with the band. He started taking music lessons. However at this point, Tom Constanten was a full member of the band and did most keyboard work, with Pigen being relegated to percussion instruments and some vocals.
In the early '70s Tom Constanten left the band, and Pigpen was then sole keyboardist for some time, until declining health forced the band to hire Keith Godchaux to play keyboards. Diagnosed with congenital cirrhosis, Pigpen was advised by doctors to stop touring as his health deteriorated. He went on to tour Europe in 1972 with the band, the well-known "Europe '72 tour." He played his last show as a member of the Grateful Dead in June 1972. On March 8, 1973, aged 27 he was found dead of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage at his home. Prior to his death, he broke off all contact with his former band members, saying he didn't want his friends to see him die.
His death hit his fellow band members hard. Garcia spoke at his funeral, saying "We can go on calling ourselves the Grateful Dead, but we all knew this was the end of the original Grateful Dead." Many of the songs Pigpen used to sing continued on with the band, with Garcia or Weir handling lead vocals.
Pigpen was good friends with Janis Joplin, and a few times she joined the Dead to duet with him on "Turn On Your Lovelight." Pigpen, Janis, Jimi, and Jim Morrison, all died at age 27.
