success in that more than 30,000 young folks flocked to the outdoor festival and filled it to overflow capacity but ultimately a failure, as many of those concert goers were a bit too enthusiastic (i.e., rowdy) for the likes of the conservative hoity toity Newport residents – the festival was banished to New York city from 1971 - 1981.  But that ’69 festival was memorable and included Sly and Family Stone, Jethro Tull, Jeff Beck, Ten Years After, Johnny Winter, Blood Sweat & Tears, John Mayall, Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, and Led Zeppelin.  Add that to the more traditional jazz artists such as Rashaan Roland Kirk, Sun Ra, Bill Evans, Gary Burton, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, and R&B and blues acts such as James Brown and B.B. King and you’ve got several days and nights of music to text message home about, but cell phones were still decades off.  We camped on the adjoining hillside, partook in the reveling and extracurricular merriment and kicked off the Summer of ’69 in style.

The 1969 Newport Jazz Festival was overshadowed by Woodstock but for those who'd like to read more about the cultural dynamics at Newport, especially the chasm between the traditional jazz afficionados and the rock n' roll newcomers, check out, Was Newport 1969 the Altamont of Jazz?   The role of music festivals in shaping the jazz-rock fusion debate         

In between music festivals we racked up lots of miles and memories.  We’d pull into towns with shaggy shoulder length hair flowing in the breeze.  Looking conspicuously grungy, we became a magnet for all the local hippies, played the role of Woodstock Pied Pipers, and spread the gospel.  In many stops along the way we were greeted as counter culture heroes – living out the fantasy of ultimate freedom and were offered places to roll out our sleeping bags in back yards or an occasional free meal or libation.  When on our own, we’d find a local campground, church or cemetery to set up camp.  As veterans of Newport we had lots of credibility and stories to share.  A bit further down the road we found a campground that actually had a small television set up for everyone to crowd around and watch the first manned moon landing.  I still recall sharing that surreal moment - the ultimate culmination of high tech human innovation - with a bunch of strangers around a campfire in the middle of the woods. One small step for man, one more marshmallow for the coals.