A Perfect Haze

The first major rock music festival and the precursor to Woodstock, the Monterey International Pop Festival was an unprecedented gathering of pop, soul, jazz, and folk artists who took the stage one luminous weekend during the "Summer of Love.? On the 16th, 17th, and 18th of June, 1967, the sleepy California coastal community of Monterey played host to the now-legendary concert. In its aftermath, the world of popular culture was transformed forever. The '60s were now upon us with a soundtrack, a style, and a political and social sensibility all its own.

A Perfect Haze is the official history of this glorious festival. With the endorsement and support of producer Lou Adler and the Monterey International Pop Festival Foundation, the sights and sounds of the festival come to life in this extravagant compilation of photography, memorabilia, and first-hand accounts by musicians, fans, crew members, and others who attended the concert. To read its pages is to step back in time to the moment of rock's big bang, when Jimi Hendrix, the Who, Otis Redding, Ravi Shankar, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and dozens more set the stage on fire-both metaphorically and, in one iconic instance, literally!

Dozens of musicians and others associated with the festival have been interviewed exclusively for the book, including Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, Bob Weir, Ravi Shankar, D. A. Pennebaker, Andrew Loog Oldham, Steve Cropper, Booker T. Jones, and Al Kooper, as well as members of Jefferson Airplane, the Association, Moby Grape, and Canned Heat.

A Perfect Haze is packed with hundreds of photographs taken both in front of the stage and behind the scenes, including works by such notable artists as Henry Diltz, Elaine Mayes, and Nurit Wilde. Festival programs, posters, advertisements, album covers, and other ephemera-most of which has never been seen before-are also included, provided by Lou Adler, the festival's nonprofit foundation, collectors, participants, and fans who attended the event.

Even more than Woodstock, the Monterey International Pop Festival was the epicenter of a youthquake whose aftershocks continue to reverberate throughout our 21st-century culture. A Perfect Haze evokes this magic event in all its kaleidoscopic glory.

Auteur

Harvey Kubernik has been a noted popular music journalist and record producer for over 30 years. A former West Coast director of A&R for MCA Records, Kubernik is the author of four books, including Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and the Music of Laurel Canyon (Sterling). Kubernik's writings on popular music have been published nationally and internationally in the Los Angeles Times, MOJO, Goldmine, Musician, Melody Maker, Crawdaddy!, the Los Angeles Free Press, and many others. His work has also been included in several book anthologies, including The Rolling Stone Book of the Beats (Hyperion) and Drinking with Bukowski (Thunder's Mouth). Kubernik has penned liner notes on dozens of albums by a diverse group of artists including Elvis Presley, Allen Ginsberg, Carole King, and the Ramones. He lives in Los Angeles.

Kenneth Kubernik is a contributor to Variety and is a former editor of Music Connection magazine. He has contributed to the Los Angeles Times and MIX magazine, where he also served as a contributing editor. Kubernik served as an editorial consultant on Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and the Music of Laurel Canyon (Sterling). As a keyboardist and record producer, he has worked on several internationally acclaimed jazz recordings. He lives in Los Angeles.

Lou Adler is the legendary producer of the Monterey International Pop Festival. He has also produced for Sam Cooke, the Mamas and the Papas, Johnny Rivers, Barry McGuire, Scott McKenzie, Merry Clayton, Spirit, and Carole King, whose landmark album Tapestry earned Adler Grammy Awards for Album and Song of the Year. In 1975, Adler produced the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and in 1978, he produced and directed the movie Up in Smoke, starring Cheech and Chong. Adler owns the world-famous Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. He lives in Malibu.

Michelle Phillips is a singer, songwriter, and actress. She gained fame as a member of the Mamas and the Papas, co-wrote their hit "California Dreamin',? and is the last surviving original member of the group. Phillips has also had a successful career as an actress, appearing in dozens of television shows and feature films, including Dillinger, The California Kid, Valentino, Fantasy Island, Star Trek, Spin City, and Knots Landing. She is the author of California Dreamin': The True Story of the Mamas and the Papas. She lives in Los Angeles.