The Summer Jam at Watkins Glen
Today in 1973, the ABB play for 600,000
Today’s the 52nd anniversary of the 1973 Summer Jam at Watkins Glen, NY. An epic concert weekend that included the Band, the Grateful Dead, and what was long the largest concert audience in history.
The ABB’s show has never circulated, but “Come & Go Blues” from Wipe the Windows1 was recorded at Watkins Glen. (Love that album.)
[NB: Edit of a post from July 2023.]
The 1973 Summer Jam at Watkins Glen, NY is commonly called Watkins Glen. Though the promoters sold in excess of 150,000 tickets at $10, more than 600,000 people attended. Yes, like Woodstock, a significant amount of attendees did so for free.
The event is far less legendary but equally as trouble-free as Woodstock, held four years earlier in Bethel Woods, NY. The Allman Brothers headlined the event, on a bill that included the other two pillars of American rock music at the time: the Grateful Dead and the Band.
The Allman Brothers Band and Festivals
The Allman Brothers Band had been regulars on festival circuits from nearly the beginning. They didn’t play Woodstock. They were in NYC recording their debut album and I believe they made the journey partway before giving up because of the traffic.
They played the Winter’s End Festival in Bithlo, Florida2, outside of Orlando. They opened and closed the 2nd Atlanta Pop Festival July 3-5, 1970 and were a headliner at Love Valley, North Carolina July 17-19.
Then, festivals pretty much stopped for a couple of years. Politicians, objecting to the sex and drugs that came with the rock & roll, passed laws against them. Promoters had a hard time making money anyway, with all the gate-crashers.
The ABB was scheduled to play the 1971 Newport Jazz Festival, part of an attempt by organizers to add contemporary sounds to the bill. Thousands of youth stormed the gates, demanding free admission like at Woodstock, Atlanta Pop, and Love Valley. Organizers canceled the festival two days early, meaning the ABB did not play.3
Mar y Sol 1972
The group (sans Duane) also played the 1972 Mar y Sol Festival Pop, April 1-3. Held 30 miles west of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was the first rock festival held in the Caribbean. Atlanta-based Alex Cooley promoted the show, which included a killer lineup but was plagued by logistical problems for the estimated 35,000 attendees.4
1973 Summer Jam at Watkins Glen
and I talked about Watkins Glen a bit on the debut episode of Long Live the ABB in Conversation. His new book, Brothers and Sisters, covers it extensively.
Watkins Glen is a really cool story. The three bands were all at the top of their games, and the ABB and Dead were in a short-lived, fruitful collaboration period.
To quell the growing crowds, each group played a live sound check on Friday (the Dead played two sets) and then played full sets on Saturday 7/28.
The Dead opened the show on Saturday, followed by the Band.
The ABB closed with a two-set show that includes this gorgeous version of “Come & Go Blues” from the Wipe the Windows live album5 and a 12-minute “Mountain Jam” featuring Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir.
And while the Allman Brothers headlined the show and were one of the biggest bands in the country at the time, their entire set was not officially recorded (though bootlegs do exist). It’s a damn shame.
The Band’s album Live at Watkins Glen is a fraud—not recorded at Watkins Glen (it may not even be live).6 The Dead have released portions of their Friday night soundcheck and bootlegs circulate of their full sets.7
Jimmy Carter in ABB shirt.
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GREGG ALLMAN
"A show like Watkins Glen was uncomfortable, because you know that you’re getting the show across to this many people, but you still got two times that many behind them. You could finish a song, take your guitar off, put it in the case, and latch it up before the last guy heard the last note. Sound ain’t all that fast, not compared to light.
It’s hard to get any kind of coziness, any kind of feel with the audience. I guess there’s something about that many people seeing you all at once that’s real nice, but it’s just too much. You’re just like a little squeak in the middle of a bomb going off. But it was interesting, and it was a pretty fun day....
And of course, Uncle Bill was there, which cured everything. It was exciting to be there and see it—and to be able to make ’em stand up, now that was something else."
BILL KREUTZMANN, GRATEFUL DEAD
"The memory that I’m most fond of and hold most dear from that whole weekend was jamming backstage with Jaimoe, one of the Allmans’ drummers. We were just sitting in the dressing room, banging out rhythms, and that was a lot of fun for me.
Jaimoe backed Otis Redding and Sam & Dave before becoming a founding member of the Allman Brothers, where he remains to this day. He’s a soulful drummer and just an incredible guy who is impossible not to like."
ROBBIE ROBERTSON, THE BAND, locals who didn't really want the gig (speaking in 1974):
“We didn’t want to play Watkins Glen at all. We were in a mood; we thought tours, those things, it’s only the money, that’s the only reason that you do it. But we were talked into it. You know the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, really terrific people, and it was just one of those ‘Oh, come on . . . it’s just up the road. You don’t have to really go out of your way.’ You know. ‘Don’t be a spoil sport.’ That’s what happened.”
Chuck Leavell
Chuck Leavell was all of 21 and an Allman Brother for less than a year when he played Watkins Glen.
“Garcia knew I was the new guy in the Allmans. He went out of his way to come over and make me feel welcome. He asked me if I knew 'Wake Up, Little Suzie’ and before I could reply, we were running through it together.
The room stopped chatting and everyone quietly turned their attention on us. It was the first time I felt the attention that someone like Garcia commanded.
I looked around and there was Butch Trucks, laughing.
‘Welcome to the big time, rookie.’”
🍄 LONG LIVE THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND 🍄
This always blows my mind. That laconic jam was recorded in front of more than a half-million people!
Shout-out to Biggie, the Town Star Sheriff.
Here’s a great video about the ABB’s attempt to play Newport: festival organizer (and ABB fan) George Wein talking with Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi.
The Dreams box set from 1989 included “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” from Mar y Sol, the first 5-man band track I ever heard. There was a lot of power in that lineup, however pained they all were.