Chet Helms Dies at 62; Father of San Francisco’s Summer of Love
NY Times
Chet Helms, known as the father of the Summer of Love and the rock promoter who brought Janis Joplin to San Francisco, died here on Saturday. He was 62. The cause was complications of a stroke, his family said.
Mr. Helms was the founder and manager of Big Brother and the Holding Company, with Joplin as its legendary lead singer. He helped stage free concerts and Human Be-ins at Golden Gate Park, which became the backdrop for the Summer of Love in San Francisco in 1967.
He was the first producer of psychedelic light-show concerts at the Fillmore and the Avalon Ballroom and was instrumental in helping to develop bands delivering the San Francisco sound.
“Without Chet, there would be no Grateful Dead, no Big Brother and the Holding Company, no Jefferson Airplane, no Country Joe and the Fish, no Quicksilver Messenger Service,” said Barry Melton, the lead guitarist for Country Joe and the Fish. “He wasn’t just a promoter; he was a supporter of music and art. He supported people emotionally, psychologically and psychically. He made the scene what it was.”
Chester Leo Helms was born in Santa Maria, Calif., in 1942, and spent most of his youth in Missouri and Texas, where he helped stage benefits for civil and human rights groups. He moved from Austin to San Francisco in 1962, returning once to persuade Joplin, an old college friend, to hitchhike back with him.
He united Joplin with Big Brother for jam sessions in a Haight-Ashbury basement. They made their debut in June 1966 at the Avalon, officially starting Joplin’s career as a rock diva.
Mr. Helms and Bill Graham worked together to produce three shows at the Fillmore Auditorium that year before Mr. Graham went off on his own to build the Fillmore into one of the most important rock venues in history. Mr. Helms continued producing concerts under his Family Dog company at the Avalon, an old dance academy at Sutter Street and Van Ness Avenue.
Mr. Helms eventually dropped out of the concert business for a time in 1970, but he proudly sported a grizzled beard and long hair topped by a hat throughout much of his adult life.
“Chet was a hippie,” said Mickey Hart, drummer for the Grateful Dead. “We were all hippies. He hated to charge for the music.”
