VH1 Rock Docs » Ep. 110

The Monterey International Pop Festival was nothing short of a defining moment in rock and roll history. The three-day event, held June 16-18, 1967, ushered in the Summer of Love, featured an unprecedented bill of racially and musically diverse acts, set the stage for a number of similar festivals in the next few years, and for three days, pretty much showed that rock had the power to change the world, as 200,000 people grooved on music and each other in complete peace and harmony. "Monterey 40" will tell the story of this historic event from it's conception by producer/songwriter/impresario Lou Adler and Mamas and Papas leader John Philips, to it's lasting impact from the perspective of the performing musicians, organizers and audience members. We will explore the events leading up to the festival such as how Philips and Adler asked bands to perform on their own dime on short notice and how the event served as a launching pad for several artists, including Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and Otis Redding.