Bill Graham (promoter)
Graham was killed in a helicopter crash near Vallejo, California in 1991, while returning home from a Huey Lewis and The News concert at the Concord Pavilion.[5] Graham had attended the event to discuss promoting a benefit concert for the victims of the 1991 Oakland firestorm, after a large portion of the Oakland/Berkeley Hills burned.
Once he had obtained the commitment from the News to perform, he returned to his helicopter, but was stopped by the bass player from the band, Mario Cippolina, who, in a moment of foresight, pressed Graham, unsuccessfully, to take his limousine. The helicopter crashed shortly after take-off, just 20 miles from the concert site.
Flying in weather reported as low overcast, rain and gusty winds, the aircraft flew directly into a 223-foot high-voltage tower along Hwy 37, which runs between Vallejo and Marin County.
Also killed in the crash was Graham's girlfriend, Melissa Gold, ex-wife of author Herbert Gold,[citation needed] and pilot Steve Kahn.
Graham was married one time to a San Francisco artist named Bonnie McLean and had had several long-term relationships. He was survived by his sisters and two sons, David Graham and Alex Graham, as well as his stepson, Thomas Sult.
Following his death, his company, Bill Graham Presents, was taken over by a group of employees. Graham's sons remained a core part of the new management team. The new owners sold the company to SFX Promotions, which in turn sold the company to Clear Channel Entertainment. The BGP staff did not embrace the Clear Channel name, and several members of the Graham staff eventually left the company, including former President/CEO Gregg Perloff and former Senior Vice President Sherry Wasserman, who started their own company, Another Planet Entertainment. Eventually Clear Channel separated itself from concert promotion and formed Live Nation, which is managed by senior Clear Channel management. Live Nation is now the world's largest concert production/promotion company.
In tribute, the San Francisco Civic Auditorium was renamed the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. On November 3 1991, a free concert called Laughter, Love and Music was held at Golden Gate Park to honour Graham, Gold and Kahn.[6] An estimated 300,000 people attended to view many of the entertainment acts Graham had supported including Santana, Grateful Dead, John Fogerty, Robin Williams, Journey, and a reunited Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.[7]
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See also
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Further reading
- Bill Graham Presents: My Life Inside Rock And Out, re-published 2004. (By Robert Greenfield and Bill Graham) ISBN 0-306-81349-1
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References
- ^ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1028677.html
- ^ http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB0D9644100A6BC&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
- ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5D61131F934A15753C1A967958260
- ^ http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/93-94/bill/sen/sb_0801-0850/sb_815_cfa_930429_142654_sen_comm
- ^ Bill Graham, Rock Impresario, Dies at 60 in Crash. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-4-17.
- ^ Laughter, Love and Music. Dead.net. Retrieved on 2008-4-17.
- ^ California Whirls. The Vid. Retrieved on 2008-4-17.
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External links
- Bill Graham Foundation
- Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
- Bill Graham (promoter) at Find A Grave Retrieved on 2008-04-03
- Interview with Robert Greenfield
- Concert Archive Draws Digital Suit - Dec 2006 MP3 Newswire article about the fight over Wolfgang's Vault and the digital rights to the Bill Graham concert legacy.
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