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Previously, LET IT BLEED was only available from Rhino in extremely L
limited and deluxe editions for $650 and $950, respectively.
Demand is so great that some copies are currently being sold for
nearly $2,000. This reasonably-priced edition will prove irresistible
to the Rolling Stoness many fans.
2009 will be the 40th anniversary of the Stoness Let It Bleed tour, L
and the media will devote considerable attention to the events that
transpired at Altamont.
Ethan A. Russell is a multi-Grammy Award-nominated producer, L
director, and photographer. He is the only photographer to have
shot album covers for three of the dening bands of the 1960s:
The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame plans to have an exhibit of L
photographs from LET IT BLEED at the time of publication.
PRAISE FOR ETHAN RUSSELL:
You think youve seen all there is to see of the Rolling Stones.
You havent. Ethan Russells photographs reveal a completely
different side to the band.The only way youd get closer
would be to join them on tour. The Times (London)
Ethan Russell has taken some of the greatest pictures in rock
and rollmaybe the greatest ever. Bill Wyman
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MARKETI NG
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PUBLICITY
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L1HAN A kUSSLLL WI1H GLkAkO VAN OLk LLUN
27
LET IT
BLEED
The Rolling Stones, Altamont and the End of the Sixties
ETHAN RUSSELL
WI TH GERARD VAN DER LEUN
NEW YORK BOSTON
Cast of Characters 00
Introduction 00
Part I: Looking Back
An Accidental Photographer 00
The House at Pooh Corner 00
Honey, It Aint No Rock and Roll Show 00
Part II: The Tour
Oriole House: The Rolling Stones La Dormitory 00
Under the Cover of Night 00
Start Me Up 00
Got Live If You Want It 00
Stoning the Coliseum 00
Tumblin Dice: What Happens on the Road, Stays on the Road 00
You Cant Always Get What You Want 00
Coming Down 00
No Problem, Weve Done This Hundreds of Times 00
Altamont: We All Need Someone We Can Bleed On... 00
Part III: Aftermath
Gimme Shelter 00
Epilogue: Not Fade Away
Not Fade Away 00
C
O
N
T
E
N
T
S
November 7, 1969
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
November 8, 1969
Inglewood Forum, Los Angeles, CA
November 9, 1969
Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA
November 10, 1969
Sports Arena, San Diego, CA
November 11, 1969
Coliseum, Phoenix, AZ
November 13, 1969
Moody Coliseum, Dallas, TX
November 14, 1969
University of Alabama Coliseum, Auburn, AL
November 15, 1969
Assembly Hall, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL
November 16, 1969
Internatonal Amphitheater, Chicago, IL
November 24, 1969
Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI
November 25, 1969
Spectrum Sports Arena, Philadelphia, PA
November 26, 1969
Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, MD
November 27, 1969
Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
November 28, 1969
Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
November 29
Boston Garden, Boston, MA
November 30, 1969
International Raceway, West Palm Beach, FL
December 6, 1969
Altamont Speedway, Livermore, CA
T
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U
R

D
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E
S
CAST OF CHARACTERS ix Viii CAST OF CHARACTERS
Mick Jagger Singer/Performer (English)
The son of a physical education instructor, Mick Jagger was
born on July 26, 1943, in Dartford, Kent, England. The 1969
US tour was his-and the Stones-first in three years. A
Rolling Stone since 1962, Jagger and the Stones played Rio
de Janeiro in 2006 before a million and a half people.
Keith Richards Guitarist (English)
Keith Richards, an only child, was born in Dartford, Kent,
December 18, 1943. Keith-with Mick Jagger-joined Ian
Stewart and Brian Jones to form the Rolling Stones. Ronnie
Schneider: I could give you a million stories about Keith
being a mans man. I remember a guy comes up and bothers
Charlies wife and Keith smashes him over the head with a beer bottle, while
holding a baby, as he pushes the guy down the stairs.
Bill Wyman Bass Guitar. (English)
Born in 1936, Bill Wyman joined the original Rolling Stones
in 1962. He played with them until 1993. He is fa-mous for
his expressionless immobility on stage. (Ive never met
anyone who moved less than Bill, but he added to the act
tremendously, says Chip Monck. Bill demurs, I used to
sweat a little bit under me arms.) Since his departure in 1993, Bill has pub-
lished several books and still performs and records. He has three young daugh-
ters and a fully grown son, Stephen.
Charlie Watts Drummer (English)
The thing about Charlie Watts, a remarkable legacy, is how
everyone feels motivated to offer such kind observa-tions
about him: The only one, a staunch friend over the years.
Theres such a serene, calm goodness about Charlie.
Charlie was very down-to-earth. He was not playing I am
a great Rolling Stone, rock star. I once heard somebody say, Youre on the
road the whole time. God, it must be hard. Charlie replied, Jesus, musicians
have been doing this since the dawn of time. Weve got it easy. Charlie Watts
was born in Islington on June 2, 1941.
Mick Taylor Guitarist (English)
Born January 17, 1949, in Welwyn Garden City,
Hertfordshire, England. In 1969 Mick Taylor was recruited to
replace Brian Jones, and his addition allowed the Stones to
tour again. Bill Wyman: Mick Taylor became the most
musical person in the band, more technically clever than all
the rest of us. We were just musicians, basically, and he was way above us in
his technique. But he fitted very well. Mick Taylor left the Stones in 1974. He
lives in England, still performs and records..
Ian Stewart Pianist. (Scots)
Brian Jones placed the ad, and Ian Stewart answered it. That
was the beginning of the Rolling Stones. Born in
Pittenweem in the East Neuk, Scotland, in 1938, Stu was
asked to leave the band by their then manager, Andrew
Loog Oldham. He did not look the part, though that was not
the reason given. But Stu stayed with them for the rest of his life. He died in
England in 1985. On the 1969 tour Stu did what he always did: helped get the
band on the stage, performed with them, and was, as Stanley Booth puts it,
the only grown-up. When I sawStu on stage at Altamont, it was the first time
I had ever seen himworried. I knew then we were in trouble.
Ronnie Schneider Tour Manager (American)
Born in New Jersey in 1943, Ronnie Schneider grew up in
Miami. (With that lets party mentality. You have good
weather. You go to the beach. You get a suntan. You pick up
girls. I loved it.) He was on the road with the Stones in
1966. In 1969 Mick Jagger called and asked him to do the
tour without involving Ronnies uncle, Allen Klein.
SamCutler Personal Tour Manager (English)
Born in Londons East End, Sams parents were killed in the
Second World War. He was placed in an orphanage but later
adopted. At fifteen I left home, school, and England, hav-
ing already suffered three mothers and four fathers. As
much as any individual, Sam took the fall for Altamont,
about which hes still angry. Ronnie Schneider: Sam had to disappearhe
went into hiding for quite a long time. He was the most hardworking guy that
Ive ever met. He was definitely driven-I think he was absolutely fantastic at
what he did. The interviews with Sam began in 2000 and were completed in
2006. Hes a central figure, with interesting facets to his story. Samis married
with two children and lives in Australia.
Georgia Jo Bergman
Assistant/Office Manager. (American)
Born in Oakland in 1945, Jo Bergman ran the Rolling Stones
office in London and went on the road with themon multiple
tours from1968 through 1972. During those years little that
had anything to do with the Rolling Stones was outside her
purview. She left to go to Warner Bros. Records, becoming its only female vice
president by the time she retired. She lives in Altadena, California.
Astrid Lundstrom(Swedish)
Born in a small village in northern Sweden in 1947, Astrid
traveled by boat to England in 1966. Within her first month
there she was to meet George Harrison, Paul McCartney,
Jimi Hendrix, and Bill Wyman. She and Bill were together for
seventeen years, and she accompanied him on every tour.
Other than them [the Rolling Stones] I was the only one who was there the
whole time. Today Astrid lives in Tucson, Arizona.
Stanley Booth Writer. (American)
In 1969 Stanley Booth received from the Rolling Stones
their exclusive cooperation in putting together a book
about the Rolling Stones. He devoted fifteen years of his
life to writing it. The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones
has been called by Peter Guralnick the one authentic mas-
terpiece of rock n roll writing. About it Keith Richards says, Stanleys book
is the only one I can read and say, yeah, thats how it was. Born in Georgia in
1942, Stanley first met the Rolling Stones in 1968. Still writing, Stanley lives in
Brunswick, Georgia, with his wife, Diann.
Ethan Russell Photographer. (American)
Born in New York in 1945, Ethan grew up in San Francisco.
He went to London in 1968 as part of a European summer
vacation. He stayed, working initially as a volunteer with
autistic children while trying to be a writer. He had taken a
fewphotos in college. Seen by a young journalist writing for
a newmagazine called Rolling Stone, he was asked if he wanted to photograph
Mick Jagger. He photographed the Rolling Stones during the years 1968-1972.
He also photographed the Beatles, the Who, and many others. Today he lives
in Marin County with his wife, stepson, and five-year-old son.
Michael Lydon Writer. (American)
Michael Lydon was the second writer on the tour. Michaels
physical appearance and lifestyle (over-the-shoulder hair,
jeans, living in Mendocino) all said hippie. His demeanor
was so unassuming that it totally obscured the fact, which I
found out during our interview, that he was a reporter for
the New York Times, for Newsweek, for Esquireand was a graduate of Yale.
Michael was delightful then and is now. He is a working musician and music
teacher in New York City.
Chip Monck Stage and Lighting Design (American)
Chip Monck had a certain degree of personal notoriety before
hejoinedthe1969tour; amongother things, hewas thevoice
of Woodstock due to his multiple appearances in the movie
Woodstock speaking to the crowd, warning them, among
other things, of bad acid. His interview reveals that lighting
and staging were, more or less, everything to himbefore and after the Stones 69
tour. He nowlives in Australia.
Tony Funches Security (American)
AVietnamvet and the son of two religious parents, Tony was
the president of the West Los Angeles College when some-
one asked him if he wanted to help look out for the Rolling
Stones while they were in LA. My job was to sit in my
Volkswagen down by the gate. It didnt last. Once they got
to knowTony, the Stones asked himto come on the tour. At Altamont he broke
two bones in his hand knocking out Hells Angels. That I lived is still a surprise
to me. I interviewed Tony in Hendersonville, Nevada, in 2006.
Jon Jaymes Transportation (American)
Jon Jaymes, aka John Ellsworth, materialized at the begin-
ning of the tour claiming to be from the Chrysler Corpo-
ration. To Chrysler he said he was working with the Stones.
Newspaper accounts described him as a promoter of
allegedly bogus businesses from eucalyptus plantations to
European hamburger joints. His exploits were extraordinary, including appear-
ing at the Carter White House as Santa Claus while attempting to defraud a chil-
drens charity.
Cast of Characters
PART I
:
LOOKING BACK
THE HOUSE AT POOH CROSSI NG 11 10 LOOKI NG BACK
The House at Pooh Crossing
Thefirst timeI remember seeingBrianJones, I was anart student at theUniversity of California. Brian
was staring at me from a Rolling Stones album cover. Like the rest of the Stones, Jones seemed
somber to the point of sullen, even as his blond pageboy haircut made himstand out. At the begin-
ning of the bands rise to stardomit was Brian who grabbed all the attention.
I discovered the Stones in the 1960s when those years had not yet become the sixties, even as
the Stones were one of the main forces driving youthtowardthat moment. It was a defining moment
for me when-in a sweltering darkroomon a hot summers night-the voice of Bob Dylan came cascad-
ing out of the little radio, backed by drums and electric guitar, singing, How does it feeeeeeel?
Though I couldnt have articulated it at the time, it was more than the music. The rise of the singer-
songwriter was driving the massive change that was going on all around me. These songs werent
the words of a lyricist put to the melody of a musician. These were the words of the artists, spoken
to us. Suddenly-no one knows exactly when-it seemed that everyone was getting high, that these
musicians were talkingnot only tous but toeachother, andthat we were all somehowinthis togeth-
er. Theimpressionbecameanundeniablefact. Liketherest of my generation, I was suckedin. It was,
indisputably, the best thing going.
The writer Michael Lydon, who would join us on the 1969 tour, said decades later, What I remem-
ber most dis-tinctly about that time were the number of ideas and insights moving rapidly and bril-
liantly in the music until they became part of an international conversation about life, art, music, and
politics. Jerry Garcia was as smart as any-body, as smart as a guy fromYale, who was a clerk for a
Supreme Court judge. No, Garcia was smarter, more hap-pening. Thats really what created the
opportunity for Rolling Stone magazine. I knew Jann Wenner among the young journalists in San
Francisco, andheaskedmetobeRollingStones first managingeditor. Themagazinecaught onvery
fast because Jann had grasped the newvibration just when the old vibration was fading.
When I was eleven years old and tried to imitate them. I sported a shiny pompadour so slick that
while slathered with butch wax I dove into a swimming pool and emerged out the other side with
barely a hair out of place.
NOW, IN THE EARLY SPRING OF 1969, thepompadour was goneandthehair was muchlonger.
I drove between tall Eng-lish hedgerows flanked by forests, in a scene of perfect tranquility. I turned
into a drive and saw a three-story brick house. I went in, stooping slightly under the low door, and
sawBrian shambling sleepily downstairs. It was the early afternoon.
He talked quietly, telling me about his new house. He showed me around the downstairs, proud
of its Winnie-the-Pooh provenance and the views from the mullioned windows of the English gar-
dens.
Brian, more than any of his contemporaries, seemed to have invented the rock-and-roll lifestyle.
It was as if he had chosen to become the Crown Prince of Stonedness. This role required that Jones
remain constantly high. Fewwouldhave disputedhis position, even in California in the 1960s, where
peoplewerenowsettingdaily records of higher andhigher, just tryingtocatchup. It was Brians face,
after all, squinting back at you fromthe cover of Big Hits (HighTide and Green Grass). It was his face
peering out of the mist on the cover of Between the Buttons, announcing with his wicked leer that
he was so high it was a miracle the camera could capture himat all.
Amusical wunderkind-friends saidhecouldlearnany musical instrument inhalf anhour-it was Brian
who de-cided, in June 1967, to attend the seminal Monterey Pop Festival (though he would not per-
formthere). Hearrivedas theself-selectedambassador fromtheEnglishCourt of Rock toexcitement
Above: Playing with his dog. Opposite: Kicking
the statue of Christopher Robin.
It was as if Brian
had chosen to
become the
crowned prince
of stoned.
12 LOOKI NG BACK
and deference. Pictures of himat the festival showhimwearing a long cape, its edges lined with fur,
andfestoonedwitha collection of pendants andMoroccan jewelry drapedaroundhis neck, his long,
blond Prince Valiant hair framing his pale face. There, too, Jones had that Cheshire Cat look on his
face, smiling as if he were about to fade away.
But up close on that afternoon in his home, apart fromhis golden hairdo, Brian looked surprising-
ly old. He had bags below his eyes, and his face was swollen. He said hed been up all night, some
party.
Brian talked rapidly, though in a quiet voice. There was a charm to it; an uncensored stream of
stoned conscious-ness like you might have expected from Jack Kerouacs On the Road character
Dean Moriarty.
As we moved about his house, I started taking pictures in a vague sort of Stone at Home man-
ner. I hadhimsit by the windowin the afternoon light. I clickedaway, but I couldtell the pictures had
no punch to them, so I was at a bit of a loss.
Perhaps sensing my disappointment, Brian said, Wait here. Ill be right back. Then he disap-
peared upstairs. About ten minutes later he clattered back down, dressed in a shirt fashioned from
an American flag.
We headed out across his lawn toward the swimming pool, Jones striding in the lead. He began to
move through a series of poses that he made up as he went along. He strutted and preened. He gri-
maced and grinned. He snuck up on the statue of Christopher Robin and grabbed it by the neck,
strangling the icon of British childhood. I was tak-ing pictures and reloading the camera as fast as I
could.
Then he ducked inside a shed for a moment and reemerged holding a gun. (This was not, I hasten
to add, some Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry, .357 Magnumshit-kicker. It was a pellet gun, a rifle used
by the landed gentry to kill the occasional trespassing squirrel.) Jones pointed it at the Christopher
Robin statue and pulled the trigger. Then reversed it and started thrusting it butt-first at me behind
the camera. I gamely clicked away. Next he lay down on the ground, put the stock to his shoulder,
and aimed the rifle directly at me.
I was confused about howthis quiet fellow, who had a fewminutes ago been speaking in hushed
and reverent tones about the history of his house and the wonder of Winnie-the-Pooh, came to be
writhing in the dirt in his gar-den attacking everything around himwith a gun. Still, I thought, This is
great! Heres aRollingStonedoing, well, RollingStonethings! Theimages I was gettingwerestoned
and rebellious, with a slight edge of violence. This was the stuff.
When we were done with the session Brian, polite and quiet again, sawme off. As I pulled out of the
drive I caught a glimpse of himinthe rearviewmirror. Brianstood, framedby his greenlawns andhis
quaint brick cottage, decked out in his American-flag shirt with his rifle tucked under his arm, wav-
ing farewell.
At the
center of
it all were
the drug
arrests. It was
persecution,
really.
GEORGIA BERGMAN
Opposite: Strangling Christopher Robin
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Assorted English bikers at Hyde Park.
I think it was Micks idea to do it. Hed seen Cream
there. I cant remember the timing, at what point
Brian was out and Mick Taylor was in. It didnt start
as a memorial. It became one.GEORGIA BERGMAN
The crowd at Hyde Park. The Concerts in the Park series was organized by Blackhill Enterprises, inspired in part by the
free concerts that were happening in America. The Stones appearance-actually the sixth in the series-would be the biggest
up until that point, and would hold that record briefly until it was swept away by Woodstock in just over a month.
16 LOOKI NG BACK HONEY, I T AI N T NO ROCK- AND- ROLL SHOW 17
It seems Im to wear a white
tuxedo. Its going to cost them a
bloody fortune to have me play
with them, and even more if I have
to wear a tux. Cash every night. One
thousand dollars. Two thousand
with the tux.
IAN STEWART
Below: Sam Cutler points at someone trying to climb on stage.
Right: Mick being escorted to stage by Pete Bennett (Im the best guy in
the world to have pushin records for ya) and unknown security.
Klein was telling him there must be no uniforms near the stage while the Stones were playing. The fat man nodded in disbelief. What hap-
pens if twenty thousand kids rush the stage? Well cross that bridge when we come to it, said Klein. And the fat man said Oh, I see, great.
STANLEY BOOTH
I wonder what these kids
are like now. I mean, do they
watch TV, or are they turning
on in the basement?
KEITH RICHARDS