This is the place to collect your memories about Atlanta’s hip community from about 1967 to about 1977 – “Something happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear”. Whatta Decade! How was it for you?
Hipsters from an earlier period in Atlanta – that is undocumented. Help us change that by telling your story, and sharing photos.
We need other perspectives to get it right.
What was it like to be a gay man or woman in Atlanta before 1967?
What was it like to be a hip African American in Lester Maddox Georgia?
What was it like to be a biracial couple in Lester Maddox Georgia?
We don’t know, but you might be able to tell us.
Did the ch-ch-changes change your life?
Curious minds want to know.
Here is what we want to know to start- (digress freely)
1.When did you first come to Atlanta and what brought you here?
2. When did you first visit The Strip?
3. What was your best experience associated with The Strip and the hip community?
4. What was your worst experience associated with The Strip and the hip community?
5. Did your experiences at that time effect your life? If so, what did you learn or take away from it all?
6. It seems everyone around in that time and place has an Allman Brothers story. Share your Allman Brothers story if you have one please.
Tell us to what name you wish your story accredited. If you wish to use a “street name” or be anonymous, please give us a way to contact you for furthur information.
If you are in the Atlanta area, we can arrange to digitally tape your interview if you prefer.
Where are you now and whatcha doin?
send to:
“dedicated to the girl over there with the purple underwear on…” jimi hendrix at the second atlanta pop festival july 4, 1970.
MY girl with the purple underwear story: that july 4th in middle georgia (the festival was actually held in byron about two hours south of atlanta) was extremely hot to say the least. a crowd of at least 400,000 had gathered for the festival and being young free thinking types many just shed their clothes–male and female… i had never seen so many naked bodies at once in all of my 16 years (or since for that matter lol)! anyway on the early afternoon of the 4th my brother and i were making our way through the crowded throngs and there she was– the most beautiful blonde (she had that long unruly spaghetti strand hair i loved) hippie girl i had ever laid eyes on! and the ONLY thing she was wearing were these purple panties–that was all. no shirt, no shoes, nothing, AND I MEAN NOTHING. i couldn’t help staring; i was momentarily mesmerized. she had to notice my brother and i ‘looking’ at her (hey i was a few months short of turning 16 and my brother was a year younger lol) and she gave us a little smile and continued on her way.
meanwhile other events and experiences that day sort of erased her from memory until jimi’s performance that night. as you can clearly hear in this video clip, jimi introduces foxy lady by saying “dedicated to the girl over there with the purple underwear on…” WOW! my brother and i looked at each other and exclaimed “it was her!” we were certain that SHE was the girl jimi was referring to and we used to refer to jimi’s quote for years after that…whenever we would see some hot girl on the street for example. in retrospect it is doubtful jimi even saw her as there were hundreds of thousands of people there and he has used the same or similar lines at other shows introducing foxy lady in his set. but still…
anyway–happy fourth of july everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
note: janie hendrix PLEASE release the atlanta video footage and audio recording (i have the japanese DVD and a good audio quality bootleg of the show– but a legitimate professionally packaged release like the recent miami pop fest show would be welocme by most hendrix fans).
Hey what a festival huh? I was watching some footage about Hendrix the other night with my Sweetie and I saw that girl….look for her when the camera pauses down by his feet…..I’m that stoned to the gills guy to the right…still am in fact.
Grew up selling Great spectacle bird. In the parking lot off Peachtree at 10th. Doing lots of drugs in the day.went to all pop festivals within hitch hiking distance. 1000 miles.
Remember Wolf who switched to selling those BS porn rags?? Remember Terry the fellow who sold Birds forever….he had a strawberry mark on his face. I finally got all my fake ID back from the Bird…
I just saw this site, ad wow my head was tiopung iver the long years ago ad as I as I strolled the street in my silve metallic bellbottoms my ly alter top ad flopping hat, with long burnette hair. I loved the catacombs, ad spent a few times going to the free clinic downstairs at the Auroa,never thought that I needed a free clinic for many health issues, as I was a junky, going dom the methadone clinic to overdose, at the great age of 17. I had a job at Sexxy Sadies for about 3 weeks, could not hold a job. Spent my days at Piedmont Park liastning to the Allman Bros. I grew up in Buckhead nice parents,but moved on hitchike to California with a guy I relly did not know. I am glaad the Strip was around,as i identified with all like me on Strp streets,hideways,pop festivals,parks and just one minute at a time. Now at age 64, I am clean and sober 43 yrs,all because of these experiences.
I was in LA in 67 for about 6 months, I got Turned on and Tuned out there. The Beatles, Lucy in the Sky, everyone listened to it and dropped acid and smoked a joint.
I moved back to Atlanta in the late Summer or Fall of 67. I had Long hair, a beard, funky clothes and lived in a house on 14th street. I heard of Mother David and a new Club up the street. I use to go there on Friday and Saturday nights. I walked down Peachtree Street all the time. Went to Piedmont Park to hang out and meet People. It was a fun time and so free.
All went well until the Death of Martin Luther King in 4-68. Atlanta changed after that, so did the people.
I will always remember my Summer of Love in LA and the Fun I had of being one of the first Long Hairs in Atlanta.
What this Country needs is another Hippie movement for Love, Peace, no War. I will join it.
Eoww..can I post some pics from 1970
yes indeed. Email to me and I will format
You haven’t seen anything until you saw a redneck on his first acid trip in Byron, Ga. ! Long hair came next !
Yep I took a couple to the tent there to calm down…..I don’t believe I have eaten that much acid etc. since then. Finally caught myself on the Hendrix film the other day….right by his foot long brown hair and a totallllllllly wasted look….remember the river?
Dear Fellow Travelers,
I was an innocent Alabama girl under great oppression and repression religiously and permanently walked out of my parent’s home to ride the bus to Byron, Georgia in my polyester bell bottom suit and Aigner loafers. I planned to find an interested outlaw motorcycle man I met at the beach when visiting my girlfriend and her parents in WPB, Fl. and hopefully leaving behind my life.
Standing at the entrance at the festival I waited for a familiar looking style motorcycle with a rider to pass and when one did I stopped them and asked them to find Fritz. They said they knew him!! and would do just that. He did.
On July 4 at 12:00 midnight Jimi sounded off the end of my innocent view on life and love which ensued the travels only a book could contain. What music! What adventures! What wonder. God Bless America’s freedom
Anyone remember Pat and Woody? Rick Hill.. Rick Ulrich, Charlie Costigan 14th st. before there was tenth
And Stanley from Noonan
Oh, and David Braden BEFORE he was MOTHER?
We didnt need tickets at the Atlanta Pop Fest, everyone just went in, there were too many people there so they made it free, there was actually MORE than Woodstocck, over 600 thousiand hippies, i been told,,,,,,,,and get this, it was over 100 degrees….we saw Hendrix, Poco, Grand Funk, BB King, Allman Bros, Procol Harum, Spirit, and more… It was Amazing and went on for days,, we went swimming in hotel pools and it just got so crazy the Governor of Atlanta had to declare that area a Distaster Area,,, the Hippies destroyed hotel pools, gas stations, OMG, and that sure is nothing to be proud of , but what memories, we found all our Bedford OHIO Friends cuz they had blackboards where you could tell others where you were.!! Debbie and Chuck was there, Sweet Debbie brought Noxema, thank God cuz i had sun poising on my ankles from falling asleep in the sun. We all had bell bottoms on cuz we didnt realize how hot it was. and even tho alot of hippies walked around naked us Bedford peeps did not!!! What memories……!!! I still have the autograph from Grand Funks Drummer, Donny Brewer… I also really wanted Mark Farner, but he walked by way too fast…Thank God we found a ride all the way back to OHIO, we were sunburned , hungry and tired. ♥