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One of the sweetest ballads recorded by the Turtles was the 1968 hit “You Showed Me.” The track was part of The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands, a concept album on which the group poked fun at musical genres by pretending to be different bands for each track. “Nature’s Children” was the “band” that contributed “You Showed Me.”

Janis Joplin at opening of Fillmore EastFrank Mastropolo. On March 8, 1968, Fillmore East opened its doors with the first of two shows featuring rockers Big Brother & the Holding Company with Janis Joplin, folk singer Tim Buckley and blues guitarist Albert King.

The Band was made up of talented multi-instrumentalists and vocalists: four Canadians, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel, and Levon Helm from Turkey Scratch, Arkansas. Its members met in Canada as part of Ronnie Hawkins’ band, the Hawks.

In the early 1960s, the cool, clean sound of surf music spread from California across the US. Like the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean seemed to effortlessly produce Top 10 singles extolling the pleasures of surf, sand and street rods.

In 1965 at the height of the British Invasion Roy Head and the Traits scored a huge hit with “Treat Her Right.” An electrifying blue-eyed soul performer with dance moves inspired by Joe Tex and Jackie Wilson, Head co-wrote the song with band member Gene Kurtz. Head told the Austin Chronicle that the song came out of performances at sock hops and dance halls across Texas.

Inside the Mind of Jerry Samuels, aka Napoleon XIV. Novelty songs first appeared in the late 19th century and were popular on the radio into the 1980s. One of the most successful—and weirdest—was 1966’s “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” by Napoleon XIV.

Randy Bachman wasthe singer-songwriter and lead guitarist of the Guess Who in May 1970, weeks before promoter Bill Graham closed Fillmore East. Bachman recalls his final performance with the band at Fillmore East.

Arthur Conley’s Eternal Question: ‘Do You Like Good Music?’. By 1966, soul shouter Otis Redding’s career was at a crossroads. Rumored to be unhappy with Stax Records, Redding established Jotis Records with managers Alan and Phil Walden and producer Joe Galkin (the “J” in Jotis). With Jotis, Redding hoped to break and produce new talent.

Beatlemania in Australia reached its peak in June 1964 when the Fab Four staged a three-week tour of the country. Hundreds of rock groups sprouted as a result, formed by teens who hoped to emulate their heroes from Liverpool.

Skip Spence of Moby Grape at Fillmore EastPhoto by Frank Mastropolo. Moby Grape was one of the great underrated San Francisco bands of the 1960s. The Grape appeared at New York's Fillmore East on June 18–19, 1971, days before the East Village concert venue closed its doors for good. Here guitarist and singer-songwriter Jerry Miller recalls Fillmore East producer Bill Graham and the band’s “worst night.”

‘Imagine us dressed up like the Beau Brummels’. Jack Casady and Jorma KaukonenErik Kabik Photography / Media Punch / Publicity Photo. Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady are among the 90 musicians and crew members interviewed in the new bookFillmore East: The Venue That Changed Rock Music Forever. In this excerpt Casady and Kaukonen, who played Fillmore East with Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, discuss the outsized presence of impresario Bill Graham.

The Story Behind 'Tighten Up' by Archie Bell & the Drells. In the early 1960s, Archie Bell and the Drells were a struggling Houston vocal group performing their brand of “Texas funk” at local talent shows. In 1964, the group recorded a demo of a song called “Tighten Up.” Although they often performed the song live, the demo was soon forgotten.