    The Bay Area witnessed a seismic shift during the 1960s and 1970s from the traditional jazz and supper club scenes to the burgeoning psychedelic rock movement, epitomized by the emergence of iconic venues like The Matrix, Avalon Ballroom, and the Fillmore Auditorium.Â
    The music guidebook Tales From Your Record Collection: SF Bay Area Edition (Amazon Books) highlights over 60 notable venues from this period and lists some of the essential live recordings to come out of them -including the Fillmore. Considered today the granddaddy of them all, few brands have the rich musical cache as does the Fillmore. Established at 1805 Geary Boulevard in the Fillmore district of San Francisco, Bill Graham moved his operation to the former Carousel Ballroom at 10 S. Van Ness in 1968 (Fillmore West) before ceasing West Coast operations in 1971. The original Fillmore location reopened in 1985 and continues to host some of the biggest names in music to this day. Here are 7 Essential LIVE Albums Recorded during the 1960s and 1970s at Bill Graham’s Fillmore and Fillmore West in San Francisco.
Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper (Columbia)
Recorded September 26-28, 1968 and released January 1969.Â
Bloomfield & Kooper are Joined by Paul Simon, Elvin Bishop, and (one of the earliest live recordings of) Carlos Santana.
Albert King Live Wire / Blues Power (Stax)
Recorded in 1968 and released in November of same year.
Two additional albums from this performance were later released. Hit Billboard 200 #150.
Bless Its Pointed Little Head (RCA Victor)
Jefferson Airplane, Recorded October 24-26, 1968 (and Fillmore East, Nov. ’68)
Released in 1969 it peaked at US Billboard 200 #17.
Live/Dead (Warner Bros. / Seven Arts)
Grateful Dead, Recorded 1969. Released November 10, 1969.Â
(Fillmore West and Avalon Ballroom) First official Grateful Dead live album.
First live rock album to use 16-track recording.
Black Beauty Miles Davis at the Fillmore West (CBS / Sony)
Miles Davis - Recorded April 10, 1970 and first released in 1973 (Japan).
Davis performance recorded while opening for the Grateful Dead!
Aretha Live at Fillmore West (Atlantic)
Aretha Franklin recorded on March 5-7, 1971 and released May 19, 1971.Â
Certified Gold Record reaching #1 on Billboard R&B Album.
King Curtis band and the Memphis Horns back the Queen of soul on this LP.
Fillmore The Last Days (Columbia)
14 Various Artists, Recorded June 29 - July 4, 1971Â
Triple-LP Released in June, 1972 documents last Fillmore West shows.
A true audio documentation of an influential time and place.
FROM: Tales From Your Record Collection: SF Bay Area Edition
Available Kindle & Amazon Books