25.12.06

F I R S TP R E V445NEXTLAST

Bill Graham Auditorm, Civic Center
Born Wolfgang Grajonca in 1931 Berlin, the orphaned Bill Graham escaped the Nazis by walking across Europe to freedom in France and then on to America. After serving in the Korean War, Graham eventually arrived in San Francisco where he would become the greatest impresario in rock and roll history. He began as a producer and event organizer for a local mime troupe then opened the original Fillmore Auditorium with acts such as the Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Chuck Berry, B. B. King, Eric Clapton, The Who, and an endless list of performers. He revolutionized music production and set the standard for well-produced large scale rock concerts country-wide, opening the second venue, Fillmore East, in New York City.

Graham was killed in a helicopter crash about thirty miles north of San Francisco in 1991 while returning home after organizing one of his many benefit concerts. The San Francisco Civic Auditorium, above, was renamed the Bill Graham Auditorium as a tribute to him. A Golden Gate Park memorial service held for him attracted one of the biggest crowds the park had ever seen and included many of the bands Graham had supported.
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