Best Moby Grape story? One of their earliest performances was the Mantra Rock Dance – a musical event held on January 29, 1967 at the Avalon Ballroom by the San Francisco Hare Krishna temple. At the event Moby Grape performed along with the Hare Krishna founder Bhaktivedanta Swami, Allen Ginsberg, Grateful Dead, and Big Brother […]
Tuesday’s Tune: Hey Grandma
Best Moby Grape story? One of their earliest performances was the Mantra Rock Dance – a musical event held on January 29, 1967 at the Avalon Ballroom by the San Francisco Hare Krishna temple. At the event Moby Grape performed along with the Hare Krishna founder Bhaktivedanta Swami, Allen Ginsberg, Grateful Dead, and Big Brother & the Holding Company with Janis Joplin, donating all proceeds to the temple.
Not bad company…
Moby Grape, hailing from the psychedelic San Francisco scene in the late sixties, saw their reputation quickly grow to immense proportions, leading to a bidding war and a contract with Columbia Records. But as music critic and historian Jeff Tamarkin so frankly puts it, the band’s future was already on the slide…
“The Grape’s saga is one of squandered potential, absurdly misguided decisions, bad luck, blunders and excruciating heartbreak, all set to the tune of some of the greatest rock and roll ever to emerge from San Francisco. Moby Grape could have had it all, but they ended up with nothing, and less.”
Still, they left us with one of the greatest albums of all time. So, thanks Moby Grape, we love your tunes. Hey Grandma, the first track of their eponymous debut album, is my tune for today. Enjoy!
