This is why America excited me and as a new generation hippie these are my people, people! Mind you it didn't take long, as many probably knew better than my naive wide eyed expectations for Janis, Jimi and Jim to die at 27 and the Altamont debacle with the Stones and death of Meredith Hunter then Charlie Manson's creepy-crawl, to know the dream was over but I liked what Morrison said about the armchair revolution and have been practising it ever since despite forays into Mod, art student and latterly disguised in a retail suit and clinging on to the last vestiges of rebellion . . . . . . . . . this here is why

On this day in music history: January 14, 1967 - The first “Human Be-In”, also known as “The Gathering Of The Tribes” is held in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, CA. Taking its name from a phrase spoken by artist and event organizer Michael Bowen, the day long event is advertised in the underground newspaper, the San Francisco Oracle as “A Gathering of the Tribes for a Human Be-In”. It is held to celebrate the ideals and life style of the thriving  hippie movement in San Francisco, and in other major cities in the US and around the world. Over 25,000 people attend the event which features counterculture icons including Dr. Timothy Leary (who makes the famous statement “turn on, tune in, drop out” during his speech to the crowd), Richard Alpert (aka “Ram Dass”), poet Allen Ginsberg, comedian Dick Gregory, Jerry Rubin, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The Be-In also features performances from a number of major local bands including The Grateful Dead, The Jefferson Airplane, The Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Big Brother And The Holding Company. It is later regarded as a precursor to major outdoor festivals like Woodstock, and the prelude to “The Summer Of Love” in San Francisco, which sees an influx of over 100,000 people converging on the Haight-Ashbury district of the city.

thanks to the most excellent Jeff Harris' blog 'Behind The Grooves