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Watch The NYPD Shut Down A Jefferson Airplane Rooftop Concert In 1968
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jun 7, 2013
Modified Jan 29, 2016
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Screenshot from footage
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jun 7, 2013
Modified Jan 29, 2016
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Let's fully revisit that time in late 1968 when Jefferson Airplane took to the roof of the Schuyler Hotel in Manhattan to play a free concert, screaming to the city: "Hello New York! New York, wake up you fuckers! Free music! Nice songs! Free love!"
The band—who just released their fourth album and was just featured on the cover of LIFE magazine—had their crew set up sound equipment on the roof of the 9-story hotel on West 45th Street in Midtown. The whole thing was filmed by Jean-Luc Godard and D.A. Pennebaker, for the unfinished film One A.M., or One American Movie. (It later ended up in 1 P.M., or One Parallel Movie) The book Got A Revolution! recalled the day: "On the rooftop, crew, friends, and the curious gathered to listen, and dance. On the street below, New Yorkers—usually fazed by nothing—stopped in their tracks to gaze skyward. At the song's conclusion, the band ran over to the edge of the roof, climbing the chain-link fence to peer down at those peering up at them."
But, being without permits, they didn't last long up there before the NYPD showed up and shut things down. In the below footage you can hear one officer telling them, "I don't mind, it sounds nice, believe me, it's a good change. But the city can't stand it." Later, another demands: "Let everybody go. Make sure they stop the music. If they don't, lock them up."
Actor Rip Torn, a friend of the band who was also involved in the film project, was taken away in a police car. The AP reported on it the following day, with the headline: The 'Plane' Bombs Out, noting that "During a police investigation, [actor Rip] Torn got into an argument and pushed a patrolman, officers said. He was issued a summons for harassment. The film company, Leacock Pennebaker Inc., also received a summons for creating a public disturbance and filming without a permit."
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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