BG-142 Jefferson Airplane 1968 Fillmore West Poster Signed by Lee Conklin, Graded 9.8. ...

Description

BG-142 Jefferson Airplane 1968 Fillmore West Poster Signed by Lee Conklin, Graded 9.8. First-printing San Francisco concert poster for the Jefferson Airplane, Ballet Afro-Haiti and A.B. Skhy playing at the Fillmore West Auditorium on the weekend of October 24-26, 1968. Six of this weekend's Airplane performances were released on the band's official RCA live album Bless Its Pointed Little Head, released the following February. Known as BG-142 in the Bill Graham numbered series, this poster measures 14 1/8" x 21 1/4", was hand-signed by the artist Lee Conklin, and subsequently graded a mile-high 9.8 Near Mint/Mint by CGC (the Certified Guaranty Company). From the David Swartz Concert Poster Collection. COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: Lee Conklin's rich and busy artwork features three gold-colored centaurs, with bodies of transportation vehicles instead of horses. The central figure is a woman with her head stretched up, propellers on her nipples, a ying-yang symbol on the plane's tail and holding a banner declaring, "Recording Live" – a big extra incentive for fans to attend. And sure enough, tracks from this weekend's Jefferson Airplane performances used on Bless Its Pointed Little Head were "Somebody to Love," "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds," "Rock Me Baby," "The Other Side of This Life," "It's No Secret" and "Plastic Fantastic Lover."

The Airplane were enjoying their fourth studio album, Crown of Creation, released the month before, a commercial success which reached #6 on Billboard's Top LPs chart. This was also a year of significant growth and change for the band, as they fired their manager, promoter Bill Graham, and instilled road manager Bill Thompson as their permanent new manager. They also purchased their famous 20-room mansion at 2400 Fulton Street across from Golden Gate Park near Haight-Ashbury, which became the band's office and communal residence. At the beginning of summer they appeared on the cover of Life magazine, a major coup, under the headline "The New Rock." And just before the shows on this poster, the Airplane had undertaken their first tour of Europe, playing alongside The Doors in a few of the gigs.

As for the other two acts, Afro-Haitian dance is a fusion of traditional African dances with elements of Indian and French cultures. And A.B. Skhy was an electric blues-rock band from Milwaukee who had relocated to San Francisco and released two albums on MGM Records. One member was keyboardist Howard Wales, who had previously tickled the ivories for James Brown, the Four Tops, Freddie King and Ronnie Hawkins. He would go on to collaborate with Jerry Garcia in the early 70's and play on three songs on the Dead's American Beauty album, including organ on the famous "Truckin'."


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