2.) Woodstock, New York and the surrounding communities. The first photo is of the Band's legendary clubhouse, Big Pink, in West Saugerties. The second photo is the Band, minus Richard, playing outside of Richard and Garth's house above the Ashokan reservoir in Woodstock. The next is Bob, Sara, and Jesse Dylan on the porch of Bob's Byrdcliffe home in Woodstock. (By the way, the history of the Byrdcliffe art colony is quite fascinating. The first batch of many artists to take up in Woodstock.) The last is the Band playing ball outside of Levon and Rick's home in Bearsville. Woodstock was another true artist mecca. A rural town in upstate New York surrounded by the Catskill mountains, Woodstock has been attracting artists since the beginning of the 20th century. In 1902, the Byrdcliffe art colony was founded. They began teaching about ceramics, metal work, weaving, and started the first painting school in the area. Soon enough, philosophers, poets, and musicians started to arrive. Though all this sounds interesting, I would've liked to arrive quite a bit later. Preferably after Bob Dylan's infamous motorcycle accident, which brought the Band to Woodstock. the Band settled in Woodstock for a number of reasons: Bob wanted his friends around, they needed a place where nobody was going to tell them to stop playing music due to the volume, and Peter Yarrow, of Peter Paul and Mary, was working on a film up there that a few of them were a part of. I believe it was Rick Danko and Richard Manuel, who were working with Yarrow, that began house hunting. They found a fantasticly ugly pink house on Stoll Rd, with tons of land, and settled in, along with Garth Hudson. Levon Helm soon joined them. He had left them on the Dylan tour, due to the boos, and was in Arkansas at the time, after wandering a bit. (Mexico, Memphis..) Robbie Robertson took up with his new wife, Dominique, on the nearby Ricks Rd. Everyone knows what happened from here.. They hooked up with Dylan on the Basement Tapes, made the legendary Music from Big Pink album, etc. etc. Though by the time the Big Pink album was released, the Big Pink house was history. Garth and Richard got a house together above the reservoir on Spencer Rd, and Levon and Rick got a house in Bearsville. Robbie and Dominique were by then living on Glasco Turnpike. The Band's best music came from their time in Woodstock. Though they could certainly drink like men, they were still mere innocents. Then, in addition to be handsome, talented young bucks, they were rich, famous, handsome, talented young bucks.. A dangerous combination. They ended up with a little too much free time on their hands than necessary, and soon left the quietness of Woodstock for a faster life on the beaches of Southern California. Again, taking a cue from Bob Dylan. Sounds changed, and I don't think it was personally a good time for any party involved. Some never returned, at least not to live. That's all unimportant, because I would want to go when everything was swell and quaint. I would want to hangout at Big Pink, with Hamlet, the big dog they got from Dylan, and then perhaps go down the road and see Bob and Sara Dylan with all of their then-itty bitty children. And stay throughout all the beautiful season changes, while Big Pink was being created. I love the serenity, normalcy, and just the down-home vibes that Woodstock seems to have had. It seems while the rest of America was getting caught up in the madness, Woodstock went unaffected, and I think that's what everyone who lived there was looking for at that moment. It seems Woodstock still has what attracted everyone there in the first place, and still attracts the most interesting people.
As for the second photo, that would be Keith Richards, Anita Pallenberg, and their tot Marlon at Villa Nellcote, located in the South of France, in the summer of 1971. In the spring of 1971, the Stones knew they had to leave England or the British government would expect them to pay a large amount of taxes. After much consideration, the Stones settled in France at Villefranche-sur-Mer. Keith rented a mansion, Villa Nellcote. Nellcote is a 19th century sixteen-room mansion right off the water. Nellcote served as the headquarters of the local Gestapo while the Nazis occupied France in the early 1940's, with the vents decorated with swastikas. In mid-June 1971 , the Stones began recording their masterpiece, Exile on Main St. According to Anita Pallenberg, they lost the keys so it was literally an open house. William S. Burroughs, Gram Parsons, and Terry Southern (who had also been a Woodstock resident) were a few of the many interesting people running around Nellcote. It is a mystery as to whether Gram Parsons appears on the album or not. Keith says it's a possibility, he may be buried in some track, perhaps "Sweet Virginia". The police were very interesting in busting Nellcote, because they were aware of the Stones history. Not to mention, Keith was cooking up a mean heroin addiction at this point. Burroughs, Parsons, and Southern were all already full blown junkies. Mick Jagger was busy with his new wife, Nicaraguan beauty Bianca Pérez-Mora Macías. Bill Wyman wasn't a fan of the happenings at Nellcote, and is only featured on eight of eighteen tracks. At this time, the Stones were split into distinctive two camps. One that enjoyed excessive drug use: Keith, Mick Taylor, producer Jimmy Miller, saxophonist Bobby Keyes, and engineer Andy Johns. And the others who were hardly interested: Bill, Mick, and Charlie. Jagger also had his only child with Bianca, Jade, during the recording of the album. As Keith slipped farther into addiction, Mick gained more control which shows on the albums that followed Exile. Though their time in France was short (they eventually finished the album in LA), Anita Pallenberg refers to it as one of her fondest memories with the Stones, and I like to think of it that way. Any photos you may find of Keith, Anita, and Marlon acting like a normal family were probably taken at Nellcote. Great location, wonderful music, and I'm sure plenty of laughs. Nellcote is still around, though Keith never returned.
It's also worth noting that Hollywood obviously had a booming music scene in the 60's and 70's, and though I would love to see the Strip lit up in 1968, I would much prefer to see all the above mentioned.
