Chet Helms | |
|---|---|
| Born | Chester Leo Helms August 2, 1942 Santa Maria, California, U.S. |
| Died | June 25, 2005 (aged 62) |
| Occupation | Music promoter |
| Known for | Often called the father of the "Summer of Love" |
Chester Leo "Chet" Helms (August 2, 1942 – June 25, 2005), often called the father of San Francisco's 1967 "Summer of Love," was a music promoter and a counterculture figure in San Francisco during its hippie period in the mid- to-late 1960s.
Helms was the founder and manager of Big Brother and the Holding Company and recruited Janis Joplin as its lead singer. He was a producer and organizer, helping to stage free concerts and other cultural events at Golden Gate Park, the backdrop of San Francisco's Summer of Love in 1967, as well as at other venues, including the Avalon Ballroom.
He was the first producer of psychedelic light-show concerts at the Fillmore and the Avalon Ballroom and was instrumental in helping to develop bands that had the distinctive San Francisco Sound.[1] Helms died June 25, 2005, of complications of a stroke. He was 62.[2]