By just about any standard of measure, Monterey was Jimi Hendrix’s introduction to an American audience.

In 1966, Jimi left the United States as a pauper, barely surviving as he tried to find steady work as a musician. Now, one year later, after becoming an overnight sensation in England, he returned to America, brimming with self-confidence and 100% ready to blow his home country away. Overnight, he achieved his goal. It wasn’t because the audience was huge – by Woodstock standards it was about 1/10th of that crowd size – but those who were there certainly took notice and spread the word.

To understand just how little of an entity Jimi Hendrix was at the start of the Summer of Love, all you need to do is watch “Monterey: The Movie”, where Hendrix made his return debut performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. The faces of the famous stars in the audience says it all (I particularly remember Mama Cass look on in disbelief as Jimi tore up the stage). It helped that there were plenty of celebrities in attendance for his performance, but what really made the difference was the performance itself, and here it is, in its entirety. It was the start of the Summer of Love, but it was also the start of an entirely different musical era, inspired almost exclusively by Jimi Hendrix.

Featured tracks are:

Killing Floor

Foxy Lady

Like a Rolling Stone

Rock Me Baby

Hey Joe

Can You See Me

The Wind Cries Mary

Purple Haze

Wild Thing