[ROCK MUSIC - THE CLOSING OF THE FILLMORES]. BILL GRAHAM ANNOUNCES THE END OF FILLMORE EAST AND FILLMORE WEST

[ROCK MUSIC - THE CLOSING OF THE FILLMORES]. BILL GRAHAM ANNOUNCES THE END OF FILLMORE EAST AND FILLMORE WEST

Associated Press. AP Wirephoto showing rock promoter Bill Graham at a New York press conference announcing the closing of Fillmore East and Fillmore West, with a second view of the mourning-draped Fillmore East marquee, April 30, 1971. Black-and-white press photograph, approximately 7.4 x 10.0 inches (187 x 254 mm).

The photograph combines two images: Graham speaking into clustered microphones, his hand raised near his face, and the facade of Fillmore East at Second Avenue and East 6th Street. A flag draped with mourning crepe hangs over the theater entrance. The marquee advertises the Grateful Dead, the Beach Boys, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Marshall Tucker Brothers. The printed caption states that Graham, then forty-one, blamed the "get all the money you can" attitudes of some performers as he withdrew from the rock scene.

The caption reads: "(NY6) NEW YORK, APRIL 30--FINALE FOR ROCK MUSIC SPOT--Rock music impresario Bill Graham tells a New York news conference Thursday that he's closing his music halls, Fillmore East in New York and San Francisco's Fillmore West. In withdrawing from the rock scene, Graham, 41, blamed the 'get all the money you can' attitudes of some performers. At left, Fillmore East displays a flag draped with mourning crepe. (AP Wirephoto)(see AP AAA wire story)(sho0435dns) 1971." The reverse is stamped "RECEIVED EXAMINER REFERENCE LIBRARY MAY 1 1971" and bears the typed filing name "BILL GRAHAM," circled in red.

Graham's April 1971 announcement marked a turning point in the business of live rock music. Fillmore East formally closed on June 27, 1971, and Fillmore West followed on July 4. The paired press-conference portrait and mourning-draped marquee make this an unusually direct visual record of the announcement, while the AP caption and San Francisco Examiner library stamp document its immediate newspaper circulation.

From the Eric C. Caren Archive.