Lou Adler, music man and movie producer, is one of the most creative people in the rock music industry to date. His divergent thinking helped him shape the path of rock music and led him to find great success in his career and the careers of those who gained his support. Adler, a Chicago native born in 1933, is a champion of divergent thinking and pushing his domain, the music industry, to the absolute limits and beyond. This is why I consider Adler a very strong big-c creative.
Some of Adler’s most important achievements helped revolutionize his domain. Adler, first finding success through his two record labels, Dunhill and Ode, went on to help organize Monterey International Pop Music Festival which was held in Monterey, California on June 16-18 in 1967. His involvement in this festival marks a turning point for the industry. 
The development of the Monterey Pop Festival validated rock music as an art form, forever revolutionizing the music industry. Adler’s involvement in organizing this festival contributed to the creation of a large scale, multi-day concert culture in rock music — a staple that may have never begun without Monterey Pop’s precedent. While Monterey Pop wasn’t the first music festival ever held — Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival was held just one week earlier — it was a landmark event for rock music festivals, as it inspired those like Woodstock which came after Monterey Pop. This festival was also the first multi-day concert with rock artists from around the world that provided the best accommodations to date and donated a majority of the earnings to charity. The festival is credited with the first United States performances from a number of iconic artists like Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and it marked the first large scale venue Janis Joplin ever played. Monterey Pop pushed rock music into the mainstream and made stars out of it’s up and coming performers. Adler’s (and his partners) festival was unlike any that had come before it, and changed the live music industry forever. As we can see today, music festivals annually attempt to recreate experiences similar to this monumental event. 
The festival also made waves politically and socially, as it is credited with helping to catalyze the “Summer of Love” and strengthening the 1960s American counterculture movement.
Adler’s later music moves include signing Cheech and Chong, a comedy duo, to his label. Cheech and Chong became iconic for their comedy albums and their love of marijuana, not out of the ordinary for the ‘60s and ‘70s, but Adler’s support put them on the map. This creative also made The Rocky Horror Picture Show the classic it is known as today because of his hand in producing the American film. Adler’s intense use of divergent thinking pushed him to be an industry staple and a rule breaker, but his involvement in Monterey Pop changed the music domain forever which established him as a fully bonafide big-C creative.
To learn more about Adler and his involvement watch Monterey Pop, the documentary of the festival which was also produced by this big-C creative!
Works cited:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbVeU7OVo8U
https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/lou-adler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNrygTqx0FA
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064689/
It is very interesting to consider how this festival not only promoted the spread of rock music and its stars but the "Summer of Love" as well. I had no idea that one figure was so instrumental in how we view that time period and its music. This also sort of reminds me of Rolling Thunder Revue. It's a Netflix documentary directed by Martin Scorsese focusing on the Rolling Thunder Revue tour and Bob Dylan.
ReplyDeleteI find it really interesting that Adler's festival in the 60s has raised the bar for festivals today. I agree with your assessment that he is a Big C creative because of how his creative methods (divergent thinking in particular) set a precedent. I think when creatives influence the creative process of future individuals is when they make their biggest marks on the domain.
ReplyDeleteI love your take on this as someone who lives close to Monterey and has a parent that actually witnessed the festival! Monterey Pop changed the San Francisco Bay Area forever, so I agree that Lou is a big C creative in that way. San Francisco became the center of rock music and what we associate as the 60's counter-culture. I do think that maybe Lou Adler would probably frown upon Lollapalooza, though.
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