'VH1 Rock Docs' Celebrates 40th Anniversary of the Monterey International Pop Festival with Original Documentary 'Monterey 40' Premiering on VH1 Classic on Saturday, June 16 at 9:00 PM*

'VH1 Rock Docs' Celebrates 40th Anniversary of the Monterey International Pop Festival with Original Documentary 'Monterey 40' Premiering on VH1 Classic on Saturday, June 16 at 9:00 PM*

Film Will Be Simulcast Commercial Free On VH1

NEW YORK, May 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The Monterey International Pop Festival was nothing short of a defining moment in rock and roll history. The three-day event, held June 16-18, 1967, ushered in the Summer of Love and featured an unprecedented bill of racially, musically diverse acts that showed rock's power to change the world.

In celebration of the Monterey International Pop Festival's 40th anniversary, VH1 Rock Docs will premiere an original documentary, "Monterey 40" on Saturday, June 16 at 9:00 pm* on VH1 Classic and will simulcast it commercial free on VH1. "Monterey 40" will tell the story of this historic event from conception to event to aftermath to lasting impact from the perspective of musicians, organizers, audience members and visual documentarians. The film will include new interviews with David Crosby, Michelle Phillips, Pete Townshend, Grace Slick, Bob Weir, Micky Dolenz, Ravi Shankar, Clive Davis, Jann Wenner and Paul Kantner among others.

Conceived by producer/impresario Lou Adler and Mamas and Papas frontman John Phillips, the idea behind Monterey Pop was to help validate rock as a serious musical form a la jazz and folk. Forty years later, its music and impact still reverberates: the blissful ragas of Ravi Shankar, Hendrix making love to his amps and setting his guitar on fire, Pete Townshend demolishing a guitar on stage, and countless others.

The now-classic film Monterey Pop by D.A. Pennebaker shows a utopia inside the Monterey Fairgrounds, but arriving at that beautiful summer weekend was an amazing journey traveled in ten short weeks. "Monterey 40" will explore the events leading up to the festival such as how Phillips and Adler asked bands to perform on their own dime on short notice and how the event served as a launching pad for several artists, including Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, the Who, and Otis Redding.

The festival's aftermath will also be explored: its importance in ushering in the summer of love, how it changed the music industry, and the festival business as a whole. Looking ahead, Monterey changed everything and still matters. Monterey broke legendary careers and legitimized 'acid rock'. But also - for one brief shining moment - it showcased peace, love and flowers to the world.

For additional show content including performances from the original concert, exclusive interview clips not shown in the on-air broadcast and VH1 News commentary on the historic event, go to VSPOT (http://vspot.vh1.com/), VH1's broadband channel.

Razor & Tie and Starbucks Entertainment will co-release Monterey International Pop, a two-CD retrospective that will benefit the Monterey International Pop Festival Foundation. The set will be available simultaneously at Starbucks company-operated locations in the U. S. and Canada as well as traditional retail. The three-disc box set of "The Criterion Collection DVD: The Complete Monterey Pop Festival" is also still available in stores now.

"Monterey 40" is the newest film in the VH1 Rock Doc franchise. VH1 Rock Docs are high-end feature-length documentaries that each reveal an untold story in the history of rock and hip-hop music, combining never-before-seen footage with a unique and unconventional narrative approach. The documentaries tell some of the most unique stories of artists and music from a wide range of genres, styles, and musical perspectives.

"Monterey 40" is a VH1 production with Erik Himmelsbach serving as director and producer and Mark Anstendig as supervising producer for VH1. Brad Abramson, Shelly Tatro, Michael Hirschorn are executive producers for VH1.

Launched in May 2000, VH1 Classic is a 24-hour network that present videos, concerts and music specials all day long, featuring the best of rock, soul and pop artists from the 60's, 70's, 80's and the early 90's including The Beatles, The Stones, Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin, Marvin Gaye, The Who, Stevie Wonder, The Police and many more. Learn more at www.vh1classic.com

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 90 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul and VSPOT, VH1's broadband channel. Connect with VH1 at www.VH1.com.

VH1 is a registered trademark of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom International Inc. MTV Networks also operates and offers joint ventures, licensing agreements and syndication deals whereby its programming can be seen worldwide.

   *All times ET/PT    Contacts: Lori Hornik                   Scott Acord             212-846-7131                  310-752-8075             lori.hornik@vh1staff.com      scott.acord@vh1staff.com              Maura Wozniak             212-846-7325             maura.wozniak@vh1staff.com  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: VH1 Classic

CONTACT: Lori Hornik, +1-212-846-7131, lori.hornik@vh1staff.com, or
Scott Acord, +1-310-752-8075, scott.acord@vh1staff.com, or Maura Wozniak,
+1-212-846-7325, maura.wozniak@vh1staff.com, all of VH1

Web site: http://www.vh1.com/
http://vspot.vh1.com/
http://www.vh1classic.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment