Bill Graham ( promoter ) Bill Graham ( January 8 , 1931 – October 25 , 1991 ) was an American impresario and rock concert promoter from the 1960s until his death in a helicopter crash . He fled from Germany and , in 1941 , from France to escape the Holocaust , and at ten settled in a foster home in the Bronx , New York . Graham graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School and from City College with a business degree although he claimed he had a degree in journalism . In early 1960 ' s , he moved to San Francisco , and , in 1965 , began to manage a theater troupe ; he organized a benefit concert , then promoted several free concerts , and this eventually turned into a profitable full - time career , after he assembled a talented staff of one and a half . Bill had a profound influence around the world , sponsoring the musical renaissance of the ' 60s from the epicenter , San Francisco . Graham made famous the Fillmore , Winterland , and His Family Dog concert halls ; these turned out to be proving grounds for rock bands and acts of the S . F . Bay Area like the Grateful Dead , Jefferson Airplane , Janis Joplin , Starship , Eagles , Country Joe and the Fish , New Riders of the Purple Sage , Moby Grape , Santana , Frank Zappa , Steve Miller , the Mamas and the Papas , Crosby , Stills , Nash and Young , Deep Purple , Taj Mahal and many more . His foresight , toughness , successes , generosity , popularity and talented staff allowed him to become the top concert promoter in rock music and a multimillionaire . Early life . Graham was born Wolodia Grajonca in Berlin , the youngest son of Frieda ( née Sass ) and Yankel Grajonca , an engineer , a lower - middle - class Jewish family that had emigrated from Russia prior to the rise of Nazism . Graham ' s father died two days after his son ' s birth . Graham was given the nickname Wolfgang by his family early in his life . Due to the increasing peril to Jews in Germany , Graham ' s mother placed her son and his younger sister in an orphanage in Berlin . The orphanage sent them to France in a pre – Holocaust exchange of Jewish children for Christian orphans . Graham ' s older sisters stayed behind with his mother . After the fall of France , Graham was among a group of Jewish orphans spirited out of France , some of whom finally reached America . But a majority of the children — including Graham ' s older sister Tolla — did not survive the difficult journey . Graham thus was one of the One Thousand Children ( OTC ) , those mainly Jewish children who managed to flee Hitler and Europe and then come directly to America , but whose parents were forced to stay behind . Nearly all these OTC parents were killed by the Reich . Graham ' s mother died while imprisoned at Auschwitz . Graham had five sisters , Rita , Evelyn , Sonja , Ester and Tolla , only two of whom survived . Ester moved to the United States and was very close to Graham in his later life . His sister Rita escaped , first to Shanghai and then ( after the war ) to the United States . Once in the United States , Graham was raised in a well - to - do foster home in The Bronx in New York City . After being taunted as an immigrant and being called a Nazi because of his German accented English , Graham first worked on his accent , eventually being able to speak in a perfect New York accent , and also changed his name to be more " American . " ( He found " Graham " in the phonebook ; it was closest to his real surname " Grajonca . " According to Graham , both " Bill " and " Graham " were meaningless to him , except to his foster parents maybe . ) Graham graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School and then obtained a journalism degree from City College . He was later quoted as describing his training as that of an " efficiency expert " . Graham was drafted into the United States Army in 1951 and served in the Korean War , where he was awarded both the Bronze Star and Purple Heart . Upon his return to the States he worked as a waiter / maître d ' in Catskill Mountain resorts in upstate New York during their heyday . He was later quoted as saying his experience as a maître d ' and with the poker games he hosted behind the scenes were good training for his eventual career as a promoter . Tito Puente , who played some of these resorts , went on record once saying that Graham was avid to learn Spanish from him , but only cared about the curse words . It was during the 1950s that Graham became a champion mambo dancer in the mambo clubs of New York City . Career . Graham moved from New York to San Francisco in the early 1960s to be closer to his sister , Rita . He was invited to attend a free concert in Golden Gate Park , where he made contact with the San Francisco Mime Troupe , a radical theater group . He gave up a promising business career to start the RAG free newspaper . His foster parents died and left him and his foster - brother a million dollars each according to the S . F . Chronicle at the time , which he used to sponsor several civic minded causes , one example being the Mime Troupe in 1965 . After Mime Troupe leader Ronnie Davis was arrested on obscenity charges during an outdoor performance , Graham organized a benefit concert to cover the troupe ' s legal fees . The concert was a success , and Graham saw a business opportunity . Bill sponsored several free concerts in Golden Gate park , two Jimi Hendrix concerts being the most famous . He spent most of his time writing editorials for the RAG , which was used to promote concerts by his V . P . to sponsor a renaissance of music in the 1960s , to which Bill was a major contributor . Graham began promoting more concerts to raise funds for the Mime Troupe and others , eventually leaving the troupe to sponsor concerts full - time with his staff : V . P . of Marketing " little " Michael Ludwig did the conception , booking , signing of artists and promotion ; Bill ' s President secretary did the paperwork and organizing of events ; and Bill was responsible for selection of artistic posters ( which he had a flair for ) and more importantly was one of the few deep pockets in the Bay Area who would fund the renaissance through musical concerts . Bill provided a vital function of the ' 60s , promoting concerts which provided a social meeting place to network , where many various ideologies were given a forum ( sometimes on stage ) , from peace movements to civil rights , farm workers , and so on . Most of his shows were performed at rented venues , and Bill saw a need for more permanent locations of his own . Charles Sullivan was a mid - 20th - century black entrepreneur and businessman in San Francisco who owned the master lease on the Fillmore Auditorium . Bill approached Charles to put on the Second Mime Troupe appeals concert at the Fillmore Auditorium on December 10 , 1965 using Sullivan ' s dance hall permit for the show . Graham later secured a contract from Sullivan for the open dates at the Fillmore Auditorium in 1966 . Bill later opened Winterland , and Family Dog Concert Halls . Graham credits Sullivan with giving him his break in the music concert hall business . Charles Sullivan was found murdered on August 2 , 1966 , south of Market Street in San Francisco . To this day the murder remains unsolved . One of the early concerts Graham sponsored ( with Chet Helms hired to promote ) featured the Paul Butterfield Blues Band . The concert was an overwhelming success and Graham saw an opportunity with the band . Early the next morning , Graham ' s secretary called the band ' s manager , Albert Grossman , and obtained exclusive rights to promote them . Shortly thereafter , Chet Helms arrived at Graham ' s office , asking how Graham could have cut him out of the deal . Graham pointed out that Helms would not have known about it unless he had tried to do the same thing to Graham and advised him to " get up early " in the future . Later after several years of promotion Bill gave V . P . Michael Ludwig his own Concert Hall , The Family Dog . Booked and operated by Michael with his father Michael ( quasi - manager of the Grateful Dead at the Family Dog Presents , Monterrey Pop Festival and Altamont Concerts ) the Concert Hall was located between Balboa and Fulton on La Playa below the Cliffhouse Restaurant . Michael wanted to call it Dog , but his father thought Family Dog sounded better with Bill Graham agreeing , stating " that we were all family " thus Family Dog Presents was born in 1965 , which was to have many successful shows at various venues before Bill located and opened the Family Dog Concert Hall next to the Great Hwy . Later Chet Helms was hired against both Michael ' s wish ' s to promote at the Family Dog Concert Hall , but rarely showed up and was released later when the concert hall closed , which more or less ended Chet ' s music career / promotion days ( especially after legal problems from Bill over the Family Dog provenance ) . Michael took over again and booked / promoted Bills concerts at the Fillmore , Winterland and Family Dog Presents shows with his previous use of the grassroots movement through Bills free Rag newspaper placing popular psychedelic posters inside to promote each upcoming concert . Passing them out by hand , he hitchhiked throughout Berkeley and S . F . ( although many despised Bill editorials most would take it for the poster ) doing away with costly radio and newspaper promotions that had previously been used . Michael ' s formula for a successful concert was simple : that the band should play their hits or hit first , then the rest of the songs sounded better . Many fans complaining they had to suffer through all the bad songs till they finally played the one or two hits they had been waiting for . This formula was very popular with the audience and was strongly encouraged backstage at all of Bill ' s shows by his V . P . personally , part of his legacy in the industry that later promoters have yet to equal . Strangely , Bill rarely showed up to any of his Bill Graham Presents / Family Dog Presents Concerts that he sponsored during the 1960s , even though he was often encouraged too . A charismatic but often difficult personality , Graham produced shows attracting elements of America ' s now legendary counterculture of the time such as Jefferson Airplane , Big Brother and the Holding Company , Country Joe and The Fish , Lawrence Ferlinghetti , The Committee , The Fugs , Allen Ginsberg , and , a particular favorite of Grahams , The Grateful Dead . He was the manager of Jefferson Airplane during 1967 and 1968 . His staffs amount of resourcefulness , success , popularity , and personal contacts with artists and fans alike was one reason Bill became the top concert promoter in rock music in the S . F Bay Area . Michael started when he was only 5 years old in 1965 ending in 1971 , his only payment for the historic work produced was to be number one on the backstage list to every Bill Graham concert he promoted . Bill ' s secretary was his only actual paid employee , which wasn ' t very much . They were responsible for managing Bill ' s famous venues Fillmore West , Winterland , and the Family Dog ( all in San Francisco ) with his foster - brother starting the Fillmore East ( in New York City ) , where like S . F . the best and up - and - coming acts would come to play . In the early days Bill prefer ' d to work on his editorial ' s in the RAG ( he was a journalism major in college ) , and left the concerts to his staff as long as they made money , which they did . Many countless benevolent volunteers and specialists must be remembered contributed to Bills early success , laying a foundation for his later work . Bill Graham also owned a record label , Fillmore Records , which was in operation from 1969 to circa 1976 . Some of the artists who signed with Graham were Rod Stewart , Elvin Bishop and Cold Blood , although of these it seems only Bishop actually issued albums on the Fillmore label . In New York City , he formed a booking agency with his foster - brother called " The Millard Agency , " which organized the booking of bands for the Filmore East . Because the music venue was the Fillmore east , it seemed obvious to call the booking agency Millard . ( Millard Fillmore was the thirteenth president of the United States . ) His main music venues were booked by his staff in the Bay Area . They opened certain weekday nights for less well known bands , like the Grateful Dead and Santana to get exposure . By 1971 , Bill citing financial reasons closed the Family Dog , The Fillmore East and West on both coasts , then Winterland claiming a need to " find [ himself ] " . The movie " Fillmore " and the album " " document the closing of the Fillmore West . " Little " Michael ' s last Bill Graham Presents / Family Dog Presents concert was the closing of Bills final concert hall Winterland , in which the Grateful Dead became infamous . This concert was the climatic symbolic end of the short 10 year renaissance of science , music , the arts , summers of love , positive vibes and good karma . Most of the hippies , musicians , and social rights leaders later fleeing S . F . , contributing to a fall of S . F . ' s tourism and reputation as the center for world culture . Graham retreated to a Greek island , but found the quietude disconcerting and later admitted being disappointed that no one there knew of him . Bill historic staff of one and a half went on a sabbatical of their own for a while ( with his secretary last seen booking at Shoreline Amphitheater , both Michael ' s living on top of mount tam conferring with the Dead , behind Santana , up the street from Steve Miller , Eagles , New Riders of the Purple Sage ) . Bill later returned to promoting , first organizing concerts at smaller venues , like the Berkeley Community Theatre on the campus of Berkeley High School . He then reopened the Winterland Arena in San Francisco along with the Fillmore West and promoted shows at the Cow Palace Auditorium in Daly City and other venues . Graham promoted the West - Coast leg of the legendary The Rolling Stones American Tour 1972 , also known as S . T . P . Tour ( for Stones Touring Party ) , as well as parts of the Rolling Stones 1975 and 1978 tours . He would then promote the entire Rolling Stones American Tour 1981 and Rolling Stones European Tour 1982 . When the Stones returned to touring in 1989 with the Steel Wheels tour , Mick Jagger accepted the offer of Michael Cohl ' s The BCL Group ( Ballard Cohl Labatt ) . to buy the concert , sponsorship , merchandising , radio , television , and film rights . Steel Wheels became the most financially successful in history . Graham later discovered that Cohl had offered only slightly more money . Graham took Jagger ' s repudiation as a personal defeat , writing " Losing the Stones was like watching my favorite lover become a whore . " In 1973 he promoted the largest outdoor concert at that time at Watkins Glen , New York with Grateful Dead , The Allman Brothers Band and The Band . Over 600 , 000 paid were in attendance . He continued promoting stadium sized concerts at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco with Led Zeppelin in 1973 and started a series of stadium concerts at The Oakland Coliseum Stadium he called Day On The Green ( DOG ) in 1973 until 1992 . Some of these concerts featured acts such as Grateful Dead and The Who in October 1976 , and Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan in 1987 . His first large - scale outdoor benefit concert was for the San Francisco after - school programs , called the SNACK concert and starred Bob Dylan , with Neil Young , various members of the Grateful Dead and members of The Band . In the mid - 1980s , in conjunction with the city of Mountain View , California , and Apple Inc . cofounder Steve Wozniak , he masterminded the creation of the Shoreline Amphitheatre , which became the premier venue for outdoor concerts in Silicon Valley . Throughout his career , Graham promoted benefit concerts . He would go on to set the standard for well - produced large - scale rock concert s , such as the American portion of Live Aid in JFK Stadium , Philadelphia on July 13 , 1985 , as well as the 1986 A Conspiracy of Hope and 1988 Human Rights Now ! tours for Amnesty International . In addition , he presented regular bay area outdoor concerts at the Oakland Coliseum , referred to as " Days on the Green , " and was known to aggressively challenge potential competition . Graham ' s later near monopoly business practices went as far as contracts with the University of California Regents to control on - campus entertainment venues , thus preventing ASUC and other student organizations from promoting their own rock concerts in the 1980s . In the 1980s , he teamed up with BASS Tickets which tended to drive small ticket - distribution companies out of business in the Bay Area , creating a de facto monopoly . After the smaller operations failed , the remaining one , Ticketmaster ( formerly BASS ) , raised prices to unprecedented levels . Its only opposition came from a few bands , notably Pearl Jam , who protested that the company ' s high ticketing fees were unfair to music fans . Such practices were targeted by the California Senate in S . B . 815 . Graham was recognized as an expert promoter who genuinely cared about both the artists and the attendees at his concerts . He was the first to ensure that medical personnel were on site for large shows and was both a contributor and supporter of the St . Mark ' s Free Clinic in New York and the Haight - Ashbury Free Clinic , which he often used as medical support at events . He enjoyed putting together groups onstage from different ethnic backgrounds — many of whom were ignored by other promoters — and he had an eye for pleasing his audience , while making an effort to educate them in styles of music they would otherwise not have been exposed to . Graham was credited with assisting the early careers of artists like Santana , Eddie Money and Paul Collins ' Beat . Graham was instrumental in commissioning and marketing psychedelic concert posters by designers including Stanley Mouse , Alton Kelley , Wes Wilson , Victor Moscoso , and Rick Griffin . Bill Sagan ( Former CEO of EBP ) of Minnetonka , Minnesota bought the Bill Graham Presents archives and has organized hundreds of millions of dollars ' worth of merchandise and video / audio recordings of concerts collected by Graham . Sagan is now selling some of the collection at Wolfgang ' s Vault referring to Graham ' s childhood nickname . Personal life . He was married and divorced , to Bonnie McLean , in the 1960s and they had one child , David . He was also survived by another son , Alex ; a stepson , Thomas Sult , and three sisters , Rita Rosen , Esther Chichinsky and Sonia Svobl . He also had several long - term relationships . Graham ' s status as a Holocaust survivor came into play in the mid - 1980s , during the presidency of Ronald Reagan . When Graham learned that Reagan intended to lay a wreath at the Bitburg World War II Cemetery in Germany , where SS soldiers were also buried , he organized protests against the act . During the same month that Reagan visited the cemetery , Graham ' s office was firebombed by Neo - Nazi s . Graham , in France at the time , meeting with Bob Geldof to organize the first Live Aid concert , was informed of the fire via telephone . He responded as follows : " Was anybody hurt ? " It was only after he was told that everyone was okay , he asked , " Is anything left ? " Graham had a lifelong dream to become a character actor , professing a great admiration for Edward G . Robinson . He appeared in Francis Ford Coppola ' s " Apocalypse Now , " as a promoter . In 1990 , director Barry Levinson and actor Warren Beatty provided an opportunity for Graham to take a more substantive role by casting him as Charles " Lucky " Luciano in the film " Bugsy " . During one scene , Graham is shown in a Latin dance number , a style of dancing Graham had embraced as a teenager in New York . He also appears as a promoter in the 1991 Oliver Stone film , " The Doors " . He also had a small part in Coppola ' s 1987 " Gardens of Stone " playing the part of Don Brubaker as a hippie war protester at a garden party during the Vietnam War who gets into an argument with James Caan ' s character and is beaten up . Death . Graham was killed in a helicopter crash near Vallejo , California on October 25 , 1991 , while returning home from a Huey Lewis and the News concert at the Concord Pavilion . Graham had attended the event to discuss promoting a benefit concert for the victims of the 1991 Oakland firestorm . Once he had obtained the commitment from Huey Lewis to perform , he returned to his helicopter . Flying in severe weather , with rain and gusty winds , the aircraft flew off course and too low to the ground over the tidal marshland north of San Pablo Bay . The Bell Jet Ranger flew directly into a 223 - foot high - voltage tower along Hwy 37 , which runs between Vallejo , California and Marin County , California . The helicopter burst into flames on impact , killing Graham , pilot Steve Kahn and Graham ' s girlfriend , Melissa Gold , ex - wife of author Herbert Gold . The charred remains of the helicopter hung grotesquely in the tower for more than a day . Post Death . Following his death , his company , Bill Graham Presents , was taken over by a group of employees . Graham ' s sons remained a core part of the new management team . The new owners sold the company to SFX Promotions , which in turn sold the company to Clear Channel Entertainment . The BGP staff did not embrace the Clear Channel name , and several members of the Graham staff eventually left the company , including former President / CEO Gregg Perloff and former Senior Vice President Sherry Wasserman , who started their own company , Another Planet Entertainment . Eventually Clear Channel separated itself from concert promotion and formed Live Nation , which is managed by many former Clear Channel executives . Live Nation is now the world ' s largest concert production / promotion company and is no longer legally affiliated in any way with Clear Channel . In tribute , the San Francisco Civic Auditorium was renamed the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium . On November 3 , 1991 , a free concert called " Laughter , Love and Music " was held at Golden Gate Park to honour Graham , Gold and Kahn . An estimated 300 , 000 people attended to view many of the entertainment acts Graham had supported including Santana , Grateful Dead , John Fogerty , Robin Williams , Journey ( reunited ) , and Crosby , Stills , Nash & Young ( reunited ) . The video for the song " I ' ll Get By " from Eddie Money ' s album " Right Here " was dedicated to Graham . Graham ' s images and poster artwork still adorn the office walls at Live Nation ' s new San Francisco office . With the band Hardline , Neal Schon of Journey composed a piece entitled " 31 – 91 " in Graham ' s honor in 1992 . Quotation . " NME " – April 1971