Sam Cutler

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Sam Cutler

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Img_capt = Sam Cutler seen with Charlie Watts and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones in October 1969 at the Elektra Recording Studio in Los Angeles, CA
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Background = non_performing_personnel
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Born = 1943
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Origin = England
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Genre = Rock and Roll
Occupation = Tour Manager, Author
Years_active = 1965-Present
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Associated_acts = Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, The Band, The Allman Brothers, The New Riders of the Purple Sage, The Sons of Champlin, Mike Bloomfield, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, among others.
URL = www.GimmeCutler.com [http://www.GimmeCutler.com]
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Notable_instruments = Car Horn (on the Rolling Stones' "Country Honk".)

Sam Cutler (born in England, 1943) is best known as “the Rolling Stones Tour Manager who hired the Hells Angels to provide security, paying them with $500 worth of beer and ice” while performing the duties of Master of Ceremonies for the infamous 1969 Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway California which resulted in the stabbing death of a young black man wielding a pistol by a member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. The stabbing was caught on film and was the central subject of the Albert and David Maysles 1970 film Gimme Shelter. In numerous magazine articles and countless books since the incident, Cutler has been casually demonized as an unwitting, yet primary catalyst of the violence that took place that day.

Vindication

Since that time, Cutler has been somewhat vindicated as various authors have recognized the role of some particularly strong, or possibly tainted LSD circulating at the event, a bad choice of venue, bad staging area design, and the role of Hells Angels "prospects"--non-patch wearing Hells Angels "wannabes", rather than bona-fide, full-patch wearing Angels themselves, as contributory factors in the bad vibes and violence that consumed the day.

Cutler has been quoted as promising to shed more light on the reality of what really happened and what was actually going on that day in is forthcoming memoirs to be released by Random House in October 2008.

Cutler was, at the time, the tour manager for the Rolling Stones and is commonly credited with first uttering their famous intro line “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World…The Rolling Stones”.

Throughout his rock and roll career, Cutler was responsible for organizing some of the largest rock and roll shows in history outside of Woodstock including the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park, The Grateful Dead’s Europe ’72 tour and the Dead’s participation in the Festival Express train tour across Canada.

plitting with the Rolling Stones

In the aftermath of Altamont, Cutler went on to work with the Grateful Dead and some of the other legendary acts of the early 70's.

He has recently completed his memoirs which will be published by Random House in Australia in October 2008, and in the US in 2009 which will detail in depth this period of his life.

Early Life

Sam Cutler was born near London, England in 1943. An Honours Graduate in Contemporary History (Open University) and a qualified teacher (University of Cambridge Institute of Education 1963-66).

Early forays into the heart of the R&R scene in UK

Sam worked as a Production Supervisor, Stage Manager and Master of Ceremonies on a series of 1960's gigs in the U.K. and Europe with different artists, including The Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Alexis Korner, etc. In 1969, he co-ordinated the Rolling Stones concert in Hyde Park London which can be viewed on the DVD/film "Stones in the Park" where Cutler introduces the bands and acts as Master of Ceremonies.

Joining the Rolling Stones

Following the Hyde Park show, Sam was asked to be the personal tour manager of the Rolling Stones for their 1969 Tour of America which culminated in the infamous Altamont Free Concert where a man was stabbed to death in front of the stage.

Altamont

Altamont was planned and put together by a loose amalgamation of West Coast American bands which included The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby Stills and Nash, Santana, and others.

Fights broke out during performances by Jefferson Airplane (at one point lead singer Marty Balin was knocked out by a Hells Angel) and The Flying Burrito Brothers. The Grateful Dead opted not to play after learning of the incident with Balin. By the time the Stones hit the stage, the crowd was especially restless.

While the Rolling Stones were performing Under My Thumb, a young black man in a lime green suit named Meredith Hunter rushes towards the stage brandishing a gun. He is attacked and stabbed by a Hells Angel. All of this is caught on film. Cutler can be seen whispering to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards onstage, rushing towards the mortally wounded Meredith Hunter and returning to the stage to convince his band to retreat. He is seen being dramatically pulled into the Stones helicopter, just as it takes off leaving the melee behind.

The subsequent mess was blamed on the Rolling Stones -- although nobody employed by the Rolling Stones was directly involved in organizing the Altamont gig until shortly before it was meant to happen. Sam Cutler arrived on the West Coast to help co-ordinate the event less than a week before it was staged. In his forthcoming memoirs, Cutler details the various groups vying for control of the concert, the film and the venue at which the concert would be held. These groups include various dark and nefarious pillars of American society.

Following the concert, the Rolling Stones left for England, leaving Sam Cutler behind to deal with the aftermath. While his friends, the Stones promised to "take care of him", Sam never spoke to the Stones again until many years later. He had been left practically penniless and left to deal with the mess on his own.

Menacingly, the morning after Altamont, Cutler received a message in his secret hiding place (rumored to be named in his forthcoming book) saying that the Hells Angels wanted to speak to him and obtain a copy of the the Maysle Brothers’ film to see if incriminating evidence against any Hells Angels members was immediately apparent in the film. A few days later, Cutler was called on the carpet before an Angels "Board of Directors"-like meeting and given little choice but to find the film and get it to the Angels post-haste.

Cutler was eventually called to testify in court proceedings relating to the matter some time later.

Cutler can be seen in many scenes in the Maysles’ film Gimme Shelter which covers the events of the 1969 American tour and can be heard on the Rolling Stones live album Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! introducing the band. He can also be seen in the Festival Express film and the Stones in Hyde Park film.

Leaving the Stones, Joining the Grateful Dead

Following the events at Altamont, Cutler stayed in the U.S. to deal with the aftermath, was befriended by Jerry Garcia, and subsequently hired by the Grateful Dead as their tour manager. He went on to become a co-manger of the band (with John McIntyre and David Parker) and eventually became their agent.

Rock and Roll Management Career

Cutler co-ordinated the Dead's appearances at a number of memorable events including: the 1970 Festival Express Tour of Canada, The Watkins Glen Concert (at 700,000+ paid admission the largest single paid admission events in rock n roll history), and the 1972 European Tour of the Grateful Dead, the musical results of which can be heard on the Dead's triple live album "Europe '72".

Through his company “Out of Town Tours”, Cutler coordinated the appearances of many artists including: The Grateful Dead, The Band, The Allman Brothers, The New Riders of the Purple Sage, The Sons of Champlin, Mike Bloomfield, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and others.

Later Life

(Coming Soon)

In 2006, Sam collaborated with Melbourne (Australia) indie-rock group Black Cab band on the track 'Valiant' which appeared on the band's 2006 release "Jesus East". In the track, Sam reminisces on his days with the Grateful Dead and preaches advice for the kids of today.