Chet Helms 1942 - 2005
Chet Helms, who hitchhiked to San Francisco with Janis Joplin in the mid-1960s and started the famous Family Dog, producing shows at the Avalon Ballroom and The Fillmore in San Francisco died at 12:35 AM today from complications resulting from a stroke.
Chet was a friend — he was an incredibly sweet person, had a very cool sense of humor, and was a wonderful story-teller. I’m glad I had the chance to know him and I’m sorry to see him go. I’ll miss his friendly vibes whenever I go to parties where sixties vets and friends congregate.
Happy trails, Chet….
I did not know that Chet Helms passed away until now. As a very young teenager
in the 60’s, I remember him announcing the bands and hippie news at the Avalon
Ballroom and walking around Haight Ashbury just being an icon of a lovely time
in San Francisco’s history. He was a pioneer and a gentle man, attempting tohelp
lead many of us into an age of innocent idealism that never quite came into
fruition.
God bless you forever, Chet.
Comment by Susannah — July 15, 2005 @ 5:47 pm