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….

1 Comment

  1. 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

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