1967 social phenomenon in San Francisco
The
Summer of Love
was a major social phenomenon that occurred in
San Francisco
during the
summer of 1967
. As many as 100,000 people, mostly young people,
hippies
,
beatniks
, and
1960s counterculture
figures, converged in San Francisco's
Haight-Ashbury
district and
Golden Gate Park
.
[1]
[2]
More broadly, the Summer of Love encompassed hippie culture, spiritual awakening, hallucinogenic drugs, anti-war sentiment, and
free love
throughout the
West Coast of the United States
, and as far away as
New York City
.
[3]
[4]
An episode of the
PBS
documentary series
American Experience
referred to the Summer of Love as "the largest migration of young people in the history of America".
[5]
Hippies, sometimes called
flower children
, were an eclectic group. Many
opposed the Vietnam War
, were
suspicious of government
, and
rejected consumerist values
. In the United States, counterculture groups rejected
suburbia
and the
American way
and instead opted for a communal lifestyle. Some hippies were active in political organization, whereas others were passive and more concerned with art (music, painting, poetry in particular) or spiritual and meditative practices.
[4]
Many hippies took interest in
ancient Indian
religion, such as
Hinduism
and
Buddhism
.
Background
[
edit
]
Culture of San Francisco
[
edit
]
Inspired by
Jack Kerouac
'
s
On the Road
[3]
(1957) and the
Beat Generation
of authors of the 1950s, who had flourished in the
North Beach
area of San Francisco, those who gathered in Haight-Ashbury during 1967 allegedly rejected the conformist and materialist values of modern life and adhered to the
psychedelic
movement; there was an emphasis on sharing and community.
[6]
The
Diggers
established a Free Store, and
Haight Ashbury Free Clinics
was founded on June 7, 1967, where medical treatment was provided.
[7]
Human Be-In and inspiration
[
edit
]
The prelude to the Summer of Love was a celebration known as the
Human Be-In
at
Golden Gate Park
on January 14, 1967,
[8]
which was produced and organized by artist
Michael Bowen
.
[9]
[10]
[11]
It was at this event that
Timothy Leary
voiced his phrase, "
turn on, tune in, drop out
".
[12]
This phrase helped shape the entire hippie counterculture, as it voiced the key ideas of 1960s rebellion. These ideas included experimenting
psychedelics
, communal living, political decentralization, and dropping out of society. The term "dropping out" became popular among many high school and college students, many of whom would abandon their conventional education for a summer or more of hippie culture.
The event was announced by the Haight-Ashbury's hippie newspaper, the
San Francisco Oracle
:
A new concept of celebration beneath the human underground must emerge, become conscious, and be shared, so a revolution can be formed with a renaissance of compassion, awareness, and love, and the revelation of unity for all mankind.
[13]
The gathering of approximately 30,000 at the Human Be-In helped publicize hippie fashions.
[14]
Planning
[
edit
]
The term "Summer of Love" originated with the formation of the
Council for the Summer of Love
during the spring of 1967 as a response to the convergence of young people on the Haight-Ashbury district. The council was composed of the
Family Dog
hippie commune, The Straight Theatre, The Diggers,
The San Francisco Oracle
, and approximately 25 other people, who sought to alleviate some of the problems anticipated from the influx of young people expected during the summer. The council also assisted the Free Clinic and organized housing, food, sanitation, music and arts, along with maintaining coordination with local churches and other social groups.
[15]
Psychedelic poster artist Bob Schnepf was commissioned by Chet Helms to create the official Summer of Love poster, which became a lasting icon of the era.
[16]
Beginning
[
edit
]
Youth arrivals
[
edit
]
College
students,
high school
students, and
runaways
began streaming into the Haight during the
spring break
of 1967.
John F. Shelley
the then-
Mayor of San Francisco
and the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
,
[3]
determined to stop the influx of young people once schools ended for the summer, unwittingly brought additional attention to the scene, and a series of articles in the
San Francisco Examiner
and
San Francisco Chronicle
alerted the national media to the hippies' growing numbers.
[
citation needed
]
By spring, some Haight-Ashbury organizations including
Diggers
theater and about 25 residents
[22]
responded by forming the
Council of the Summer of Love
, giving the event a name.
[23]
[24]
"You only had to walk out your door to join the fun"?
Mike Lafavore
[25]
Popularization
[
edit
]
The media's coverage of hippie afflux in the Haight-Ashbury drew the attention of youth from all over America.
Hunter S. Thompson
termed the district "Hashbury" in
The New York Times Magazine
.
On February 6, 1967,
Newsweek
printed a four-page four-color "Dropouts on a Mission".
[26]
On March 17, 1967,
Time
magazine printed an article "Love on Haight".
[26]
On June 6, 1967,
Newsweek
printed "The Hippies are Coming".
[26]
The activities in the area were reported almost daily.
[27]
The event was also reported by the counterculture's own media, particularly the
San Francisco Oracle
, the pass-around readership of which is thought to have exceeded a half-million people that summer,
[28]
and the
Berkeley Barb
.
The media's reportage of the "counterculture" included other events in California, such as the
Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival
in Marin County and the
Monterey Pop Festival
, both during June 1967. At Monterey, approximately 30,000 people gathered for the first day of the music festival, with the number increasing to 60,000 on the final day.
[29]
Additionally, media coverage of the Monterey Pop Festival facilitated the Summer of Love as large numbers of hippies traveled to California to hear favorite bands such as
The Who
,
Grateful Dead
,
the Animals
,
Jefferson Airplane
,
Quicksilver Messenger Service
,
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
,
Otis Redding
,
The Byrds
, and
Big Brother and the Holding Company
featuring
Janis Joplin
.
[30]
"San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)"
[
edit
]
Musician
John Phillips
of the band
The Mamas & the Papas
wrote the song "
San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)
" for his friend
Scott McKenzie
. It served to promote both the
Monterey Pop Festival
that Phillips was helping to organize, and to popularize the
flower children
of San Francisco.
[31]
Released on May 13, 1967, the song was an instant success. By the week ending July 1, 1967, it reached number four on the
Billboard
Hot 100
in the United States, where it remained for four consecutive weeks.
[32]
Meanwhile, the song charted at number one in the United Kingdom and much of Europe. The single is purported to have sold more than 7 million copies worldwide.
[33]
Events
[
edit
]
New York City
[
edit
]
In Manhattan, near the Greenwich Village neighborhood, during a concert in
Tompkins Square Park
on
Memorial Day
of 1967, some police officers asked for the music's volume to be reduced.
[4]
In response, some people in the crowd threw various objects, and 38 arrests ensued.
[4]
A debate about the "threat of the hippie" ensued between Mayor
John Lindsay
and Police Commissioner
Howard R. Leary
.
[4]
After this event, Allan Katzman, the editor of the
East Village Other
, predicted that 50,000 hippies would enter the area for the summer.
[4]
[34]
California
[
edit
]
Double in size of the Tompkins Square Park concert, as many as 100,000 young people from around the world flocked to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, as well as to nearby
Berkeley
and to other
San Francisco Bay Area
cities, to join in a popularized version of the hippie culture.
[35]
A
Free Clinic
was established for free medical treatment, and a
Free Store
gave away basic necessities without charge to anyone who needed them.
[36]
[37]
[38]
[39]
The Summer of Love attracted a wide range of people of various ages: teenagers and college students drawn by their peers and the allure of joining an alleged cultural utopia; middle-class vacationers; and even partying military personnel from bases within driving distance. The Haight-Ashbury could not accommodate this influx of people, and the neighborhood scene quickly deteriorated, with overcrowding, homelessness, hunger, drug problems, and crime afflicting the neighborhood.
[36]
Denver
[
edit
]
Chet Helms
,
Barry Fey
and others who were constructing
The Family Dog Denver
in the summer of 1967 also held a
Human Be-In
, in Denver's
City Park
, with the goal of harnessing the Summer of Love vibe to promote Helm's new Family Dog Productions venture, which opened in September, 1967. 5,000 people attended the Be-In, with performances by bands like the
Grateful Dead
,
Odetta
and
Captain Beefheart
.
Ken Kesey
and
Timothy Leary
were also reportedly in attendance. As Denver native Bruce Bond states in the 2021 documentary
The Tale of the Dog,
[40]
"It's not like the Summer of Love ended in Frisco. It just moved east, to Denver."
Use of drugs
[
edit
]
Psychedelic drug
use became common.
Grateful Dead
guitarist
Bob Weir
commented:
Haight Ashbury was a ghetto of bohemians who wanted to do anything?and we did but I don't think it has happened since. Yes there was LSD. But Haight Ashbury was not about drugs. It was about exploration, finding new ways of expression, being aware of one's existence.
[41]
After losing his untenured position as an instructor on the Psychology faculty at
Harvard
University,
Timothy Leary
became a major advocate for the recreational use of psychedelic drugs.
[12]
After starting taking
psilocybin
in the late fifties, a psychoactive chemical produced by certain
mushrooms
that causes effects similar to those of LSD, Leary endorsed the use of all psychedelics for personal development. He often invited friends as well as an occasional graduate student to consume such drugs along with him and colleague
Richard Alpert
.
On the West Coast, author
Ken Kesey
, a prior volunteer for a
CIA
-started LSD experiment in 1959, advocated the use of LSD.
[12]
Soon after participating, he was inspired to write the bestselling novel
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
.
[12]
Subsequently, after buying an old school bus, painting it with psychedelic graffiti and attracting a group of similarly minded individuals he dubbed the
Merry Pranksters
, Kesey and his group traveled across the country, hosting "acid tests" where they would fill a large container with a diluted low dose form of the drug and give out diplomas to those who passed their test.
[12]
Along with LSD,
cannabis
started to be much used during this period. However, new laws were subsequently enacted to control the use of both drugs. The users thereof often had sessions to oppose the laws, including The Human Be-In referenced above as well as various "smoke-ins" during July and August;
[42]
however, their efforts at repeal were unsuccessful.
Funeral and aftermath
[
edit
]
By the end of summer, many participants had left the scene to join the
back-to-the-land movement
of the late 1960s, to resume school studies, or simply to "get a job". Those remaining in the Haight wanted to commemorate the conclusion of the event. A mock funeral entitled "The Death of the Hippie" ceremony was staged on October 6, 1967, and organizer Mary Kasper explained the intended message:
[23]
We wanted to signal that this was the end of it, to stay where you are, bring the revolution to where you live and don't come here because it's over and done with.
[43]
In New York, the rock musical drama
Hair
, which told the story of the hippie counterculture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, began
Off-Broadway
on October 17, 1967.
[44]
Legacy
[
edit
]
Second Summer of Love
[
edit
]
The "Second Summer of Love" (a term which generally refers to the summers of both 1988 and 1989) was a renaissance of
acid house
music and rave parties in Britain.
[45]
The culture supported
MDMA
use and some
LSD
use. The art had a generally psychedelic emotion reminiscent of the 1960s.
[46]
[47]
[48]
40th anniversary
[
edit
]
During the summer of 2007, San Francisco celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love by holding numerous events around the region, culminating on September 2, 2007, when over 150,000 people attended the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love concert, held in Golden Gate Park in Speedway Meadows. It was produced by 2b1 Multimedia and the Council of Light.
[49]
[50]
[51]
50th anniversary
[
edit
]
In 2016, 2b1 Multimedia and The Council of Light, once again, began the planning for the 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. By the beginning of 2017, the council had gathered about 25 poster artists, about 10 of whom submitted their finished art, but it was never printed. The council was also contacted by many bands and musicians who wanted to be part of this historic event, all were waiting for the date to be determined before a final commitment.
[52]
New rules enforced by the San Francisco Parks and Recreational Department (PRD) prohibited the council from holding a free event of the proposed size. There were many events planned for San Francisco in 2017, many of which were 50th Anniversary-themed. However, there was no free concert. The PRD later hosted an event originally called “Summer Solstice Party,” but it was later renamed “50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love” two weeks before commencement. The event had fewer than 20,000 attendees from the local Bay Area.
In frustration, producer Boots Hughston put the proposal of what was by then to be a 52nd anniversary free concert into the form of an initiative intended for the November 6, 2018, ballot.
[53]
[54]
The issue did not make the ballot; however, a more generic Proposition E provides for directing hotel tax fees to a $32 million budget for "arts and cultural organizations and projects in the city."
[55]
During the summer of 2017, San Francisco celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love by holding numerous events and art exhibitions.
[56]
In Liverpool, the city has staged a 50 Summers of Love festival based on the 50th anniversary of the June 1, 1967, release of the album
Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
, by
The Beatles
.
[57]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
E. Vulliamy,
"Love and Haight"
,
Observer Music Monthly
May 20, 2007
- ^
P. Braunstein, and M.Doyle (eds),
Imagine Nation: The American Counterculture of the 1960s and '70s
, (New York, 2002), p. 7.
- ^
a
b
c
- Selvin, Joel (1999).
Summer of Love The Inside Story of LSD, Rock & Roll, Free Love, and High Times in the Wild West
. Cooper Square Press.
ISBN
9780815410195
.
- Selvin, Joel
; Young, Malcolm C. (June 11, 2017).
"The Summer of Love"
.
The Forum at Grace Cathedral
.
Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
– via
vimeo
.
- Selvin, Joel
; Young, Malcolm C. (June 11, 2017).
"The Summer of Love"
.
The Forum at Grace Cathedral
.
Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
– via
YouTube
.
With the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love sparking celebrations and events throughout San Francisco, we invite the New York Times best-selling author of Summer of Love: The Inside Story of LSD, Rock & Roll, Free Love and High Times in the Wild West and former San Francisco Chronicle senior pop music critic Joel Selvin to offer his insights into the lasting impact of the 1967 cultural revolution that was born in the Haight-Ashbury.
- Gene Anthony (1980).
The Summer of Love: Haight-Ashbury at Its Highest
(PDF)
. John Libbey Eurotext.
ISBN
0867194219
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on June 6, 2007.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Hinckley, David (October 15, 1998).
"Groovy The Summer Of Love, 1967"
.
New York Daily News
. Archived from
the original
on February 2, 2014
. Retrieved
September 28,
2012
.
- ^
Chapter 1 | Summer of Love | American Experience | PBS
. Retrieved
April 15,
2024
– via www.youtube.com.
- ^
"Counterculture"
.
Smith.edu
. Archived from
the original
on August 16, 2017
. Retrieved
August 16,
2017
.
- ^
M. Isserman, and M. Kazin (eds),
America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s
, (Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 151?172.
- ^
"What was the summer of love?"
.
The Guardian
. May 26, 2007.
ISSN
0261-3077
. Retrieved
August 16,
2017
.
- ^
"Chronology of San Francisco Rock 1965?1969"
. Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco
. Retrieved
November 1,
2008
.
- ^
"Copy of Certificate of Honor presented to Michael Bowen"
. City and County of San Francisco. September 2, 2007
. Retrieved
November 1,
2008
.
- ^
T.H. Anderson,
The Movement and the Sixties: Protest in America from Greensboro to Wounded Knee
, (Oxford University Press, 1995), p. 172.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Weller, Sheila (July 2012).
"Suddenly That Summer"
.
Vanity Fair
. Retrieved
September 28,
2012
.
- ^
San Francisco Oracle
, vol. 1, issue 5, p. 2.
- ^
T. Gitlin,
The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage
, (New York, 1993), p. 215.
- ^
Chet Helms.
"About this event..."
Summer of Love
. Archived from
the original
on February 28, 2011
. Retrieved
March 1,
2016
.
- ^
"The secret messages of San Francisco's Summer of Love"
.
The Week
. July 21, 2017.
- ^
"Vietnam"
.
SummerOf.Love
. CHS. April 14, 2017
. Retrieved
May 18,
2022
.
- ^
Goldsmith, Julie (April 14, 2017).
"Arrival of the Mobe"
.
UC Berkeley Library Update
. Retrieved
May 18,
2022
.
- ^
"1967 Antiwar March"
.
Found SF
. Retrieved
May 18,
2022
.
Anti-Vietnam war demonstrators fill Fulton Street in San Francisco on April 15, 1967. The five-mile march through the city would end with a peace rally at Kezar Stadium. In the background is San Francisco City Hall. (AP Photo)
- ^
"Vietnam War Protest March to Kezar Stadium"
.
Bay Area Television Archive
. Retrieved
May 18,
2022
.
- ^
"Chronology of San Francisco Rock 1965?1969"
.
sfmuseum.org
. Retrieved
May 18,
2022
.
- ^
Helms, Chet
.
"About this event..."
SummerOfLove.org
. Retrieved
May 18,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"The Year of the Hippie: Timeline"
.
Pbs.org
. Archived from
the original
on May 15, 2007
. Retrieved
April 24,
2007
.
- ^
"#Onthisday In 1967, The Words "Summer Of Love" Were First Used In The San Francisco Chronicle"
.
Summer of Love
.
California Historical Society
. April 6, 2017
. Retrieved
May 18,
2022
.
- ^
Love, Robert.
"A Look Back at the Summer of Love"
.
AARP
. Retrieved
May 18,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
Whiting, Sam (March 10, 2017).
"Tracing the lineage of the phrase "Summer of Love"
"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
.
San Francisco
. Retrieved
May 18,
2022
.
- ^
T. Anderson,
The Movement and the Sixties: Protest in America from Greensboro to Wounded Knee
, (Oxford University Press, 1995), p. 174.
- ^
"Summer of Love: Underground News"
.
PBS American Experience companion website
. Archived from
the original
on October 14, 2007
. Retrieved
May 15,
2007
.
- ^
T. Anderson,
The Movement and the Sixties: Protest in America from Greensboro to Wounded Knee
, (Oxford University Press, 1995), p. 175.
- ^
T. Gitlin,
The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage
, (New York, 1993), pp. 215?217.
- ^
Eddi Fiegel (2006).
Dream a Little Dream of Me: The Life of 'Mama' Cass Elliot
. Pan Books. pp. 225?226.
ISBN
9780330487511
. Retrieved
August 5,
2013
.
- ^
Whitburn, Joel
(2004).
The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition
. Record Research. p. 415.
- ^
Carson, Jim (August 5, 2011).
"Did You You: "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" By Scott McKenzie"
.
CBS Radio
. Archived from
the original
on August 16, 2011
. Retrieved
February 24,
2012
.
- ^
Mark Jacobson
Long Hot Summer of Love
in New York, from
New York
magazine
- ^
"Allen Cohen: San Francisco Oracle, Human-Be-IN, History of the Haight-Ashbury"
. Archived from
the original
on March 1, 2003.
- ^
a
b
Gail Dolgin
; Vicente Franco (2007).
The Summer of Love
.
American Experience
. PBS. Archived from
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on March 25, 2017
. Retrieved
April 23,
2007
.
- ^
"Gelatin Silver Portraits from the Summer of Love in 1967"
.
Flavorwire.com
. May 27, 2017
. Retrieved
August 31,
2019
.
- ^
"Photographs of Hippie Culture in San Francisco by Elaine Mayes"
.
Fubiz.net
. Retrieved
August 31,
2019
.
- ^
"The band performing at Fantasy Fair in early June 1967.... | Jefferson Airplane & friends | Jefferson airplane, Jefferson starship, Grace slick"
.
Pinterest.com
. Retrieved
August 31,
2019
.
- ^
"The Mystery of the Family Dog, Denver's Most Storied Rock Venue"
.
Westword
. August 16, 2017.
- ^
J. McDonald quoted in E. Vulliamy,
"Love and Haight"
,
Observer Music Monthly
, 20 May 2007
- ^
Harden, Mark (July 6, 1997).
"Summer of Love Seminal '67 Event Back after 30 Years"
.
Lexislexis.com
. Retrieved
September 28,
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.
- ^
"Transcript (for
American Experience
documentary on the Summer of Love)"
.
PBS
and
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. March 14, 2007.
- ^
Ron Bruguiere (2011).
Collision: When Reality and Illusion Collide
. AuthorHouse. p. 75.
ISBN
9781456725242
. Retrieved
August 5,
2013
.
- ^
"Documentaries - The Second Summer of Love"
.
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. BBC
. Retrieved
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2022
.
- ^
Reynolds, Simon (1998).
Energy Flash
. Picador.
ISBN
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.
- ^
Elledge, Jonn (January 11, 2005).
"Stuck still"
. AK13
. Retrieved
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.
, "By the end of 1988, the second summer of love was over"
- ^
"History of Hard House"
. Archived from
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. Retrieved
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2006
.
"As the second "Summer of Love" arrived in 1989"
- ^
"Proclamation"
(PDF)
.
2b1records.com
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
Joel Selvin (September 2, 2007).
"Summer of Love bands and fans jam in Golden Gate Park"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
.
San Francisco
:
Hearst
.
ISSN
1932-8672
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"The Line Up for 2007"
.
Summer of Love 50th Anniversary ? 2017
. Archived from
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on July 22, 2017
. Retrieved
July 23,
2017
.
- ^
"2b1 Multimedia Inc and the Council of Light Announce San Francisco's Summer of Love 50th Anniversary Concert"
.
Businesswire.com
. January 25, 2017
. Retrieved
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2019
.
- ^
"Summer of Love Producer is Heading to the Polls After Various Permit Denials"
.
Ampthemag.com
. January 12, 2018
. Retrieved
August 31,
2019
.
- ^
"Summer of Love concert promoter won't give up ? seeks ballot measure"
.
Sfchronicle.com
. January 10, 2018
. Retrieved
August 31,
2019
.
- ^
"5 local ballot measures face San Francisco voters in November"
.
Sfchronicle.com
. August 13, 2018
. Retrieved
August 31,
2019
.
- ^
"Experience The Summer of Love in San Francisco"
.
Sftravel.com
. Retrieved
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2019
.
- ^
"50 Summers of Love"
.
Culture Liverpool
. 2017.
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
- Summer of Love: 40 years later
, from
SFGate
- What Was The Summer Of Love?: A 50th Anniversary Explainer
Archived
October 28, 2020, at the
Wayback Machine
?
SFist
- The Summer of Love Wasn’t All Peace and Hippies
?
JSTOR
- The Summer of Love, Performers in Britain and the United States
Archived
November 6, 2007, at the
Wayback Machine
,
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
and the
American National Biography
- John Griffiths.
Summer of Love
, in Britain
- Kate Daloz
The Hippies Who Hated the Summer of Love
Longreads
- CIS: 'Summer of Love' Reached Behind Iron Curtain
, by Salome Asatiani.
RFE/RL
, August 30, 2007 (an article about the impact of the Summer of Love event on Soviet youth culture)
- PBS
,
The American Experience
:
Summer of Love
Archived
February 28, 2017, at the
Wayback Machine
, 2007
- Peter Berg (bioregionalist)
interviewed about the Summer of Love
for
The American Experience
,
PBS
- A Taste of Summer
2007-10-09
BBC Radio 2
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