An ultra rare Allman Brothers Band backstage pass/button used at the legendary Summer Jam at Watkins Glen, the July 1973 rock festival at which The Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead and The Band played before an estimated 600,000 fans–at one point cited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the “Largest audience at a pop festival”.  We obtained this from Steven Gagne, former head of the Fillmore East sound department, and the head of promoter Bill Graham’s sound department and lead concert mixer.  Gagne told us “I was in charge of the sound [at Watkins Glen] (as much as anyone was…), collaborating with various sound companies.  Bill Graham’s FM Productions was in charge of staging.

An Ebay user wrote to tell us that this button is pictured in the book “The Allman Brothers Band Classic Memorabilia” by Willie Perkins, former Allman Brothers Band manager and Allman’s collector Jack Weston.  This was one of three buttons used at the festival as backstage passes, including similar ones for The Band and The Grateful Dead.

When we acquired this from Mr. Gagne, it was missing the pin on the back, and we have replaced it with a similar vintage pinback.  2 1/8″ in diameter, in excellent condition.  With Recordmecca’s written lifetime guarantee of authenticity.

A near impossible Allman Brothers Band rarity. (note: thanks to Ebay user revilo1 for clarifying that this button was from the Watkins Glen festival and that it appears in the book mentioned above.)  See our other listings for the similar The Band backstage pass button.