Between Monterey Pop, in the summer of (love) 1967, and Woodstock, in August 1969, was the Miami Pop Festival. Woodstock producer Michael Lang helped put together this unique festival featuring Jimi Hendrix in May 1968, over a year before making history with the Woodstock Music & Art Fair.

Woodstock.com had a chance to speak with Ken Davidoff, the photographer for the event. You can visit www.themiamipopfestival.com to find out more information about this important historic festival and see some of Ken's amazing photography from the event.

Ken Davidoff:  This was the biggest event that I ever attended, and I didn't even realize that until  I got there and looked around. My thought was, I hope there are more of these, and that they get bigger.

Ken Davidoff:  Historically speaking, if Woodstock changed the world, and it did, then you have to consider Miami Pop as a birth place of rock festivals.  

Ken Davidoff:  No, this was my first time photographing Jimi, and I was a huge Jimi Hendrix fan, I made this a self assignment and used my Press credentials  (I started working at my Father's photography studio in Palm Beach by 1966).

Ken Davidoff:  Available light photography was not my  forte, at the time my Dad only taught me flash photography, which I did a lot of back then.

This is the reason that I took  only two night time photos of Jimi, after the second shot Jimi paused and looked directly at me and said, "There will be no more flash photography."  I'll never forget it as long as I live.

Ken Davidoff:  Jimi had great stage presence and gave me some great images, but I only got one chance at it. I photographed Johnny Winter at Palm Beach Pop Festival jamming with Janis Joplin and had  many other opportunities to take pictures of him, giving me one of my favorite old rock photos. 

Ken Davidoff:  My all time favorite would have to be Johnny Cash pointing a 44 magnum directly at my camera, I photographed him at his home in Hendersonville, in 1974, for P.R. for his European tour.

Ken Davidoff:  I wish that I did, but three months later I was the official photographer for the November 1969  Palm Beach Pop festival, three days of rain, cold and mud with the Rolling Stones as the closing act. The local paper called it " Woodstock South."

Ken Davidoff:  Even though I took pictures of Richie Havens many times, my all time favorite concert was one that unfortunately I did not get an opportunity to photograph. Richie Havens played at Miami Marine Stadium, the stage was on a floating barge, too far away to take pictures. The energy that Richie put out and that the audience reacted with was unbelievable. Everyone was on their feet from the moment Richie hit the stage until the last encore, not one person sat down, and if you ever meet Richie Havens and remind him about Miami Marine Stadium he will tell you the same thing.

Too see more of, and even purchase, Ken's photos, check these out:

www.oldrockphoto.com

www.palmbeachpopfestival.com

www.themiamipopfestival.com