Season of the Witch Playlist - Music from the 60's, 70's and 80's!

The years between 1965 and 1985 were a tumultuous and often dark time in San Francisco history.  In this year's One City One Book selection, Season of the Witch, author David Talbot uses a backdrop of local music to delve deep into the heart of this extraordinary era of social and political unrest.

From Santana and Jefferson Airplane's appearance at the late 1960's Altamont Free Concert where a young African-American male was murdered, to punk rocker Jello Biafra's mayoral bid shortly after the assassinations of both Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone, local music provided an unsentimental soundtrack.

The Art, Music & Recreation Center of the San Francisco Public Library is delighted to display some of our collection's ephemera and book images of the music that is featured in this remarkable publication. Inspired by the author's "playlist", materials culled include everything from rock posters that are on loan from the San Francisco History Center, to newspaper clippings that are stored in our department's vertical files. Images will be on display in the glass display cases on both sides of the Fourth Floor elevator lobby until January 28, 2016.

The hyperlinks below will lead you to our catalog showing the Library's holdings for an artist.

Season of the Witch Playlist: The David Talbot's Best Songs Recorded by San Francisco Bands, 1965-1985


The Ace of Cups - "Circles”

The Beau Brummels -“Just a Little,” “Laugh Laugh, ”“Sometime at Night”

Big Brother and theHolding Company  - “Call on Me,” "Combination of the Two,” “Farewell Song,” “Piece of My Heart”

Creedence ClearwaterRevival  - “As Long as I Can See the Light,” “Fortunate Son,” “Walk on the Water”

The Dead Kennedys  - “Holiday in Cambodia”

The Flamin’ Groovies  - “Shake Some Action,” “Slow Death”

The Grateful Dead  - “Box of Rain,” “The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion),” “New Speedway Boogie,” “Ripple,” “Uncle John’s Band”

The Great Society - “Grimly Forming,” “Trieulogy”

The JeffersonAirplane - “It’s No Secret,” “Lather,” “Law Man.” “Somebody to Love,” “Today,” “White Rabbit”

Jorma Kaukonen - “Genesis”

Lee Michaels - “Heighty Hi,” “What Now America”

Moby Grape - “8:05,” “Going Nowhere,” “I Am Not Willing,” “Naked, If I Want To,” “Omaha,” “Sitting by the Window”

The Mojo Men - “Sit Down, I Think I Love You”

Romeo Void - “Never Say Never”

Santana - “Samba Pa Ti”

Skip Spence - “Diana”

Tracy Nelson and Mother Earth - “Down So Low,” “Seven Bridges Road”

Translator - “Everywhere That I’m Not”

The Vejtables - “I Still Love You”

The Youngbloods - “Darkness, Darkness,” “Get Together”