The P Speaks: Alton Kelley

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I read an interview, I forget who, it was either Maxwell Parrish or Norman Rockwell. They were quoted as saying when you get the right idea, it rings the bell. I wait until the bell rings. – Alton Kelley, Rock Artist, 2007

Alton Kelley, with long-time collaborator Stanley “Mouse” Miller, created many of the psychedelic posters and art associated with the 1960’s rock scene in San Francisco. The art rock eye candy they created is part of our national heritage – and a few examples are in the Smithsonian.

In the fall of 1965, Kelley was one of the four people who called themselves the Family Dog. This group was a cornerstone of San Francisco’s music scene, and became known for thowing psychedelic dance parties in the Longshoremen’s Hall. At this time, the Family Dog was a small operation: Kelley often designed the flyers advertising their shows, and he needed help. Along came Stanley Miller. Under the name Mouse Studios, they produced art together: left-handed Alton working on one side of the easel, and right-handed Mouse on the other.

In the late sixties, San Francisco was graced with two competing music impresarios: the deal-making Bill Graham and the laid-back Chet Helms. Graham booked the Fillmore, and Helms the Avalon Ballroom. To promote their shows, they produced posters and handbills. Both realized early on that the posters they commissioned to advertise upcoming concerts – from a handful of artists – were collectors items, and began numbering their respective series. Now classics, the Fillmore/BGP series totals 287, the Avalon about 150. Other artists who contributed to this emerging genre of advertising included Wes Wilson, Rick Griffin, Greg Irons, Bonnie MacLean, Randy Tuten, Lee Conklin, David Byrd, Norman Orr and David Singer. [And to clarify for those that associate the Family Dog mainly with Chet Helms, in time he became the primary name associated with the Family Dog.]

Kelley and Mouse worked for both promoters, producing volumes of iconic work, much of it cheerfully indecipherable. Their studio was a converted firehouse in the Lower Haight. For inspiration, they scrutinized old photos, etchings, and collections in the public library. French poster-making techniques influenced their use of color. They copied an illustration of a skeleton from a 19th century edition of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, and it became first a handbill and later an album cover for the Grateful Dead.

The pair created dozens of rock posters and album covers for many groups, including Jimi Hendrix, Bo Diddley, Bukka White, the 13th Floor Elevators, Journey, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Captain Beefheart, Steve Miller Band, and Big Brother and the Holding Company. The two collaborated recently on the cover of the program for a recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction dinner.

Alton Kelley died this week. Age 67. Complications of osteoporosis.

As Joel Selvin, rock critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, phrased it years ago, “Kelley and Mouse drew the first face on rock music.”

Tags: Alton Kelley, psychedelic, rock art, Stanley Mouse