In 1960, the unthinkable happened. After six successful campaigns in Newport, it all came crashing down around George Wein and the Newport Jazz Festival board. Apparently, by 1959, young people (and not necessarily jazz fans) had caught on to the fact that Newport pubs were staying open until 4 or 5 a.m during festival week, and the additional fact that few bars were checking for ID. So under-aged college kids came in droves from all over New England to get boozed up and party, make out on the beaches and eventually crash in Touro Park while leaving refuse strewn all over town. One Boston newpaper columnist surmised at the time that “these kids have begun comparing Newport at festival time to Ft. Lauderdale during spring break.”
The ruckus never entered the festival gates insides Freebody Park, since few of the troublemakers had any real feeling for jazz. “Nevertheless, we recognized the rowdiness of the kids outside as a threat to the festival,” writes Wein in his autobiography.
The problem escalated and reached a critical peak on the evening of Saturday, July 2, 1960, when a large mobe of inebriated college kids — estimates ran anywhere from 3,000 to 12,000 — began charging the Newport police force, hurling full cans of beer at them like grenades. The conflict erupted into a full-scale riot just outside Freebody Park. Some of the kids tried to storm the festival gate but were repelled. Firemen vainly attempted to disperse the crowd with hoses. The violent throng began smashing store and car windows along Bellevue Avenue, the city’s main strip of commerce, until state troopers were deployed.
The following morning, the city council held an emergency meeting that would last two hours. Council members decried the disastrous events from the night before. At the end of the meeting, the council voted 4-3 in favor of revoking Newport Jazz Festival, Inc.’s entertainment license. That Sunday afternoon, distinguished master of ceremonies Willis Connover from Voice of America Radio broke the news to the crowd in his rich baritone that the evening concerts were being cancelled and that patrons were instructed to return to their homes as soon as possible. In an obvious ad lib, Connover reserved his harshest criticism for the “pseudo beatniks and rock ‘n’ roll escapees venting their animal instincts that qualifies them for entry into a zoo rather than a school.”
And with that, the Newport Jazz Festival was dead. But like the phoenix that rose from the ashes, George Wein would be back with a bigger and better festival in 1962.(see audio file above)
