DALLAS, TX.- The world was simply and sheerly divided into 'the aware,' those who had the experience of being vessels of the divine, and a great mass of 'the unaware,' 'the unmusical,' 'the unattuned.’
— Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
On December 4, 1965, in a quiet San Jose neighborhood, something extraordinary happened. It was the night of the first publicly attended Acid Test, hosted by Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, and it marked the live debut of the Grateful Dead — newly renamed from the Warlocks. Tacked up around town, a simple, hand-drawn poster pointed the way: “Can you pass the Acid Test?” it read, with an address — 38 S. 5th St. — scrawled beneath. This isn’t just a piece of paper; it’s a snapshot of a moment when the Bay Area’s psychedelic scene was taking root, and a band was stepping into history, for the first time as the Grateful Dead. And it serves as an anchor for Heritage’s sweeping and treasure-filled April 17-19 Music Memorabilia & Concert Posters Signature® Auction.
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The San Jose event wasn’t your typical concert. Kesey and his crew had their eyes on the crowd spilling out of two Rolling Stones shows that night at the San Jose Civic Auditorium, less than a mile away. Before fans stumbled out after the show, the Pranksters had put up these posters, luring the curious to a big, ramshackle house for a party that stretched until 3:00 AM. Inside, the Grateful Dead set up their gear across multiple rooms, their sound spilling into every corner — Jerry Garcia’s guitar cutting through the air, Pigpen’s organ rumbling low. It was chaos and creation all at once, with projectors casting wild visuals and the infamous electric Kool-Aid flowing freely. The writer Tom Wolfe pegged the crowd at around 400, including whispers of Stones like Keith Richards and Brian Jones dropping by, alongside a young Jann Wenner.
This particular poster survived thanks to two sisters, Betsy and Kathy, high schoolers from the Menlo Park area. Betsy had been taking guitar lessons from Bob Weir at Guitars Unlimited, back when he was still a Warlock playing gigs at Magoo’s Pizza Parlor. They’d fallen for the band’s sound and followed them to San Jose that night, drawn by rumors the Stones might show up. But when Kesey’s painted bus, Further, rolled in and the Pranksters piled out, the scene got too wild for them. “We were there for the music,” Kathy recalls, “but it felt overwhelming.” Before leaving, Betsy snagged the poster off a telephone pole — a keepsake from a night they didn’t dare dive into. Now, decades later, Heritage has their story on record, complete with a letter of provenance, tying this lot to that historic moment.
“San Francisco in ’65 was a crucible, and this Acid Test was one of its first big sparks,” says Pete Howard, Heritage’s Director of Concert Posters. “The Dead weren’t stars yet — just a local outfit testing their wings — but the energy was already there, raw and unpolished.” The poster’s simplicity belies its weight: a crayon-drawn question mark from a time when the counterculture was still finding its voice. “It’s not polished or mass-produced like the Fillmore posters that’d come later; it’s a rough, honest artifact of a night when music, mischief, and a little madness collided,” says Howard. “For collectors, it’s a rare chance to hold a piece of the Grateful Dead’s origin story, straight from the streets where it all began.” The piece comes from the world-renowned David Swartz Concert Poster Collection and will hit the block April 18.
An equally significant piece of rock history joins the posters in this auction: Picture John Bonham at his amber Ludwig Vistalite kit, that 26-inch bass drumhead with its hand-painted interlocking rings — the symbol from Led Zeppelin IV — staring out at roaring crowds. This is the drumhead he used through the 1973 and 1975 North American tours, plus European dates, powering over 70 shows. It was there for the filming of The Song Remains the Same at Madison Square Garden and the legendary five-night Earls Court stand in London, Zeppelin’s live high-water mark. It thudded through the first live runs of “Kashmir,” “In My Time of Dying,” and “Trampled Under Foot,” and all five rare performances of “When the Levee Breaks,” with Bonham’s iconic beat anchoring the whole.
“This drumhead rode Zeppelin’s peak, when they were breaking every record for attendance and gate receipts, the biggest band on earth,” says Garry Shrum, Heritage’s Director of Music Memorabilia. “It’s one of just two Bonham used with that symbol—the first, from his green sparkle kit, may be lost to time. This one, tied to the glowing Vistalite set, retired after Earls Court ’75.”
It nearly didn’t make it: In 1987, a roadie with Showstars Crewing found it during a storage purge, headed for a bonfire with Alice Cooper’s stage props. “I asked if I could take it home,” he writes in his provenance letter. He did, only realizing in 2024, when he turned it over, that he’d saved the Song Remains the Same drumhead.
Heritage confirms its authenticity with solid evidence, and it’s the most significant drumhead to hit auction since Ringo’s Ed Sullivan Show piece sold nearly a decade ago. Bonham has been gone since 1980, his death ending Zeppelin, but his legacy echoes as he’s still widely considered the greatest drummer rock and roll ever knew. “For fans and collectors, this isn’t just a piece of gear; it’s a survivor from Zeppelin’s golden era, a front-row relic of their loudest, most untouchable years,” says Shrum. “It’s got a value that goes beyond any bid, a thunderous slice of rock history.”
Bruce Springsteen Phil Ceccola Photo Print Matted and Framed
A significant collection is another highlight of this auction: Denny Somach isn’t just a name in rock — he’s a backstage legend who’s lived it, shaped it, and collected it. A Grammy-winning radio producer and founder of Denny Somach Productions since 1981, he’s the guy who brought The Classics, Legends of Rock, and Psychedelic Psnack to the airwaves, spinning tales of the genre’s golden years. He kicked off at WSAN in Allentown post-Moravian College, then climbed to WYSP-FM in Philly before going solo. Somach didn’t stop at radio; he produced MTV’s first outside broadcast, co-created NBC’s Friday Night Videos, and even helmed infomercials with Wolfman Jack and Davy Jones. Add executive producer credits for Eric Johnson’s Grammy-winning “Cliffs of Dover” and books like Get the Led Out, and you’ve got a man who’s associated with rock royalty — Johnny Winter, Todd Rundgren, Alan Parsons — and turned fandom into a stellar career.
His collection of dozens of lots is a jaw-dropper and includes signed posters, handwritten notes, photos, original artwork, personal gear and awards, all straight from the heart of rock’s heyday. “It’s not just memorabilia — it’s a front-row pass to the revolution, gathered by a guy who didn’t just witness history but helped make it,” says Shrum.
Among Somach’s treasures is the vibrant original art for Zeppelin’s Get the Led Out limited edition, signed by renowned artist Ioannis and author Denny Somach; it’s joined by a handwritten note from Eddie Van Halen on Marriott stationary (“Get crazy with us”); Don Henley’s sunglasses from Building the Perfect Beast; a fantastic array of photos of The Boss, Bruce Springsteen, by celebrated photographer Phil Ceccola; and a limited edition photo print of the artwork for the Rolling Stone’s Stripped album signed by Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts. This is just the tip of the collection’s iceberg. “For collectors, Somach’s haul is a rare, raw slice of the real thing,” says Shrum.
The Acid Test poster isn’t the only colorful, hand-drawn slice of trippy legend in the auction: And John Lennon’s “Strong” artwork isn’t just a sketch — it’s a window into the mind of a Beatle at the peak of his psychedelic plunge. Drawn in 1967 on Hotel Continental Paris stationery, this piece explodes with felt-pen colors, wild figures and abstract shapes all swirling around the word “Strong” near the center. It’s a snapshot of Lennon’s headspace after his first LSD trip in March 1965, slipped into his coffee by dentist John Riley without his knowledge. From then on, everything shifted — music, lyrics, and art like this, born from what Lennon called “a thousand trips.” He once said it was “terrifying, but fantastic,” and this 7-by-9-inch drawing, framed to 12¾ by 15 inches, captures that raw energy.
The piece passed through Yannis Alexis Mardas — Magic Alex, head of Apple Electronics — after Lennon sketched it during a visit to Greece. Lennon later recalled doing a flurry of drawings that night, including some he gave to Ringo, though he thought the originals were lost. This one survived, and it’s a vibrant testament to Lennon’s cutting-edge genius. “For Beatles fans, it’s more than art — it’s a one-of-a-kind relic from the era when he and George Harrison first stumbled into the psychedelic unknown, and it’s a piece of the revolution Lennon helped ignite,” says Shrum.
But the Beatles didn’t just storm the ’60s with sound — they redefined style, and this custom-made suit from D.A. Millings & Son is proof. Dougie Millings, the band’s “house tailor” from 1962 to 1966, crafted this gray jacket with a black collar and matching pants, a look that screamed “Fab Four” when they hit America. Known as “Dad” to the lads, Millings tailored them for stage, screen, and beyond, even popping up in A Hard Day’s Night as the flustered tailor wrangling the mop-topped quartet. This suit — jacket measuring 23-inch shoulders, 30-inch length, pants — is a sharp relic of their early Mod glory.
But it’s more than fabric: Included are the original paper patterns for John, Paul, George, and Ringo, used by Millings to shape their wardrobe from A Hard Day’s Night to Help!. A handwritten note from Gordon Millings, Dougie’s son, dated 1989 on company letterhead, explains them, alongside a description of the suit with color photos. Add three black-and-white shots from their 1964 Washington, D.C. concert and an 8-by-10 of the band with Dougie, and you’ve got a time capsule. “Millings dressed rock royalty — the Kinks, the Stones, the Who — but the Beatles were his signature,” says Shrum. “This lot is a rare slice of their fashion revolution, as essential to their legacy as any riff. It’s a collector’s dream, pure ’60s magic.”
And as far as posters go, Heritage isn’t stopping at the Acid Test poster — this auction unleashes the biggest haul of Grateful Dead posters it’s ever offered, nearly 100 strong. Among them shines a 9.8 Near Mint/Mint gem: the 1968 “Hawaiian Aoxomoxoa” poster by Rick Griffin. Those weekend shows got canned, and most copies hit the trash, making this vibrant masterpiece a rare score, too elusive for most collectors to snag. Another standout: an FD-26 “Skeleton & Roses” poster in crisp 9.4 Near Mint condition, a beauty that still turns heads.
Then there’s the Tim Backstrom Grateful Dead Collection: 800 pieces of pure Deadhead devotion. Backstrom, a diehard fan and collector for decades until his passing a few years back, left behind a stash so impressive that every CGC-graded poster sports a pedigree tag, a rare nod from the grading world.
“And that’s not all,” says Howard. “This auction is packed with more heavy hitters — rare concert posters from the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Nirvana, Billie Holiday, and beyond, spanning R&B, blues, jazz, and country. It’s a lineup that digs deep into rock’s roots and branches, offering collectors a shot at history from every angle.”
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