Sam Cutler (born Brendan Lawrence Lyons in early 1943) was the

tour manager A tour manager (or concert tour manager) is the person who helps to organize the administration for a schedule of appearances of a musical group (band) or artist at a sequence of venues (a concert tour). In general, road managers handle tour deta ...

for

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...

, and other acts.

Early life and career

Cutler is an Honours Graduate in

Contemporary History Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is ...

(

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...

) and a qualified teacher (

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Institute of Education 1963-66). Cutler's O.U degree was gained at the end of the 1980s. Cutler worked for Blackhill Enterprises as

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...

and master of ceremonies on a series of 1960s gigs in the U.K. and Europe with different artists, including

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

and

Alexis Korner Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major in ...

. In 1969, he acted as master of ceremonies at The Rolling Stones concert in Hyde Park

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Following the Hyde Park show, Cutler was asked to be the personal road manager to The Rolling Stones during their 1969 Tour of America, which culminated in the

Altamont Free Concert The Altamont Speedway Free Festival was a counterculture rock concert in the United States, held on Saturday, December 6, 1969, at the Altamont Speedway outside of Livermore, California. Approximately 300,000 attended the concert, and some a ...

where Afro-American arts student

Meredith Curly Hunter, Jr. Meredith Curly Hunter, Jr. (October 24, 1951 – December 6, 1969), was an American man who was killed at the 1969 Altamont Free Concert. During the performance by the Rolling Stones, Hunter approached the stage, and was violently driven off by ...

was killed in front of the stage. Cutler is commonly credited with first uttering The Rolling Stones' famous intro line, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World...The Rolling Stones!"

Rock and roll management career

Following the events at Altamont, Cutler stayed in the U.S. to deal with the aftermath, was befriended by

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

, and subsequently hired by the

as their tour manager. He went on to become a co-manager of the band (with Jon McIntire and David Parker) and eventually became their agent and tour manager. Cutler organized the Dead's appearances at a number of events including: the 1970 Festival Express Tour of Canada, The Summer Jam at Watkins Glen (at 700,000+ paid admission the largest single paid admission event in rock n roll history), and the 1972 European Tour of the Grateful Dead, the musical results of which can be heard on the Dead's triple live album ''

Europe '72 ''Europe '72'' is a live triple album by the Grateful Dead, released in November 1972. It covers the band's tour of Western Europe in April and May that year, and showcases live favourites, extended improvisations and several new songs including ...

''. Through his company, Out of Town Tours, Cutler coordinated the appearances of

, The Band,

The Allman Brothers The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guitar ...

The New Riders of the Purple Sage ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, The Sons of Champlin, Mike Bloomfield,

Ramblin' Jack Elliott Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliot Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Life and career Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adnopoz, a ...

and others. In 2006, Cutler collaborated with Melbourne (Australia) indie-rock group

Black Cab A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or London taxi) is a carriage or car for hire. A hackney of a more expensive or high class was called a remise. A symbol of London and Britain, the black taxi is a common s ...

on the track "Valiant" which appeared on the band's 2006 release ''Jesus East''. In the track, Cutler reminisces on his days with the Grateful Dead and preaches advice for the kids of today. Cutler toured around Australia and Asia promoting his book.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutler, Sam Alumni of the Open University 1943 births Living people Grateful Dead The Rolling Stones British music industry executives