The impact Bill Graham had on the music and culture of the late 60's and early 70's cannot be overstated. Justifiably called Rock's greatest impresario, Graham was a visionary, a passionate proponent of  live music and shrewd  businessman. His Fillmore auditoriums in New York and San Francisco were launching pads for musical careers that artists of more recent generations envy.  He was brash, arrogant and brilliant. 
The Jazz Heritage Center in San Francisco opened a new exhibit to Graham Thursday (5/5).  The month long exhibit is being presented in association with the Bill Graham Memorial Foundation. Bonnie Simmons, herself a major figure in Bay Area Rock history, credits Graham for being one of the first to grasp the role a promoter could play in developing artists and influencing culture. Simmons, an influential Rock radio fixture for decades and now the Executive Director of the Bill Graham Memorial Foundation, credits Graham for the amazing insights he had into both artists and audiences.
Bill Graham lost his life in a helicopter crash in the fall of 1991.