As the blues song goes, "another man done gone, another man done gone, gone on the county farm, another man done gone."
I personally will miss his laugh, the twinkle in his eyes, the giggle in which he did his work. He was of a time most of us will not remember. He was one of the first ten people in SF who were beyond the Beats, who felt that something new was in the air and was about to happen. Then he, along with Luria Castell and others, put on the first Family Dog dances in the psychedelic era, before Chet Helms, before Bill Graham.
Kelley was a pioneer. He contributed to great art, he was a wonderful collaborator with Stanley Mouse, and he had an impact on all our lives, those of us who work in and create with the visual arts.
I will miss him. I'm helping write his obit with his wife Marguerite and his family and his close associates, and of course Stanley.
Another man done gone. RIP Alton Kelley. Kick some hot rod tires wherever you've flown to.
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