SNACK, an acronym for Students Need Athletics, Culture and Kicks (a phrase thought up by columnist Herb Caen),[1] was a benefit concert held in San Francisco on March 23, 1975.
[3] The show included a one-time-only collaboration of Bob Dylan, The Band, and Neil Young as well as Santana, The Doobie Brothers, The Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Starship.
Rock promoter Bill Graham put the show together to raise money for the San Francisco school district, which due to a shortage of funds, planned to eliminate after-school sports and other extra-curricular activities.
[3] Within two weeks after first reading the story in the newspaper, Graham acted quickly and personally called a few number of artists who agreed to perform for free: The Grateful Dead, Graham Central Station, Bob Dylan and members of The Band, Jefferson Starship, Tower of Power, the Doobie Brothers, Santana, Joan Baez, and Neil Young.
Baseball great Willie Mays, track and field medalist Jesse Owens, along with a number of other sports stars also agreed to be there.
The day before the concert, the school board announced that they had "found," as a result of accounting changes, $2.1 million, which eliminated much of the budget shortfall.
Among the first to enter were those from the seven to ten thousand people who had paid $5 for their tickets and had camped out all night on the stadium lawn or in Golden Gate Park.
"[7][8] The first unannounced guest was Reverend Cecil Williams of San Francisco's Glide Memorial Church, who took note of the brotherhood shown by the event.
"[2] After a set by Jefferson Starship, Graham introduced another surprise star guest, Marlon Brando, who spoke to the crowd: Nobody in history has witnessed an occasion like this.