Rare, classic concert stash now on YouTube

Bruce Springsteen is just one performer whose classic concerts are now available on YouTube. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Watch classic concert video, including Cheap Trick's "Surrender" Cheap Trick at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, on March 29, 1980. (Courtesy Music Vault)(Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Lynyrd Skynyrd: "Sweet Home Alabama" Lynyrd Skynyrd at Oakland Coliseum, July 2, 1977. (Courtesy Music Vault)(Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
U2: "I Will Follow" U2 at California Hall, in San Francisco, may 15, 1981. (Courtesy Music Vault)(Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Chicago: "25 or 6 to 4" Chicago at Tanglewood Music Festival in Boston, July 21, 1970. (Courtesy Music Vault)(Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The Sex Pistols: "Holiday in the Sun" The Sex Pistols' final show, before breaking up, at San Francisco's Winterland, January 14, 1978. (Courtesy Music Vault)(Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON — Bruce Springsteen at Passaic, New Jersey’s Capitol Theatre, Van Morrison at Montreux in Switzerland, Louis Armstrong at the Newport Jazz Festival, and The Sex Pistols at Winterland, in San Francisco — these and almost 13,000 concert videos are being made available on YouTube.

Music Vault bills itself as “the world’s greatest collection of live music.”

The free site allows users to browse or search by performer, song or venue. In addition, Music Vault provides curated playlists such as “Leading Ladies of Rock,” “Best of Neil Young,” and “Legendary Drummers.”

Much of Music Vault’s focus is on archived shows from the late 1960s through the 1970s, though the service also appeals to younger YouTube regulars who use the searchable service to find independent music.

The Music Vault YouTube channel is the latest offering from Wolfgang’s Vault — an online memorabilia and performance site that includes pay subscriptions for Concert Vault, which provides unlimited video and audio streaming.

Wolfgang’s Vault features the complete archives of rock impresario Bill Graham, and includes poster art, vintage T-shirts and tickets.

“After two years restoring, transferring, mixing and mastering thousands of tapes from our enormous archive, we’re thrilled and extremely proud to share this massive treasure with the YouTube music community,” Music Vault content editor Bill Antonucci says in a statement.

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