Sonny Barger, godfather of Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, died on June 29 at his home in
Livermore, California at the age of 83.
On his Facebook page, he wrote, “If you are reading this message, you’ll know that I’m gone.
I’ve asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing.” His former lawyer, Fritz
Clapp, confirmed the death, saying Barger died due to liver cancer.
For decades, Barger stood not only as the founder of the original Oakland, California based,
Angels chapter in 1957, but was also the public face for a nationwide counterculture tribe of
bearded, denim-clad road warriors memorialized in literature and film. Barger used to urge
others to “discover your limits by exceeding them.”
The Hells Angels had a history of being violent and committing crimes, many involving
Barger, which he even boasted about. He even referred to himself as belonging to a band of
“card-carrying felons.”
In 1988, he was convicted of conspiracy to kill members of a rival club based in Kentucky and
blow up their headquarters. He served five years in federal prison.
He was also a self-confessed cocaine addict who supported his drug habit by selling heroin in
the 1960s and 1970s. He served multiple stints in prison, totaling eight years for firearms and
assorted drug charges.
The Hells Angels, as a corporate entity with chapters from California to New York, faced
incessant federal investigation on criminal enterprise and racketeering offenses. In 2013,
authorities even obtained convictions against 16 members in South Carolina for a conspiracy
involving gunrunning, money laundering, drug distribution, and arson.
However, the most infamous act of the Hells Angels was their role in the 1969 Rolling Stones
concert at Altamont, California, where a pistol-wielding 18-year-old concertgoer, Meredith
Hunter, was stabbed to death by a member of the Hells Angels. This was captured on film in the 1970 documentary “Gimme Shelter.”
The Angels, who were hired to provide security, were fighting off fans rushing the stage. The
drug-fueled crowd pressed against the Angels’ security line, damaged some of their bikes, and the Angels went into the crowd swinging fists and cue sticks.
In Barger’s autobiography, “Hell’s Angel – The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell’s
Angels Motorcycle Club,” he accused Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards of delaying the
band’s performance to work up the crowd. He claimed that he pressed a pistol into Richards’
ribs and ordered him to start playing immediately in an attempt to quiet down the crowd.
Richards complied, but the crowd, including Hunter, only got more excited and started
swarming toward the stage. According to Barger, Hunter fired a single shot, winging a Hells
Angel. Other Angels quickly subdued Hunter, punching and kicking him. One Angel was
charged with fatally stabbing him but the charges were dropped after they claimed the action
was for self-defense.
Over the years, Barger served as a technical consultant for biker movies and appeared in
several, including “Hells Angels on Wheels”, which was produced in 1967.
For the real-life Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, Barger drew a lot of inspiration from a movie
filmed in 1953, “The Wild One.”
Over several decades, Barger grew his single club into a financially sustainable network with
thousands of members from the United States, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere.
He also published two novels, “Dead in 5 Heartbeats”, which was published in 2003, and “6
Chambers, 1 Bullet”, which was published in 2006. The two novels were about a murder in the
biker world.
His autobiography was a New York Times bestseller, and two other books, “Freedom: Credos
From the Road,” and “Ridin’ High, Livin’ Free” received positive reviews. They were published
in 2005 and 2002 respectively.
In 1998, Barger moved from Oakland to suburban Phoenix, dropping his official duties in the
Hells Angels but remaining a rank-and-file member. He ran a motorcycle repair shop and did
yoga, a pastime he acquired in prison.
He kept riding the open road, thousands of miles a year, eventually professing a preference for high-powered Hondas and BMWs over the Angels’ traditional Harley choppers.
His nonconformist life taught him to “become a real man,” and he counseled in his
autobiography, “you need to join the army first and then do some time in jail.”
Livermore, California at the age of 83.
On his Facebook page, he wrote, “If you are reading this message, you’ll know that I’m gone.
I’ve asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing.” His former lawyer, Fritz
Clapp, confirmed the death, saying Barger died due to liver cancer.
For decades, Barger stood not only as the founder of the original Oakland, California based,
Angels chapter in 1957, but was also the public face for a nationwide counterculture tribe of
bearded, denim-clad road warriors memorialized in literature and film. Barger used to urge
others to “discover your limits by exceeding them.”
The Hells Angels had a history of being violent and committing crimes, many involving
Barger, which he even boasted about. He even referred to himself as belonging to a band of
“card-carrying felons.”
In 1988, he was convicted of conspiracy to kill members of a rival club based in Kentucky and
blow up their headquarters. He served five years in federal prison.
He was also a self-confessed cocaine addict who supported his drug habit by selling heroin in
the 1960s and 1970s. He served multiple stints in prison, totaling eight years for firearms and
assorted drug charges.
The Hells Angels, as a corporate entity with chapters from California to New York, faced
incessant federal investigation on criminal enterprise and racketeering offenses. In 2013,
authorities even obtained convictions against 16 members in South Carolina for a conspiracy
involving gunrunning, money laundering, drug distribution, and arson.
However, the most infamous act of the Hells Angels was their role in the 1969 Rolling Stones
concert at Altamont, California, where a pistol-wielding 18-year-old concertgoer, Meredith
Hunter, was stabbed to death by a member of the Hells Angels. This was captured on film in the 1970 documentary “Gimme Shelter.”
The Angels, who were hired to provide security, were fighting off fans rushing the stage. The
drug-fueled crowd pressed against the Angels’ security line, damaged some of their bikes, and the Angels went into the crowd swinging fists and cue sticks.
In Barger’s autobiography, “Hell’s Angel – The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell’s
Angels Motorcycle Club,” he accused Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards of delaying the
band’s performance to work up the crowd. He claimed that he pressed a pistol into Richards’
ribs and ordered him to start playing immediately in an attempt to quiet down the crowd.
Richards complied, but the crowd, including Hunter, only got more excited and started
swarming toward the stage. According to Barger, Hunter fired a single shot, winging a Hells
Angel. Other Angels quickly subdued Hunter, punching and kicking him. One Angel was
charged with fatally stabbing him but the charges were dropped after they claimed the action
was for self-defense.
Over the years, Barger served as a technical consultant for biker movies and appeared in
several, including “Hells Angels on Wheels”, which was produced in 1967.
For the real-life Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, Barger drew a lot of inspiration from a movie
filmed in 1953, “The Wild One.”
Over several decades, Barger grew his single club into a financially sustainable network with
thousands of members from the United States, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere.
He also published two novels, “Dead in 5 Heartbeats”, which was published in 2003, and “6
Chambers, 1 Bullet”, which was published in 2006. The two novels were about a murder in the
biker world.
His autobiography was a New York Times bestseller, and two other books, “Freedom: Credos
From the Road,” and “Ridin’ High, Livin’ Free” received positive reviews. They were published
in 2005 and 2002 respectively.
In 1998, Barger moved from Oakland to suburban Phoenix, dropping his official duties in the
Hells Angels but remaining a rank-and-file member. He ran a motorcycle repair shop and did
yoga, a pastime he acquired in prison.
He kept riding the open road, thousands of miles a year, eventually professing a preference for high-powered Hondas and BMWs over the Angels’ traditional Harley choppers.
His nonconformist life taught him to “become a real man,” and he counseled in his
autobiography, “you need to join the army first and then do some time in jail.”
