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The Beat Generation planted the seeds for the 1960s counterculture movement. The Merry Pranksters, led by Ken Kesey, used LSD and other drugs to challenge mainstream society. They bought a bus, named Further, and drove around the US, encouraging others to join them in street theater pranks and impromptu events. After LSD became illegal, the Merry Pranksters disbanded, and Kesey was eventually arrested for marijuana possession. The bus was moved to Oregon for safekeeping, and Kesey organized reunions until his death in 2001.
The seeds of the 1960s counterculture movement were planted in the 1940s and 1950s by the so-called Beat Generation. Poets and writers such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg challenged mainstream society by publishing jazz-influenced works, often interwoven with drug references and obscene language. In the late 1950s, author Ken Kesey and several of his friends who lived in a bohemian area of Stanford, California, formed a loose alliance called the Merry Pranksters. The original Merry Pranksters modeled their lifestyle after New York City’s beatnik culture, especially Jack Kerouac’s On the Road experiences.
Around 1960, Ken Kesey volunteered for a series of medical experiments involving various psychedelic drugs, such as mescaline, peyote, morning glory seeds, and most importantly, LSD. Kesey smuggled many of these substances to the other Merry Pranksters, who later discovered legal ways to import peyote from Mexico. Meanwhile, Kesey himself became a successful novelist with the publication of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Sometimes a Great Idea. Fueled by their experiences with mind-expanding drugs, the Merry Pranksters began to formulate grandiose ideas about how to turn the rest of the country’s youth to LSD and other psychedelic drugs.
In 1964, Ken Kesey wanted to visit the New York City beatnik scene at the same time his novel Sometimes a Great Idea was due to be published. To accomplish this cross-country trip, the Merry Pranksters bought a retired school bus and completely refurbished it. Inspired by the pop art of Andy Warhol and the comic book style of Roy Lichtenstein, the Merry Pranksters have created numerous Day-Glo murals on both the interior and exterior walls. The bus also contained a number of movie cameras and microphones, which the Merry Pranksters used to record nearly every second of their journey. Ken Kesey called the bus further, perhaps referring to the mind-expanding effects of LSD.
The bus was driven primarily by Neal Cassady, a legendary counterculture figure made famous by the writings of Jack Kerouac. The plan was to drive around the United States with a large amount of LSD and other drugs. Visitors would be encouraged to ingest drug juices and join the Merry Pranksters in street theater pranks or other impromptu events. Since LSD was considered legal until 1966, law enforcement could not impound the bus or arrest its occupants for drug possession. This cross-country trip culminated in a fateful meeting with Jack Kerouac and many other leaders of the Beat Generation. Kerouac did not embrace the new generation of the counterculture, since many of their experiences were fueled by drugs harder than marijuana or alcohol.
After returning to California, the Merry Pranksters sponsored a series of parties designed to introduce LSD and other hallucinogens to the burgeoning hippie movement. These events were informally called Acid Tests, with signs asking “Can you pass the test?” The venues were painted in Day-Glo colors and featured the psychedelic artwork often associated with the Haight-Asbury hippie culture. Local bands were often hired to provide background music for attendees, with psychedelic-inspired names such as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and the Doors.
After LSD became illegal in 1966, the Merry Pranksters took a hit. Fearing a long prison sentence for drug possession charges, Ken Kesey faked a suicide attempt and fled to Mexico. The other Merry Pranksters soon parted ways as well. In 1968, Neal Cassady was found dead near some train tracks in Mexico.
Ken Kesey was eventually arrested for relatively minor marijuana possession and sentenced to six months. The bus named Further was moved to Kesey’s home state of Oregon for safekeeping. Several Merry Pranksters have died since the 1960s, but Kesey continued to organize a series of reunions until his death from complications of liver surgery in 2001.
