> why, in 1967, was it so rare to see a black man ... fronting a major American rock band
The band referred to is The Jimi Hendrix Experience, a two thirds British band, assembled by a British manager, in Britain, where they recorded Are You Experienced and got famous. It would seem to me that they were effectively a "British invasion" band in the US. Hendrix's break in America was the Monterey Pop Festival, which he headlined at the instigation of Paul McCartney, a member of the mother of all British Invasion bands.
The band referred to is The Jimi Hendrix Experience, a two thirds British band, assembled by a British manager, in Britain, where they recorded Are You Experienced and got famous. It would seem to me that they were effectively a "British invasion" band in the US. Hendrix's break in America was the Monterey Pop Festival, which he headlined at the instigation of Paul McCartney, a member of the mother of all British Invasion bands.