Woodstock Festival
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The Woodstock Music and Art Festival was the most famous rock festival of its era. It was held at Max Yasgur's 600 acre (2.4 km²) dairy farm in Bethel, New York, on 15, 16, and 17 August, 1969. The festival bears the name "Woodstock" because it was originally scheduled to take place in the town of Woodstock, in Ulster County; local opposition arose, however, and the event was almost cancelled altogether. But Sam Yasgur persuaded his father Max to allow the concert to be held on the family's property, located in Sullivan County, which lies to the south and west of Ulster County.
Although the show had been planned for a maximum 50,000 attendees, over 400,000 eventually attended, most of whom did not pay admission. The highways leading to the concert were jammed with traffic as people tried to make it to the concert. The weekend was rainy, the facilities were overcrowded, and attendees shared food, alcoholic beverages, and drugs. However, no violence was reported and the fact that attendees were remarkably well behaved was particularly noted. The Woodstock Festival represented the culmination of the counterculture of the 1960s and the high point of the "hippie era".
The festival did not initially make money for the promoters, although, thanks to record sales and proceeds from the highly regarded film of the event, it did eventually become profitable.
There were three deaths at Woodstock: one from a heroin overdose, one from a ruptured appendix, and one from being run over by a tractor. Two unconfirmed births occurred at Woodstock.
Woodstock is also the name of the famous documentary film about the concert; the film, directed by Michael Wadleigh and edited by Martin Scorsese, was released in 1970 and won the Academy Award for Documentary Feature. The film has since been deemed "culturally significant" by the U.S. Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
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Artists who performed at Woodstock
- Joan Baez
- The Band
- Jeff Beck Group
- Blood, Sweat & Tears
- Paul Butterfield Blues Band
- Canned Heat
- Joe Cocker
- Country Joe and the Fish
- Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
- Grateful Dead
- Arlo Guthrie
- Tim Hardin
- Keef Hartley
- Richie Havens
- Jimi Hendrix
- Incredible String Band
- Janis Joplin
- Jefferson Airplane
- Melanie
- Mountain
- Quill
- Santana
- John Sebastian
- Sha-Na-Na
- Ravi Shankar
- Sly and the Family Stone
- Bert Sommer
- Sweetwater
- Ten Years After
- The Who
- Johnny Winter
Myth of Woodstock
Woodstock has been romanticized and idealized in American popular culture as the culmination of the hippie movement -- a free festival where nearly 500,000 people came together to celebrate peace and love. Although the festival was remarkably trouble-free given the number of people and conditions involved, the reality was less than perfect: Woodstock did have some amount of crime and other misbehavior, as well as a drug overdose, an accidental tractor death and logistical headaches; as stated before, Woodstock was not intended for such a large crowd and thus, many needed facilities were not present, such as toilets and first-aid tents. Some who attended the festival felt that it was chaotic and did not report having a positive experience.
Also sometimes forgotten is that Woodstock began as a profit-making venture -- unlike the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, which was free -- and that it only became a free festival after it became obvious that the concert was drawing hundreds of thousands more people than the organizers had expected or prepared for, and that the entry gates erected had been torn down by eager arrivals. Sam simply shrugged it off as he smiled at the camera, even though he was willingly entering himself into a multimillion dollar debt.
The film
- Title: Woodstock - 3 Days of Peace & Music (1970)
- Producer: Bob Maurice
- Script and direction: Michael Wadleigh
- Awards:
- Oscar for Bob Maurice (Best documentary film)
- Oscar-nomination for Thelma Schoonmaker (Best cut)
- Appearing musicants: Joan Baez / Joe Cocker / Country Joe & The Fish / Crosby, Stills & Nash / Arlo Guthrie / Richie Havens / Jimi Hendrix / Carlos Santana / John Sebastian / Sha-Na-Na / Sly and The Family Stone / Ten Years After / The Who
- Additionals musictitles: "Going Up The Country" by Canned Heat / "Woodstock" by Joni Mitchell performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
| number | group / singer | title |
| 1.* | Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young | Long time gone |
| 2.* | Wooden Ships** | |
| 3.* | Canned Heat | Going Up the Country |
| 4. | Richie Havens | Handsome Johnny** |
| 5. | Freedom | |
| 6. | Canned Heat | A change is gonna come** |
| 7. | Joan Baez | Joe Hill |
| 8. | Swing Low Sweet Chariot | |
| 9. | The Who | We are not gonna take it |
| 10. | Summertime Blues | |
| 11. | Sha-Na-Na | At the Hop |
| 12. | Joe Cocker and the Grease Band | With a Little Help from My Friends |
| 13. | Crowd Rain Chant | |
| 14. | Country Joe and the Fish | Rock and Soul Music** |
| 15. | Arlo Guthrie | Coming into Los Angeles |
| 16. | Crosby, Stills and Nash | Suite: Judy Blue Eyes |
| 17. | Ten Years After | I am Going Home |
| 18. | Jefferson Airplane | Saturday Afternoon/ Won't You Try** |
| 19. | Uncle Sams Blues** | |
| 20. | John Sebastian | Younger Generation |
| 21. | Country Joe McDonald | I-Feel-like-i-am-Fixing-to-die-Rag |
| 22. | Santana | Soul Sacrifice |
| 23. | Sly and the Family Stone | I Want to Take You Higher |
| 24. | Janis Joplin | Work me, Lord** |
| 25. | Jimi Hendrix | Voodoo Chile** |
| 26. | The Star-spangled Banner | |
| 27. | Purple Haze & Instrumental Solo | |
| 28.* | Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young | Woodstock |
*) opening and final credits (no stage performance)
**) not in the original version, only in the directors cut
The albums
Woodstock - music from the original soundtrack and more (6 LP set 1970, double CD 2003)
| number | group / singer | title | m:ss | written by | |
| 1 | .1 | John B. Sebastian | I Had A Dream | 2:35 | John B. Sebastian |
| .2 | Canned Heat | Going Up The Country | 3:20 | Alan Wilson | |
| Text: Stage Announcements | |||||
| .3 | Richie Havens | Freedom | 4:36 | Adapted from "Motherless Child" | |
| .4 | Country Joe & The Fish | Rock & Soul Music | 2:08 | Country Joe McDonald, ... | |
| .5 | Arlo Guthrie | Coming Into Los Angeles | 2:07 | Arlo Guthrie | |
| .6 | Sha-Na-Na | At The Hop | 2:00 | A. Singer, J.Medora & P. Withe | |
| 2 | .1 | Country Joe McDonald | The "Fish" Cheer | 3:15 | Country Joe McDonald |
| I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin-To-Die Rag | |||||
| .2 | Joan Baez featuring Jeffrey Shurtleff | Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man | 2:07 | James Roger McGuinn & Graham Parsons | |
| .3 | Joan Baez | Joe Hill | 2:40 | Earl Robinson & Alfred Hayes | |
| Text: Stage Announcements | |||||
| .4 | Crosby, Stills & Nash | Suite: Judy Blue Eyes | 8:11 | Stephen Stills | |
| .5 | Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young | Sea Of Madness | 3:24 | Neil Young | |
| number | group / singer | title | m:ss | written by | |
| 3 | .1 | Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young | Wooden Ships | 5:27 | David Crosby & Stephen Stills |
| .2 | The Who | We're Not Gonna Take It | 4:25 | Pete Townshend | |
| Text: Stage Announcements | |||||
| .3 | Joe Cocker | With a Little Help from My Friends | 7:40 | John Lennon & Paul McCartney | |
| Text: Rainstorm, Crowd Sounds, Announcements, General Hysteria | |||||
| 4 | Text: Crowd Rain Chant | 2:20 | |||
| .1 | Santana | Soul Sacrifice | 8:06 | Carlos Santana, ... | |
| Text: Stage Announcements | |||||
| .2 | Ten Years After | I'm Going Home | 9:20 | Alvin Lee | |
| number | group / singer | title | m:ss | written by | |
| 5 | .1 | Jefferson Airplane | Volunteers | 2:44 | Paul Kantner & Marty Ballin |
| Text: Max Yasgur | |||||
| .2 | Sly & The Family Stone | Dance To The Music | 2:10 | Sylvester Stewart | |
| Music Lover | 6:59 | ||||
| I Want To Take You Higher | 4:07 | ||||
| .3 | John B. Sebastian | Rainbows All Over Your Blues | 2.10 | John B. Sebastian | |
| 6 | .1 | Butterfield Blues Band | Love March | 7:45 | Gene Dinwiddle & Philip Wilson |
| .2 | Jimi Hendrix | Star Spangled Banner | 12:45 | Traditional, arranged by Jimi Hendrix | |
| Purple Haze & Instrumental Solo | Jimi Hendrix | ||||
Woodstock 2 (1971)
(appeared original 1971 as double album and 1994 on CD)
| Nummer | group / singer | title | m:ss | written by | |
| 1 | .1 | Jimi Hendrix | Jam Back at the House | 07:28 | |
| .2 | Izabella | 05:04 | |||
| .3 | Get My Heart Back Together (Live Woodstock Version) | 08:02 | |||
| .4 | Jefferson Airplane | Saturday Afternoon / Won't You Try | 05:54 | ||
| .5 | Eskimo Blue Day | 06:22 | |||
| .6 | The Paul Butterfield Blues Band | Everything is Gonna Be Alright (Live Woodstock Version) | 08:36 | ||
| 2 | .1 | Joan Baez | Sweet Sir Galahad | 03:58 | |
| .2 | Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young | Guinnevere | 05:20 | ||
| .3 | 4 + 20 | 02:23 | |||
| .4 | Marrakesh Express | 02:32 | |||
| .5 | Melanie | My Beautiful People (Live Woodstock Version) | 03:45 | ||
| .6 | Birthday of the Sun (Live Woodstock Version) | 03:21 | |||
| .7 | Mountain | Blood of the Sun | 03:35 | ||
| .8 | Theme for an Imaginary Western ... | 05:03 | |||
| .9 | Canned Heat | Woodstock Boogie (Live Woodstock Version) | 12:55 | ||
| .10 | Audience During Sunday Rainstorm | Let the Sunshine in (Live Woodstock Version) | 00:50 | ||
See also
- Woodstock '79 (1979), Woodstock '89 (1989), Woodstock '94 (1994), Woodstock '99 (1999)
- Monterey Pop Festivalde:Woodstock Festival
es:Festival de Woodstock fr:Festival de Woodstock he:פסטיבל וודסטוק nl:Woodstock (muziekfestival) ja:ウッドストック・フェスティバル pl:Festiwal w Woodstock pt:Woodstock sk:Woodstock sv:Woodstockfestivalen