Woodstock Sarah McGillis, Chris Rizqalla, Paige Stabler Sarah McGillis, Chris Rizqalla, Paige Stabler
What was Woodstock? ● Woodstock was a three-day music festival ● Woodstock started on August 15, 1969 and ended on August 17, 1969 ● It took place in the White Lake area of Bethel, New York ● It was called “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace and Music”
Who Organized Woodstock? ● The organizers of Woodstock Musical Festival were John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld, and Michael Lang ● All of these men were “all age 27 or younger” (History.com Editors). ● They wanted to to use the concert to raise money for a music studio they were building in Woodstock, New York
John Roberts ● Roberts was a New York entrepreneur “who had no experience in the music business” when he produced Woodstock (Sisario). ● Was partners with other Woodstock creator Joel Rosenman before creating Woodstock ● Roberts used his inheritance money to help partially finance the project
Joel Rosenman â—? Joel Roseman was an entrepreneur â—? He was business partners with John Roberts before Woodstock
Artie Kornfeld ● Artie Kornfeld “was the youngest vice president at Capital Records” (History.com Editors). ● He was friends with Michael Lang and they came up with Woodstock together ● Kornfeld was well connected in the music industry and he was the one who got bands to play at the music festival
Michael Lang ● Michael Lang was a concert promoter ● He successfully planned and produced the Miami Pop Festival in 1968, one year before Woodstock ● He was friends with Artie Kornfeld and the two came up with Woodstock together
Location ● Original location was Howard Mills Industrial Park in Wallkill, New York ● However, that plan fell through after a law was passed “that eliminated any possibility of holding the concert” on that site (History.com Editors). ● A month before the concert, after frantically trying to find a location, a farmer named Max Yasgur allowed the organizers to rent part of his land ● His land in the White Lake area of Bethel, New York was where the historic concert took place
Max Yasgur and His Farm
A Free Music Festival? ● Tickets were $18 in advanced and $24 at the gate ● 186,000 tickets were sold in advanced, and the organizers thought that only 200,000 people were going to show up ● When concert goers started showing up ahead of time and wanted to buy tickets, “the fencing, gates, and ticket booths still weren’t ready” (History.com Editors). ● The four organizers then decided to make Woodstock free because there was “no efficient way to charge concert goers”
Concert Tickets
Wavy Gravy ● Wavy Gravy was the leader of the Hog Farm Collective in New Mexico ● Him and his followers were in charge of keeping the peace at Woodstock, making sure everyone stayed safe ● The Hog Farm Collective “set up a children’s playground, a free food kitchen, and a tent to assist people ‘freaking out’ on drugs” (History.com Editors).
Performers
Friday, August 15 to Saturday, Richie Havens August 16
1. 2. Sri Satchidananda 3. Sweetwater 4. Bert Sommer 5. Ravi Shankar 6. Tim Hardin 7. Melanie Safka 8. Arlo Guthrie 9. Joan Baez
Swami
Richie Havens
We played for nearly three hours as they were still building the stage around me. I sang every song I knew, and when they asked me to go back on one more time, I improvised "Freedom." Richie Havens on his Woodstock (CNN)
➢ Richard Pierce “Richie” Havens (January 21, 1941 Apri, 22, 2013) ➢ First performer of the festival ➢ Folk, soul, and rhythm and blues ➢ His performance launched his stardom ➢ Started acting in the 1970’s ○ The stage presentation of The Who’s Tommy
➢ Melanie Anne SafkaSchekeryk (born February 3, 1949) ➢ Singer/songwriter, vocalist, guitarist ➢ Folk, pop, country ➢ Famously covered Bob Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine Man ➢ One of only 3 solo women to perform at the festival
Melanie
Saturday, August 16 to Sunday, Quill August 17
1. 2. Country Joe McDonald 3. John Sebastian 4. Keef Hartley Band 5. Santana 6. The Incredible String Band 7. Canned Heat 8. Mountain 9. The Grateful Dead 10.Creedence Clearwater Revival 11.Janis Joplin and the Kozmic Blues Band 12.Sly & the Family Stone 13.The Who 14.Jefferson Airplane
➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢
Santan a
Carlos Santana (July 20, 1947) Latin rock, blues rock, Jazz Fusion, Chicano rock Quite unknown at the time Brought the Latin Rock Fusion to Woodstock “Santana” the band has gone through at least 25 members
The Incredible String Band ➢ British Psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson, and Mike Heron ➢ They were originally scheduled for day one, but refused to play in the rain which resulted in them not being featured in the 1970 Woodstock film.
https://open.spotify.com/track/ 7IyDLBtIXS2EKZEt8trS03? si=YOj3HCB7TsSl9Z0UW8lhhg
Jefferson Airplane ➢ Composed of Grace Slick, Marty Balin, Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Spencer Dryden, Nicky Hopkins ➢ Psychedelic rock, acid rock, folk rock, garage rock ➢ One of the main headliners of the festival ➢ Later becomes Jefferson Starship
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Sunday, August 17 to Moanday, Country Joe and The Fish August 18
Ten Years After The Band Johnny Winter Blood Sweat and Tears Crosby Stills Nash and Young 7. Sha Na Na 8. Jimi Hendrix
Crosby Stills Nash and Young ➢ Supergroup made of singer songwriters David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and Neil Young ➢ Folk rock, country rock, soft rock ➢ Music represented the counterculture at the time ○ Vietnam protest and song “Ohio” “"This is only the second time we've performed in front of people. We're scared shitless."
Last but not least, Jimi Hendrix ➢ James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix (November 27, 1942 September 18, 1970) ➢ Rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock, blues, R&B ➢ Major headliner of the festival ➢ World’s highest paid performer ➢ First time experimenting with the Star Spangled Banner ○ The distortion and grunge sounds like real war and chaos
Who Declined to Perform ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢
Simon and Garfunkel Led Zeppelin Bob Dylan The Byrds The Moody Blues The Doors Roy Rogers John Lennon Chicago Transit Authority The Rolling Stones
Audience Experience
The Audience of Woodstock ● Hippies and flower children ○ Rejected the ideas of materialism, advocated for peace and love ○ Some took psychedelic drugs, which produced a loss of sense of time and dreamlike distortions ○ Counterculture at the time ● Almost a half a million people came to the music festival
Anniversary Concerts
25th Anniversary ● In 1994 Woodstock had a 25th anniversary and was called Woodstock ‘94 ● Over 550,000 people showed up at the festival that took place on August 13-14 ● Tickets were $135 ● The event took place in Saugerties, New York ● The event was known as “2 more days of peace and music” ● Woodstock released a 3rd album for their 25th anniversary called “Woodstock Diary”
50th Anniversary ● For Woodstocks 50th anniversary they released a tribute album called Woodstock- Back to the Garden: The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive ● The package included a Woodstock Hardbound book, Woodstock posters, photo prints, a guitar strap, and a blu-ray of the directors cut of the Woodstock film ● The album consisted of 432 unreleased songs that was over 36 hours long ● The album was released on August 2nd in 2019
No Concert? â—? The concert for the 50th anniversary of Woodstock was suppose to take place this summer, starting on August 16th and ending on August 18th â—? Woodstock 50 was suppose to be a free three-day festival to raise awareness for global warming â—? Due to setbacks, a changing of venues, and the loss of the financial partner, the concert was cancelled on April 29, 2019
Woodstock 50 Article https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320/
Twitter Feed https://twitter.com/woodstockfest?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Works Cited “Artie Kornfeld.” The Real Woodstock Story, http://www.woodstockstory.com/artiekornfeld.html. History.com Editors. “Woodstock.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Mar. 2018, https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/woodstock. Sisario, Ben. “John P. Roberts, 56, a Producer Of Woodstock and Its Revivals.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 Nov. 2001, https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/02/arts/john-p-roberts-56-a-producer-of-woodstock-and-its-revivals.html. Woodstock, https://www.woodstock.com/. “Woodstock 50th Anniversary - Back To The Garden.” Rhino, https://www.rhino.com/woodstock50. “Woodstock.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Oct. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock#Soundtrack_albums_and_25th_anniversary_releases.