http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQjfv4LHQ68&feature=fvst
Far out!
On August 16, Woodstock began. Hundreds of thousands of hippies flocked to Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, coming in such large numbers that the New York State Thruway closed on account of the traffic jams that occured on account of the thousands of VW bugs clogging the highway. But the traffic jams were well worth it. Over the next three days, an entire movement united and triumphed in a celebration of love, peace, and music.
Woodstock by the Numbers
-500,000 people attended Woodstock
-2 deaths occurred at Woodstock. One was a heroin overdose, and one occured when a hippie fell asleep in a farm neighboring that of Max Yasgur and was run over by a tractor.
-2 births occurred at Woodstock. One woman gave birth in a car that was caught in gridlock on the way to the festival and another woman was taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital after going into labor during a concert.
-33 acts performed at Woodstock
-$10,000 amount of money for which Creedence Clearwater Revival agreed to play
-6 number of months pregnant Joan Baez was when she performed at Woodstock
Set List
Day One
1. Richie Havens
Three out of the nine songs he played were Beatles songs.
2. Swami Satchidananda
He gave the opening speech for the festival.
3. Sweetwater
4. Bert Sommer
The final number of his set was the first standing ovation given at Woodstock
5. Tim Hardin
6. Ravi Shankar
7. Melanie
8. Arlo Guthrie
9. Joan Baez
Her rendition of "We Shall Overcome" closed the first day of Woodstock
Day Two
1. Quill
2. Country Joe McDonald
Joe later performed with his band the Fish
3. Keef Hartley Band
4. Santana
Santana was a relative unknown at the time, and his performance at Woodstock launched his career.
5. Incredible String Band
6. Canned Heat
7. Grateful Dead
Their set was cut short when the amps overloaded.
8. Leslie West & Mountain
9. Creedence Clearwater Revival
10. Janis Joplin
11. Sly & the Family Stone
12. The Who
Their set was interrupted by Abbie Hoffman, leader of Countercultural political group the Yippies
13. Jefferson Airplane
Their song "White Rabbit", the anthem of LSD, closed the second day of Woodstock
Day Three
1. Joe Cocker
After Joe's set, a thunderstorm delayed Country Joe for three hours
2. Country Joe and the Fish
3. Ten Years After
4. The Band
5. Johnny Winter
6. Blood, Sweat and Tears
7. Crosby, Stillls, Nash and Young
The band performed two sets--one acoustic and one electric. Neil Young skipped most of the acoustic set.
Day Four
1. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
2. Sha Na Na
3. Jimi Hendrix
Jimi's set included his controversial psychedelic rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner"
"Breakfast in Bed for 400,000"
Anyone that was there will tell you that the general atmosphere at Woodstock was one of ambivalence, happiness, and peace. John Dominis was a reporter for LIFE/Time who was given the assignment of photographing Woodstock.
" 'I really had a great time,' ” Dominis told LIFE.com, decades after the fact. 'I was much older than those kids, but I felt like I was their age. They smiled at me, offered me pot … You didn’t expect to see a bunch of kids so nice; you’d think they’d be uninviting to an older person. But no — they were just great!' " Dominis here discusses the open and inviting nature that existed at Woodstock, perhaps due to the overwhelming amount of drugs consumed at the festival. It is remarkable that a festival of this size occurred without a single act of violence or malice, especially considering the violence that occurred at other festivals of the time, such as the killings at the Rolling Stones' Altamont in 1970.
Notable Moments
The Abbie Hoffman Incident
Abbie Hoffman was the leader of Countercultural political party The Yippies. Hoffman, apparently acting under the influence of a bad LSD trip, invaded the stage during The Who's set to speak against the imprisonment of a White Panthers member. Hoffman insinuated that it was callow for the audience members to be enjoying themselves while the White Panther "rots in prison." Pete Townsend hit Hoffman with his guitar, though later he said he agreed with Hoffman's statement.
Jimi Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner"
Jimi Hendrix performed his rendition of the National Anthem wearing a star-spangled jacket of his own plus a red head scarf. Though this track was classic Hendrix, many people are under the impression that he performed this number spontaneously and only for the benefit of the Woodstock attendees. Hendrix used sound effects to imitate wailing voices and failed rockets, and the song was considered to be a political manifesto against the war in Vietnam, though Hendrix claimed he performed the song with a patriotic tone.
Ken Kesey's Drug Bus
Ken Kesey, one of the biggest LSD advocates and Counterculture pioneers, set up one of his multicolored buses at the bottom of a hill at Woodstock. The bus was loaded with free food, drink and drugs, which were liberally dispersed to the less experienced hippies who hadn't had the forethought to bring their own. It became one of the most popular places to relax at the festival.
Favorite Woodstock Quotes
"Good morning! What we have in mind is breakfast in bed for four hundred thousand." -Hugh Romney, aka Wavy Gravy
"There's always a little bit of heaven in a disaster area." -Wavy Gravy
"We must be in heaven, man!"-Wavy Gravy
"This is the largest group of people ever assembled in one place, and I think you people have proven something to the world: that half a million kids can come together and have three days of fun and music and have nothing but three days of fun and music and I God bless you for it!"-Max Yasgur
Country Joe McDonald: Gimme an F!
Crowd: F!
Country Joe McDonald: Gimme a U!
Crowd: U!
Country Joe McDonald: Gimme a C!
Crowd: C!
Country Joe McDonald: Gimme a K!
Crowd: K!
Country Joe McDonals: What's that spell?
Crowd: FUCK!
"Well, the New York Thruway's closed. Isn't that far out?"-Arlo Guthrie