Half a century has gone by since Woodstock shook the world from August 15th to 18th, back in 1969. The festival was marked by songs and substance, pouring rain and mudslides, some nudity and even a few reported births apart from at least two fatalities – one from insulin misuse and the other because of a tractor running over a sleeping attendee.
What unfolded during those four days was, in every sense, crazy.
The young 20-something organisers – Michael Lang, Artie Kornfield, John P Roberts and Joel Rosenman – had relatively modest ambitions when they first started making plans. Around 400,000 attendees surpassed their guesstimate by a long distance.
Hippies could be seen wherever the eyes went. The overwhelming majority was united by a changing attitude towards substance and promiscuity, and growing anger over the Vietnam War.
The rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival became the first major act to sign up for the gig, followed by 31 others. Indeed, it is because of the acts that performed that Woodstock became an unrivalled, star-studded celebration of peace and music.
Among the names who were there were Richie Havens who opened the event, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Ravi Shankar, Country Joe and the Fish, Santana, Canned Heat,
Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin with The Kozmic Blues Band, Sly and the Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Joe Cocker and The Grease Band, Ten Years After, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Jimi Hendrix, whose performance ended the festival.
Watching the surreal magic unfold at the venue was a trek in trance. Rains played spoilsport, causing untold delays. Classics rained on the stage, with Santana, who still wasn’t well-known beyond the San Fransisco Bay area; Cocker, who was new to American music lovers; Ten Years After, Baez and Hendrix mesmerising the audiences with their performances. The attendees, who put up with inconveniences such as shortage of food and toilets, couldn’t have asked for anything more.
Woodstock 50 that will commemorate the 50th anniversary is scheduled to be held on August 16-18 at Merriweather Post Pavilion, a 40-acre lot of land in Columbia, Maryland. It has run into numerous troubles with Jay Z, John Fogerty and Dead & Company pulling out of the event. It has lost a financial partner, has also had to deal with permit denials, and tickets have still not gone on sale with the concert a few days away.
Woodstock 50 might still end up being a terrific concert if all is well from now on. Should you talk to any music lover, however, don’t be surprised if you are told that those four days in August 1969 will never repeat themselves.
They gave us brilliant music with legends unveiling their gifts for those who were there, and those who weren’t. Nobody today can do it better than the best, which we have already heard.