1969 : Woodstock Music Festival concludes
On this day in 1969, the grooviest event in music history--the
Woodstock Music Festival--draws to a close after three days of peace,
love and rock 'n' roll in upstate New York.
Conceived as "Three Days of Peace and Music," Woodstock was a product
of a partnership between John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfield
and Michael Lang. Their idea was to make enough money from the event
to build a recording studio near the arty New York town of Woodstock.
When they couldn't find an appropriate venue in the town itself, the
promoters decided to hold the festival on a 600-acre dairy farm in
Bethel, New York--some 50 miles from Woodstock--owned by Max Yasgur.
By the time the weekend of the festival arrived, the group had sold a
total of 186,000 tickets and expected no more than 200,000 people to
show up. By Friday night, however, thousands of eager early arrivals
were pushing against the entrance gates. Fearing they could not
control the crowds, the promoters made the decision to open the
concert to everyone, free of charge. Close to half a million people
attended Woodstock, jamming the roads around Bethel with eight miles
of traffic.
Soaked by rain and wallowing in the muddy mess of Yasgur's fields,
young fans best described as "hippies" euphorically took in the
performances of acts like Janis Joplin, Arlo Guthrie, Joe Cocker, Joan
Baez, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson
Airplane, Sly and the Family Stone and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
The Who performed in the early morning hours of August 17, with Roger
Daltrey belting out "See Me, Feel Me," from the now-classic album
Tommy just as the sun began to rise. The most memorable moment of the
concert for many fans was the closing performance by Jimi Hendrix, who
gave a rambling, rocking solo guitar performance of "The Star Spangled
Banner."
With not enough bathroom facilities and first-aid tents to accommodate
such a huge crowd, many described the atmosphere at the festival as
chaotic. There were surprisingly few episodes of violence, though one
teenager was accidentally run over and killed by a tractor and another
died from a drug overdose. A number of musicians performed songs
expressing their opposition to the Vietnam War, a sentiment that was
enthusiastically shared by the vast majority of the audience. Later,
the term "Woodstock Nation" would be used as a general term to
describe the youth counterculture of the 1960s.
A 25th anniversary celebration of Woodstock took place in 1994 in
Saugerties, New York. Known as Woodstock II, the concert featured Bob
Dylan and Crosby, Stills and Nash as well as newer acts such as Nine
Inch Nails and Green Day. Held over another rainy, muddy weekend, the
event drew an estimated 300,000 people.
history.com/tdih.do
1943 : Patton wins race to Messina
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5267
1978 : Balloon crosses the Atlantic
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6992
1987 : Hitler's last living henchman dies
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5268
1999 : Deadly earthquake strikes Turkey
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5269
##########################################
On this day in 1969, the grooviest event in music history--the
Woodstock Music Festival--draws to a close after three days of peace,
love and rock 'n' roll in upstate New York.
Conceived as "Three Days of Peace and Music," Woodstock was a product
of a partnership between John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfield
and Michael Lang. Their idea was to make enough money from the event
to build a recording studio near the arty New York town of Woodstock.
When they couldn't find an appropriate venue in the town itself, the
promoters decided to hold the festival on a 600-acre dairy farm in
Bethel, New York--some 50 miles from Woodstock--owned by Max Yasgur.
By the time the weekend of the festival arrived, the group had sold a
total of 186,000 tickets and expected no more than 200,000 people to
show up. By Friday night, however, thousands of eager early arrivals
were pushing against the entrance gates. Fearing they could not
control the crowds, the promoters made the decision to open the
concert to everyone, free of charge. Close to half a million people
attended Woodstock, jamming the roads around Bethel with eight miles
of traffic.
Soaked by rain and wallowing in the muddy mess of Yasgur's fields,
young fans best described as "hippies" euphorically took in the
performances of acts like Janis Joplin, Arlo Guthrie, Joe Cocker, Joan
Baez, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson
Airplane, Sly and the Family Stone and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
The Who performed in the early morning hours of August 17, with Roger
Daltrey belting out "See Me, Feel Me," from the now-classic album
Tommy just as the sun began to rise. The most memorable moment of the
concert for many fans was the closing performance by Jimi Hendrix, who
gave a rambling, rocking solo guitar performance of "The Star Spangled
Banner."
With not enough bathroom facilities and first-aid tents to accommodate
such a huge crowd, many described the atmosphere at the festival as
chaotic. There were surprisingly few episodes of violence, though one
teenager was accidentally run over and killed by a tractor and another
died from a drug overdose. A number of musicians performed songs
expressing their opposition to the Vietnam War, a sentiment that was
enthusiastically shared by the vast majority of the audience. Later,
the term "Woodstock Nation" would be used as a general term to
describe the youth counterculture of the 1960s.
A 25th anniversary celebration of Woodstock took place in 1994 in
Saugerties, New York. Known as Woodstock II, the concert featured Bob
Dylan and Crosby, Stills and Nash as well as newer acts such as Nine
Inch Nails and Green Day. Held over another rainy, muddy weekend, the
event drew an estimated 300,000 people.
history.com/tdih.do
1943 : Patton wins race to Messina
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5267
1978 : Balloon crosses the Atlantic
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6992
1987 : Hitler's last living henchman dies
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5268
1999 : Deadly earthquake strikes Turkey
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5269
##########################################
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