The History of Woodstock

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There were some bands that were invited to Woodstock, or were a consideration, that never made an appearance. Bob Dylan, for example, was a consideration, but never a final decision. Dylan signed for a festival later in August, but didn’t seem to have much interest in Woodstock. The Doors and Led Zeppelin were also considerations. The Doors’ members were concerned that Woodstock “would be a second class repeat of the Monterey Pop Festival,” and later regretted their decision to not perform. Led Zeppelin’s manager said that if they appeared at Woodstock, they would just be “another band on the bill,” and yet they performed at the two-day Atlanta International Pop Festival, and were one of 22 bands. (Source 4)

The conditions of the festival really weren’t that great. There was a lot of rain, and a lot of lines to wait in for the bathroom and to get food and water. Nonetheless, the half a million folks who showed up to enjoy a weekend of peace and music did just that: enjoy. There were, however, two recorded fatalities that weekend: a “tractor ran over an attendee sleeping in a nearby hayfield,” and someone reportedly died due to a heroin overdose. There was also no outbreaks of violence recorded either. The only instance that was considered remotely violent was when a man named Abbott “Abbie” Hoffman, a political activist, interrupted The Who’s performance to rant about “freeing John Sinclair from jail,” (Source 3). Pete Townshend, the lead guitarist of the band, allegedly hit Hoffman in the head with the neck of his guitar and told Hoffman to get off his stage. Considering that majority of the people who attended the festival were, at some point, hyped up on psychedelic drugs like LSD and marijuana, and the weather conditions being as poor as they were, one would expect that the festival would be filled with rioting, violence, and would be a big disappointment to the crowd. However, it was the exact opposite. The hippies bonded over the fantastic music of the era, and bonded over similar beliefs. (Sources 3 and 4)

Mike Lang, Joel Rosenman, John Roberts, and Artie Kornfeld were one million dollars in debt after the festival ended, and they had around 70 lawsuits filed against them. They kept the video and audio rights, so when the 1970 documentary Woodstock was released, the organizers were able to pay off most, if not all, of their debt. (Sources 1 and 4)

Woodstock is one of the most well-known music festivals of all time. Not only was it organized by men who didn’t have that much experience with putting together concerts, but the entire weekend was peaceful. It’s amazing that half a million people can bond with each other rather than get violent. Not to mention that the weather was terrible, and there were a lot of complications during construction. The Woodstock Music and Art Fair is extremely memorable because of all the legendary bands, and because of the blossoming generation of the hippies, and therefore, its legacy will live on forever.

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