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N0KFQ > TODAY 17.08.15 15:38l 63 Lines 2900 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 64117_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Aug 17
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Sent: 150817/1430Z 64117@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.63
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.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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