Woodstock

A famous hippie quote reads: "If you remember Woodstock 1969, you
weren't there". While this is the case for many, out of 400,000 people,
some remember it all. Originally billed An Aquarian Exposition: 3
Days of Peace and Music, what became known as Woodstock 1969
was a series of fateful events, the start aligning to create what
became the biggest music event in history.

Originally the brainchild of our individuals: Michael Lang, Artie

Kornfeld, John Roberts and Joel Rosenman, the Woodstock music
festival began after Rosenman and Roberts placed an ad looking for
legitimate investment ventures. Concert promoter Michael Lang and
Capitol record vice president Artie Kornfeld had developed a strong
bond and had hopes of creating a retreat style recording studio in
Woodstock, NY. Once Lang and Kornfeld saw the ad, they contacted
Roberts and Roseman and began talks about the record studio.

Eventually abandoning the idea for a record studio and settling on a

music bash, the four men formed Woodstock Ventures Inc. and
began making preparations for Woodstock 1969. The event was
initially supposed to be executed on a much smaller scale, featuring
acts local to the Woodstock area including Bob Dylan and The Band.
In April 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival became the first act to
sign up for Woodstock 1969.

Originally designed to be held in Wallkill, NY the festival was forced to

move under the conditions that the portable toilets would not meet
town code. Woodstock Ventures also assured the city that no more
than 50,000 individuals would show up. Eventually the concert was
moved to the dairy farm of Max Yasgur in Bethel, NY. Woodstock
Ventures again told Bethel authorities that no more than 50,000
people would be present.
What Really Happened at Woodstock
Due to the late changes, the organizers didn't have enough time to
properly prepare for what would be a massive turnout. People were
showing up at an astounding rate, and the UAW/MF Family cut the
fence the night before prompting more people to show up. The influx
of individuals created a traffic jam and upon arrival, many people
found themselves fighting against bad weather, food shortages, and
poor sanitation.

On Saturday morning, August 17, New York Governor Nelson

Rockefellers called organizer John Roberts and told him he was
thinking of ordering 10,000 National Guard Troops for the festival.
Somehow, Roberts convinced him to call off the dogs. Musician John
Fogerty described the scene as a "a painting of a Dante scene, just
bodies from hell, all intertwined and asleep, covered with mud."
Creedence Clearwater Revival didn't take the Woodstock stage until
3 a.m. Despite the somewhat poor planning and hardships involved
with Woodstock 1969, it was a peaceful gathering. Within the sea of a
half million individuals there were only two recorded fatalities; one
believe to be a heroin overdose, and one a tractor accident involving
an attendee sleeping in a hayfield.

There were also two births recorded at the festival, one caught in
traffic, and the other airlifted to a nearby hospital. All things
considered, even with the debauchery and less than ideal conditions
of the festival, it did prove to be 3 days of peace and music. Farm
owner Max Yasgur saw the event as a victory for peace and music
and addressed the crowd on stage. Media coverage began as
negative with the traffic jam and depiction of mud covered hippies
being shown as heathens, but by the end of the festival, public
opinion change and the press began showing Woodstock as a
positive cultural event (mainly because organizers called them telling
them that their reporting was inaccurate).

As much a cultural event as a concert, the performers of Woodstock

1969 not only represented the best of the 1960s, but a variation of
music from around the world as well. Offering some of the most
memorable performances in music to this day, the Jimi hendrix, Who,
Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and other highlights are still seen as
landmark performances in the history of music. In reality, most of the
ill preparation and bad weather resulted in less than stellar
performances. The Grateful Dead got electrocuted, CCR requested
their set not be shown on the documentary, and many other acts
were simply lackluster. Despite the less than ideal circumstances,
both the festival and the movie became some of the most artistically
influential events in history.

After Woodstock 1969

His farm covered in trash, obliterated by a half a million young people
partying their asses off, Max Yasgur denied a one year revival of the
Woodstock festival in 1970. He stated that as far as he was
concerned, he was going back to being dairy farmer. Yasgur sold the
farm in 1971 and died two years later. Many were unhappy with the
events that transpired during the days of August 15-18, 1969. The
Bethel supervisor was kicked out of office after an election for helping
to bring the festival to the town and New York State and the town of
Bethel passed mass gathering laws designed to prevent any more
festivals from occurring.

In 1989, 20,000 people gathered at the site for an impromptu 20th

anniversary celebration. A monument to the concert was erected and
a welcome sign was put up in 1997. The stance of the township of
Bethel has recently changed its tune toward the Woodstock festival
and now embraces it as a large part of musical and cultural
advancement. Approximately 80 lawsuits were filed against
Woodstock Ventures. The movie financed the settlements and paid
off Woodstock Ventures' $1.4 million dollars of debt it had incurred
from the festival.