Woodstock History What is Woodstock? It is one of the most famous festivals in history due to the four young men John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artic Kohn, and Mike Lang. It was three days of peace and music. It took lots of planning most things didn’t even go right, for instance the location. They had planed to hold the event in Wallkill, New York but the town did not want to hold the festival there because all the violence due to Vietnam weeks before. They all freaked out trying to hurry and find a new location. Lucky a man by the name of Max Yasgur told the men that they could use his six hundred acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York. (McLeese) Friday August 15, 1969. The first day of the festival, it was a little crazy the roads where jammed. People were leaving there cars to run to the festival which caused a huge problem. Only a few of the musicians made it before the traffic jam others had to be brought in by helicopter. Who were some of these people you may ask. Well we have Richie Haven, Ravi Shankar, Tim Hardin, Sweetwater, Bert Sommer, Melanie Safka, Arlo Guthrie, and Joan Baez. (“Woodstock”) The first person to play was supposed to be Sweetwater but they were stuck in traffic so Richie Havens had to open up the festival. Richie did not want to open the show and kept making up excuses but Michael Lang was not giving up he knew he could do it. At 5:07 pm he sucked it up and went out there and sang his spiritual heartwarming music. He was only suppose to do forty five minutes worth of songs but the crowd wanted more so he went back on stage and sang every song he knew. His last song was called “Freedom” everybody loved it so much that other bands had to do fantastic to compare. (Hilstrom) The first day was rough but good.... ... middle of paper ... ...e’re with you.” After John is Janis Joplin’s turn everybody had awoken by then and most people were disappointed in her performance because she was too drunk to perform. A year later she died because of drug and alcohol abuse. The mood changed completely when Sly and the Family Stone got on stage most say his music made people start partying again. Next was The Who which had a great impact on the festival when the guitarist smashed his guitar into the back of Hoftman’s head. Works Cited Gerdes, Louise. Woodstock. Farmington Hills: Gale Group, 2003 Hilstrom, Kevin. Defining Moments of Woodstock. Detroit: Omigraphic, 2013 Kallen, Stuart. The History of Rock and Roll. Farmington Hills: Gale Group, 2012 McLeese, Don. “Woodstock Festival.” World Book Advanced. World book, 2013 “Woodstock.” Woodstock. 2012, November 7, 2013
Jimi Hendrix and Ritchie Valens were both in the early 1940’s only a year apart from one another. Ritchie Valens was born on May 13, 1941 in Pacoima, California, the son of Joseph Valenzuela and Concepcion Valenzuela. His parents split up when he was only
...g force. One thing that I am certain of is that Woodstock, like any icon, should have never been duplicated. They attempted this in 1994 and again in 1999. Sequels never measure up to the original. People even try to imitate icons with no success. Madonna and Anna Nicole Smith both tried to be Marilyn Monroe, but there is only one Marilyn. To be able to recreate Woodstock, you would also have to be able to recreate Vietnam, The Civil Rights Movement, and the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. The fact that Woodstock can’t be copied is what makes it an Icon. I only wish that I could have been there.
Woodstock gathered an unexpectedly large attendance. Only 50,000 to 100,000 people were expected to arrive at the site. These numbers seemed small compared to the 400,000 to 500,000 people who converged on the area on August 15, 16, and 17 of 1969. (Webster’s) Many expected singers and bands could not arrive due to traffic backed up for miles along all the roads leading to the area. It was said that nearly one million people could have attended the concert if it had lasted longer. (Visi.com) Many recognized musicians preformed at the concert such as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, and many others. (Home.columbus.rr.com) Truly by the first day, as the musicians looked out upon the vast crowd, they must have known that Woodstock was not going to be just another concert that would be forgotten.
Kiyah Sewell Mr. Downey English 11CP 22 May 2014 HIR Paper 400,000 people, 32 bands, and 3 days of Peace, love and Rock and Roll (Gerdes, Louise). Woodstock was a free 3 day concert held on Max Yasgur's 600 acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York (Statement on the Historical and Cultural Significance of the 1969 Woodstock Festival Site). What was first made to be a recording studio for the community of Woodstock became an iconic American image (Gerdes, Louise 16). Woodstock was a defining moment in American history because it influenced counter culture and changed the lives of the younger generation that we see today.
In the town of Woodstock, local residents became fearful about the possibility of a hippie invasion. The location was changed from the village of Woodstock, to the town of Wallkill, then finally to a farm at White Lake in the town of Bethel. The name was retained. They rented a 70 acre field from a prominent local dairy farmer, Max Yasgur, who owned land about 48 miles from Woodstock, in Bethel.
Woodstock was the hair brained idea of four men that met each other completely at random. It was the counterculture's biggest bash, which ultimately cost over $2.4 million, and was sponsored by John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld, and Michael Lang (Young 18). John Roberts was an heir to a drugstore and toothpaste manufacturing fortune. He supplied the money, for he had a multi-million dollar trust fund, a University of Pennsylvania degree, and a Lieutenant's commission in the Army (Tiber 1). Joel Rosenman, the son of a prominent Long Island orthodontist, had just graduated from Yale Law School (Makower 28). In 1967, he was playing guitar for a lounge band in motels from Long Island to Law Vegas. He and Roberts met on a golf course in the fall of 1966 (Tiber 1). By the next winter, Roberts and Rosenman shared an apartment and were trying to figure out what to do with their lives. One idea was to create a screw ball situation comedy for television (Landy, Spirit 62). "It was an office comedy about two pals with more money than brains and a thirst for adventure," Rosenman said. To get plot ideas for their sitcom, Roberts and Rosenman put a classified as in the Wall Street Journal and
Woodstock is known worldwide for being one of the most important events in music history. Like moths to a flame, a unique assortment of people from all over the world traveled to the United States, New York City, in August of 1969 to hear their favorite artists perform for 3 days. Incredible performers such as Jimi Hendrix and Blood, Sweat and Tears captivated their audience which have now since only become classic moments in their careers, but have also become representative snapshot of american culture at the time. Woodstock was the outcome of of a partnership between John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld and Michael Lang. Their overall goal was to make enough money to to build a recording studio in Woodstock which at the time was a
In 1969 one of the biggest concerts ever was held in a field on a farm in Bethel, New York. The concert was three days long starting on a Friday August 15th around 5pm. Many well known artist performed on the stage that was almost not even built in time. Hundred thousands of people showed up, around 50,000 people were there days before the three day concert was supposed to start.
Woodstock was a music festival held in New York, from August 15th through the 18th. The event had a huge impact socially. The festival not only brought over 400,000 people together to listen to a few bands, but brought people together culturally and symbolically. It was one of the biggest concerts of that timeframe, in which many had the same ideologies, for example, opposition of the Vietnam
For my second concert report I thought that I would write about my only experience hearing songs of the Beatles live. The Rib America Festival was hosted by The Beatles Live Repertoire. The group dressed exactly like the Beatles, even had the same names, John, Paul, George, and Ringo. I had never heard any Beatles songs live before, so that was enough to get me off my butt. Not to mention, it was free entertainment, not a bad time at all.
At this point in time the Vietnam War was occurring and due to this war a group known as hippies were huge and because of the name and bands who also hated the war brought a plethora of hippies. Also everything was peace due to the group and there were almost no fights during the concert. Also, being the 1960’s everything was cheap. Any kid today would be amazed by how much things costs. Food at the concert (when there was) was super cheap in today’s money. I would go back in time to the 30’s to see how rich I am with 50$. Probably not that rich.
Hippies, or the counterculture, were typically known as longhaired people who wore bright colored clothing and liked to hold up peace
To some, the 60s were a decade of discovery as Americans first journeyed to the moon. Others remember the time as a decade of America’s moral decline with the advent of rock and roll and its representation of "sinful", inappropriate ideals. Yet for many people, the 60s symbolized a decade of love and harmony. Hippies exemplified these beliefs, and in 1969 they gathered at a music festival known as Woodstock to celebrate their music, their love, and their freedom in a concert that has remained on of the most influential events of the 60s. The youth of the 60s were known as the "Love generation". They made love promiscuously and openly, and preferred open to formal marriages. Weekend "love-ins", free form gatherings, communal living quarters, and rock festivals were held in response to the "love movement". The "love movement" was the hippie belief for peace and harmony. It reached its peak in the summer of 1967, and by then it had over 300,000 followers who referred to themselves as the "love children" or the "gentle people". They gathered in San Francisco, the hippie center of the world, during the summers. During these "Summers of love", they lived on the streets of Haight-Ashbury, sitting in groups along the street and strumming their guitars (Frike 62). These "love children", otherwise known as the hippies were the result of the antiwar movement that was sweeping the nation during the Vietnam war. Hippies were resolutely against the war. They participated loudly, and often violently in countless anti-war protest rallies and marches. They were known to publicly burn draft cards, and some even renounced military service for prison (Hertsgard 124). Hippies were not only antiwar, they were predominantly antiestablishment. The status symbols of their elders were decisively rejected: wealth, social position, culture, physical attractiveness, and economic security. They held in disdain, cosmetics, expensive jewelry, nightclubs and restaurants and all other refinements of the affluent society. Wealth meant nothing to them. Personal freedom to express oneself was believed to be the most important thing in life. They were antiauthority, antirace discrimination, and antipollution, in short they were rebels against the society, fighting against the moral standards of America they felt were unjust (Hertsgard 153). Events such...
When the final song was over and Jars of Clay was off the stage, the lights abruptly came on. Everyone started to leave the theatre. I still wanted to hear more of their music, but just as they had come out they then left in the same way. My adrenaline was still on a high point even as we got to our vehicles.
After the show had ended, I felt slightly empty. I had waited years and months for that night, and it was over in the blink of an eye. Although I was sad that the show was over, I felt completely content. Now, when I hear their songs, I get to remember what it felt like to hear the band perform them live. I can watch the videos and try to wrap my mind around how it was real. Going to my first concert was an unparalleled experience that I will always cherish. The ambiance, the band’s performance and the unity the audience