Woodstock was a huge music festival held over several days in 1969. It was all about peace, love, and music! Here are 30 facts about Woodstock that you might have not known.
Woodstock Wasn’t Actually Held in Woodstock
The Woodstock festival was originally supposed to be held in Woodstock in New York. However, plans fell through and after looking for a new venue, it was decided to have the festival on a farm in Bethel, New York. This was about 70 miles from Woodstock, but nobody seemed to care enough to change the name.
There Was A Very Interesting Security Guard
An entertainer named Wavy Gravy was in charge of security and ran a “Please Force” instead of a police force. He reportedly threatened guests engaging in unseemly behavior with fizzy water and custard pies.
The Setlist Was Quickly Disregarded
Woodstock is remembered for many things. It was a legendary festival, a cultural touchstone, and a political movement. But one thing it will never be remembered for is it’s organization. The festival was so chaotic and disorganized that the original setlist was never followed.
Richie Havens Was the First Performer
Richie Havens was the first to perform at Woodstock, and he performed for hours. Havens kept trying to leave the stage but was told to keep performing. After running out of his own material, he started singing covers of The Beatles’ songs. But why was he singing so long? The original performers to go on first were Sweetwater, but they were stuck in traffic.
Woodstock Was An Expensive Affair
Woodstock cost around $3 million to fund, but only earned a $1.8 million profit. It took festival organizers years to pay off debts from the festival.
The Festival Was Almost Cancelled Half Way Through
The organizers of Woodstock vastly underestimated how many people would be in attendance for the festival. They didn’t realize how much food and water they were going to need for festival goers and the money was running out quickly. They eventually had food and water helicoptered into the event, saving it from halting in the middle of the festivities.
The Local Community Was Willing To Help
When supplies started to run out, a group of volunteers from a local Jewish community center helped out by making and handing out thousands of sandwiches.
The Weather Inspired Creedence Clearwater Revival
The festival had to be stopped several times throughout the weekend due to rain. Creedence Clearwater Revival performed at Woodstock and has stated that the weather inspired the song “Who’ll Stop The Rain” which was released in 1970.
Joan Baez Braved The Bad Weather
Joan Baez performed in the middle of a thunderstorm. The audience kept chanting “No rain!” for hours while she sang.
Alvin Lee Did Not Care About Getting Electrocuted
Alvin Lee, the lead singer of the band Ten Years After wanted to sing in the rain after ignoring warnings he could get electrocuted. Rumored reports state that he said “If I get electrocuted at Woodstock, we’ll sell a lot of records.”
The Beatles Were Not There
The Beatles refused to perform at Woodstock. John was reportedly angry that their request to have Yoko Ono perform alongside them was turned down.
Melanie Safka Had To Prove Herself
A relatively unknown 19-year-old folk singer named Melanie Safka was never given an artist VIP pass. So she had to sing to security guards in order to convince them she was scheduled to perform on stage.
There Is No Evidence That Anyone Was Born at Woodstock
There are rumors that babies were born at Woodstock, but there is nothing factual to substantiate these claims. So if anyone ever says they were a Woodstock baby, then they must be mistaken. Any babies that were born during Woodstock were born in a hospital.
But There Were A Few Deaths
There are three reported deaths at Woodstock. Two people died from drug overdoses and the third person was run over by a tractor while asleep in a sleeping bag.
The Death Toll Could Have Been Much Worse
It is rather surprising that only three people died considering there were so many medical incidents that happened at the festival. More than 5,000 incidents were reported and 800 of them were drug related.
Some People Didn’t Pay for Their Tickets
If you haven’t guessed already, Woodstock was not very well organized. They were expecting about 50,000 people and it is estimated that 400,000 people showed up. A lot of people snuck into the festival and didn’t have to pay a dime for their tickets.
Joni Mitchell Wasn’t Actually at Woodstock
Joni Mitchell missed Woodstock because she had to be on a television show and there was no way she could have done both (the traffic was insane after all). There is an irony to this because Mitchell wrote a song about the festival, called “Woodstock”. She watched some of the festival on television and attributes that to part of her song writing process.
Iron Butterfly Couldn’t Fly
The band Iron Butterfly was invited to perform, but they were cut from the lineup when their personal helicopter never arrived at the airport to pick them up.
Bob Dylan May Have Hated Hippies
Rumor has it, Bob Dylan may have refused to perform at the festival because he didn’t like hippies. The rumors could be true since he later claimed he had to move after the festival because his home was constantly surrounded by tourists, fans, and drug addicts.
Jethro Tull May Have Had An Issue With Nudity
A lot of the acts and festival goers at Woodstock loved to indulge in sex, drugs, and rock n roll. But Jethro Tull may not have been as indulgent. There is a rumor that the British band refused to perform due to their fear of “naked ladies.”
3, 6, 9, The Hippies Drank Wine
We all know that certain psychedelic substances were passed around at the festival. But jugs of homemade wine may have been passed around as well.
Traffic Was Really Bad
The traffic at Woodstock went on for miles! It was hard for acts to actually get into the festival, so some of them had to get there by helicopter. That is exactly what happened to Sweetwater, the intended first act. They had to fly to the festival via helicopter.
There Were Not Enough Toilets
Canadian band Lighthouse backed out of the festival due to safety concerns and worries that there would not be enough toilets. Their fears turned out to be true. Some attendees said that they waited in line for hours to use restroom facilities.
The Festival Was Held on a Farm
Woodstock’s venue wasn’t the typical place for a rock concert to be held. It was held on a dairy farm owned by Max Yasgur. Since it was a dairy farm, there is the assumption that some cows made it to the festival and rocked out to the Grateful Dead.
The Festival Goers Were Very Grateful To Max Yasgur
The farmer who owned the land gave a speech welcoming attendees. It has been said that the speech received a standing ovation.
Performances Still Occur On The Original Site
The site of the festival is now home to The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts performing arts center. The center seats 5,000 instead of 500,000.
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Abbie Hoffman Crashed The Who’s Set
Political activist Abbie Hoffman rushed to the stage to protest the jailing of White Panther Party member John Sinclair. Pete Townshend was not pleased with Hoffman and eventually escorted him off stage. This was probably a first for The Who, but definitely not a first for Abbie Hoffman — he liked to make political statements in big crowds.
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A Woodstock Love Story Has A Bittersweet Ending
Nick and Bobbi Ercoline were the couple photographed and featured on the original Woodstock album. The two had been dating a for a short while before the festival and eventually got married. The couple was married for 54 years until Bobbi’s death on March 18th, 2023.
Jimi Hendrix Was the Last Performer
Jimi Hendrix was the last to perform at Woodstock. His set was supposed to be Sunday night but nothing went as planned during Woodstock, so he ended up performing on Monday morning. This was also because Hendrix had a clause in his contract that no one could perform after him. A lot of people had already left Woodstock, so a lot of them missed out on his legendary performance.
Jimi Hendrix’s Iconic Performance Had A Secret Message
We all know that Jimi Hendrix performed a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” But not many people know that this particular performance was a protest against the war. The soundscape of his performance was meant to represent chaos of battle and the civil rights movement. The distortion of the music was menat to resemble human cries and explosions. And he ended the performance with “Taps” which is usually played at military funerals.
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