My ex-ex-wife told me she was there having hitched hiked with a couple of other girlfriends from ohio university at the time. I was 6 years younger than her so I was still digging the bubble gum scene like the Archies and Dizzy or what have you. Anyway she always would tell me how Jimi Hendrix was trying to get her. She is a good looking woman so it is highly probable,but the point is that He didn't get her, I did :D.
Leftist
shaker hts, ohio usa - Tuesday, February 08, 2011 at 01:10:20 (EST)
I was 6 years old at the time of the WOODSTOCK Festival.
I lived/from Hoboken, N.J. and have the VHS, First DVD and of course the 40th Anniversary. I really can't say how many time's I've watched
the movie. If I took a guess I'd have to say a couple of hundred times. I first brought the VHS around the summer of 1988 (sooner or later, for I can't remember a thing in the 80's). Even when specials are on TV I watch the movie. I just can't get enough. It would have been an honor to have been their. Thank you to all who performed, put it together, and were their enjoying the festival. There are so many great seens in the movie. One is the man cleaning the toilets who had a son at the festival as well as a son in Viet Nam! Oh man my heart.
Gary O. W.
Washington, D.C. U.S.A. - Saturday, February 05, 2011 at 16:33:43 (EST)
I went..it was the most incredible exp. of my life. My son was conceived at woodstock. The drugs and music and just the atmosphere was the most amazing experience of my life. I was 19 and on summer break from college, me and my boyfriend (who is now my husband) decided to go and arrived early enough for them to take our tickets that we had bought. I wish I would have kept my stub but it was lost in the mud somewhere that weekend. We stayed until the end and managed to make it home although we were still tripping from the acid we had taken earlier.
We have gone back to the farm quite a few times since then, actually before they made into a musuem we would go back alot and just make out and get high.
Denise
Middletown, ny usa - Monday, January 24, 2011 at 14:10:09 (EST)
I just turned 16 at that time but could not go. My parents said I was to young at that time. I'm so sad that I missed my shot along with a ton of my other friends. If I could turn back the hands of time I would have made it my businees to be there. I loved all the groups that were there & some of my favorites were ( Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Ten years after, Santana....) As years went on I saw The Who in 71 @ Forest Hills stadium & MAN WHAT A SHOW !!! Also saw Ten Years After @ the garden in NYC. Crosby, Stills, & Nash about 5 times & GREAT every time I saw them. I took my older son to the 40 year reunion 2 years ago @ Bethel Woods & he was 15 at that time. Also went with 3 other people on my block & boy oh boy did we have a GREAT TIME !!! The facility & grounds there are beautiful. My son & I just this past summer saw Crosby, Stills, & Nash & they were just as awesome as ever. I will keep going to Bethel Woods for future shows & also to see what I missed going to the original festival over 40 years ago. Thanks for all the memories.
Dave Bonacci
Hopewell Jct., NY USA - Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 08:17:09 (EST)
Well I didn't go to woodstock but I was conceived during it so I suppose I was sort of there. There's always a place in my heart for woodstock.
Moony
Vancouver, BC Canada - Wednesday, January 05, 2011 at 02:15:27 (EST)
I wish l could have been there,but l could not. I was 3 years old by then therefore my opinions will lack of interest.However I saw the film some years ago,and all seems to be fantastic.It was not only about music,beacuse music it's offered in many other concerts and festivals,it was about the brotherhood of man,about adventure,about freedom,about meeting people who felt the same as you.In short it was a kind of paradise on earth were men and women were sons of God and not enemies.I visited a village called Woodstock in England 33 years later instead,but of course that's not the same..
Luis Miguel
Madrid, Spain España (Spain) - Monday, October 25, 2010 at 07:42:51 (EDT)
I was 20 at the time and had grown up in Ithaca, NY but had moved to Colorado to go to college in the mountains. A guy I had gone to prep school with back in N.Y. said his brother was involved with this music festival deal up in Bethel and that we could work setting up the stage and helping out if we could get there a week earlier as they were expecting 100,000 people at that time. Then he read off the bands that would be playing there. Damn, I didn't have a car but I had a 1967 BSA 441 Victor that I rode all the way from Colorado to NY and up to Bethel since I sorta knew that neck of the woods. Tommy and I worked helping with the setup, scaffolding and stuff like that and we didn't get paid anything but we were allowed to hang around the stage while all the bands played on stage for the entire Woodstock lineup. It was nuts but we had a helluva time and met allot of good folks the whole time we were there listening to it all. We smoked everything in sight and ate our share of the acid too. I remember in the beginning watching Richie Havens stepping up on stage and thought, shit this is the real deal now ... and then it never really stopped for days. This was rock-n-roll history in the making kids and when it was still sorta all new then too. It'll never happen again as this is a different world now. It's not all good or bad it's just different from what things were then. I remember towards the end when Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young came up on stage and I told David Crosby as he walked by me that I'd rode my motorcycle from Colorado. He stopped and looked at me and said, "You're fucking crazy man" and laughed. Anyway, when Jimi quit playing on Monday morning, I looked around from that stage area and thought I better start riding since it was time to go. My Mom & Dad were surprised to see me roll into Ithaca at their home on my Dad's B-Day August 18.I stayed and slept for about a week. My Dad was a Chevy dealer so he made me a sweet deal on a 67' Chevelle and I drove that back to Colorado in that. About a year later I was in Europe and happened to be going through Amsterdam for a few days and some Dutch kids who I had been smoking hash and partying with (No weed anywhere in Europe way back then) asked me if I wanted to go see the movie Woodstock with them. The movie was in English of course but in Dutch sub titles. I could see us a coupla times on stage but wow there it all sorta was again. Huge flashback. That was kind of the beginning of my own adult life with moving away from NY to Colorado ... then riding all the way back there on a bike less than 500cc and being a small part of that whole deal was something I'll never ever forget. I've told my sons about it a few times and a few of their college buddies came over to the house like they do allot a month or so ago. One of the smaller guys that dresses like we did back then with long hair and a bandanna said, "your son told me you were a stage hand at Woodstock" ... I said, Yea I was ... it was pretty cool and worth the ride back then ... but I think I'll go commercial and fly high the next time they have it.
That's it, True story and never moved back East. Lots of great adventures since then but Woodstock has its own page in history.
Clint Woods
Park City, , Utah USA - Saturday, October 23, 2010 at 20:56:39 (EDT)
This is my woodstock history
I was knowing about Woodstock Festival some days before, at that time I lived in Clexton in Georgia, and with my girlfriend Stephany, we were Atlanta to buy a disk of Johnny Mathis and in the disk store we saw the poster and we decided to go to the festival, we traveled
more than 1500 Km. We were camped at the side west of the farm, we suffered a lot with the lack of water and of food, to compensate we were making love and consuming drugs, after Jimi Hendrix's presentation came away, I took oath that never again would participate in another festival, today 41 years later I would give everything to be there again.
Carlos Roberto Friedrichi
Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo Brazil - Thursday, September 09, 2010 at 06:20:40 (PDT)
This was the best place of my whole life. its all kind of a blur but it was the best choice I've ever made. All of these imitations are nothing like the real thing.
Heather Conway
Nashville, TN United States - Monday, August 30, 2010 at 18:53:46 (PDT)
I was at Woodstock and often go back to the site at Bethel Woods to visit with my youngest daughter who is now 27. We were just up there one week before the 41st anniversary and had a wonderful time at the museum. If you have not been to the museum at Bethel Woods I STRONGLY suggest that you go. Everytime I go up to the site there is such a wonderful feeling of calm and peace. It was one of the best experiences of my life going to Woodstock in 1969... it is so hard to describe. Awesome is the word... AWESOME...
Patricia
Johnson City, NY - Friday, August 27, 2010 at 18:05:55 (PDT)
I remember working up in the Catskills that summer and quiting the job at the hotel Thursday morning and hitching a ride to the meadow. Actually ran into my next door neighbor in the middle of all those people. Fell asleep to Melanie and woke up to the last song by Joan Baez. If anyone tells you it was all beautiful, they are lying. It was raining, really raining. Slept on the hood of someones car,using the windshield to prop me up. IT was the first time my hair turned into and afro!!!!! I was only 18 at the time, just going off to college for the first time. Close my eyes and it seems like it was only yesterday.
Shame music concerts are so complicated and companies like Live Nation are in it just for the money.
Drugs, Sex, and Rock and Roll!!!
Stephen V.
N Woodmere, NY - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 20:26:34 (PDT)
I wanted to go but we were on our way to 1000 Islands on the St. Lawrence River. On the way I told my parents I had to pee real bad. Got out and ducked out the back door. Hitch hiked (got a ride immediately) at Highway 17B I think I walked the entire length to the site. When I got home (3 weeks later) I was in big trouble. Did I regret it? Hell No! I'd do it again (only I'd pack along food). It was the greatest experience of my life!
"Jersey" Shore
Cedar Grove, NJ USA - Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 12:52:33 (PDT)
Today is the 41st Anniversary. It seems that no matter how much time goes by, I always have a special feeling on this day...usually it just pops into my head. It could be a flashback...who knows. But, to all those who were there and survived the experience, Peace...Love...Brotherhood. To those who weren't...we missed you.
Craig L
Harleysville, PA - Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 08:38:16 (PDT)
I was 13 years old and at Sleep away Camp Willoway in PA on the border of Hancock NY. The Camp thought it would be fun, so they loaded up a few buses and off we went. I remember the sea of humanity, we were way up on the hill, I remember Richie Havens, the rain and the mud. The next morning it was back on the bus as the staff reluctantly headed back to more serene camp setting. I wish we had stayed longer and I had a chance to drop acid and lose my virginity there. But I guess we had to get back for Color war :-)
Michael Silberman
New York, NY USA - Friday, August 13, 2010 at 10:06:47 (PDT)
My brother and his two other friends were going, last minute thing he was 17, one was 16, the other 17 also, I wanted to go so bad, I was just getting into rock n roll from listening on the radio [WNEW] 102.7 new york, but there was one problem, my parents said NO because i was only 13 at the time, they stayed for the hendrix show, and got back monday night, the car they had 62 chevy impala was all mud. they told all about it said it was awesome, I can almost say i was there just from the memories from those three...
jack jenenski
manville, nj - Friday, August 13, 2010 at 05:35:01 (PDT)
i just wanted to thank everyone for these amazing stories ive been reading them for an hour and i wish i could be telling my story but sadly im only 17 and couldnt of ever made it but thanks alot
Luke
wellsboro, pa USA - Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 21:48:41 (PDT)
THE GREATEST EVENT I HAVE EVER BEEN TO. WENT THERE NO TICKETS A BUNCH OF FOOD {GAVE IT AWAY} DOING SPEED, ACID, POT, WINE, BEER, ETC. ETC.
33 OF US FROM BROCKTON, MA. ONE WENT HOME. COULDN'T HANDEL THE CROWD MY BROTHER JIMMY, "WHO LOST HIS LEGS IN NAM,HAD THE BEST TIME OF HIS LIFE. HE DIED AT THE AGE OF 28.ALWAYS IN MY MIND. WE STAYED THERE FOR FIVE DAYS WITH OUT A BATH, MAN DID WE STINK!WHO CARES!! IF I COULD DO IT OVER AGAIN,I WOULD!! WOODSTOCK WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY.THANK YOU MICHAEL LANG, YOU ROCK IN THIS WORLD. PLEASE TRY AND HAVE ANOTHER ONE. I BET IT WOULD BE BIGGER THEN THE FIRST. WHO KNOWS??
LOVE PEACE AND WOODSTOCK, AND THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU MAX. WITHOUT YOUR LAND, THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN. MAY GOD LET YOU COME TO ANOTHER ONE ON YOUR BEAUTIFUL GREEN PASTURE.
LOVE JOE
JOE HANNAN
BROCKTON, MASS. U.S.A. - Wednesday, August 04, 2010 at 18:14:23 (PDT)
I was 17 and a High school Junior. The summer of 1969, my friends and I went to the Newport Jazz, Newport Folk, and Woodstock Festivals. FYI, we never bought a tickets for Woodstock. We assumed we would get in for free. I remember driving there in a tank of a car with three friends and watching other vehicles drive by us with the sign "Woodstock or Bust" painted on their sides. When we arrived, it took forever to drive up the main road to get to the festival. Cars were stopping, taking out food and having picnics on the spot while they were waiting in line. I remember one man saying,"Hey, Sly from Sly and the Family Stone is my cousin. You got to get me in" Once we got in, we parked the tank in a field. The field turned into a mud bath very soon afterward and I wondered how on earth we were going to get the tank out of the field.
I have no memory of bringing any food with us. I have some recollection of eating cukes and peanut butter at some point during the weekend Other memories include the really dirty outhouses were located near the bad trip tent. I thought that wasn't a good idea. I also saw my first naked man. Another man was dressed like Jesus and he had a goat on a string. Most people were happy and mellow and gentle with each other. People were swimming and dancing. Drugs were everywhere and the rain may have had more colors that weekend than any other weekend since. When we left Woodstock, I remember looking up at the sky and thinking, "How can I deal with being a Senior in High School after a weekend like this?"
Judith
- Friday, July 30, 2010 at 18:49:20 (PDT)
in response to a post by chris gruber on 9/27/2009.....i think i know you.....did we call you "lark"......did you dad have a pharmacy in nj.....if this is you an you read this...you can find me on facebook....if not...sorry......aside from that Woosstock was the weekend of my 21st birthday... what i can remember was great... what i forgot... must have been better
frank cohen
barnegat, nj - Thursday, July 08, 2010 at 15:01:53 (PDT)
Missed the whole damned thing as I was in Vietnam serving with the 1ST CAV (Airmobile). After 2 gunshot wounds, malaria, and a case of hepititus, I got to come home in January 1970.
Harry O In San Diego
San Diego, CA USA - Thursday, July 08, 2010 at 12:32:10 (PDT)
I was a college student at MSU at the time. My roomate and I started hearing about it and decided to go. Called a few friends and soon there were 6 of us crammed into my 1963 Pontiac headed east through Canada. Got a bit of a scare at the border coming back into the US but made it to Woodstock sometime late, late Friday night. We had to park miles away but got a ride in on the trunk and roof of a car. We were totally unprepared and unequipped. (except for some good weed we had managed to conceal well enough at the border) We found a spot near the middle of the crowd near a major path. One thing I will never forget is the incredible parade of people passing by on that path dressed in everything from a business suit, to various costumes to nothing at all, and it was always moving the entire time, day or night. From a musical standpoint, Santana was unforgettable. They were now well known except for the west coast, and they had the entire crowd on it's feet and dancing. I believe that this event really launched them to a national level. There were many other moments that left a lasting impression, like the rain storms, Joe Cocker, swimming in the pond, the Jefferson airplane, The Who, Sly and the Family Stone, Wavy Gravy and the flip out tent (one of my friends had consumed the brown mescaline), but most of all, the incredible sharing of everything that anyone had. We all shared food and water, clothing and blankets, cover from the rain, as well as weed and other misc. drugs with everyone around us. When we left, we were so tired, and a bit toasted, that we could not figure out where we were on the map so we took a vote at one point and ended up going 300 miles out of the way. We had also picked up a couple more people needing a ride, so there were 8 of us crammed into that old Pontiac. I still have a photo from the event tanken by my college roommate.
DIxon
Santa Rosa, Ca USA - Tuesday, July 06, 2010 at 08:11:29 (PDT)
I was at Woodstock and I don't think the song list is accurate. I remember John Sebastian coming out and filling in on accoustic guitar while they setting up other acts and he is not given credit for those songs and was virtually ignored in the movie.
David Mahony
Washington Crossing, Pa - Tuesday, July 06, 2010 at 06:38:13 (PDT)
when i visited in 1992 you could still feel the emotion that soaked into the very earth. So much music, magic, and love was absorbed in those three days that you still feel it when you step onto that old farm. Thank you to every artist, performer, and fan for participating in an event that still promotes love and peace 32 years later.
Carl E.
Richlands, NC USA - Monday, July 05, 2010 at 19:26:30 (PDT)
I was there, but unfortunately I was a sperm inside of my dads balls so I couldn't hear much, but I had an awesome time!
Zach
silver spring, maryland usa - Friday, July 02, 2010 at 14:19:10 (PDT)
I was 21 at the time and had just been releaed from Balboa Naval Hospital after spending eleven months due to back surgery. When I got back to Buffalo I began hearing about the festival. On Thursday night, my friend Gary and I met some friends at Mulligans Brick Bar in Allentown and they said they had tickets, a tent, and wanted us to go. By the end of the night (4am) we decided to join them. We bought 3 case of Rolling Rock and loaded them into Gary's '67 Corvette convertable and followed the girls out of town. By early Friday morning the traffic was starting to get bad and the 'vette was over heating. After much discussion we convinced the girls to sell their tickets (they paid $15 and sold them for $10)and that we would go to NYC for the weekend. It was shortly thereafter when we asked a state trooper where we needed to exit to head to the city that we were infomred that the Thruway had been closed and we weren't going anywhere! At that point the traffic was at a stand still and people were pulling off and parking in farmer's fields. Since we had no other choice we did the same. It took about an hour to set up the tent and then we starting walking with the masses that were headed to the festival. We didn't realize the we were seven miles from the gates! By the time we got there it had be declared a free concert and we walked right in. It was difficult to comprehend the number of people that were already there on site. We worked our way thru the crowd and settled in to listen to the music. As the afternoon progressed we made friends with the people around us who were more than willing to share whatever they had. My last clear recollection of the music was that of Ravi Shankar's performance. It was now well into the evening and the stage lights illuminated only part of the crowd but as you looked around you could sense that it had continued to grow from earlier in the day. Ravi Shankar started to play as the rain begain to fall. The scene and sounds were surrealistic as I sat mesmerized by the whole thing. As the night progressed we lost track of the girls and never saw them again until we got back to Buffalo. To the best of my recollection, we only went back to the tent once during the three days we were there. By the time we left on Monday the only item of clothing that I had left were my jeans! Everything else was lost or to soiled to wear. My only regret was that I didn't focus more on the music being played instead of everything else going on around me!
Dr Dave
Chicago , Illinois - Monday, May 31, 2010 at 07:58:50 (PDT)
A few friends and myself decided (on the spur of the moment) to leave the City and take our chances, driving up to White Lake (upstate New York) for the festival we had been hearing so much hype about over the airways for the past few weeks. It had been raining previous to our departure but on the morning we left the City, the sun had come out and it looked like it was going to be a pretty day; so we jumped in the get-away vehicle and off we went! It was quite a long drive and by the time we arrived, it was so packed and wet/muddy, that we turned around and decided to go to Newport, instead (for the Jazz Festival); hence, missing the happening of the decade! I now frequently use this experience as a metaphor for my life: while everyone else in the country was going to Woodstock, I went to Newport!!!! :-( [sigh] Such is Life! PS: Anyone else go to Newport that weekend? EMail me: dlr2k10@yahoo.com
Diana Rosen
New York City, New York U.S.A. - Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 22:35:35 (PDT)
back in my day when me and my girl went to woodstock it was the most phenominal thing i have ever been to in my life. WE WERE SO FUCKED UP ON LSD IT WAS CRAZY
saint
seattle, washington USA - Monday, May 24, 2010 at 10:42:11 (PDT)
A BIG 'UNFORTUNATELY' I wasn't there! Damn it, I would have been 3 years old but i'm sure i would have remembered it, even being that young i know i would've. LOL. I've seen and heard all about it (Woodstock) from my mum and friends some of who went. I'm now a fan of all that music and for that matter the 60's era. i'm now a guitarist who does play some of the tunes played at THE festival but the real story i want to tell is a couple of years ago i had this dream where i was a spectator at some outdoor music event when i heard some different type of music coming from over the hill, i ventured towards this sound and lo behold over the hill was this huge gathering with a massive stage in front. I remember that i was then in-with the crowd (at the front!) looking up and there was Jimi Hendrix about to perform when all of a sudden he beckoned me, which now i was at the side stage walking on stage guitar in hand, he said to me are you ready! I was standing beside him both looking at each other and i went to strum my guitar to to start a song when.. I awoke! Phew! (in awe) Yes, I know I didn't get to jam with Jimi (I'm crying) but at least i got to get up on stage, maybe not in real life but.... This dream is as vivid to me even now but also close to my heart as he is one of my favourite Idols. When i play live gigs sometimes I wear my Favourite Jimi t-shirt for all to see! So Jimi, thanks for the invite. Maybe next dream i'll actually get to play with ya, I look forward to that! Rock on Woodstock! Rock on world! Dazart
Darrell (Dazart) Yensch
Sydney, NSW Australia - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 19:17:18 (PDT)
Thank you so much for posting this. I was only 10 that year, but i feel the music so much.And I heard a lot from friends and mentors that meant a lot to me, that were there. A very good friend of mine told a story, He was looking for his brother for 2 days and gave up, then started looking for his van, when he found the van his brother was in it with 3 girls. I so much miss him. love to all. LOVE YOUR BROTHER.. Enjoy the ride.
Joseph kevin hartman
sugarloaf, ny usa - Monday, May 03, 2010 at 20:43:20 (PDT)
Me and a couple of my buds went to Woodstock in 69 and did nothing but do drugs and drink a lot of moonshine one reason i got my name because of a time a Woodstock but it was the greatest time of my life i was about the 10th person there and about the last to leave....there will never be another day like that in history again!!!!
Moonshine
Philadelphia, PA - Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 15:38:01 (PDT)
One of the most incredible experiences of my life. Sixty-nine, I was twenty-one. I walked onto that hillside a somewhat confused youth, and because of all that happened to me there, I walked out a man. Kind of a long story, but it was absolutely mind-blowing, and beautiful.
Bill
Daytona Beach, FL - Monday, April 26, 2010 at 22:06:46 (PDT)
Couldn't make the show, but two years later a certain 12-year-old saw his first concert at Raceway Park in Atco, NJ, with Climax Blues Band and Sly & The Family Stone - and they still had the juice! As a tribute we open and close every campout with a 200-watt fueled run of Jimi Hendrix' Star Spangled Banner. "Classic" rock at its best: The Woodstock Era. BIG CANNED HEAT FAN
Chip Ross
San Diego, CA USA - Monday, April 26, 2010 at 15:48:05 (PDT)
I had a great time while on LSD and some crazy shrooms man. Me and my best pal sittin back sippin on 40s and smoking some lots of ganja. Jimmy hendrix is the mannnn....
Kevin Do
albuquerque, nm united states - Monday, April 19, 2010 at 11:37:52 (PDT)
Remember it well. I was there from day 1 and one of the last ones to leave.
Dennis Defosie
Winsted, CT USA - Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at 11:28:10 (PDT)
I turned 18 at Woodstock! My parents told me I couldn't go, so I went.
If my parents told me that I could go, I may not have ever went.
So I want, no need, to thank my parents for being responsible for giving
me one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had. You had to be there as no description or media recording of it can ever bring the emotional feeling to it that we all had there.
At 58 it is right behind the birth of my daughters in life events.
Rick Palmer
Portland, Oregon USofA - Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 18:38:48 (PDT)
Lets be honest Woodstock lived for three days then died once it hit that monday. Woodstock was and will remain only alive at Max Yasgur's old farm. To Call something else Woodstock without the bands and the vibe is NOT WOODSTOCK. what people market now as so-called WOODSTOCK is a lie and false. Woodstock happened August 1969 not in 1990s, 2000s 1969!!!!!!!!!!! Thats the only REAL woodstock. ANYTHING ELSE CALLED BY THAT NAME IS FAKE AND STUPID!
K. Rockefeller
Churubusco, IN USA - Friday, April 09, 2010 at 15:39:56 (PDT)
i remember staying up all night listening to the music and i sang along to every song. my parents were hippies and i was proud to be one too
ellen hyde
chicago, Il - Wednesday, April 07, 2010 at 13:53:22 (PDT)
I started college that summer and did not go because I didn't want to lose my college draft deferment. Sorry
woofwoof
- Wednesday, April 07, 2010 at 04:18:28 (PDT)
well I thought it was cool
caleb
Johnson city, ny united states - Thursday, April 01, 2010 at 09:44:41 (PDT)
Does anyone know the name of the guy who made the announcement calling for Alan Fay to come to the aid of his friend? It was a bummer. Who was the person who made this announcement and others? I think he also read an article from the NY Times about the festival and a sea of mud. Bummah, bummah..
Sam Billy
Seattle, WA US - Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 16:02:47 (PDT)
In August 1969 I was a second Lieutenant with the 101st Airborne in the jungle on the western side of the Ashau Valley in Vietnam along the Laotian border. I would rather have been at Woodstock, or for that matter, at any other place on the planet than where I was at that moment in time! It must have been great to have been there--my brother made it to Woodstock even though I was otherwise occupied.
George Malleck
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - Monday, March 29, 2010 at 11:36:04 (PDT)
Im 44 this year and my parent took me their when i was to little to remember but for some odd reason the sixties stuck to me like a wild vived dream i still have to this day. You can see me in some of the footage that made it in the movie. My parents were flower children and they took me a long for the wild ride. I still remember the aimless parties that my father and mother took me to, and we speek of it to this day. I have to say that for me it truelly was a "expereance" ill never forget or want to. That when music was music and it will always be my kind of music. I love how WoodStock still lives today. But for my money nothing beats the true WoodStock from the sixties. Peace and Love, Eddie Allen.
Eddie Allen
marion, NC 28752 - Monday, March 29, 2010 at 11:25:48 (PDT)
When i was 16 my parents lived in a small town in upstate NY i was a do-nothing prissy teenager. I started dating a boy much older than me and one day he told me we were going to this concert. We drove for days to get there, then sat in a line for days before getting out of our car and walking to the valley. At that time there were hundreds of people but we were far down into the valley. We sat there for what felt like weeks. The highlight for me was Janis Joplin. Day two was just amazing, mind blowing even. We didn't leave for a few days after it was over. I married the boy, we moved to italy the summer of '74. William now works for the Louvre art mueseum and i design for a womens clothing company. The impression woodstock left on me is not spoken in words. I'm old now. (i won't even tell you) I still dress like a hippy i still listen to hendrix, joplin, and sometimes even keef hartley :)
Abigail Crosby
Paris, France - Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 20:17:26 (PDT)
i am way to young to experience the best 3 days of peace and music from my understanding it was a music revolution i wish i could have experienced it but i love to read about it listen to the music from then and hear the stories i know there will never be anything even close to woodstock but can't wait to hopefully experience what others have one day i would love to know how good some of the bands were like the grateful dead jannis joplin ect.. well e-mail me with your stories cjw0805@comcast.net
chris wennemar
fort wayne, in unitedstates - Monday, March 15, 2010 at 21:24:54 (PDT)
I just watched the video last night.
I was 18 and wanted to be a hippie in the worst way....but I had to work so I coud not go. My boss would not give ne the time off (or allow me to let my hair grow long)
After seeing the conditions and knowing what went on I am convinced that young people, however sincere, are brain dead until they have their own children. I wonder how many people who were there would let their children go off on an adventure like that?
Joe
San Diego, Ca US - Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 08:28:44 (PST)
it was amazing! i havent experienced anything like that since!
sarah ray
detroit, Michigan US - Wednesday, March 03, 2010 at 12:04:33 (PST)
I wasn't at Woodstock, long before my time, i was born in 1990. I just bought the Joe Coker and The Grease Band Woodstock album. The track listing on the album is:
1. Dear Landlord
2. Something's Coming On
3. Do I Still Figure In Your Life
4. Feelin' Alright
5. Just Like A Woman
6. Let's Go Get Stoned
7. I Don't Need No Doctor
8. I Shall Be Released
9. Hitchcock Railway
10. Something To Say
11. With A Litle Help From My Friends
they could have changed it around for the album, who knows. This site has been great, i love reading the stories from that time. It was humanities peak. If anyone would like to personally fill me in on some events i love hearing them.
z0_b13@hotmail.com or check my band at myspace.com/dooms2012day
Dom Zombie
Canton, OH United States - Monday, March 01, 2010 at 17:31:31 (PST)
I did not make it to Woodstock until 2009. I was only 2 when it happened but always wanted to go to the site and check it out. I took my family there in July 2009. We spent the whole day there and walked the whole place. Me and my 9 year old son sat on a blanket and played our guitars while my wife and younger son ate their PB&J's. I would suggest anyone who wants to get a taste of the place to go there. They have it set up really nice. When my son grows up he will realize how cool that day was.
Todd
Wall, NJ USA - Sunday, February 21, 2010 at 17:22:12 (PST)
3 words. oh, my, god. And those words cant even describe, they arent even enough to even be close to what i felt during this show. I found myself and my life has never been different. Even when in my time of dying which is soon, i will never forget the energy and bliss that i felt with the music. I was connected in ways i thought never manageable and a feeling that i hope lasts forever. Even though it didnt change much about society (look at the world we live in now) woodstock has and forever will go down in history until the end of days. and even as i lay in my deathbed, my spirit will never forget the memories that made me realize that life is beautiful. God bless.
Anthony Diego
Miami, Florida U.S. - Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 11:03:33 (PST)
Decided on the way to work at the Post Office that there was someplace more important to be. I parked my car and stuck my thumb out on the Mass. Turnpike and got picked up by an obliging young man on a Harley. No ticket, only a sleeping bag I always kept in the trunk of my car. It was one of the most inspired decisions I have ever made. The mud, the hunger, the music, the overwhelming and all pervasive atmosphere of peace and beauty made the whole experience far more than just 'going to an outdoor concert'. To the young man with the Harley, whose name I never caught....Thanks!
Gypsy Girl
Springfield, MA USA - Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 11:58:48 (PST)
In 1969, I worked the Mississippi River Festival on the Campus of Southern IL University in Edwardsville IL. I saw a number of these groups plus some that decline to play @ Woodstock for one reason or another. The MRF was a Preforming Arts project in conjunction with the St. Louis Symphony. So I got to see Bob Dylan as well as Van Cliburn. Since my draft # was 12, I had my future planned out for me. I did see the Moon Landing while I was @ work @ the MRF, but alas no Woodstock for me..
Daniel
Checotah, Ok. USA - Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 00:55:26 (PDT)
I was the girl in the life magazine picture of the two mudsliders, I was 17 @ the time of woodstock and it was one of the best times of my life. I cut my foot and remember two naked guys helping me, by pouring wine into my wound. i found my way to the make shift hospital trailors and found signs outside of them saying broken bones, cuts, bad trips thank God i wasnt on the bad trip line !!!!! didn't pack one stitch of clothes, didn't sleep and boy do i remember that glorious music all night long I had alot of fun in that mud and I didn't take any drugs so I can pretty much remember how woodstock was. What a great time it was and now im 57 and telling my grand children about it
chris Gruber - Ciaccio
Westwood, New Jerseyu usa - Sunday, September 27, 2009 at 21:41:10 (PDT)
Arrived Thurs mid-day from Westchester and left Mon am after Jimi. We somehow found a back road that avoided much of the traffic and got us in to a great campsite location near the main hill and not far from the Pig Farm. Remember scrambling 2 dozen eggs on an iron pan about 24 inches in diameter. Rained a lot but it was fun and didn't ruin anything, unlike what the press said later. Everyone was friendly. Was a fantastic and fun weekend and saw some of the best music I've ever heard -- Richie Havens, Sly, Ten Years After, Butterfield, Janis, CCR, CSN, The Band, Who, oh my... Vividly remember standing in a light rain with my friend Mark watching Jimi in awe. Couldn't have been more than a few thousand people then - felt like a few hundred. Had my tickets for many yrs and then my parents accidentally thru them out when they moved-- there went my kids' college fund...
J tippett
- Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 18:19:35 (PDT)
Was living in NYC and working as a junior counselor at Camp Forest Lake, Winchester, New Hampshire. A friend (Kay Peacock) and I took off to go to a music festival that we had heard about. We had a great time traveling there but once we go close we were turned away by the police. We ended up at the Newport Jazz Festival, where we saw Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson and the Chambers Brothers. It was an excellent show, outdoors and a big crowd. I would love to hear from anyone that made it to that festival instead. email me at
neporeed@yahoo.com
My wife and I just saw Taking Woodstock last night and loved it!... Check it out!
Peace,
Neporeed
Steven Oliver
Norman, OK USA - Sunday, September 06, 2009 at 10:21:33 (PDT)
Regarding Richie Havens "encores". They were technically not really all encores. An encore is when the audience calls the performer back for more. Richie Havens may have been called back, but some of the returns to perform were because he was SENT back out because the next act was not ready. Sly was called back more times than any of the acts on Friday or Saturday. I left the site on Sunday afternoon before any music started. I only remember 3 encores for Sly.
Cryspian
Bedford, Texas - Tuesday, September 01, 2009 at 12:40:26 (PDT)
Dave Miller stated that Sly had more encores than anyone else with 5 but in actuality Richie Havens had more than anyone else with 6 encores because when he arrived and began playing none of the other performers were there yet. :)
Eric T. Benoit
Las Vegas, NV USA - Sunday, August 30, 2009 at 02:22:20 (PDT)
Woodstock was an accident for me, one of those great accidents that happen once in a lifetime and you never forget it. Until Friday evening August 15th, 1969 I had never heard of Woodstock and I dont think most of the other guys I hung out with in the Bunker Hill section of Waterbury CT had either. One of them came up to the local park where we usually met up on Friday nights and said Who wants to go to Woodstock? It was about 5pm. I think he had found out about it from some friends at The Taft School where he attended and once he told us what it was about five of us said we wanted to go. We all piled into his old Ford Galaxy 500, one of those big old cars that fit six pretty comfortably and after making some runs home to get for some extra cash and jackets we took off. It was Dave driving, Paul and Hank in the front seat and Mike, Danny, and I in the back. I think we all thought it would be one of those deals where we would drive over to New York state, spend three or four hours listening to the bands and drive the 2 ½ hours back home in the early hours of Saturday. Thats what I thought. Well, we managed to get there with about a gazillion other people and there was no getting out. We got close enough to the site that we could walk to it from where the car was and spent the next three days experiencing the greatest music event of all time. Wow! We took turns going back to the car to get some sleep throughout the weekend. The Galaxy had bench seats so with one in front and one in back two could get some sleep at the same time. I know we were probably hungry, tired, and wet just like everybody else there but all I remember is the great music, the thousands and thousands of kids who were all cool and got along, and how wonderful it was to be a twenty year old guy having the time of my life. Time passed, I got married and started a family and lost touch with all those guys I went to Woodstock with. I havent forgotten them or the great time we had at Woodstock though. I think of that experience often and fondly.
Bill Shea
Waterbury, CT USA - Saturday, August 29, 2009 at 09:35:58 (PDT)
Blood Sweat n Tears played "God Bless The Child"
Sly had FIVE encores. The most of any band!
Mountain had a couple too.
I have bootleg recordings. Took a little 3 inch reel to reel with me. I was fifteen.
Dave Miller
S.Wales, NY usa - Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at 11:06:04 (PDT)
I graduated High School in June '69 and was working in a grocery store for the Summer. A local music store had tickets. Bunch of us from the store went and got our tickets. $18. I think I was making $1.85 an hour then. Minimum age was $1.25 then and we were Union workers. To us then it was not a cheap show. However it came to pass that my parents "learned me some lessons of life ie: You're not going." It turned out that age 21 was legal age then, not 18 like now. I learned that from the local Police Chief who came to visit. I, one month shy of my 18th birthday, I would have been a runaway. So, I listened to my parents cause years later when my kids were that age, I wouldn't have let them go to such an event. I hold no malice, they only meant well. As I type this across my desk on the wall are my tickets, nicely framed. Kids should listen to their parents more!
UnkaDave
PA USA - Sunday, August 23, 2009 at 12:35:40 (PDT)
My wife Jane and I had actually bought tickets a couple months earlier. I got out of the service on Aug 13, and that would have been a celebration gig. I was in Maine at the time and we began our drive down on the 16 or 17 of aug. We had no idea of the size or scope. I wanted to see the Who and Hendrix and Canned heat and Janis. As we were driving down we heard radio reports of massive traffic jams and possible riots. Perhaps the National Guard was going to called in. My wife freaked a bit, and after a break we decided not to go the rest of the way. To this day I regret listening to her.
pete
pocono summit, pa usa - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 10:53:01 (PDT)
There will never be anything like waking up to Grace Slick!
Bill Lawson
Cocoa Beach, Florida - Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 21:24:52 (PDT)
I am unique in that I am the one person in the entire world who wasn't there and who has never said they were there. My spirit and heart were there, third row center - I could smell Country Joe!
I knew from the moment I heard about it that Woodstock was going to be a seminal event for our generation, as well as a defining statement of how we could come together in peace. We did, and nothing that happened subsequent to Woodstock can ever change that.
iain mclennon
Portland, OR USA - Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 16:42:16 (PDT)
I went in '69 and just came back from the 40th reunion in Bethel. The original bowl grass field remains and it was extremely moving to think back to the huge crowd then and now just an empty field. Hearing the Jefferson Starship (Airplane) play Volunteers brought it all back.
Steve
Bedford, MA - Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 10:27:08 (PDT)
First, a correction: The Country Joe song identified as I Find Myself Missing You is actually titled Janis
A few random memories:
Melanie sang Tuning My Guitar. I believe that opened her set. I had never even heard of her, but it really seemed to me that she was singing to me. I suppose many people had that feeling.
Arlo told a very funny story about Moses and the Brownies
Joan Baez told us about when the federal marshals came to take David Harris (her then husband) into custody
John Sebastian suggested that if anybody was concerned about the brown acid, perhaps they should take only half a hit.
Sly (& his stoned family) were called back for 3 encores. I probably burned 50,000 calories during their set. I think that everybody that was conscious was dancing to them.
When Max Yasgur told us that he was a farmer, the crowd responded very favorably;: recognizing a kindred spirit, one who was in touch with the earth.
A little about our arrival and departure:
My brother (not sibling) Travelin Terry and I arrived at the site on Tuesday, the 12th, in mid-afternoon. We had hitched from the suburbs of Fort Worth, Texas. Our last ride in was with part of the festival crew, in a 1953 Cadillac lime.
When we arrived, the stage was still being built. TT was hired to help complete it. I was not hired as I was barefoot. They mentioned something about insurance requirements. The only pay TT received was a bunch of Food for Love coupons, which we used to buy a couple of hamburgers from one of the food vendors on our way out of the site.
We left early Sunday afternoon, before that days music started. I will never know why we left then, it just felt like it was time to leave. We had no deadlines to meet, no jobs to return to. We had been on the road since the end of July.
I have been reminiscing more about Woodstock this anniversary than any of the previous ones. Numerous times during this last week, I have stopped and thought about where I was 40 years earlier. It has been a good week (and a good life, I might add.) I am relatively happy and have no sense that I ever sold out.
Cryspian
Bedford, Texas - Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 10:18:48 (PDT)
Mick from No. Andover, MA uSa - Friday, August 14, 2009 at 21:07:07 (PDT)wrote:
"Everyone says that there can never be another Woodstock and I absolutely agree, but I do think we can still have a music festival that expresses peace, love, and good music. It is certainly not impossible, just needs the right supervision."
Lack of supervision was exactly what made Woodstock so singular. The fact that kids could all be together by themselves, not having any supervision, no curfew, no parents. All peacefully, friendly, having fun and willing to help each other.
RTC
Randy C
Scranton, PA USA - Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 05:29:19 (PDT)
Wow!1969. At the time Woodstock happened I was in Oak Harbor, Wa. Being only 14 years old I couldn't be there but I remember how fantastic it was that so many people were in one place.Woodstock was plastered all over the news then. I remember my parents thought it was just awful that all these hippies were in one place doing drugs and running around in the buff.It's hard to believe now that back then we were witnessing a moment in our history. Especially the music,it was so new and exciting.
Gene
Arlington, Wa. USA - Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 00:01:16 (PDT)
Got to woodstock late friday paid some family 25.00 to park our car in their driveway and walked about 7 miles to the site. Had no tics and crawled under the fence. Drank somewhat but no drugs. Oh BTW I was 16 that May. Traveled from New Milford nj. didnt think it was gonna be a big deal so no camera Damn! It was without a doubt the best 2 days of my life. Got home...got grounded for 3 months worth it
john
fair lawn, nj usa - Monday, August 17, 2009 at 17:14:24 (PDT)
i remember me and my girlfriend drivin up. it was a short trip to max yasgurs farm. when we got there it was packed. we got so close to the stage. later that night we were on the lawn and janis joplin was walkin around and i met her, it was the coolest thing ever.
sam
bethel, ny united states - Monday, August 17, 2009 at 01:45:45 (PDT)
I took a bus from NYC Thursday alone, I must have guessed the roads might be bad. The bus let us out some distance away and we walked. The fence was already down, we walked in, found spots to stretch out. I had a sleeping bag but no tent; in the morning I was wet from dew.
Going over the list I remember the entire show Friday, I was there from the start. Richie Havens was great, so was Ravi Shankar, and Country Joe of course. I made my way to the front of the stage while John Sebastian was on, very mellow.
Saturday and Sunday are kind of blur, I suppose I know why. I do remember sitting on the hood of a NY state police car with other folks, smoking. I think I missed Santana because I was skinny dipping in the pond, I could hear the music but my attention was on beautiful young women. I remember Canned Heat and Sly Stone, so I was by the stage for some of the show. But my focus had become more the cultural experience, I had gone alone and although I ran into a couple of people I knew there I was mostly hanging out and making friends with people I didn't know. I saw some Canadians camped a little ways up the hill with a Maple Leaf flag, and I went and hung out with them.
At some point it rained very hard. The Hog Farmers were feeding people free cooked meals but rainwater started to pull their big tent down. I was one of several people helping hold the tentpoles up until it could be secured. I saw some people sliding in the mud but I was wet enough. By that time I had lost my sleeping bag somewhere, and I spent that night in a car with a woman I had met. I was 17, and in high school, she was 23 and a teacher (it's called fraternizing).
The next day is similarly hazy in my memory. I do remember Ten Years After and I think Blood Sweat and Tears. I did nothing more than smoke and drink wine, but I think I did a fair bit of that. At one point I remember an announcement that we had been declared a disaster area and thinking "what disaster, where?" I felt quite fine. An Army helicopter dropped C Rations, crackers in a can as I recall. Compared to Hog Farm or Hare Krishna food it was lame but I thought we should be grateful because it's the Army and they apparently don't hate us.
I remember ending up by a campfire in the woods that night, someone had a guitar and I think I had a turn. We were singing Grateful Dead songs.. mellow feelings. Maybe around dawn we made our way back to the stage and heard Paul Butterfield, then Sha-Na-Na, but it was Jimi we were waiting for. The crowd was a lot smaller, lots of people had left, but Jimi was the concert for me. By the time he finished Star Spangled Banner and launched into Purple Haze I was in tears. A girl couldn't see so I lifted her on my shoulders. Her name was Alice D, she was about 15, from Monticello I think. It was nice to share those moments with someone. I remember thinking afterwards that I wished I had gotten her phone number.
Then the concert was over. The people who were left were asked to help clean up. We were given big garbage bags and we all walked around the hill filling them. I filled mine up before heading for the road, and away.
I noticed when I got home that I had almost no material possessions I left with, including clothes, but I had different ones and I had everything I needed. I bought a Che Guevara t-shirt (which my mother soon disposed of). I had lost my sleeping bag but someone was giving out inflatable emergency tents, I got one of those. I found a pipe on the ground and had it for years after.
I recently took a survey, they asked if I wore tie dyed shirts and had long hair back then. Yeah and I still do. Rock on people.
Bruce
Canada - Monday, August 17, 2009 at 01:21:54 (PDT)
i was 12 at the time to young for woodstock but just learning about rock and roll but the next best thing happened on tuesday aug 11 some counslors at our camp took us to the jefferson airplane/ who concert at tanglewood with bb king and the josh light show it was a preview of things to come
glenn
roslyn, ny usa - Sunday, August 16, 2009 at 18:14:51 (PDT)
So many memories! 4 friends and I drove up. Pat was an RN. At some point they set up trailors to handle specific medical ailments. They asked for any medical professionals and volunteers to help out. Though we were in awe of the music and almost biblical-like scene, we were weary and wet. Volunteering was a good idea to help out, but also to take shelter. (We did not have a tent, only muddied sleeping bags.) Because of the mud, many people just went barefoot, so there were lots of foot lacerations from debris. We were assigned to the foot trailor where Pat administered first aide, and if a tetanus shot was needed, I was given a clipboard with forms to take down basic info that they had to sign. Suddenly, I was perceived as "official," and accused by some of being part of the "Establishment!" I was just 20, but there seemed to be a lot of really young runaways, who were uneasy about being "found out." I was intrigued by the commune (Hogfarm?) flown in to handle bad acid trips. ...Could never find myself in any Woodstock pix/flicks, but happy to recognize this Hippie guy dressed in a sombrero and poncho who attended and wandered around with his pet goat...I was amazed at the variety, nerve and sense of individual expression of my peers, and returned home resenting that I was trapped in a very square, conservative family! Btw, my favs were Sly and the Family Stone, Santana, Joe Cocker, Joplin, Creedence Clearwater, and Jefferson Airplane. Left before Jimi Hendrix played:-(
Mary Nugent Erra
New York, NY USA - Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 22:56:50 (PDT)
My recall: Mud. Making a sport of sliding down the muddy hill in attempt to go the farthest.
Smoking weed on top of the roof of a State Police car WITh a cop!
Walking endlessly looking at the
freaks" all about us.
Ripple wine.
A few local homeowners who had signs out in front of their house saying "water for sale" not nice.
Leaving the festival to be greeted by NY's finest police who were told to leave us alone IN the festival but nail em After the festival.
I was profoundly affected by all I saw and did at Woodstock. Later I became a consicentious objector to the Viet war and for years have been a nurse with homeless groups etc.. My little light was set afire at Woodstock.
Wayne Quinn
Lynn, Mass - Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 18:31:04 (PDT)
