Woodstock

The Woodstock Music and Arts Fair, which took place near Bethel, New York, over three days in August 1969, was both a massive concert and a symbol for the youth culture of the 1960s. In the late 1960s, rock festivals, most notably the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, were gaining in popularity. Woodstock at first seemed as if it would be simply another rock and roll (see entry under 1950s—Music in volume 3) music festival, but because of its size and the number and stature of the artists who performed there, the name Woodstock stands out as the most famous of all rock festivals.

Hoping for three days of peace and music (and profits), a group of four young businessmen decided to hold a music festival in the town of Woodstock, New York, known for its arts community. As they began planning, and as they hired more and more famous musical acts to perform, the festival grew too big and was eventually moved to a dairy farm, owned by Max Yasgur (1920–1973), near the town of Bethel, not far from Woodstock. The size of the festival would prove to be a big problem. As the festival day approached, more than five hundred thousand young people descended on the small farming community of Bethel, creating significant problems. The festival organizers were not prepared for traffic jams; insufficient food, toilets, and medical care; and security and drug problems, among many others. Adding to these problems, two rain storms drenched the audience and created a mud bath out of the farm.

Despite these problems, and the disaster they created, the festival was a significant musical event, featuring such important rock acts as The Who; Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970); Janis Joplin (1943–1970); Jefferson Airplane; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; Joe Cocker (1944–); and Santana. More than a musical event, Woodstock became a symbol for the idealism of the hippie (see entry under 1960s—The Way We Lived in volume 4) youth and for young people in general in the late 1960s. Despite the many problems, the crowd was largely peaceful, and they kept their spirits up, many feeling that they were part of history in the making; they were not wrong. When a music festival at Altamont (see entry under 1960s—Music in volume 4), California, erupted into violence and murder a few months later, many looked back at the peaceful Woodstock festival as the last gasp of 1960s youthful idealism. Woodstock was, in many ways, a symbolic high point for the 1960s generation, proving that peace and love were possible in the world, if only for a moment.

—Timothy Berg

For More Information

Makower, Joel. Woodstock: The Oral History. New York: Doubleday, 1989.

Morthland, John. "Rock Festivals." In The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll. Edited by Jim Miller. New York: Rolling Stone Press, 1980.

1969 Woodstock Festival & Concert.http://www.woodstock69.com/ (accessed March 18, 2002).

Spitz, Bob. Barefoot in Babylon: The Creation of the Woodstock Music Festival. New York: Norton, 1989.

Woodstock.com.http://www.woodstock.com (accessed March 18, 2002).