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‘Mick Jagger got his first glimpse that something was wrong at Altamont Speedway near Tracy, Calif., 60 miles east of San Francisco, when he bounded off a helicopter at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6, 1969, and was immediately confronted by an angry “fan.” 

“I hate you,” said the man before punching him in the face, staggering Jagger, who brushed it off.

The Rolling Stones vocalist wasn’t the first musician to be attacked that day at the Altamont Free Concert. Jefferson Airplane’s singer Marty Balin was previously knocked unconscious by a member of the Hells Angels, the Northern California branch of the motorcycle gang who were in charge of policing the stage at the event in exchange for $500 worth of beer. 

More than 300,000 fans had gathered at Altamont Speedway for what was promised as “Woodstock West,” a free day of music on a desolate, abandoned racetrack, highlighted by a performance from the Stones, as the intended climax to their just-completed, very successful U.S. tour, their first in almost five years. The concert was also seen as a suitable final act for the documentary of the band being directed by the Maysles brothers. 

The West Coast yang to the much-ballyhooed yin gathering in Bethel, N.Y., earlier that summer, offered the dark side to the counterculture’s mantra of peace, love and rock ‘n’ roll, hastily – and disastrously – organized by the Stones, using the Grateful Dead as their guides to the burgeoning world of the free festival. It was the Dead and then-manager Rock Scully who convinced the Stones and their newly named tour manager Sam Cutler to hire 40 members of the Hells Angels to police the 3-foot-high stage (separated from the crowd by a single length of twine), for a lineup that was supposed to include the Dead and fellow Woodstock alumni Jefferson Airplane; Santana; and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The Flying Burrito Brothers were a last-minute addition, thanks to Gram Parsons pal Keith Richards, with the Nudie-suit-wearing, one-time Harvard Divinity School student and trust fund baby picking up the entire tab for the band to appear.’ (Source) 

‘But regardless of Altamont or any other gathering, there was never anything like Woodstock before — or since. The times were different; one massive festival could become the focal point of an entire generation.

Jimi Hendrix performs 'The Star-Spangled Banner' on the final morning of the 1969 Woodstock festival.

And, fittingly, Woodstock's finale featured one of its most celebrated performers: Jimi Hendrix.

While Hendrix's set at Woodstock has arguably been the single most famous and widely viewed part of the festival in decades since, the fact that his set was delayed due to rain until Monday morning is a lesser-known part of his legendary appearance.

When Hendrix got to the stage at 9 a.m. on Monday morning, there were only about 30,000 people left in the audience. The festival had only been scheduled to last until Sunday night, and many people had to get back to their lives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESPmypy9o4Q

Concertgoers depart the 1969 Woodstock festival to return to their lives after three days of music, peace, and love.

But leaving Bethel, New York wasn't as easy as people thought. With the same traffic issues that confronted attendees during their commute in, the same highways and roads clogged up and jammed in a matter of minutes.

For Yasgur and the four young festival organizers, of course, the event was far from over. A monumental cleanup session awaited — one which took days, cost tens of thousands of dollars, and required bulldozers to complete. ’ (Source)

Times were surely different back then! 

Let’s continue – How Woodstock Became a Symbol of U.S. Counterculture

Start at the beginning – Tiffi and Yeti learn about Woodstock