Musical Legends Take The Stage At Woodstock 1969

_Elsa_

‘Thirty-two acts performed at Woodstock, many of them iconic, with an open mic on the Free Stage available to attendees ready to show their talent off to each other. The first day began on Friday, August 15 around 5 p.m. when Richie Havens took the stage. As he described it in 2009:

"I was supposed to be fifth on stage, and no one at the whole festival went on when they were supposed to. I came in on one of those glass bubble helicopters and saw Tim Hardin under the stage, sort of playing by himself. I knew he wasn't going on first. I didn't want to, either, but I had the least number of instruments, so...I thought, 'God, three hours late. They're gonna throw beer cans at me. They're gonna kill me.' Fortunately the reaction was 'Thank God somebody's finally going to do something.' They were happy.

I was supposed to sing for 40 minutes, which I did, and I walked off the stage and the people were great, and then (the organizers) said, 'Richie, four more songs?' 'OK.' I went back on and they were still clapping, so I sang four other songs, went off again, then I hear, 'Richie, four more songs?' They did that to me six times. Two hours and 45 minutes later I'd sung every song I know."

His two-hour set was followed by Indian spiritual master Satchidananda Saraswati performing an unscheduled blessing for the crowd. This was followed by sets from Sweetwater, Bert Sommer, Tim Hardin, Ravi Shankar, Melanie, and Arlo Guthrie.

The crowd celebrates Joe Cocker kicking off the second day of the 1969 Woodstock music festival around 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 16.

Joan Baez, who was six months pregnant, was the last act of the night. The venerated folk singer famously finished her set around 2 a.m. on August 16 as the pouring rain washed away the first day of the Woodstock music festival.

"It was a once in a lifetime thing for me. (Playing on the free stage) was a riot. Whoever was officially taking names and putting people in order didn't recognize me. I was just one of the lineup. I think I just gave my name as Joan. I went out on the stage and I'm not sure what I sang, but I remember this guy at the top of the hill, in the back...with no clothes on and flowers in his hair and a long beard. And he started to dance through the crowd toward the stage. So I just cut one of the songs so I could bow politely to him and leave before he made it to the stage and got up there with me." — Joan Baez, 2009.

"The whole thing is a gas," said one long-haired concertgoer nick-named Speed, according to The New York Times. "I dig it all, the mud, the rain, the music, the hassles."

Santana performs 'Soul Sacrifice' on the second day of the 1969 Woodstock music festival.

All in all, those who performed at Woodstock in 1969 successfully enshrined themselves in music history. Those who attended as mere fans, too, have had a story to tell that only a fraction of the world can claim.

But there were a few other acts who declined to perform, and likely regretted that decision for the rest of their lives. Among them were Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell (who later wrote the song "Woodstock" to commemorate the historic gathering), Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, The Moody Blues, The Doors, Roy Rogers, John Lennon, Chicago Transit Authority, and The Rolling Stones. ’ (Source)

Elsa finds a video where someone is singing about the Vietnam war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft0vkKCadgk

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Start at the beginning – Tiffi and Yeti learn about Woodstock