The Woodstock Music Festival 1969

 




“Just Thinking"

I didn’t get a newsletter out last week; it was a crazy week/ month, and I wasn’t able to focus enough to get my thoughts together. For those of you that didn’t know, my mother passed away on July 28th, she took a turn for the worse at the beginning of June, although she fought the good fight, she peacefully passed away. We held her funeral last Thursday, August 14th at our home parish of Our Lady of the Visitacion Church, with a well-attended celebration following the funeral. Family and friends came together to tell stories about mom, what a wonderful way to say goodbye to a wonderful woman.

I started this last week on the anniversary of the beginning of Woodstock, I learned some stuff and still think that it is worth sharing. 

On August 15, 1969, the Woodstock music festival opened on a patch of farmland in upstate New York. The promoters originally envisioned the festival as a way to raise funds to build a recording studio and rock-and-roll retreat near the town of Woodstock, New York. Despite their inexperience, the promoters managed to sign a roster of top acts, including the Jefferson Airplane, the Who, the Grateful Dead, Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival and many more.

The concert almost didn’t take place as the towns of Woodstock and the nearby town of Wallkill denied the promoters permission to hold the event. A dairy farmer named Max Yasgur came to the rescue at the last minute, giving the promoters access to his 600 acres of land in Bethel, some 50 miles from Woodstock.

Early estimates of the crowd increased from 50,000 to around 200,000, but by the time the gates opened on Friday, August 15, more than 400,000 people were clamoring to get in. Those without tickets simply walked through gaps in the fences, the organizers were eventually forced to make the event free of charge. 

Richie Havens kicked off the event on Friday night, followed by Joan Baez and Arlo Guthrie. The concert left its promoters nearly bankrupt, but the ownership of the film and recording rights more than compensated for the losses after the release of the academy award winning documentary film that was released in 1970.

The lead up to Woodstock began in 1967 with the Summer of Love in San Francisco when thousands of young people made their way to Haight-Ashbury embracing peace and love, psychedelic music, communal living and protests against the Viet Nam War. The Monterey Pop Festival was the first major rock festival and helped launch the careers of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and The Who. This proved that large-scale festivals could work and set the stage for Woodstock. The Civil Rights Movement was in full swing with Thurgood Marshall becoming the first Black Supreme Court Justice; interracial tensions and riots spread in U.S. cities.

In 1968 the Anti–Vietnam War movement explodes with massive demonstrations across the country especially at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The Assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. Students worldwide staged demonstrations for political and social reform. The Beatles release The White Album; rock music increasingly becomes a voice of protest and experimentation. In January of 1969, the Beatles give their final live performance on a London rooftop.

In December 1969, a post Woodstock event billed as “Woodstock West” took place at the Altamont Speedway, it attracted some 300,000 people and was organized by the Rolling Stones. The concert featured Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and The Rolling Stones. The Hells Angels were hired to run security, unfortunately, violence broke out during the concert which lead to the death of a fan. Altamont is seen as the dark bookend to Woodstock’s peace message.

Later music festivals inspired by Woodstock’s success failed to live up to its standard, Woodstock still stands as an example of America’s 1960s youth counterculture.

Link to Mom's Web Page

Let me know what you think.

@ChuckBarberini - #ChuckBarberiniRealEstate - @ChuckBarberiniRealEstate

@Golden_State_Guide_Service - @Citizen.Number.One


​




.




Location: Martinez, CA 94553, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Yellowstone Wrap

Image
  "Just Thinking" He is no John Wayne, but he is a pretty darn good cowboy. With the final episode of Yellowstone airing on Sunday, it seems like a good time to talk about the series, its spinoffs and some of Kevin Costner’s roles that have cemented him as a cornerstone of the modern Western genre. Yellowstone and its off-shoots, 1883 and 1923 really brought westerns back to the forefront of our public consciousness. Set in Montana,  the series  centers around the Dutton family and its patriarch John Dutton - Kevin Costner, who owns the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, which is the largest contiguous ranch in the US. The story is a high-stakes blend of family drama, political intrigue, and violent power struggles. It explores themes of loyalty, sacrifice, and the enduring conflict between tradition and progress. 1883  is  a prequel to  Yellowstone  and is a story of the Dutton family as they journey westward in search of a new life. Led by James Dutton - Tim ...
Read more

Happy Easter - The Gift of Renewal: Faith, Family, and Fresh Starts

Image
"Just Thinking" Happy Easter - The Gift of Renewal: Faith, Family, and Fresh Starts Spring is in the air, flowers are blooming, temperatures are rising, and while there's still a chance of showers, each day grows a little longer, a little brighter. It’s a season of transformation, and Easter reminds us that renewal is always within reach. It’s a time to celebrate fresh starts, lean into our faith, and cherish the family and community that support us through every season of life. Easter’s timeless message is simple yet powerful: just as Jesus rose from the dead, after every winter, there comes a spring. After every challenge, there is growth. Fresh starts aren’t reserved for January, they are possible every day, fueled by faith, kindness, and the courage to begin again. This past week’s Annual Easter Egg Hunt at Our Lady of the Visitacion School was a beautiful reflection of that spirit, the laughter of children, the warmth of familiar faces, the celebration of the risen L...
Read more

Foot by Foot - Mile by Mile

Image
“Just Thinking” So, the boys were over last night, and we were watching the basketball game, the Warriors were already knocked out and the Giants had a day off, so we watched Denver play OKC. Denver was down 2 to 3 to OKC’s in the best of 7 series. It was a good physical game, Denver played well at home and won, forcing an elimination game 7 in Oklahoma City, winner goes to the Conference Championship against Minnesota and the looser goes home.  The Denver home court had a 5280 in the middle of it and on the front of their home uniforms instead of their Nuggets logo. Of course, 5280 is the number of feet in a mile and Denver is the “Mile High” City, so its gimmicky, but cool and is really just a marketing scheme, that all teams these days take advantage of to sell more jerseys. 5280 feet above sea level, talk about a home field advantage, the air up there is mighty thin. Not having a dog in the fight and getting to chop it up with the family, the question was posed, why is there 52...
Read more