Posted on 06/30/2009 10:53:20 AM PDT by a fool in paradise
It was billed as three days of peace and music, but the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was really the culmination of months of planning, begging, borrowing and countless hours of hard work. To mark the 40th anniversary of that historic concert, the man at the heart of it all, Michael Lang — the producer who co-created Woodstock — peels back the curtain and reveals the stories and the passion behind one of rock's most powerful moments.
Lang and Holly George-Warren deliver The Road to Woodstock on June 30, but here they give RollingStone.com a first look at some of its revelations. Lang recounts his first meeting with Max Yasgur, the dairy farmer who invited a nation of music-hungry kids to his upstate New York farm. He recalls how he courted Bob Dylan, and why the legend didn't make it to the Woodstock stage that weekend. He also explains how he avoided losing the Grateful Dead and the Who at the 11th hour, and describes the moment that Sly and the Family Stone elevated the festival to another plane.
Read on for these and more personal stories from the man who took Woodstock from vision to rock history.
...The Who Cement Their Place in Rock History
It was three thirty in the morning and the Who were about to go on, so I said, "Look, Abbie, whoever you saw is gone, so let's just go watch some music and chill out for a few minutes."
He agreed and we headed back up to the stage to sit with musicians from various groups who'd gathered to watch. Abbie kept fidgeting next to me. He couldn't stop talking. "I've really gotta say something about John Sinclair! He's rotting in prison for smoking a joint!" Sinclair, the manager of the radical Detroit rock band the MC5 and the founder of the White Panther Party, was set up by the cops and sentenced to ten years in prison for the possession of two joints.
"Okay, Abbie," I tried to reason with him, "there will be a chance later on, between sets or something."
But he persisted. "No, I really gotta say something! Now!"
"Abbie, the Who is on," I reminded him — they were about halfway through performing Tommy in its entirety, so I don't know how he failed to notice. "You can't make a speech in the middle of their set — let them finish! Chill out!"
Just after "Pinball Wizard," Abbie leaped up before I could grab him and rushed to Townshend's mic, while Pete had his back turned and was adjusting his amp. Abbie started earnestly beseeching the audience to think about John Sinclair, who needed our help. He was in his element, berating everyone for having a good time. "Hey, all you people out there having fun while John Sinclair is being held a political prisoner . . ." WHAM! Townshend, turning back to the audience and seeing Abbie at his mic, whacked him in the head with his guitar.
Abbie stumbled, then jumped to the photographer's pit, dashed over the fence, and vanished into the crowd below. A pretty dramatic exit. That was the last I saw of him that weekend.
HENRY DILTZ: I was right in front of the Who, on the lip of the stage. There was Roger Daltrey, with his fringes flying. Abbie Hoffman ran onto the stage and Pete Townshend took his guitar and held it straight out, perfectly, with the neck toward the guy, just like a bayonet, and went klunk. I thought he killed him. Early in the set, Townshend had already kicked Michael Wadleigh in the chest while the director crouched in front of him with his camera. Now Townshend was over the top with fury. "The next f***ing person who walks across this stage is going to get f***ing killed!" he yelled as he retuned his Gibson SG. The audience at first thought he was joking and started laughing and clapping. "You can laugh," he said coldly, "but I mean it!"
PETE TOWNSHEND: My response was reflexive rather than considered. What Abbie was saying was politically correct in many ways. The people at Woodstock really were a bunch of hypocrites claiming a cosmic revolution simply because they took over a field, broke down some fences, imbibed bad acid, and then tried to run out without paying the bands. All while John Sinclair rotted in jail after a trumped-up drug bust. The Who continued with their exhilarating performance of Tommy, and just as the sun rose, they played raucous rock and roll classics from their days as mods: "Summertime Blues," "Shakin' All Over," and "My Generation." They were astonishing. Later, I couldn't believe the band thought they were subpar and that the audience didn't get into Tommy.
PETE TOWNSHEND: Tommy wasn't getting to anyone. By [the end of the set], I was about awake, we were just listening to the music when all of a sudden, bang! The fucking sun comes up! It was just incredible. I really felt we didn't deserve it, in a way. We put out such bad vibes — and as we finished it was daytime. We walked off, got in the car, and went back to the hotel. It was f***ing fantastic.
BILL GRAHAM: The Who were brilliant. Townshend is like a locomotive when he gets going. He's like a naked black stallion. When he starts, look out.
ROGER DALTREY: We did a two-and-a-half-hour set . . . It made our career. We were a huge cult band, but Woodstock cemented us to the historical map of rock and roll.
--- Rolling Stone article of excerpts from the forthcoming The Road to Woodstock by Michael Lang with Holly George-Warren, Ecco/HarperCollins, © 2009 (used with permission)
Speaking of Floyd - Now this is a song (Syd’s Arnold Layne):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQTFRq1hjtM
Rog and Gilmour both are proud self-declared Socialists.
Keep your hand off of my stack and all that.
Gilmour has downsides on the number of cars and homes he owns.
And Wright was mistreated by Gilmour as well (I think he was just given session musican pay) and Rog laughs that on the final Pink Floyd album the remaining band was doing songs written by Gilmour’s wife, he pointed out the Spinal Tap nature of that.
Yes. She co-wrote one of the best songs on Division Bell. Wright seemed like a nice bloke and it seemed like being in the band was misery for him.
Wright sort of stepped into the breech as Syd went mad or had a serious breakdown. I think their material or song portfolio was pretty bare then.
Paintbox showed a lot of potential as a writer but I am sure Roger made sure that he was the one in charge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HkQvhoymTc
Nick Mason has one of the best car collections of Ferraris and other sports cars in the UK. His side company also owned planes like real and replica Spitfires.
I think Mason’s family kicked in money when they were struggling early on and had a larger share in the company.
I think Gilmour and Waters like the founders of Genesis (Gabriel, Banks, Rutherford) were all public school boys from money though the Pink’s were a bit more middle class.
Gabriel is another one that is fairly lib. They all seem to be for the workers, third world etc except when it comes to their money.
Ditto Bono of U2 the global poverty pimp with the best offshore tax dodge companies and the wealthiest man in Ireland. At least Floyd and Genesis music was good. I loathe U2’s incredibly shallow lyrics.
>>The rest of the groups at Woodstock were largely sh*t.<<
I agree. although that drummer for Santana was AMAZING!
I’ve been looking for Woodstock on DVD for years. My wife just informed me that Costco has it for $19.99.
That movie is a documentary that epitomizes everything that was WRONG with liberal hippydom.
” Would have been a great place for a tactical nuke.”
You sir , are an arse !
I was there too , brother , and I was not a hippie . Just a teenager and rock music lover .
” WHAM! Townshend, turning back to the audience and seeing Abbie at his mic, whacked him in the head with his guitar. “
From all I’ve read and heard this is a myth . Townshend booted him in the ass HARD sending him flying . He never hit Hoffman over the head with a guitar . Lang keeping the myth alive to add more spice to his novel . Even Hoffman himself said that Townshend didn’t hit him with a guitar .
I was sitting pretty close to the front and saw that happen. I couldn't tell what the heck was going on, even though I was one of the few present in an unaltered state.
Looking back, I think that Abbie Hoffman's massive ego just couldn't abide a crowd that size without him being in front of it.
I remember Santana starting their set. It was a nice sunny day, and everyone was in a good mood. At a certain point, you could feel a recognition sweeping through the crowd that the music was great, and it turned at that moment into a fantastic party.
Why thank you very much.
Check Amazon.com for the new 40th anniversary special DVD. I just picked it up, but haven’t watched it yet. I dig Woodstock for the music (I’m a drummer), not the hippydom. And yes, Michael Shrieve (Santana’s drummer) was amazing...definitely a highlight of Woodstock. He was just 20 then, too.
I just watched Santana’s “Soul Sacrifice” @ Woodstock on youtube. He was truly amazing.
I can’t fully explain it, but I’ve only bought from amazon twice. I bought a few CD’s in one order when they first opened their doors, and then I bought a few mic stands through them (they just had the lowest price on a price search. When it comes to DVD’s, I either do costco (convenience), garage sales or pawn shops. The only DVD I’ve paid full price for in the last few years is Pulse. But I will definitely get the one at Costco.
You have got to be kidding.
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