Approximately 500,000 people were eventually attracted to the legendary promotional poster billing Woodstock as “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace and Music.”
And while Woodstock was a weekend in which Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, The Who and Janis Joplin became immediate icons, the music was not the sole attraction.
Music critic and Woodstock attendee Danny Goldberg told Newsweek how the festival has “accrued several symbolic meanings in subsequent years.”
“There is Woodstock as a symbol of the counter-culture, Woodstock as the moment when the music business recognized the economic power of rock, Woodstock the movie, and, not insignificantly, the actual music.
“There are the images of the Hog Farm nursing bad trippers back to mental health, of Joan Baez pregnant with the baby of David Harris, then in jail for defying the military draft, of Hendrix reimagining the national anthem, of Country Joe bringing the word F**K into the mainstream and the harmonies of Crosby Stills and Nash.
“For me, it means a Billboard cover story at age nineteen, the memory Santana’s majestic guitar, and mostly of a beautiful vibe that was impossible to duplicate in the decades that followed.”
The chaotic atmosphere prevented many attendees from seeing the acts, but the experience has not dimmed for those lucky enough to have witnessed Woodstock first-hand more than half a century ago.
Take a look back through some of the most iconic pictures…
Couple Sleeping on Car at Woodstock
On foot, in cars, atop cars, young people leave the great love-in of the sixties, the Woodstock Music Festival.
Peace reigned supreme and youth, for once, told of its disdain of the establishment in a manner that could be understood by all.
Woodstock Music Festival, 1969
The site of Woodstock was a working farm, which meant cattle were wondering around the campsite.
However, one of Yasgur’s employees, George Peavey, told United Press International the cows and music fans “seem to be getting along together fine.”
Dueling Guitars
Santana, a psychedelic jam band from San Francisco that incorporated Latin and African polyrhythms into blues-rock, was one of the least-known acts at Woodstock.
The group was added to the festival mainly because the manager Bill Graham, also the most powerful concert promoter in the country, forced them onto the Woodstock bill.
The Woodstock Monkey With Friends
Although this act seems cruel today, animal rights were in their infancy during the Woodstock era.
Joan Baez
American singer-songwriter Joan Baez took the stage of Woodstock a little before 1a.m. on the first evening, while reportedly six months pregnant and missing her husband David Harris, who was in a Texas prison for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War.
Baez reportedly told the audience before playing Joe Hill: “This is an organizing song,”
Crosby, Stills & Nash On Stage At Woodstock
Crosby, Stills and Nash reportedly opened their hour-long Woodstock set as a trio with performances of Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, Blackbird, Helplessly Hoping, Guinnevere and Marrakesh Express.
Stephen Stills revealed to the crowd just how nervous the trio was, saying: “This is the second time we’ve ever played in front of people, man. We’re scared s**tless.”
Attendees at Woodstock Music & Arts Festival
Many attendees embraced the laid-back hippie atmosphere and decided to strip nude at the 1969 festival.
Only 109 people were reportedly arrested at the festival, all but four for drugs, “but no instance of violence came to the attention of troopers.”
Woodstock Crowd
An estimated 300,000 to 500,000 attended Woodstock and accounts suggest three babies were even born at the legendary music festival.
A peaceful crowd
Approximately half a million people partied to demonstrate peace and love was possible while the Vietnam war raged.
A quiet moment
Guitar legend Jimi Hendrix was Woodstock’s highest-paid performer, earning $18,000, Creedence Clearwater Revival, received $10,000.
The Who received $6,250—although another report has them earning $11,200, while another of the biggest billed Joe Cocker made a relatively small $1,375.
Wet weather fails to mar the fun
Racing to meet tight deadlines due to a last-minute site change, resulted in Woodstock crews facing a string of production problems as the show approached.
These included a failed roof structure, collapsed fences, appalling sanitation standards and an inadequate amount of food
The Who headline Woodstock
Legend has it the British were in a bad mood as they had supposedly spent much of the previous hours hallucinating, due to an LSD spiked backstage water supply.
By the time The Who took the stage at 5.30 a.m., the Woodstock crowd was understandably fast approaching the point total of exhaustion.
Ravi Shankar Performs At Woodstock
Ravi Shankar, India’s most famous musician and heavy influence on The Beatles took to the stage with his sitar at Woodstock on Friday evening.
He performed for a stunning 45-minute performance just as the rain that plagued the festival was beginning.
Sound Guy near Free Stage
The system that was designed to deliver sound to 200,000 fans—reportedly the largest ever—reached the ears of 400,000 or more.
Music from the Original Soundtrack and More is a live album of selected performances from the 1969 Woodstock counterculture festival first released as a triple album on May 11, 1970.
Smoking at Woodstock
Sullivan County declared the festival was a state of emergency and New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller was so alarmed by the crowds, he decided to send in the U.S. military but was dissuaded by organiser John Roberts.
Making camp at Woodstock
The original site of the festival was intended to be at Howard Mills Industrial Park in Wallkill, near Middletown, New York.
But Wallkill residents shot the idea down, fearing that an influx of visitors—possibly under the influence of alcohol or drugs—would be potentially problematic.
Fortunately for the festival organisers, farmer Max Yasgur, who owned a 600-acre dairy farm, allowed the use of his property for a fee of $50,000.
Sly Stone and the Family Stone
Funk-Rock pioneers Sly & The Family Stone arrived on stage for a blistering set at 3.30am.
Many connoisseurs consider their Woodstock performance as among the vest best of the festival.
Woodstock Couple
To try and rely important messages, a member of the production staff took to the microphone to deliver announcements, alerting the crowd to unattended children or to notify people where to find help.
Joe Cocker at Woodstock
While his performances predominantly featured covers of other artists’ material, it was Joe Cocker’s all-consuming physical and emotional passion that made him a star.
Incredible String Band at Woodstock
Scottish outfit The Incredible String Band’s Woodstock appearance did very little to enhance their reputation.
The musicians performed little music from any of their albums and their placement on the schedule on a day otherwise set aside for hard rock acts did not help.
Inside A Woodstock Tipi
Woodstock’s historic site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
The farm is now known as the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.
