57 Fun Facts About Hard Woodstock

Which band was the first act to sign a contract for Woodstock, in April 1969?

Creedence Clearwater Revival signed in April 1969, and drummer Doug Clifford said everyone else jumped in line once they had; the band went on at 12:30 am Sunday, after the Grateful Dead.

Which frontman kept his band out of the 1970 Woodstock film, feeling their set was unworthy?

John Fogerty thought the band's 12:30 am set, played after the Grateful Dead to a dozing crowd, was not up to standard and vetoed its use; an official Live at Woodstock album of all 11 songs finally appeared in 2019.

Roughly how many advance tickets were sold for Woodstock before it turned into a free concert?

About 186,000 advance tickets were sold at $18 for three days, only at New York-area record stores or by mail to a Radio City Station post office box; the gate price was to be $24.

What were John Roberts and Joel Rosenman building in Manhattan when approached about Woodstock?

Roberts and Rosenman were converting a former Manhattan church into a recording studio called Mediasound; Lang and Kornfeld sought money for a smaller studio upstate, and the pair counter-proposed a concert that became Woodstock Ventures.

Which Saugerties property, considered and rejected for the 1969 festival, ended up hosting Woodstock '94?

Winston Farm in Saugerties was the site Lang and Kornfeld wrongly believed they had secured in 1969; twenty-five years later it hosted Woodstock '94, drawing an estimated 350,000 people.

Which body of water formed the backdrop to the Woodstock stage and became a popular skinny-dipping spot?

Filippini Pond lay directly behind the stage at the foot of the sloping alfalfa field that formed a natural bowl; throughout the weekend festival-goers bathed in it nude.

Local opponents of the festival put up signs urging people to boycott what?

One sign read 'Buy No Milk. Stop Max's Hippy Music Festival'. Yasgur was the largest milk producer in Sullivan County, with about 650 cows.

How many National Guard troops did Governor Rockefeller consider sending to the festival?

Roberts talked him out of it. Sullivan County declared a state of emergency, and Stewart Air Force Base helicopters ferried performers in and out.

Why did the 346 off-duty NYPD officers meant to handle Woodstock security withdraw?

The Hog Farm commune ended up as the 'Please Force', armed, in Wavy Gravy's words, with cream pies and seltzer bottles.

Introduced at Woodstock as the Experience, what did Hendrix say his group could be called?

Hendrix told the crowd his new line-up, Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, was 'nothin' but a Band of Gypsies'; he went on around 9 am Monday, after most of the crowd had left, to perhaps 30,000 people.

Besides two drug overdoses, the third recorded death at Woodstock was caused by what?

The 17-year-old was asleep in a nearby hayfield. Despite claims, an author's extensive research could not confirm a single birth at the festival.

Which sound engineer built the Woodstock PA, nicknamed the 'Woodstock Bins'?

Bill Hanley designed the system for a crowd of 150,000 to 200,000; each half-ton plywood 'Woodstock Bin' held four 15-inch JBL speakers, and the arrays sat on towers flanking the stage.

The live performances at Woodstock were captured backstage in a tractor trailer on what equipment?

Eddie Kramer's crew ran two Scully 8-track recorders in a trailer behind the stage, rolling tape at 15 inches per second; Kramer later mixed the recordings at the Record Plant in New York.

Which extra job was lighting designer Chip Monck handed at the last minute at Woodstock?

Michael Lang realised he had forgotten to hire a master of ceremonies, so Chip Monck announced acts and delivered the 'brown acid' warning; most of his rented lighting sat unused because the stage roof could not bear it.

Apple Corps offered which act to Woodstock by letter, just as the promoters were losing the Wallkill site?

Apple's letter offered John Lennon's new Plastic Ono Band, since the Beatles were busy recording Abbey Road; the group never appeared, and its first live show came at Toronto's Rock and Roll Revival in September 1969.

Which guitarist said he deliberately broke up his band before Woodstock because he did not want it 'preserved'?

Jeff Beck said he deliberately broke up the Jeff Beck Group beforehand because he did not want it 'preserved' on film; his pianist Nicky Hopkins played Woodstock with Jefferson Airplane instead.

Bill Graham forced Chicago out of Woodstock so which band he managed could take the slot?

Graham also won a coin toss with Michael Lang over whether It's a Beautiful Day or Santana would play. Santana's debut album had not even been released.

Which Doors member appeared as a guest with Creed at Woodstock '99?

Robby Krieger joined Creed for 'Roadhouse Blues' and 'Riders on the Storm' at Woodstock '99; he has said the Doors declined the 1969 festival fearing a second-class repeat of Monterey Pop.

Which band on the Woodstock Sunday poster never played, stuck at LaGuardia demanding helicopters?

Iron Butterfly waited at LaGuardia demanding a helicopter; production coordinator John Morris replied with a telegram whose first letters spelled out a rude acrostic telling them to find other transportation, and they never played.

Which television programme did Joni Mitchell's manager insist she appear on instead of playing Woodstock?

Her manager kept her in New York for The Dick Cavett Show, taped the Monday after the festival; she wrote 'Woodstock' in a hotel room watching TV reports and first played it at Big Sur a month later.

Which singing cowboy star was asked to close Woodstock with 'Happy Trails' but declined?

Michael Lang wanted Roy Rogers to close the festival with 'Happy Trails', the theme his wife Dale Evans had written, but Rogers declined; Hendrix ended up closing on Monday morning instead.

The Rolling Stones declined Woodstock partly because Mick Jagger was in Australia filming which movie?

Jagger spent the summer of 1969 in Australia shooting Tony Richardson's Ned Kelly, and Keith Richards' girlfriend Anita Pallenberg had just given birth to their son Marlon; the Stones instead headlined Altamont that December.

Which pop star turned down Woodstock after his secretary called it a 'pig farmer' who 'wants you to play in his field'?

Tommy James and the Shondells were in Hawaii at the time. James said they realised what they had missed a couple of days later.

Which New York Times editorial headline compared Woodstock's crowd to lemmings marching into the sea?

The Times' 'Nightmare in the Catskills' editorial of August 1969 likened the crowd's impulses to lemmings marching to their deaths in the sea; 'Hippies Mired in a Sea of Mud' and 'Traffic Uptight at Hippiefest' were Daily News headlines.

How did the Middletown Times Herald-Record get Woodstock stories and photos to its office 35 miles away?

With the roads jammed, the Middletown paper relayed copy and film to its office by motorcyclist; it had editorialised against the Wallkill ban and printed a rare Saturday edition during the festival.

Which Warner Bros. executive put his job on the line to give Artie Kornfeld $100,000 to film Woodstock?

Fred Weintraub, the former Bitter End club owner newly hired at Warner Bros., staked his job on the $100,000 after Kornfeld had been turned down everywhere else; the film's success is credited with helping rescue the struggling studio.

How did director Michael Wadleigh pay his roughly 100-person film crew at Woodstock?

The crew would get double pay if the film succeeded and nothing if it bombed. It grossed about $50 million on a $600,000 budget.

Which Woodstock editor earned a rare Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing on a documentary?

Thelma Schoonmaker was nominated for Best Film Editing for Woodstock, a rarity for a documentary; she went on to a lifelong partnership with Martin Scorsese and won her first Oscar for Raging Bull.

How long is the 1994 director's cut of the Woodstock film?

The 1994 director's cut runs 224 minutes against 185 for the 1970 release; the added footage includes Janis Joplin plus more Jefferson Airplane, Hendrix and Canned Heat.

In how many theatres did the Woodstock film open on March 26, 1970?

It opened in seven theatres, in Boston, Coral Gables, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Toronto and Washington, and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

The 1970 Woodstock soundtrack was released as a triple album on which Atlantic Records label?

Cotillion, Atlantic's subsidiary label, issued the three-LP set in May 1970, produced by Eric Blackstead; it reached number one on the Billboard album chart.

Who was the couple embracing under a blanket on the Woodstock soundtrack cover?

Bobbi Kelly and Nick Ercoline, who married two years later and settled in Pine Bush, were photographed at dawn on Sunday by Magnum's Burk Uzzle during Jefferson Airplane's set.

How many copies of the 38-disc 2019 box set Woodstock – Back to the Garden were made?

Rhino pressed just 1,969 numbered copies, a nod to the festival year; the 38 discs hold nearly every note played, omitting only two Hendrix songs his estate withheld and some Sha Na Na music that was never taped.

Which group backed Janis Joplin at Woodstock?

Janis fronted the Kozmic Blues Band, the horn-driven group she formed after leaving Big Brother, with ex-Big Brother guitarist Sam Andrew still beside her; she went on at about 2 am on Sunday.

What was the title of the book Roberts and Rosenman wrote about paying for Woodstock?

Young Men with Unlimited Capital takes its title from the classified ad Roberts and Rosenman ran seeking business propositions; a later edition's subtitle says the story is told 'by the two who paid for it'.

Roughly how many lawsuits, mostly by local farmers, were filed against Woodstock Ventures?

Roughly 80 suits, mostly from farmers claiming crop and property damage, were settled with the film's profits, which also cleared about $1.4 million of debt; Bethel voters then ousted the supervisor who had approved the permits.

Which cable TV pioneer bought the Woodstock field in 1996 and built Bethel Woods Center for the Arts?

Alan Gerry, who had built Cablevision Industries, bought the farm in 1996; Bethel Woods opened in July 2006 with the New York Philharmonic, CSNY played a month later, and the museum followed in June 2008.

Which Woodstock performer's ashes were scattered at the festival site in August 2013?

Richie Havens, who had opened the festival 44 years earlier, died in April 2013 and his ashes were scattered over the field that August; though he recalled a three-hour set, tapes show it ran under an hour.

Which venue was Woodstock 50's final planned home before its July 2019 cancellation?

After Watkins Glen and Vernon Downs fell through, the festival was last planned for Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, before being called off on July 31, 2019 as headline acts pulled out.

How was the original poster's design changed for Woodstock '94?

The '94 logo put two birds on an electric guitar in place of the single bird on an acoustic; the festival was sold as '2 More Days of Peace and Music' at $135, though a third day was added.

Which electronic artist's Woodstock '94 set was cut short after he signed a fake name on his contract?

Aphex Twin signed a false name on his release, which would have forfeited PolyGram's rights to the footage, so his set was cut short; only 164,000 tickets were sold for a crowd estimated at 350,000.

Woodstock '99 was held on the site of which decommissioned Air Force base?

Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York, a former B-52 base listed as a Superfund clean-up site, hosted the festival in July 1999.

Which two 1969 performers were the only original Woodstock acts on stage at Woodstock '99?

John Entwistle of the Who played a solo set and Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart appeared with Planet Drum; no complete 1969 act was on the '99 bill.

Woodstock '99 organisers planned, then cancelled, a European leg in which country?

The European edition was to be held at Wiener Neustadt in Austria later in 1999; Michael Lang said there was not enough time to stage it safely, and it was cancelled.

Which bluesman gave Wavy Gravy his nickname?

B.B. King dubbed Hugh Romney 'Wavy Gravy' at the Texas International Pop Festival two weeks after Woodstock, finding him lying exhausted on stage and saying he could work around him.

The Hog Farm commune was originally recruited by Woodstock Ventures to do what at the site?

Woodstock Ventures hired the Hog Farm to build fire pits and clear trails for campers; the commune talked the promoters into a free kitchen too, and only learned at JFK Airport that it was also the security force.

Which band was scheduled to open Woodstock but was delayed by traffic and had to be helicoptered in?

That is why the folk singer who went on first kept playing far beyond his slot. Sweetwater eventually performed after Swami Satchidananda's invocation.

Which Friday performer earned the festival's first standing ovation with a cover of 'America'?

Bert Sommer, a Hair cast member managed by co-founder Artie Kornfeld, drew the first standing ovation with Simon and Garfunkel's 'America'; his song about the weekend, 'We're All Playing in the Same Band', reached number 48.

According to Country Joe McDonald, what did he play his unscheduled Saturday solo set on?

He said nobody paid attention until he walked back on and led the crowd in his infamous four-letter version of the Fish Cheer.

Which 1958 number one did Sha Na Na perform at Woodstock, just before Hendrix?

'At the Hop', Danny and the Juniors' 1958 chart-topper, is the song seen in the film; Jimi Hendrix, who had seen the months-old group at a New York club, helped them land the slot immediately before his own.

What kind of bird perches on the guitar neck in Arnold Skolnick's Woodstock poster?

Skolnick has said the bird is a catbird, not the dove most people assume; hired on a Thursday after the move to Bethel, he delivered the design the following Monday.

Ang Lee's 2009 film Taking Woodstock cast which comedian as motel owner Elliot Tiber?

Demetri Martin, then a Daily Show correspondent, played Tiber; Lee shot in New Lebanon, New York, and Jonathan Groff played Michael Lang, who disputes Tiber's account of introducing him to Yasgur.

Which two-day festival did Michael Lang co-organise in 1968, a year before Woodstock?

Lang staged the Miami Pop Festival at Gulfstream Park racetrack in May 1968; Hendrix, Frank Zappa's Mothers and John Lee Hooker played, and rain ended the second day early.

Which British band took Joni Mitchell's 'Woodstock' to number one on the UK singles chart in 1970?

Matthews Southern Comfort, led by ex-Fairport Convention singer Iain Matthews, reached number one in October 1970; in the US the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young version from Déjà Vu became the standard.

Where was the 2019 US Postal Service Forever stamp marking Woodstock's 50th anniversary first issued?

The first-day ceremony was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on August 8, 2019, where the Play It Loud exhibition of rock instruments was on show; the stamp reproduces the poster's bird-and-guitar art.

Which band's 2017 album Woodstock was inspired by the frontman's father's old festival ticket stub?

Portugal. The Man's frontman John Gourley found his father's 1969 ticket stub and a conversation about it gave the album its title; it contains the band's hit 'Feel It Still'. Charles Schulz had named Snoopy's bird after the festival.

How much did Woodstock Ventures pay to lease the Mills Industrial Park in Wallkill, the festival's original site?

Town officials were told no more than 50,000 would attend; a permit ordinance for gatherings over 5,000 later forced the move to Bethel.