"The definitive study of the mega-concert." - Rolling Stone magazine
Woodstock: The Oral History is the definitive, electrifying account of the rock festival that shook the world and defined a generation. This new, 40th anniversary edition is an update of the original 1989 book, including a new foreword by the two principal Woodstock producers and an updated where-are-they-now section.
Here's the basic story: In 1969 four young men - two budding entrepreneurs who really wanted to write sitcoms, a former head shop proprietor turned rock band manager, and a record company executive who smoked hash in his office - set out to build a recording studio in Woodstock, New York. To raise the money to build the studio, they decided to hold a concert.
The rest, as they say, is history.
From the preface:
By all measures, Woodstock should have been a disaster. Legally
barred from its planned location just a month before its scheduled date,
the promoters had to quickly regroup and relocate. In their haste, there
was little time for planning certain facilities and amenities, some of which
fell by the wayside. One key ingredient were the fences and gates, which
never materialized satisfactorily, and the overflow crowds that showed up
were admitted for free. The crowds caused traffic jams that paralzyed miles
of highways, rendering them useless and requiring alternative measures to
bring in food and medicine and supplies, and to evacuate the ill, among
others. The National Guard and the U.S. Army got involved, as did a wide
range of community, business, and religious organizations. It began as an
exercise in hip capitalism; it turned into a multimillion-dollar financial
nightmare for its producers.
And then it rained. The grounds, already muddy from weeks of
summer showers, turned to muck as the skies opened repeatedly - often
violently - during the festival weekend. Few who came were adequately
prepared to camp out for three days even in comfortable climes, let alone in
soggy, intensely overcrowded conditions. The fierce storms also threatened
to bring down the structures, and to put the infrastructure - electricity,
water, sewerage - in jeopardy. Needless to say, none of this aided the wellbeing
of the countless individuals who had drunk, smoked, or ingested ungodly amounts of licit and illicit substances, many of whom had to be
ministered to, one of whom died.
And yet Woodstock was not a disaster. Far from it. There was much
joy and humanity, and heroics galore. Starting with a rag-tag crew of
idealistic and energetic youth - Woodstock essentially was financed and
produced by those in their mid twenties to early thirties - the festival's
staff mushroomed into hundreds of hippies, hucksters, handymen, and
hangers-on. As the plans became reality, these people met the troubles they
encountered - the weather, drugs, radical politicos, and on and on - with
high levels of ingenuity and integrity. It is ironic, albeit not surprising,
that many of those involved liken being at Woodstock to having been
through a war.
Woodstock: The Oral History is the fascinating story of how it all came together - and almost fell apart - told exclusively in the voices of the men and women who made it happen. It shares the adventures of a ragtag bunch of businessmen and bohemians, of hippies, hucksters, handymen, and hangers-on, working against all odds to unite a generation for one wild, glorious weekend in August 1969.
You'll get behind-the-scenes stories from all four of the festival's producers, along with such people as David Crosby, Abbie Hoffman, Miriam Yasgur (who, along with her husband, Max, owned the land on which the festival was held), Richie Havens, Joe Cocker, Wavy Gravy, Paul Kantner, Chip Monck, and dozens of others, culled from face-to-face interviews conducted during 1988. Their collective story is told as a sort of conversation, as if all had been metaphysically transported to one gigantic living room, each individual contributing his or her own piece of the story at appropriate moments.
This special 40th anniversary edition features a new foreword by Michael Lang and Joel Rosenman, two of the original coproducers of Woodstock, as well as updated information on the people who made the music festival happen.
This two-hour audiobook adaptation was produced and narrated by Joel Makower, directed by Grammy Award-winning David Rapkin, and published by Audible.com. It contains the voices of Woodstock's producers, as well as an assortment of others: Abbie Hoffman, Wavy Gravy, Richie Havens, Joe Cocker, Mrs. Max Yasgur, stagehands, kids in the audience, and others.
