On the 15th of August 1969, probably the most famous outdoor concert of all time took place.
The festivals name was Woodstock because it occurred on a dairy farm just 60 kilometers south of the town Woodstock, USA.
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The concert lasted three days.
The musicians were local as well as world famous talents.
On the first day, 2 of the more well-known artist were Ravi Shanker and Joan Baez, who famously preformed her set in a torrential downpour.
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Ravi Shenker was a famous Indian musician playing classical Indian music on an instrument called a “Sitar”.
Ravi Shenker began to tour Europe and increased his popularity there in the 1960s through teaching, performance, and his association with Jewish violinist Yehudi Menuhin and Beatles guitarist George Harrison.
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Joan Baez is a famous American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist.
Although a songwriter herself, Baez generally interprets other composers’ work such as Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen and many more.
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On the second day, there were 14 different performances. Three of the more well known artists were Santana, The Greatfull Dead and Janis Joplin.
Santana, still preforming till this day, and he’s considered one of the best guitarists of all time. The band’s performance at Woodstock and the follow-up sound track and movie introduced them to an international audience and garnered critical acclaim. The sudden success which followed put pressure on the group, highlighting the different musical directions Rolie and Santana were starting to go.
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The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California.The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, gospel, and psychedelic rock.
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Janis Joplin (according to my father was the highlight of the woodstock festival).
Janis Joplin, an amazing singer with incredible vocal talent. appeared at Woodstock in the late hours of Saturday, August 16, 1969. She performed until the early morning hours of Sunday. Despite her not even knowing of the festival’s existence the Woodstock promoters were advertising her as a headliner. She thus became one of the main attractions of the historic concert. Joplin informed her band that they would be performing at the concert as if it were just another gig. When she and the band were flown in by helicopter with the pregnant Joan Baez and her mother from a nearby motel to the festival site and Joplin saw the enormous crowd, she instantly became incredibly nervous and giddy.
Outside of music, Joplin appeared to be struggling with alcohol and drugs, including an addiction to heroin, which she died from a year later.
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Day three began around 2 pm. Joe Cocker was the first to preform.
Joe Cocker was an English singer known for his gritty voice and dynamic stage performances that featured spastic body movements. he Recorded 22 albums during his long musical career. In 2008 he preformed in Israel
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The last performance was by Jimmy Hendrix.
His performance was delayed by rain, and only 25,000 people were left to witness his amazing talent on the guitar. He’s most remembered for his performance of the American national anthem, holding his right handed guitar in his left hand with lots of facial expression as his electric guitar distorts.
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Billed as “An Aquarian Experience: 3 Days of Peace and Music,” the epic event would later be known simply as Woodstock and become synonymous with the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Woodstock was a success, but the massive concert didn’t come off without a hitch: Last-minute venue changes, bad weather and the hordes of attendees caused major headaches. Still, despite—or because of—a lot of sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll and rain, Woodstock was a peaceful celebration and earned its hallowed place in pop culture history.
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Published: Jun 4, 2021
Latest Revision: Jun 5, 2021
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