August 15th, 1969
Promising “three days of peace, love, and music,” The Woodstock Music and Art Fair begins on Max Yasgur’s sixty-acre farm in Bethel, NY (nearby Woodstock being the original location). Featuring two dozen of the country’s hottest bands, the festival draws over 450,000 hippies to the tiny town, causing unimaginable traffic and logistics problems but nevertheless impressing the ordinary citizens. Three deaths, two births, four miscarriages, and a wedding are all reported before Jimi Hendrix ends the festivities with his legendary rendition of the US national anthem. Also appearing were (in part) Joe Cocker, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Santana, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Canned Heat, Joan Baez, Santana, Melanie, Ten Years After, Sly and the Family Stone, Johnny Winter, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shankar, Country Joe and the Fish, Blood Sweat and Tears, and Arlo Guthrie. Among those who elected not to attend were Tommy James and the Shondells, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Jethro Tull, and The Moody Blues.
Releases
none
Recording
1941:Ben Bernie, “Au Revoir, Pleasant Dreams”
1966:Bobby Darin, “If I Were A Carpenter”
1968:The Beatles, “Rocky Raccoon”
1969:The Beatles: “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” “The End,” “Something,” “Here Comes The Sun”
Charts
1953:Perry Como’s “No Other Love” hits #1
1960:Elvis Presley’s “It’s Now Or Never” hits #1
1964:Dean Martin’s “Everybody Loves Somebody” hits #1
1970:Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Looking Out My Back Door” enters the charts