Fifty-five years ago — Aug. 15, 1969, to Aug. 17, 1969 — the original Woodstock festival took place in Bethel, New York. And while many revere it as the ultimate “peace and love” musical experience, some of those who were there don’t remember it that fondly.
Joan Baez, who headlined the first night of the festival, told the San Diego Union-Tribune, “It was a rare, historic moment, but it’s been over-glorified. People say to me, ‘Oh, man, you played at Woodstock and you had everything — the music, the political scene, the community.’ And I tell them: ‘Yeah, we had the rain and the mud!’”
Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart told the Union-Tribune, “I recall the people who played really well at Woodstock — Carlos Santana, Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix — were over-the-top great. But we just didn’t play well. It was a missed opportunity.”
The Who‘s guitarist Pete Townshend didn’t buy into the scene. He told the Union-Tribune, “The dream and ideology of rock ‘n roll was rooted in the idea that … the ‘Woodstock generation,’ were super-luminaries, but I’ve never agreed with that. I always thought that was the biggest crock of s*** America has ever come up with.”
Billy Joel attended Woodstock as a fan, but left after a day and a half. “I hated it,” he said. “I think a lot of that ‘community spirit’ was based on the fact that everybody was so wasted … it was all muddy, and you couldn’t go to the bathroom unless you stood up and went right where you were.”
The Jefferson Airplane‘s Grace Slick confirms that, recalling, “I’m amazed I was able to be on the side of the stage for 12 hours before we played — without having to take a pee. There were no bathrooms.”
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