Woodstock: Remembering "3 Days of Peace and Love"

Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Love - A magazine advertisement promoting the festival. A one day ticket cost US$7.00 (about $50 today); a three-day ticket cost $18.00 (around $125 today). The ad points out that festivalgoers would be able to "walk around for three days without seeing a skyscraper or a traffic light..." Note that Jimi Hendrix is not billed.

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On the road to Woodstock - On the road to Woodstock. The influx of attendees to the rural concert site in Bethel created a massive traffic jam.

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Crowds on "Happy Avenue" - Radio station broadcasts and images of the traffic jams on television news discouraged a lot people from setting off to the festival.

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Time out en route - A youthful foursome enjoy a picnic and a little peace en route to the music festival site.

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Driving home the message - The message of peace and love and the distaste for war was carried everywhere. Woodstock took place during the Vietnam War and became a platform of sorts for anti-war protest.

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Arriving at Max Yasgur's farm -

The view from the hill looking back across the stage. The festival site quickly became a quagmire as heavy rain fell for prolonged periods during the three-day event.

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Opening ceremony - The Indian religious teacher, spiritual master, and yoga adept, Swami Satchidananda, speaking during the festival's opening ceremony.

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Looks good, sounds great -

Huge lighting and sound towers were built to accommodate speaker columns and Super-Trouper-follow spots.

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Opening act -

Folk and rhythm and blues singer Richie Havens opened at the festival, a low-key performance that lasted for nearly three hours and catapulted him into stardom.

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Tented accommodation -

Assorted tents at the Woodstock Festival. Volkswagens were popular in the camping area at Woodstock.

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Bring on the music! - Rain, technical issues, and the late arrival of various artists tested the patience of many, as this image of a rather disgruntled group of music fans testifies.

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Indian summer -

Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar was by all accounts a reluctant Woodstock participant. He disliked the venue and later distanced himself from the hippie movement. His set on Friday night, August 15, was played in torrential rain.

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Class act - Mexican-born American musician Carlos Santana (right) and American bassist David Brown perform with the other members of Santana on Saturday afternoon, August 16. Aged 20, Michael Shrieve, the band's drummer, was the youngest musician to play at the festival. His drum solo during 'Soul Sacrifice' was a festival highlight.

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Deadheads - The Grateful Dead, pictured here in 1970, performed on the evening of Saturday, August 16. Their set was cut short after the stage amps overloaded during 'Turn on Your Love Light.'

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Airlift - Resembling a scene out of M*A*S*H, US army helicopters airlift supplies to the hungry crowd including 10,000 sandwiches, water, fruit, canned goods, blankets, and medical supplies. Helicopters were also used to ferry artists to and from the site.

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Cut footage - Creedence Clearwater Revival played over Saturday, August 16 and into Sunday, August 17. The band's set was not included in the Woodstock film or soundtrack because lead vocalist John Fogerty (pictured right in this 1968 photograph) felt their performance was below par and vetoed the footage.

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"Morning maniac music" - Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick relaxing backstage before the band's 8 a.m. performance on Sunday, August 17. Slick later described the gig as the "morning maniac music" slot. She was less than happy with her Woodstock experience.

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Seeing the light -

The Who played in the early morning of Sunday, August 17. During the number 'See Me, Feel Me' the sun rose as if on cue. John Entwistle later quipped, "God was our lighting man." The band was not happy with their Woodstock experience either, with Roger Daltrey describing it years later as "the worst gig [they] ever played."

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A better view - As the event progressed, the festival's lighting towers became useful vantage points as dozens climbed the flimsy structures hoping for a better view.

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With a little help from his friends - British singer Joe Cocker had recorded the Beatles' 'With a Little Help From My Friends' in 1968. At Woodstock he sang the track live, and his performance remains one of the festival's defining moments.

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Festival highlight -

Janis Joplin (pictured here in New York in April, 1969) was allegedly high on alcohol and illegal substances when she took to the stage at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning, August 17. She performed several numbers with the Kozmic Blues Band and encored with 'Ball and Chain.'

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Electrifying performance -

Arguably the most electrifying Woodstock set belonged to Jimi Hendrix (pictured here at a different concert). His frighteningly distorted rendition of the US national anthem, 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' was widely interpreted as a musical protest against the Vietnam War. Hendrix closed the festival at around 8 a.m. on Monday morning, August 18, by which time audience numbers had dwindled to a mere 200,000.

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The "Woodstock generation" -

A culture touchstone for the late 1960s, the festival spawned the phrase the "Woodstock generation," which became part of the common lexicon.

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Car crashed - Exhausted music fans crash out on a VW Beetle on the road out of Bethel. With campsites overwhelmed and weather conditions less than favorable, few slept properly during the festival.

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Trunk call - Two cheerful festivalgoers grab an impromptu lift away from the site to make their way home after the three-day event.

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Garbage collection - Volunteers helping to clear the mountain of debris left behind after the three-day festival. Tons of garbage mired in mud had to be cleared from the site along with abandoned tents and sleeping bags. Washing up human waste proved a problem: at Woodstock there was one toilet for every 833 people!

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Best ticket in town - Festivalgoer Janet Huey clutches her original numbered US$7.00 day ticket. Authentic Woodstock memorabilia is much sought after by collectors.

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Woodstock memorabilia - John Hoyt, who was there in 1969, proudly holds his original Woodstock concert program. Items like this can sell for hundreds of dollars.

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Bus stopped -

A 1960s-era school bus used to ferry fans to the festival site near White Lake in Bethel still stands as a poignant reminder of the events of over 50 years ago.

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More than half a century on - The site as it looks today, some 50 years after what is generally regarded as a pivotal moment in popular music history. Indeed, Rolling Stone magazine listed the event as number 19 of the "50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock and Roll."

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Historic location -

In 2017, the Woodstock music festival site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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On the road to Woodstock - On the road to Woodstock. The influx of attendees to the rural concert site in Bethel created a massive traffic jam.

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Crowds on "Happy Avenue" - Radio station broadcasts and images of the traffic jams on television news discouraged a lot people from setting off to the festival.

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Time out en route - A youthful foursome enjoy a picnic and a little peace en route to the music festival site.

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Arriving at Max Yasgur's farm -

The view from the hill looking back across the stage. The festival site quickly became a quagmire as heavy rain fell for prolonged periods during the three-day event.

Getty Images

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Opening ceremony - The Indian religious teacher, spiritual master, and yoga adept, Swami Satchidananda, speaking during the festival's opening ceremony.

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Looks good, sounds great -

Huge lighting and sound towers were built to accommodate speaker columns and Super-Trouper-follow spots.

Getty Images

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Opening act -

Folk and rhythm and blues singer Richie Havens opened at the festival, a low-key performance that lasted for nearly three hours and catapulted him into stardom.

Getty Images

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Tented accommodation -

Assorted tents at the Woodstock Festival. Volkswagens were popular in the camping area at Woodstock.

Getty Images

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Bring on the music! - Rain, technical issues, and the late arrival of various artists tested the patience of many, as this image of a rather disgruntled group of music fans testifies.

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Indian summer -

Getty Images

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Deadheads - The Grateful Dead, pictured here in 1970, performed on the evening of Saturday, August 16. Their set was cut short after the stage amps overloaded during 'Turn on Your Love Light.'

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Seeing the light -

Getty Images

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A better view - As the event progressed, the festival's lighting towers became useful vantage points as dozens climbed the flimsy structures hoping for a better view.

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Festival highlight -

Getty Images

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Electrifying performance -

Getty Images

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The "Woodstock generation" -

A culture touchstone for the late 1960s, the festival spawned the phrase the "Woodstock generation," which became part of the common lexicon.

Getty Images

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Car crashed - Exhausted music fans crash out on a VW Beetle on the road out of Bethel. With campsites overwhelmed and weather conditions less than favorable, few slept properly during the festival.

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Trunk call - Two cheerful festivalgoers grab an impromptu lift away from the site to make their way home after the three-day event.

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Best ticket in town - Festivalgoer Janet Huey clutches her original numbered US$7.00 day ticket. Authentic Woodstock memorabilia is much sought after by collectors.

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Woodstock memorabilia - John Hoyt, who was there in 1969, proudly holds his original Woodstock concert program. Items like this can sell for hundreds of dollars.

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Bus stopped -

A 1960s-era school bus used to ferry fans to the festival site near White Lake in Bethel still stands as a poignant reminder of the events of over 50 years ago.

Getty Images

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Historic location -

In 2017, the Woodstock music festival site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Woodstock: Remembering "3 Days of Peace and Love"

Woodstock kicked off on August 15, 1969, and changed everything

15/08/24 | StarsInsider

MUSIC Concerts

Over 50 years ago, more than 400,000 music fans descended on a dairy farm in New York State for "3 Days of Peace and Love." The Woodstock festival, held between August 15–18, 1969, attracted some of the biggest names of the time, acts like The Who, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix.

More than half a century later, let's reminisce on the legendary three-day event—widely regarded as one of the most pivotal moments in popular music history—for its music, its audience, and what it stood for: all that was good about the counterculture movement.