The Woodstock Myth: Separating Fact from Legend

Two decades after the epochal 1969 rock festival, the Catskills resort of Grossinger's was hosting a celebration featuring original Woodstock musicians, but attendance by people under 65 was scarce. Abbie Hoffman, a Yippie co-founder and author of the screed Woodstock Nation, commented that there was more real love and peace in the room than at the original concert. The 25th anniversary concert, taking place in Saugerties, New York, is expected to attract at least 150,000 ticketed pilgrims, with millions more being made through pay-per-view, corporate sponsorships, and overpriced merchandise.

Key Takeaways:

• The original Woodstock festival was not as utopian as portrayed; it was craven in its planning, execution, and backstage shenanigans.
• 50,000 gate-crashers were already settled in the field before organizers even attempted to collect tickets, and promoters eventually declared the festival free to avoid violence and potential military removal.
• The New York Police Department sent 276 officers to patrol the event, ignoring departmental orders, and were rewarded with double their agreed-upon fee; eight armed men, known as the "black shirts," provided additional security.
• The Sullivan County populace was traumatized by the crowds and the threat of dysentery, and Max Yasgur, the Republican dairy farmer who owned the site, was tasked with marking down damaged grass for reimbursement.
• The rock stars who performed at Woodstock, such as Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead, enjoyed air-conditioned comfort and fine dining, while the foot-soldiers huddled in the mud.
• The festival was ultimately a marketing key to a new demographic, with symbols, slogans, and iconography of the "movement" being co-opted by Madison Avenue and Burbank boardrooms.

Sources:

• Neal Karlen, "The New York Times" [Exact date not specified]
• Wavy Gravy, documentary film
• Michael Lang, quoted in Neal Karlen's article
• The original Woodstock festival, 1969

Statistics:

• 50,000 gate-crashers were already settled in the field before organizers attempted to collect tickets.
• 276 police officers were sent to patrol the event, ignoring departmental orders, and were rewarded with double their agreed-upon fee.
• 8 armed men, known as the "black shirts," provided additional security.
• 15 years after the festival, no plaque had been put up on the field, but one was installed eventually.
• At the 25th anniversary concert, at least 150,000 ticketed pilgrims are expected to attend, with millions more being made through pay-per-view, corporate sponsorships, and overpriced merchandise.