1
00:00:12,869 --> 00:00:13,603
♪♪
2
00:00:13,865 --> 00:00:19,736
(crowd murmuring)
3
00:00:21,439 --> 00:00:23,184
It looks like we're going to get
a little bit of rain,
4
00:00:23,208 --> 00:00:24,437
so you better cover up.
5
00:00:30,382 --> 00:00:34,376
Everybody who's in the back,
please move back!
6
00:00:34,419 --> 00:00:36,183
Please move back.
7
00:00:36,221 --> 00:00:39,248
We have to get away
from these towers.
8
00:00:39,291 --> 00:00:40,486
(wind blowing)
9
00:00:40,525 --> 00:00:42,187
Put the mic stands down
on the floor.
10
00:00:42,227 --> 00:00:43,490
Cover all the equipment.
11
00:00:43,528 --> 00:00:46,657
JOEL ROSENMAN:
We were all in our mid-20s.
12
00:00:46,698 --> 00:00:49,896
We had created something
that was much bigger
13
00:00:49,935 --> 00:00:51,699
than we had anticipated.
14
00:00:51,736 --> 00:00:52,795
I see it.
15
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(over speakers):
All of you up on the towers,
16
00:00:54,472 --> 00:00:55,906
please come down.
17
00:00:55,941 --> 00:00:59,241
You are making it
very, very dangerous.
18
00:00:59,277 --> 00:01:01,803
(wind blowing)
19
00:01:01,846 --> 00:01:04,212
All right, everybody,
just sit down, wrap yourself up.
20
00:01:04,248 --> 00:01:06,912
We're going to have
to ride it out.
21
00:01:06,952 --> 00:01:09,786
JOHN MORRIS:
Everything that could possibly
go wrong was happening.
22
00:01:11,523 --> 00:01:15,085
I mean,
it was all hell breaking loose.
23
00:01:15,126 --> 00:01:17,357
MORRIS (over speaker):
Hold on to your neighbor, man.
24
00:01:17,395 --> 00:01:20,194
And let's think hard
to get rid of it, please.
25
00:01:20,231 --> 00:01:21,255
(shouting):
No rain!
26
00:01:21,299 --> 00:01:23,462
No rain!
27
00:01:23,535 --> 00:01:27,939
(crowd chanting, "No rain!")
28
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SUSAN REYNOLDS:
When you think about it,
29
00:01:29,507 --> 00:01:32,272
it could have been
an absolute disaster.
30
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(thunder rumbling, rain pouring)
31
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BARON WOLMAN:
And I just kept thinking,
32
00:01:39,150 --> 00:01:42,587
"Which direction is this thing
going to go?"
33
00:01:42,621 --> 00:01:45,853
MAN (over speaker):
Try to keep yourself
comfortable.
34
00:01:45,890 --> 00:01:49,793
It's gonna blow through.
35
00:01:49,828 --> 00:01:52,263
♪♪
36
00:02:00,639 --> 00:02:06,943
("Something in the Air"
by Thunderclap Newman playing)
37
00:02:24,183 --> 00:02:28,450
♪ Call out the instigator ♪
38
00:02:28,487 --> 00:02:34,154
♪ Because there's something
in the air ♪
39
00:02:34,193 --> 00:02:39,257
♪ We got to get together
sooner or later ♪
40
00:02:39,298 --> 00:02:43,429
♪ Because the revolution's
here ♪
41
00:02:43,469 --> 00:02:45,700
♪ And you know it's right ♪
42
00:02:45,738 --> 00:02:47,832
REYNOLDS:
We did not plan ahead,
43
00:02:47,873 --> 00:02:50,274
we did not plan
where we were going to stay,
44
00:02:50,309 --> 00:02:52,801
we didn't think about food.
45
00:02:52,845 --> 00:02:55,007
It was just, like,
"Hey, this sounds like fun.
46
00:02:55,047 --> 00:02:56,379
Let's get in the car and go."
47
00:02:56,415 --> 00:03:02,252
♪ We have got
to get it together ♪
48
00:03:03,489 --> 00:03:07,119
♪ We have got
to get it together... ♪
49
00:03:07,159 --> 00:03:08,457
PETER BEREN:
We would pack
50
00:03:08,494 --> 00:03:10,395
as many hitchhikers as we could
in the car,
51
00:03:10,429 --> 00:03:12,796
sitting on top of each other.
52
00:03:12,832 --> 00:03:14,562
And as we got closer,
53
00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,661
there would be people
walking on foot like pilgrims.
54
00:03:19,205 --> 00:03:21,436
It looked like a pilgrimage.
55
00:03:23,476 --> 00:03:25,411
LAUREEN STAROBIN:
We were looking for answers.
56
00:03:25,444 --> 00:03:27,504
We were looking for other people
57
00:03:27,546 --> 00:03:29,777
that felt the same way
as we did.
58
00:03:29,815 --> 00:03:31,977
♪ ...and houses ♪
59
00:03:32,017 --> 00:03:36,250
♪ Because there's something
in the air ♪
60
00:03:36,288 --> 00:03:39,884
JON JABOOLIAN:
No matter where you looked,
you saw people.
61
00:03:39,925 --> 00:03:42,861
It was like a field
with people growing in it.
62
00:03:42,895 --> 00:03:45,558
I had never, never seen
that many people in my life
63
00:03:45,598 --> 00:03:47,328
in one place at one time.
64
00:03:47,366 --> 00:03:49,267
♪ And you know it's right ♪
65
00:03:49,301 --> 00:03:51,236
♪♪
66
00:03:51,270 --> 00:03:53,381
PAUL GEORGE:
My feeling was, this is what
we've been talking about,
67
00:03:53,405 --> 00:03:55,533
this is what
we've been aiming for,
68
00:03:55,574 --> 00:03:58,237
this kind of freedom.
69
00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:03,406
STAROBIN:
If 400,000 people
could get together
70
00:04:03,449 --> 00:04:08,717
and have absolutely no violence,
absolutely no conflict,
71
00:04:08,754 --> 00:04:12,191
I felt like,
if we could bring all that love
72
00:04:12,224 --> 00:04:14,193
back into society,
73
00:04:14,226 --> 00:04:16,889
we could change the world.
74
00:04:16,928 --> 00:04:20,127
♪ We have got
to get it together ♪
75
00:04:20,165 --> 00:04:22,293
(cheering)
76
00:04:22,334 --> 00:04:27,739
♪ We have got to
get it together now ♪
77
00:04:31,076 --> 00:04:35,514
("I'll Take Manhattan"
by Bobby Hackett playing)
78
00:04:38,450 --> 00:04:40,476
(horns honking)
79
00:04:40,519 --> 00:04:42,613
JOHN ROBERTS:
I grew up in New York City,
80
00:04:42,655 --> 00:04:46,114
and I came
from a wealthy family.
81
00:04:46,158 --> 00:04:48,093
My mother died when I was young,
82
00:04:48,127 --> 00:04:50,528
so when I was 21,
83
00:04:50,563 --> 00:04:54,330
I inherited about a quarter
of a million dollars.
84
00:04:54,366 --> 00:04:58,360
That was quite a bit of money
in those days.
85
00:04:58,404 --> 00:05:03,502
I had a job down on Wall Street
doing research.
86
00:05:03,542 --> 00:05:05,272
ROSENMAN:
When I met John,
87
00:05:05,311 --> 00:05:07,837
I had just gotten out
of law school
88
00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:10,611
and was playing with a band
down in the Village
89
00:05:10,649 --> 00:05:12,948
and at the clubs
on Second and Third Avenue,
90
00:05:12,985 --> 00:05:16,888
but I was starting to get
a little frayed at the edges.
91
00:05:16,922 --> 00:05:19,551
Neither one of us, I think,
was really on a career path
92
00:05:19,592 --> 00:05:23,359
that we knew was the right one.
93
00:05:24,597 --> 00:05:26,964
ROBERTS:
Joel and I met playing golf.
94
00:05:26,999 --> 00:05:29,696
We hit it off.
95
00:05:29,735 --> 00:05:32,466
And, uh, we thought
we'd go into business together,
96
00:05:32,504 --> 00:05:35,702
investing this money that I had.
97
00:05:35,741 --> 00:05:37,869
ANNOUNCER:
The denture cleanser
you've hoped for
98
00:05:37,910 --> 00:05:39,139
is here at last.
99
00:05:39,178 --> 00:05:42,979
Start using new effervescent
Polident tablets today.
100
00:05:43,015 --> 00:05:45,678
JOEL MAKOWER:
John’s grandfather founded
the Block Drug Company,
101
00:05:45,718 --> 00:05:49,348
the maker of Poligrip
and Polident.
102
00:05:49,388 --> 00:05:52,552
That fortune was the source
of the seed money
103
00:05:52,591 --> 00:05:55,459
for a recording studio
in Midtown Manhattan,
104
00:05:55,494 --> 00:05:57,759
Media Sound,
which for John and Joel,
105
00:05:57,796 --> 00:06:00,925
actually turned into
their first successful venture.
106
00:06:00,966 --> 00:06:04,300
It was because of Media Sound
that John and Joel
107
00:06:04,336 --> 00:06:07,465
met Michael Lang
and Artie Kornfeld.
108
00:06:07,506 --> 00:06:09,338
MAN:
How much do those matches
sell for?
109
00:06:09,375 --> 00:06:11,469
65 cents for the roll.
110
00:06:11,510 --> 00:06:14,674
MAKOWER:
Michael had had a head shop
in Miami, in Coconut Grove,
111
00:06:14,713 --> 00:06:16,477
the center of the hippie culture
down there.
112
00:06:16,515 --> 00:06:17,676
Right there, is that a pipe?
113
00:06:17,716 --> 00:06:20,515
Yeah, it's a Turkish water pipe.
114
00:06:20,552 --> 00:06:22,919
With two hoses.
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00:06:22,955 --> 00:06:26,050
MAKOWER:
In 1968, he moved
to Woodstock, New York,
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00:06:26,091 --> 00:06:29,391
about 100 miles north
of New York City,
117
00:06:29,428 --> 00:06:31,727
and was introduced
to Artie Kornfeld,
118
00:06:31,764 --> 00:06:35,326
who was a vice president
at Capitol Records.
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00:06:35,367 --> 00:06:38,769
ROBERTS:
They called us in early 1969,
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00:06:38,804 --> 00:06:41,501
and said, "We're very interested
in building a recording studio
121
00:06:41,540 --> 00:06:43,099
"in Woodstock, New York.
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00:06:43,142 --> 00:06:46,203
"We know that you and Joel
were involved in building one
123
00:06:46,245 --> 00:06:47,611
"in New York City.
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00:06:47,646 --> 00:06:49,114
Would you meet with us?"
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00:06:49,148 --> 00:06:50,309
We said, "Sure!"
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00:06:50,349 --> 00:06:52,682
ROSENMAN:
When we met them,
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00:06:52,718 --> 00:06:53,995
they were quite different
from us,
128
00:06:54,019 --> 00:06:57,217
meaning a lot of fringe,
a lot of buckskin,
129
00:06:57,256 --> 00:06:59,350
and a great deal of hair.
130
00:06:59,391 --> 00:07:01,019
John and I were making an effort
131
00:07:01,060 --> 00:07:02,824
to look like businessmen
at the time.
132
00:07:02,861 --> 00:07:05,296
(laughing):
So we, we couldn't
have represented
133
00:07:05,330 --> 00:07:08,323
more distant ends
of the spectrum.
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00:07:08,367 --> 00:07:10,495
ROBERTS:
What Artie said was, basically,
135
00:07:10,536 --> 00:07:13,301
Woodstock was a center
for artists,
136
00:07:13,338 --> 00:07:15,739
and that a recording studio
there
137
00:07:15,774 --> 00:07:17,709
would have
a natural constituency,
138
00:07:17,743 --> 00:07:22,044
and it would be a success.
139
00:07:22,081 --> 00:07:24,414
ROSENMAN:
As we were looking
through the proposal
140
00:07:24,450 --> 00:07:25,816
that they'd given us,
141
00:07:25,851 --> 00:07:29,083
we noticed an idea
for an opening day party,
142
00:07:29,121 --> 00:07:31,681
where musicians who lived
in the area...
143
00:07:31,724 --> 00:07:35,491
Tim Hardin, John Sebastian,
Bob Dylan...
144
00:07:35,527 --> 00:07:37,155
Would perform.
145
00:07:37,196 --> 00:07:42,430
I said, "The idea of having
a concert with those stars,
146
00:07:42,468 --> 00:07:44,494
"I mean, why don't we skip
the studio idea
147
00:07:44,536 --> 00:07:46,562
"and just do a big concert?
148
00:07:46,605 --> 00:07:49,439
We could make a fortune."
149
00:07:49,475 --> 00:07:54,209
So, in late January 1969,
the four of us shook hands,
150
00:07:54,246 --> 00:07:58,581
and started brainstorming
what Woodstock could be.
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00:08:02,721 --> 00:08:05,316
REPORTER:
To the hippie youth of today,
152
00:08:05,357 --> 00:08:07,258
this is part
of their real world.
153
00:08:07,292 --> 00:08:10,558
This is the atmosphere
at the Monterey Pop Festival.
154
00:08:10,596 --> 00:08:13,327
The music is frantic,
the sounds are wild,
155
00:08:13,365 --> 00:08:14,765
and the mind is free.
156
00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:16,894
BOB HITE:
♪ I rolled and I tumbled ♪
157
00:08:16,935 --> 00:08:19,427
♪ I cried the whole night long ♪
158
00:08:19,471 --> 00:08:24,466
BOB SPITZ:
Outdoor rock festivals were a
pretty new concept at the time.
159
00:08:24,510 --> 00:08:29,346
They had begun in 1967
with Monterey Pop.
160
00:08:29,381 --> 00:08:32,010
And by 1968, '69,
161
00:08:32,049 --> 00:08:35,145
there had been a few festivals
scattered around the country.
162
00:08:37,188 --> 00:08:39,488
Michael Lang was the only one
of the four
163
00:08:39,525 --> 00:08:41,068
that had any experience
in the concert business.
164
00:08:41,092 --> 00:08:45,224
In 1968, he had helped produce
a festival in Miami
165
00:08:45,264 --> 00:08:47,256
that was a huge disaster.
166
00:08:47,299 --> 00:08:51,737
It was held at a racetrack,
had very little atmosphere,
167
00:08:51,770 --> 00:08:54,899
it rained, there were a lot
of lawsuits afterwards;
168
00:08:54,940 --> 00:08:57,341
the festival never really
came off.
169
00:08:57,376 --> 00:09:02,144
But Michael knew that
this is what he wanted to do.
170
00:09:02,181 --> 00:09:04,514
And he had this idea
of taking the festival
171
00:09:04,550 --> 00:09:06,143
out of the racetrack,
172
00:09:06,185 --> 00:09:10,088
and putting it
in a bucolic place.
173
00:09:10,122 --> 00:09:12,523
LANG:
I had been thinking
about doing
174
00:09:12,558 --> 00:09:14,220
a series of concerts
in Woodstock.
175
00:09:14,259 --> 00:09:15,703
And I always thought
if you could dream it up,
176
00:09:15,727 --> 00:09:17,320
you could put it together.
177
00:09:17,362 --> 00:09:23,199
And this was a chance to make,
you know, a dream come true.
178
00:09:23,235 --> 00:09:28,936
ROSENMAN:
Michael and Artie had optioned
a property in Woodstock,
179
00:09:28,974 --> 00:09:31,500
but it was far too small...
It was just ten acres.
180
00:09:31,543 --> 00:09:34,775
So that didn't work out.
181
00:09:34,813 --> 00:09:38,682
A property in Saugerties
didn't work out.
182
00:09:38,717 --> 00:09:41,186
And then John and I
found a piece of property
183
00:09:41,220 --> 00:09:43,849
that was in Wallkill
that was being turned
184
00:09:43,889 --> 00:09:46,723
into an industrial park.
185
00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:50,452
It didn't knock you out
visually,
186
00:09:50,495 --> 00:09:54,557
but it was available.
187
00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:56,592
MAKOWER:
Michael hated it.
188
00:09:56,635 --> 00:09:58,467
It was everything
he didn't want...
189
00:09:58,503 --> 00:10:02,406
Just a flat, barren
piece of land
190
00:10:02,441 --> 00:10:06,378
that had no trees, no soul.
191
00:10:06,411 --> 00:10:07,755
LANG:
You know how some
pastoral scenes
192
00:10:07,779 --> 00:10:09,145
are beautiful and calming
193
00:10:09,181 --> 00:10:11,878
and make you feel comfortable,
at peace?
194
00:10:11,917 --> 00:10:14,284
This was completely
the opposite.
195
00:10:14,319 --> 00:10:16,220
But we needed to get going,
we needed a site,
196
00:10:16,255 --> 00:10:18,656
and I felt that we could
transform it into something
197
00:10:18,690 --> 00:10:22,786
more spiritual and special.
198
00:10:22,828 --> 00:10:24,239
("Embryonic Journey"
by Jefferson Airplane playing)
199
00:10:24,263 --> 00:10:26,528
SPITZ:
The town signed off
on the festival
200
00:10:26,565 --> 00:10:28,932
as a, kind of
a music and arts fair
201
00:10:28,967 --> 00:10:32,563
where kids would walk around
and look at art
202
00:10:32,604 --> 00:10:36,507
and hear some music
in the background.
203
00:10:36,541 --> 00:10:37,941
And "An Aquarian Exposition,"
204
00:10:37,976 --> 00:10:39,501
which is what they called
Woodstock,
205
00:10:39,544 --> 00:10:43,208
had some kind of
mystical feel to it.
206
00:10:47,319 --> 00:10:50,289
ROSENMAN:
Michael suggested that,
like Monterey,
207
00:10:50,322 --> 00:10:53,884
we should have a crafts village
and an art exhibition
208
00:10:53,926 --> 00:10:55,554
alongside the music.
209
00:10:55,594 --> 00:10:57,085
We all loved it!
210
00:10:57,129 --> 00:11:02,067
It was such a natural add-on
to what we were thinking about.
211
00:11:02,100 --> 00:11:06,094
We wanted to make it
like visiting another world,
212
00:11:06,138 --> 00:11:09,040
like visiting the world
you were dreaming about
213
00:11:09,074 --> 00:11:11,703
if you were a young person.
214
00:11:11,743 --> 00:11:14,178
This shining place
that you could go to
215
00:11:14,212 --> 00:11:17,114
and feel
that you weren't a misfit,
216
00:11:17,149 --> 00:11:20,916
or that you weren't
on the wrong side of a debate,
217
00:11:20,953 --> 00:11:22,319
or that you weren't
218
00:11:22,354 --> 00:11:25,347
under the suspicious eye
of the authorities.
219
00:11:26,992 --> 00:11:29,552
MAKOWER:
For the generation
that was coming of age
220
00:11:29,594 --> 00:11:30,721
in the late '60s,
221
00:11:30,762 --> 00:11:33,698
everything was up for grabs.
222
00:11:33,732 --> 00:11:36,531
Young people were rejecting
the status quo,
223
00:11:36,568 --> 00:11:40,061
whether it was your parents
or whether it was your community
224
00:11:40,105 --> 00:11:43,234
or... or the business
establishment.
225
00:11:43,275 --> 00:11:46,143
This counterculture,
as it was called,
226
00:11:46,178 --> 00:11:49,114
influenced music,
it influenced art,
227
00:11:49,147 --> 00:11:51,981
and it certainly influenced
the way people dressed.
228
00:11:52,017 --> 00:11:55,954
But clearly, politics was at the
center of the counterculture,
229
00:11:55,988 --> 00:11:58,651
because the one thing
that affected everybody
230
00:11:58,690 --> 00:12:01,387
was the war in Vietnam.
231
00:12:01,426 --> 00:12:04,021
Last week's casualty figures
in the Vietnam War,
232
00:12:04,062 --> 00:12:08,466
released today, showed
299 Americans killed, 355...
233
00:12:08,500 --> 00:12:12,369
GEORGE:
I remember watching the news
in, you know, 1968
234
00:12:12,404 --> 00:12:15,340
and asking my father, "Why are
we fighting in Vietnam?"
235
00:12:15,374 --> 00:12:19,539
And his answer was always,
"Because they're communists."
236
00:12:19,578 --> 00:12:22,673
I didn't find that satisfactory.
237
00:12:22,714 --> 00:12:25,445
(artillery fires)
238
00:12:25,484 --> 00:12:28,977
My father had been
in World War Il in Europe,
239
00:12:29,021 --> 00:12:31,149
in the Signal Corps.
240
00:12:31,189 --> 00:12:33,590
He always made clear
that he thought the Army
241
00:12:33,625 --> 00:12:34,684
was a great experience,
242
00:12:34,726 --> 00:12:36,820
and everybody should do it.
243
00:12:36,862 --> 00:12:38,660
He just had a very positive view
244
00:12:38,697 --> 00:12:40,996
of serving one's country
that way.
245
00:12:41,033 --> 00:12:44,902
And he did support the war
in Vietnam.
246
00:12:44,936 --> 00:12:47,633
("The Pusher" by Steppenwolf
playing)
247
00:12:47,672 --> 00:12:53,669
(gun firing,
people talking on radio)
248
00:12:55,414 --> 00:12:57,525
REYNOLDS:
The men of World War Il
just assumed that their sons
249
00:12:57,549 --> 00:12:58,744
would also be soldiers.
250
00:12:58,784 --> 00:13:00,685
That's how you became a man.
251
00:13:00,719 --> 00:13:03,553
You grew up,
you served your country.
252
00:13:03,588 --> 00:13:04,886
So my older brother Jim
253
00:13:04,923 --> 00:13:07,984
signed up
for the Naval Reserves.
254
00:13:08,026 --> 00:13:10,621
I remember the day
that he went to Vietnam,
255
00:13:10,662 --> 00:13:13,757
and being terrified.
256
00:13:15,500 --> 00:13:19,938
MICHAEL LINDSEY:
When I was 18, I had
to register for the draft.
257
00:13:19,971 --> 00:13:23,271
I was in college,
so I got a deferment.
258
00:13:23,308 --> 00:13:27,143
But there was always that thing
in the back of your mind.
259
00:13:27,179 --> 00:13:31,913
You knew that they were
just one step behind you.
260
00:13:31,950 --> 00:13:33,612
If you were in college,
261
00:13:33,652 --> 00:13:35,396
you'd better hope that you had
all your money straightened out
262
00:13:35,420 --> 00:13:37,150
and grades were good
and everything else,
263
00:13:37,189 --> 00:13:40,751
because if you dropped out,
you were going to Vietnam.
264
00:13:40,792 --> 00:13:42,920
("The Pusher" continues)
265
00:13:42,961 --> 00:13:48,958
BEREN:
When I was 20 years old, I was
faced with a draft physical.
266
00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:51,595
I'm putting down
that I'm a bed wetter,
267
00:13:51,636 --> 00:13:54,401
that I'm a homosexual,
that I'm a communist.
268
00:13:54,439 --> 00:13:58,877
I think there were 14 things
in all that I had written down.
269
00:14:00,412 --> 00:14:03,348
So they escorted me over
to the psychiatrist.
270
00:14:03,381 --> 00:14:06,818
He just said, "Kid,
I'm gonna give you one year
271
00:14:06,852 --> 00:14:09,151
to straighten yourself out,"
272
00:14:09,187 --> 00:14:13,682
and he gave me a deferment
for 12 months.
273
00:14:13,725 --> 00:14:15,557
("The Pusher" continues)
274
00:14:15,594 --> 00:14:19,656
RICK DILLS:
There's no way to describe
how terrifying it was
275
00:14:19,698 --> 00:14:22,065
to be a 17-year-old,
276
00:14:22,100 --> 00:14:25,935
knowing that the Vietnam War
was your fate.
277
00:14:25,971 --> 00:14:28,531
I wasn't alone in any way
278
00:14:28,573 --> 00:14:32,305
in transitioning from being
personally afraid of the war
279
00:14:32,344 --> 00:14:35,803
to being politically opposed
to it.
280
00:14:35,847 --> 00:14:38,248
CROWD (chanting):
You kill people!
281
00:14:38,283 --> 00:14:41,549
You kill people!
You kill people!
282
00:14:41,586 --> 00:14:43,418
(chanting continues)
283
00:14:43,455 --> 00:14:45,390
(shouting, clapping)
284
00:14:45,423 --> 00:14:48,689
BEREN:
I participated in a couple
of marches on Washington,
285
00:14:48,727 --> 00:14:50,992
anti-war rallies.
286
00:14:51,029 --> 00:14:53,157
The war was insane.
287
00:14:53,198 --> 00:14:55,929
You know, an insane conflict
that, um...
288
00:14:55,967 --> 00:14:57,458
made everybody crazy,
289
00:14:57,502 --> 00:14:58,679
whether you were fighting
the war
290
00:14:58,703 --> 00:15:00,501
or fighting against it.
291
00:15:00,539 --> 00:15:03,270
CROWD (chanting):
Hell, no, we won't go!
292
00:15:03,308 --> 00:15:05,243
("Volunteers" by
Jefferson Airplane playing)
293
00:15:05,277 --> 00:15:07,178
♪ Look what's happening
out in the streets ♪
294
00:15:07,212 --> 00:15:09,374
♪ Got a revolution ♪
♪ Got to revolution ♪
295
00:15:09,414 --> 00:15:11,542
♪ Hey, I'm dancing
down the street ♪
296
00:15:11,583 --> 00:15:14,075
♪ Got a revolution ♪
♪ Got to revolution ♪
297
00:15:14,119 --> 00:15:15,763
♪ Oh, ain't it amazing,
all the people that I meet? ♪
298
00:15:15,787 --> 00:15:16,755
♪ Got a revolution ♪
299
00:15:16,788 --> 00:15:18,484
(shouting)
300
00:15:18,523 --> 00:15:21,459
REPORTER:
This is a CBS News
Special Report...
301
00:15:21,493 --> 00:15:24,292
BEREN:
And then,
on top of everything else,
302
00:15:24,329 --> 00:15:27,356
Martin Luther King
was assassinated.
303
00:15:27,399 --> 00:15:29,265
The Reverend
Martin Luther King, Jr.,
304
00:15:29,301 --> 00:15:31,566
was shot to death
by an assassin late today
305
00:15:31,603 --> 00:15:34,971
as he stood on a balcony
in Memphis, Tennessee.
306
00:15:37,309 --> 00:15:39,301
LINDSEY:
When Martin Luther King
was killed,
307
00:15:39,344 --> 00:15:41,779
I knew a lot of people
who just felt,
308
00:15:41,813 --> 00:15:44,612
we have to do things
differently,
309
00:15:44,649 --> 00:15:46,811
because the way the
establishment have done things
310
00:15:46,851 --> 00:15:49,343
has led to this.
311
00:15:49,387 --> 00:15:52,050
♪♪
312
00:15:52,090 --> 00:15:54,457
GEORGE:
By the time I got to be 16,
313
00:15:54,492 --> 00:15:57,951
I was really questioning
the way society is structured.
314
00:15:57,996 --> 00:16:01,125
I objected to racism.
315
00:16:01,166 --> 00:16:05,604
I objected to inequality,
consumerism, and poverty.
316
00:16:05,637 --> 00:16:08,766
I objected to the war
in Vietnam.
317
00:16:08,807 --> 00:16:12,574
ROBERT KENNEDY:
One thing is clear
in this year of 1968,
318
00:16:12,611 --> 00:16:15,206
and that is
that the American people
319
00:16:15,247 --> 00:16:18,081
want no more Vietnams.
320
00:16:18,116 --> 00:16:20,312
(audience applauds)
321
00:16:20,352 --> 00:16:23,083
LINDSEY:
Of course, we had hope
for Bobby Kennedy.
322
00:16:23,121 --> 00:16:27,388
He seemed to be one of us
in a lot of ways.
323
00:16:27,425 --> 00:16:31,453
We really felt that
he was finally going to be able
324
00:16:31,496 --> 00:16:34,432
to change things.
325
00:16:34,466 --> 00:16:36,628
REYNOLDS:
I mean, he was out there
espousing peace,
326
00:16:36,668 --> 00:16:38,668
and, you know, fighting
against poverty and racism,
327
00:16:38,703 --> 00:16:41,263
and all the things
that we believed in
328
00:16:41,306 --> 00:16:43,502
and wanted so deeply.
329
00:16:43,541 --> 00:16:46,670
He was our voice.
330
00:16:48,947 --> 00:16:54,784
BEREN:
In June of 1968, I was leaving
a bar in my hometown.
331
00:16:54,819 --> 00:16:56,549
I turned on the radio.
332
00:16:56,588 --> 00:16:59,080
REPORTER:
The senator is lying
with his eyes closed,
333
00:16:59,124 --> 00:17:00,786
absolutely unmoving,
334
00:17:00,825 --> 00:17:02,589
blood underneath his head.
335
00:17:02,627 --> 00:17:05,185
BEREN:
I heard the assassination
of Robert F. Kennedy
336
00:17:05,230 --> 00:17:08,928
as it unfolded in real time.
337
00:17:08,967 --> 00:17:13,233
And it just completely undid me.
338
00:17:13,271 --> 00:17:16,105
FRANK MANKIEWICZ:
Senator Robert Francis Kennedy
339
00:17:16,141 --> 00:17:23,105
died at 1:44 a.m. today,
340
00:17:23,146 --> 00:17:26,675
June 6, 1968.
341
00:17:29,621 --> 00:17:31,647
STAROBIN:
The shock of it was...
342
00:17:31,690 --> 00:17:36,287
It was just devastating,
absolutely devastating.
343
00:17:36,328 --> 00:17:39,890
Martin Luther King
and then Bobby Kennedy.
344
00:17:39,931 --> 00:17:42,696
You know, all these peacemakers.
345
00:17:45,303 --> 00:17:46,914
JABOOLIAN:
It was, like,
oh, this is what we do.
346
00:17:46,938 --> 00:17:48,702
This is what we do.
347
00:17:48,740 --> 00:17:51,801
You know, as soon as somebody
tries to speak out,
348
00:17:51,843 --> 00:17:53,641
and they're too forceful,
349
00:17:53,678 --> 00:17:56,011
this big machine,
whatever the hell it is,
350
00:17:56,047 --> 00:17:59,245
is gonna shut them up.
351
00:17:59,284 --> 00:18:02,482
The only thing
that we took solace in
352
00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:03,783
was music,
353
00:18:03,822 --> 00:18:06,883
and there was a lot
of politically conscious music
354
00:18:06,925 --> 00:18:08,291
that we were listening to.
355
00:18:08,326 --> 00:18:11,296
You know,
like Buffalo Springfield.
356
00:18:11,329 --> 00:18:15,391
♪ There's something
happening here ♪
357
00:18:15,433 --> 00:18:20,133
♪ What it is
ain't exactly clear ♪
358
00:18:20,171 --> 00:18:25,166
♪ There's a man with a gun
over there ♪
359
00:18:25,210 --> 00:18:29,272
♪ Telling me I got to beware ♪
360
00:18:29,314 --> 00:18:31,180
♪ I think it's time we stop ♪
361
00:18:31,216 --> 00:18:32,980
♪ Children, what's that sound ♪
362
00:18:33,017 --> 00:18:35,748
♪ Everybody look
what's going down ♪
363
00:18:37,922 --> 00:18:40,368
STAROBIN:
When I was so disillusioned with
everybody's else's thinking,
364
00:18:40,392 --> 00:18:42,486
I could escape into my music.
365
00:18:42,527 --> 00:18:45,463
It was such a comfort to me.
366
00:18:45,497 --> 00:18:48,399
You know, I hadn't met
a lot of people at that time
367
00:18:48,433 --> 00:18:50,698
that felt like I did.
368
00:18:50,735 --> 00:18:55,435
But when I listened to music,
those people were there.
369
00:18:55,473 --> 00:18:58,910
♪ Young people
speaking their minds ♪
370
00:18:58,943 --> 00:19:02,311
♪ Getting so much resistance
from behind ♪
371
00:19:02,347 --> 00:19:04,316
REYNOLDS:
We couldn't wait for Saturdays,
372
00:19:04,349 --> 00:19:05,693
when we could go buy
the latest record
373
00:19:05,717 --> 00:19:07,686
and then come home
and literally lay on the floor
374
00:19:07,719 --> 00:19:10,018
and play it over and over
and over.
375
00:19:10,054 --> 00:19:11,920
My father hated the music.
376
00:19:11,956 --> 00:19:15,358
(laughing):
He was always clapping his hands
over his ears and just...
377
00:19:15,393 --> 00:19:17,726
Would say, "Damn hippies!"
378
00:19:17,762 --> 00:19:21,790
♪ Come gather 'round, people,
wherever you roam ♪
379
00:19:21,833 --> 00:19:24,462
♪ And admit that the waters
around you have grown ♪
380
00:19:24,502 --> 00:19:26,334
♪ And accept it that soon... ♪
381
00:19:26,371 --> 00:19:28,704
LINDSEY:
Dylan's song
"The Times They Are A-Changin'"
382
00:19:28,740 --> 00:19:31,835
basically said
to our parents' generation,
383
00:19:31,876 --> 00:19:34,744
"Get out of the new way
if you can't lend a hand."
384
00:19:34,779 --> 00:19:37,772
♪ You better start swimming
or you'll sink like a stone
385
00:19:37,816 --> 00:19:42,117
♪ For the times
they are a-changin' ♪
386
00:19:42,153 --> 00:19:44,247
LINDSEY:
Music had our ideas.
387
00:19:44,289 --> 00:19:48,317
For my generation,
that was the thing.
388
00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:50,487
Especially our political views.
389
00:19:50,528 --> 00:19:53,396
♪ It ain't me, it ain't me ♪
390
00:19:53,431 --> 00:19:57,027
♪ I ain't no military son ♪
391
00:19:57,068 --> 00:20:00,061
♪ It ain't me, it ain't me ♪
392
00:20:00,104 --> 00:20:02,096
♪ I ain't no fortunate one ♪
393
00:20:02,140 --> 00:20:03,768
(song ending)
394
00:20:03,808 --> 00:20:06,642
DONALD GOLDMACHER:
Music was terribly important
to us.
395
00:20:06,678 --> 00:20:10,513
I came to the San Francisco
Bay Area in June '67,
396
00:20:10,548 --> 00:20:13,643
and there was music everywhere.
397
00:20:13,685 --> 00:20:17,019
There were free concerts
going on in Golden Gate Park,
398
00:20:17,055 --> 00:20:18,785
with all of these bands.
399
00:20:18,823 --> 00:20:21,918
I got to see Janis Joplin,
the Jefferson Airplane,
400
00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:25,397
and the Dead, free.
401
00:20:25,430 --> 00:20:27,296
It really was amazing.
402
00:20:27,332 --> 00:20:29,858
(playing in background)
403
00:20:29,901 --> 00:20:32,928
BEREN:
Music and lyrics
became our tribal drum.
404
00:20:32,971 --> 00:20:36,567
So we had a, kind of
a secret communication going
405
00:20:36,608 --> 00:20:39,237
in the river of music
that flowed through us.
406
00:20:39,277 --> 00:20:41,644
("Dear Mr. Fantasy" playing)
407
00:20:41,679 --> 00:20:44,740
You know, it was a...
wild liberation.
408
00:20:44,782 --> 00:20:48,378
It was Dionysian.
409
00:20:48,419 --> 00:20:50,081
And drugs played a big part
in that.
410
00:20:50,121 --> 00:20:54,889
STEVE WINWOOD:
♪ Something to make us
all happy ♪
411
00:20:54,926 --> 00:20:58,920
GEORGE:
We smoked a lot of pot
and did a fair amount of acid.
412
00:20:58,963 --> 00:21:02,900
You know, the society
that we're rebelling against,
413
00:21:02,934 --> 00:21:04,994
they don't want us smoking pot.
414
00:21:05,036 --> 00:21:08,564
(laughing):
Must be a good reason
to smoke pot.
415
00:21:08,606 --> 00:21:12,543
KATHERINE DAYE:
The more that we as a generation
416
00:21:12,577 --> 00:21:15,706
saw that what had been
rammed down our throats
417
00:21:15,747 --> 00:21:21,186
was false...
It was false, it was a lie...
418
00:21:21,219 --> 00:21:24,348
The more it freed us up
to experiment.
419
00:21:24,389 --> 00:21:26,051
("Dear Mr. Fantasy" continues)
420
00:21:26,090 --> 00:21:28,059
I mean, we had free love.
421
00:21:28,092 --> 00:21:30,721
(song continues)
422
00:21:30,762 --> 00:21:33,823
The pill allowed us
to just go to a party
423
00:21:33,865 --> 00:21:36,835
and be with somebody.
424
00:21:36,868 --> 00:21:41,704
We just reveled in having
that much freedom
425
00:21:41,739 --> 00:21:46,040
and that much ability
to piss off your old man.
426
00:21:46,077 --> 00:21:47,917
RONALD REAGAN:
Movies were shown on two screens
427
00:21:47,946 --> 00:21:49,812
at the opposite ends
of the gymnasium.
428
00:21:49,847 --> 00:21:51,645
They consisted
of color sequences
429
00:21:51,683 --> 00:21:53,561
that gave the appearance
of different-colored liquids
430
00:21:53,585 --> 00:21:55,611
spreading across the screen.
431
00:21:55,653 --> 00:21:58,418
Sexual misconduct was blatant.
432
00:21:58,456 --> 00:22:00,084
The smell of marijuana
was prevalent
433
00:22:00,124 --> 00:22:02,593
all over the entire building.
434
00:22:02,627 --> 00:22:05,222
("Dear Mr. Fantasy" continues)
435
00:22:05,263 --> 00:22:09,098
LINDSEY:
By 1969, it really did feel
like we were finally winning
436
00:22:09,133 --> 00:22:14,504
some kind of cultural war
against the establishment.
437
00:22:14,539 --> 00:22:16,371
You know, this is how we lived,
438
00:22:16,407 --> 00:22:19,502
and if you didn't like it,
too bad.
439
00:22:19,544 --> 00:22:21,706
We were seeing that America
440
00:22:21,746 --> 00:22:23,578
wasn't what we were taught
it was,
441
00:22:23,615 --> 00:22:26,983
and when you stop looking at it
that way
442
00:22:27,018 --> 00:22:29,715
and you start trying
to figure it out for yourself,
443
00:22:29,754 --> 00:22:34,283
then, uh...
it changes your life forever.
444
00:22:40,865 --> 00:22:46,862
("Grazing in the Grass"
by Willie Mitchell playing)
445
00:22:50,675 --> 00:22:52,419
MAKOWER:
Once they got the permits
they needed
446
00:22:52,443 --> 00:22:54,071
from the town of Wallkill,
447
00:22:54,112 --> 00:22:56,290
the first thing that John and
Joel and Michael and Artie did
448
00:22:56,314 --> 00:22:59,944
was to assemble a core team
to help produce the festival.
449
00:22:59,984 --> 00:23:02,419
There was Stan Goldstein
450
00:23:02,453 --> 00:23:04,547
who had worked with Michael
on Miami Pop.
451
00:23:04,589 --> 00:23:08,082
There was John Morris, who
had experience booking acts;
452
00:23:08,126 --> 00:23:11,688
Chip Monck, whose role
was stage design and lighting;
453
00:23:11,729 --> 00:23:16,224
Bill Hanley, one of the pioneers
of event production sound.
454
00:23:16,267 --> 00:23:19,328
These were guys who knew
how to put together an event.
455
00:23:20,605 --> 00:23:22,574
Stan called his friend
Mel Lawrence
456
00:23:22,607 --> 00:23:26,305
to be the director
of operations.
457
00:23:26,344 --> 00:23:28,939
LAWRENCE:
My mission was to, um, plan
458
00:23:28,980 --> 00:23:32,610
for all of the functions
of the festival
459
00:23:32,650 --> 00:23:36,746
aside from the actual show.
460
00:23:36,788 --> 00:23:41,624
Everything from fences to food
to transportation
461
00:23:41,659 --> 00:23:46,688
to fire access,
lines of communication,
462
00:23:46,731 --> 00:23:52,568
security, water, sewerage...
You know this, that.
463
00:23:52,603 --> 00:23:57,064
I made a checklist
that blew everybody's minds.
464
00:23:59,677 --> 00:24:03,409
GOLDSTEIN:
One specific thing was toilets.
465
00:24:03,448 --> 00:24:05,212
We knew we'd have to have
a lot of them.
466
00:24:05,249 --> 00:24:07,718
No one knew how many.
467
00:24:07,752 --> 00:24:14,022
So, I began going to events
with a stopwatch and clipboard.
468
00:24:14,058 --> 00:24:15,321
Madison Square Garden,
469
00:24:15,359 --> 00:24:17,385
baseball stadiums...
470
00:24:17,428 --> 00:24:19,420
Any place that there were
a lot of people.
471
00:24:19,464 --> 00:24:21,831
And I timed them,
going in and coming out,
472
00:24:21,866 --> 00:24:24,631
and going in and coming out.
473
00:24:24,669 --> 00:24:26,433
And I took all the information
I gathered,
474
00:24:26,471 --> 00:24:30,806
multiplied by the size of the
crowd we thought we might have,
475
00:24:30,842 --> 00:24:35,177
and came up with outrageous
numbers of johns.
476
00:24:35,213 --> 00:24:37,614
Tens of thousands, just...
477
00:24:37,648 --> 00:24:40,447
Impossible numbers.
478
00:24:40,485 --> 00:24:44,980
So we lined up
as many as we could get.
479
00:24:45,022 --> 00:24:47,856
("Grazing in the Grass"
continues)
480
00:24:47,892 --> 00:24:50,191
MORRIS:
I was in charge of the booking,
481
00:24:50,228 --> 00:24:53,665
and Creedence was the first band
that we booked.
482
00:24:53,698 --> 00:24:55,428
And then we got
Jefferson Airplane,
483
00:24:55,466 --> 00:24:59,096
Joe Cocker, and Ten Years After.
484
00:24:59,137 --> 00:25:02,107
We didn't get the Stones
or Dylan or the Doors,
485
00:25:02,140 --> 00:25:05,133
but we booked a lot of the acts
we wanted to,
486
00:25:05,176 --> 00:25:08,044
including the Who
and Jimi Hendrix.
487
00:25:08,079 --> 00:25:12,483
♪♪
488
00:25:12,517 --> 00:25:17,012
DAVID CROSBY:
We had just started planning
our first tour
489
00:25:17,054 --> 00:25:18,886
as Crosby, Stills, Nash,
and Young,
490
00:25:18,923 --> 00:25:21,859
when we heard that Hendrix
was going to play it,
491
00:25:21,893 --> 00:25:25,421
and the Who, and Sly,
and Airplane, the Band,
492
00:25:25,463 --> 00:25:26,863
the Grateful Dead...
493
00:25:26,898 --> 00:25:29,800
You know, everybody
that we thought was cool.
494
00:25:29,834 --> 00:25:34,499
♪♪
495
00:25:34,539 --> 00:25:36,650
SPITZ:
They needed to get the word out
about the festival.
496
00:25:36,674 --> 00:25:39,303
They had a channel to do that,
497
00:25:39,343 --> 00:25:42,142
through the alternative press.
498
00:25:42,180 --> 00:25:44,581
There was the Berkeley Barb
and the Rat
499
00:25:44,615 --> 00:25:45,913
and the Village Voice,
500
00:25:45,950 --> 00:25:49,216
and word about the festival
poured out,
501
00:25:49,253 --> 00:25:50,915
not just to New York,
where they thought
502
00:25:50,955 --> 00:25:52,166
they would draw
the most people from,
503
00:25:52,190 --> 00:25:55,820
but all across
the United States.
504
00:25:55,860 --> 00:25:58,420
Woodstock
was on everybody's lips.
505
00:25:58,462 --> 00:26:04,766
♪♪
506
00:26:10,942 --> 00:26:14,743
DAYE:
Tom and I subscribed
to Rolling Stone magazine,
507
00:26:14,779 --> 00:26:17,977
and long about, oh, early May,
508
00:26:18,015 --> 00:26:22,146
I started seeing these ads
for a three-day festival
509
00:26:22,186 --> 00:26:25,315
with all these bands
that we loved.
510
00:26:25,356 --> 00:26:28,588
And I said, "Tom!
You wanna go to this?"
511
00:26:28,626 --> 00:26:30,652
RADIO ANNOUNCER:
For tickets and information,
512
00:26:30,695 --> 00:26:34,188
write to
Woodstock Music and Art Fair...
513
00:26:34,232 --> 00:26:36,963
GOLDMACHER:
We heard it on the radio.
514
00:26:37,001 --> 00:26:40,904
They were describing
this happening-to-be
515
00:26:40,938 --> 00:26:42,429
and that people were coming
516
00:26:42,473 --> 00:26:43,951
from all corners
of the United States,
517
00:26:43,975 --> 00:26:47,468
and apparently abroad, as well.
518
00:27:36,011 --> 00:27:39,448
SUSIE KAUFMAN:
I was hanging out
at the fountain
519
00:27:39,482 --> 00:27:42,782
in, in Washington Square,
with my guys,
520
00:27:42,818 --> 00:27:44,480
who were all musicians,
521
00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:45,597
and then all of the sudden,
522
00:27:45,621 --> 00:27:48,090
tickets were being made
available.
523
00:27:48,124 --> 00:27:52,926
You could buy one day, two days,
or three.
524
00:27:52,962 --> 00:27:54,453
And jeez, three days!
525
00:27:54,497 --> 00:27:56,762
Wow! That means staying there
over...
526
00:27:56,799 --> 00:27:59,291
Wow, what an adventure
that would be!
527
00:27:59,335 --> 00:28:01,827
We gotta do this!
528
00:28:01,871 --> 00:28:06,002
♪♪
529
00:28:06,041 --> 00:28:07,771
SPITZ:
It was early June,
530
00:28:07,810 --> 00:28:10,405
so they started to build
at the Wallkill site.
531
00:28:10,446 --> 00:28:13,348
They brought in electricity,
532
00:28:13,382 --> 00:28:16,580
they started to lay
the groundwork for a stage,
533
00:28:16,619 --> 00:28:20,920
and they hired a couple
of hundred kids to help out.
534
00:28:20,956 --> 00:28:26,088
And these kids, they didn't look
like anybody else in this town.
535
00:28:26,128 --> 00:28:28,359
ROSENMAN:
They were a little suspicious
about us,
536
00:28:28,397 --> 00:28:30,798
but we just forged ahead.
537
00:28:30,833 --> 00:28:33,826
All that did was, I guess,
sound the rallying cry
538
00:28:33,869 --> 00:28:36,236
for what called itself
539
00:28:36,272 --> 00:28:40,209
the Concerned Citizens Committee
of Wallkill.
540
00:28:40,242 --> 00:28:42,020
ROBERTS:
They didn't like
the looks of the people
541
00:28:42,044 --> 00:28:44,343
who were working on the site.
542
00:28:44,380 --> 00:28:47,179
They didn't like long hair,
rock music,
543
00:28:47,216 --> 00:28:49,947
and all
that that implied to them.
544
00:28:49,985 --> 00:28:52,250
We really tried to practice
good community relations,
545
00:28:52,288 --> 00:28:56,419
but the Concerned Citizens
had the wind up.
546
00:28:56,459 --> 00:29:00,396
SPITZ:
Wallkill was a pretty
conservative place.
547
00:29:00,429 --> 00:29:03,365
The way they saw it,
these were kids who smoked dope,
548
00:29:03,399 --> 00:29:05,493
who had casual sex...
549
00:29:05,534 --> 00:29:09,096
They didn't want these hippies
in their town.
550
00:29:10,673 --> 00:29:13,837
ROSENMAN:
John and I were having dinner
in New York City
551
00:29:13,876 --> 00:29:16,072
when the town of Wallkill
passed an ordinance
552
00:29:16,111 --> 00:29:18,546
saying you can't have
a gathering
553
00:29:18,581 --> 00:29:21,016
of more than 5,000 people.
554
00:29:21,050 --> 00:29:22,575
Essentially, it just legislated
555
00:29:22,618 --> 00:29:25,383
the possibility of a festival
on this property
556
00:29:25,421 --> 00:29:28,220
out of existence.
557
00:29:28,257 --> 00:29:30,954
But we had already sold
so many tickets,
558
00:29:30,993 --> 00:29:33,224
and hired so many bands,
559
00:29:33,262 --> 00:29:36,858
we couldn't turn back
at that point.
560
00:29:36,899 --> 00:29:38,310
ROBERTS:
It was like being
on a rollercoaster
561
00:29:38,334 --> 00:29:39,859
that had just crested the rise,
562
00:29:39,902 --> 00:29:43,498
you know, before that first
enormous plunge.
563
00:29:43,539 --> 00:29:49,069
I contemplated the abyss of
a total wipeout and thought,
564
00:29:49,111 --> 00:29:52,047
"Let's not declare bankruptcy...
Let's throw this festival."
565
00:29:52,081 --> 00:29:56,917
♪ I'm going up the country,
baby, don't you wanna go? ♪
566
00:29:59,522 --> 00:30:03,254
♪ I'm going up the country,
baby, don't you wanna go? ♪
567
00:30:04,493 --> 00:30:06,325
♪ I'm going to some place... ♪
568
00:30:06,362 --> 00:30:11,096
MAKOWER:
It was the first week of July,
about five weeks out,
569
00:30:11,133 --> 00:30:15,468
so there was a mad scramble
to find a new site.
570
00:30:15,504 --> 00:30:17,029
They drove around
Upstate New York
571
00:30:17,072 --> 00:30:19,769
talking to local people,
real estate brokers...
572
00:30:19,808 --> 00:30:22,243
Anyone who would listen.
573
00:30:22,278 --> 00:30:23,712
LAWRENCE:
Michael and I,
574
00:30:23,746 --> 00:30:26,648
we must have looked for a week
or maybe ten days,
575
00:30:26,682 --> 00:30:31,143
renting helicopters
and going here and going there.
576
00:30:31,186 --> 00:30:34,020
And then we meet Max Yasgur.
577
00:30:34,056 --> 00:30:36,287
SPITZ:
Max was a farmer.
578
00:30:36,325 --> 00:30:38,794
And he was very successful.
579
00:30:38,827 --> 00:30:42,355
His dairy supplied
almost everybody in that area
580
00:30:42,398 --> 00:30:44,367
with milk.
581
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,393
Everybody knew Max Yasgur.
582
00:30:47,436 --> 00:30:51,464
JOHN CONWAY:
Yasgur was a, you know, he was
a law-and-order Republican,
583
00:30:51,507 --> 00:30:52,907
but, you know, he also believed
584
00:30:52,942 --> 00:30:55,707
in personal freedom
and freedom of expression,
585
00:30:55,744 --> 00:30:58,839
and that's what
he hung his hat on.
586
00:30:58,881 --> 00:31:01,680
LANG:
We went to see Max,
and we just hit it off.
587
00:31:01,717 --> 00:31:04,209
I think he liked the fact
that we were doing something
588
00:31:04,253 --> 00:31:06,552
in the face
of a lot of adversity
589
00:31:06,589 --> 00:31:08,922
and that we believed in.
590
00:31:08,958 --> 00:31:13,862
LAWRENCE:
Max takes us to the top
of this hill, and there it is!
591
00:31:13,896 --> 00:31:16,456
A natural amphitheater.
592
00:31:16,498 --> 00:31:20,560
Michael and I looked
at each other: "This is it!"
593
00:31:20,603 --> 00:31:23,573
SPITZ:
This was exactly
what they were looking for,
594
00:31:23,606 --> 00:31:27,976
and they made a deal with Max
right there on the spot.
595
00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:37,410
♪♪
596
00:31:40,289 --> 00:31:42,918
ROBERTS:
Joel and I went up
to get some kind of a handle
597
00:31:42,958 --> 00:31:44,927
on the town politics.
598
00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:47,272
(chuckles):
We sure didn't want to get
into the same problem there
599
00:31:47,296 --> 00:31:50,061
as we had in Wallkill.
600
00:31:50,099 --> 00:31:55,094
ROSENMAN:
We were asked to fill out
our attendance expectations
601
00:31:55,137 --> 00:31:57,299
on the permit application.
602
00:31:57,339 --> 00:31:59,433
We used Monterey Pop's record,
603
00:31:59,475 --> 00:32:02,968
28,000 people a day,
or something like that,
604
00:32:03,012 --> 00:32:06,141
as the baseline.
605
00:32:06,181 --> 00:32:07,479
We multiplied it times two,
606
00:32:07,516 --> 00:32:09,508
and said, you know,
"In our wildest dreams,
607
00:32:09,551 --> 00:32:11,213
this is what we're hoping for."
608
00:32:11,253 --> 00:32:15,623
And within a couple of days,
we got our permits.
609
00:32:17,926 --> 00:32:20,452
MIRIAM YASGUR:
A sign was erected
near our house,
610
00:32:20,496 --> 00:32:22,089
and it said something like,
611
00:32:22,131 --> 00:32:24,760
"Don't buy Yasgur's milk,
he loves the hippies."
612
00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:28,100
And I thought to myself,
"You don't know Max,
613
00:32:28,137 --> 00:32:31,198
because we're going to have
a festival."
614
00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:33,505
RADIO ANNOUNCER:
The Woodstock Music
and Art Fair,
615
00:32:33,542 --> 00:32:35,738
the three-day
Aquarian Exposition,
616
00:32:35,778 --> 00:32:38,680
will be held at White Lake,
617
00:32:38,714 --> 00:32:41,149
in the town of Bethel,
Sullivan County, New York.
618
00:32:41,183 --> 00:32:44,312
And on Friday, August 15,
you'll hear and see:
619
00:32:44,353 --> 00:32:46,720
Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie,
620
00:32:46,755 --> 00:32:51,125
Tim Hardin, Richie Havens,
the Incredible String Band...
621
00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:54,153
("Wasn't Born to Follow"
by the Byrds playing)
622
00:32:54,196 --> 00:32:57,030
ROBERTS:
Everyone felt excited
623
00:32:57,066 --> 00:32:58,830
about the possibilities
of the new site,
624
00:32:58,867 --> 00:33:01,701
but there was a lot to be done.
625
00:33:03,105 --> 00:33:04,971
ROSENMAN:
We had to start all over again
626
00:33:05,007 --> 00:33:09,377
to construct what we had built
in several months in Wallkill
627
00:33:09,411 --> 00:33:11,437
in less than four weeks.
628
00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:13,278
ROBERTS:
The half a million
at the old site
629
00:33:13,315 --> 00:33:15,250
was all down the drain, right?
630
00:33:15,284 --> 00:33:18,379
And we have to put
another $800,000 into this one.
631
00:33:18,420 --> 00:33:21,913
Building a stage, getting the
lights and the sound system up,
632
00:33:21,957 --> 00:33:22,957
fences.
633
00:33:22,991 --> 00:33:24,220
Food concessions.
634
00:33:24,259 --> 00:33:27,058
Portable toilets...
I mean, it was extraordinary.
635
00:33:27,096 --> 00:33:31,056
And Joel and I had never done
any of this before.
636
00:33:31,100 --> 00:33:33,695
ROSENMAN:
But because of ticket sales,
637
00:33:33,736 --> 00:33:37,901
we actually felt that we were
gonna turn a profit.
638
00:33:37,940 --> 00:33:40,307
SPITZ:
They knew by this time
that there were going to be
639
00:33:40,342 --> 00:33:43,210
more than just 50,000 people.
640
00:33:43,245 --> 00:33:46,875
Ticket sales looked like it was
going to be closer to 100,000.
641
00:33:46,915 --> 00:33:49,612
And with 100,000
stoned-out kids,
642
00:33:49,651 --> 00:33:53,645
they knew that there could be
some difficulties.
643
00:33:53,689 --> 00:33:58,389
REPORTER:
There's been some trouble
at a few of the pop festivals.
644
00:33:58,427 --> 00:34:00,123
What do you think
brings that about?
645
00:34:00,162 --> 00:34:02,461
Why will it happen at one place
and not another?
646
00:34:02,498 --> 00:34:04,626
PAUL BUTTERFIELD:
You know, I, I really
don't know.
647
00:34:04,666 --> 00:34:07,363
Like, in Miami,
they broke down the fence,
648
00:34:07,402 --> 00:34:10,304
and they had a lot of fights.
649
00:34:10,339 --> 00:34:11,583
REPORTER:
Do you think it has anything
650
00:34:11,607 --> 00:34:13,074
to do with the size
of the audience?
651
00:34:13,108 --> 00:34:15,085
I think it has to do a little
bit to do with the size.
652
00:34:15,110 --> 00:34:18,877
It has more to do with the way
the festival is organized.
653
00:34:18,914 --> 00:34:21,713
WES POMEROY:
To see what was really
happening,
654
00:34:21,750 --> 00:34:24,185
we sent people to almost
all the major rock festivals
655
00:34:24,219 --> 00:34:25,710
that summer.
656
00:34:25,754 --> 00:34:28,087
They went to Atlanta,
657
00:34:28,123 --> 00:34:30,786
they went to Denver,
658
00:34:30,826 --> 00:34:33,728
and they went to Newport.
659
00:34:33,762 --> 00:34:36,322
And every one,
there were problems.
660
00:34:36,364 --> 00:34:39,096
They had teargas used in Denver,
661
00:34:39,134 --> 00:34:41,899
they had violence
in Los Angeles County.
662
00:34:41,937 --> 00:34:44,668
So, back in New York,
they kept insisting
663
00:34:44,706 --> 00:34:49,041
that they needed to have
security people for safety.
664
00:34:49,077 --> 00:34:51,170
I told John
that all the cops in the world
665
00:34:51,213 --> 00:34:53,045
weren't going
to prevent violence.
666
00:34:53,081 --> 00:34:56,916
It had to depend upon building
the kind of expectation
667
00:34:56,952 --> 00:34:59,285
and the feeling of this event
we're gonna have
668
00:34:59,321 --> 00:35:03,224
so that people didn't want
to hurt each other.
669
00:35:03,258 --> 00:35:06,820
GOLDSTEIN:
We also knew that there
would be a lot of drugs around
670
00:35:06,862 --> 00:35:08,728
and there would be
a lot of people
671
00:35:08,764 --> 00:35:10,733
who couldn't handle
whatever it was
672
00:35:10,766 --> 00:35:12,826
that they were going to take,
673
00:35:12,868 --> 00:35:16,498
and that that had
to be dealt with, as well.
674
00:35:16,538 --> 00:35:17,562
(gong rings)
675
00:35:17,606 --> 00:35:18,904
Hi, there.
676
00:35:18,941 --> 00:35:20,637
Uh, my name is Hugh Romney
677
00:35:20,676 --> 00:35:22,804
and I'm going through
a series of changes
678
00:35:22,845 --> 00:35:26,748
in this fur room
at the Electric Circus store.
679
00:35:26,782 --> 00:35:28,717
What is essentially
on the front of my brain
680
00:35:28,750 --> 00:35:30,719
is this Hog Farm poster,
681
00:35:30,752 --> 00:35:34,519
which we're gonna be moving
all around the country...
682
00:35:34,556 --> 00:35:36,422
"we" being a commune.
683
00:35:36,458 --> 00:35:40,862
ROSENMAN:
Stanley Goldstein suggested
that we look to this...
684
00:35:40,896 --> 00:35:44,560
(laughing):
This commune called
the Hog Farm,
685
00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:46,034
and that we should bring
686
00:35:46,068 --> 00:35:49,596
as many of these folks
to the festival as we can,
687
00:35:49,638 --> 00:35:53,040
and have them handle
our security.
688
00:35:53,075 --> 00:35:56,842
So he went and met
with a fellow named Hugh Romney,
689
00:35:56,879 --> 00:35:59,542
also known as Wavy Gravy.
690
00:35:59,581 --> 00:36:01,516
WAVY GRAVY:
We'd been driving around
the country,
691
00:36:01,550 --> 00:36:02,813
putting on these shows.
692
00:36:02,851 --> 00:36:04,342
We had a certain skill
693
00:36:04,386 --> 00:36:07,083
with working with large crowds.
694
00:36:07,122 --> 00:36:09,557
We were a happening.
695
00:36:09,591 --> 00:36:11,457
(guitar playing, bell clanging)
696
00:36:11,493 --> 00:36:15,225
So Stan Goldstein showed up
and says, "How would you guys
697
00:36:15,264 --> 00:36:19,360
like to do this music festival
in New York State?"
698
00:36:19,401 --> 00:36:20,562
And we said, "Well,
699
00:36:20,602 --> 00:36:22,594
"it sounds like a good time,
700
00:36:22,638 --> 00:36:25,107
but we're gonna be
in New Mexico."
701
00:36:25,140 --> 00:36:27,837
And he says, "That's all right,
702
00:36:27,876 --> 00:36:31,005
we'll fly you in
in an Astrojet."
703
00:36:31,046 --> 00:36:36,610
And indeed, 85 of us boarded
this American Airlines Astrojet
704
00:36:36,652 --> 00:36:38,985
going to Woodstock.
705
00:36:39,021 --> 00:36:41,957
TOM LAW:
We all arrived
at the Albuquerque airport
706
00:36:41,990 --> 00:36:44,585
and loaded up a couple of sets
of teepee poles
707
00:36:44,626 --> 00:36:48,722
and flew off to New York.
708
00:36:48,764 --> 00:36:52,929
WAVY GRAVY (laughing):
The stewardesses locked themself
in a little room,
709
00:36:52,968 --> 00:36:55,631
and we just took over the plane.
710
00:36:55,671 --> 00:36:59,267
("Apricot Brandy"
by Rhinoceros playing)
711
00:36:59,308 --> 00:37:02,938
We got to New York City,
piled off the aircraft,
712
00:37:02,978 --> 00:37:06,244
and there was the press.
713
00:37:06,281 --> 00:37:09,615
What is the Hog Farm going to be
doing in Woodstock?
714
00:37:09,651 --> 00:37:13,952
Well, the Hog Farm
is a many-sided, multi...
715
00:37:13,989 --> 00:37:15,924
We're a kind of a family,
716
00:37:15,958 --> 00:37:17,586
a huge expanded family.
717
00:37:17,626 --> 00:37:19,117
And we could do any number
of things,
718
00:37:19,161 --> 00:37:21,357
because each one of us
is gonna do a different thing.
719
00:37:21,396 --> 00:37:23,365
But mostly we're just gonna
try and be groovy,
720
00:37:23,398 --> 00:37:25,629
and spread that grooviness
through everybody.
721
00:37:25,667 --> 00:37:27,966
Well, the Hog Farm has been
hassled by security people,
722
00:37:28,003 --> 00:37:29,447
and they're calling you
security people,
723
00:37:29,471 --> 00:37:32,532
so how do you feel
about the, you know, the name?
724
00:37:32,574 --> 00:37:33,906
Well, I feel secure.
725
00:37:33,942 --> 00:37:35,774
I don't know what
"security people" means.
726
00:37:35,811 --> 00:37:37,677
I never was called
a security person before.
727
00:37:37,713 --> 00:37:39,113
It's, like, you're
the first person
728
00:37:39,147 --> 00:37:41,412
that's ever called me that...
How do you feel?
729
00:37:41,450 --> 00:37:42,418
(laughs)
730
00:37:42,451 --> 00:37:43,783
Well, I feel..
731
00:37:43,819 --> 00:37:45,185
Do you feel secure?
732
00:37:45,220 --> 00:37:46,188
(all laughing)
733
00:37:46,221 --> 00:37:47,780
ROBERTS:
There was a picture
734
00:37:47,823 --> 00:37:49,416
in the Post the next day.
735
00:37:49,458 --> 00:37:52,951
My father called and said,
"Nice cops you've hired."
736
00:37:52,995 --> 00:37:55,021
He thought that I was
really out of my mind,
737
00:37:55,063 --> 00:37:57,726
to be involved in this thing.
738
00:38:00,068 --> 00:38:03,266
♪♪
739
00:38:07,242 --> 00:38:10,076
(kids shouting)
740
00:38:18,587 --> 00:38:21,299
MARION VASSMER:
We're a small town, we'll never
have all those people here.
741
00:38:21,323 --> 00:38:24,521
They'll never...
they'll never be here, you know.
742
00:38:24,559 --> 00:38:26,619
I didn't believe it.
743
00:38:26,661 --> 00:38:29,392
♪♪
744
00:38:29,431 --> 00:38:31,109
ARTHUR VASSMER:
That's all you heard
on the radio.
745
00:38:31,133 --> 00:38:34,934
"Woodstock, town of Bethel,
Woodstock," you know?
746
00:38:34,970 --> 00:38:36,314
And ha-ha,
we're all laughing, you know?
747
00:38:36,338 --> 00:38:37,966
And a guy come to me,
he says, "Look out,
748
00:38:38,006 --> 00:38:39,417
this might be something bigger
than you thought."
749
00:38:39,441 --> 00:38:41,171
I've been here all my life,
you know?
750
00:38:41,209 --> 00:38:43,576
They're talking about
hundreds of thousands of people,
751
00:38:43,612 --> 00:38:44,841
and so on and so forth.
752
00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:46,746
We never saw that in this town.
753
00:38:46,782 --> 00:38:49,251
♪♪
754
00:38:57,392 --> 00:38:59,520
DEBRA CONWAY:
There was a certain backlash,
755
00:38:59,561 --> 00:39:03,259
but mostly, you know, it was
kind of a daily little buzz
756
00:39:03,298 --> 00:39:05,290
from the locals.
757
00:39:06,968 --> 00:39:08,903
LOUIS RATNER:
We started to hear rumors
758
00:39:08,937 --> 00:39:10,929
that this thing was more or less
out of hand
759
00:39:10,972 --> 00:39:12,304
because no one knew
760
00:39:12,340 --> 00:39:15,139
the amount of tickets
that were sold.
761
00:39:15,177 --> 00:39:21,083
One time they said 25,000,
and then it was, it was 150,000,
762
00:39:21,116 --> 00:39:23,051
and then they don't know,
763
00:39:23,085 --> 00:39:25,316
and it got to a point where, uh,
764
00:39:25,353 --> 00:39:28,084
you started to get
a little worried about it.
765
00:39:33,428 --> 00:39:39,231
♪♪
766
00:39:47,209 --> 00:39:49,678
MORRIS:
It was early August
767
00:39:49,711 --> 00:39:51,873
and we were about a week out
768
00:39:51,913 --> 00:39:54,610
from the beginning
of the festival,
769
00:39:54,649 --> 00:39:57,847
when, all of a sudden,
people started showing up.
770
00:39:57,886 --> 00:40:03,291
(people talking in background)
771
00:40:03,325 --> 00:40:04,918
♪♪
772
00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:06,656
MIRIAM YASGUR:
About a week before,
773
00:40:06,695 --> 00:40:07,905
they started showing up
in small groups
774
00:40:07,929 --> 00:40:09,522
and camping and so on,
775
00:40:09,564 --> 00:40:12,363
and the thing that Max and I
were trying to figure out is,
776
00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:17,100
they hadn't gotten the fence
around the field.
777
00:40:17,139 --> 00:40:19,540
And we thought, "Boy,
they'd better rush and do that
778
00:40:19,574 --> 00:40:22,408
if they want to sell tickets
to this thing."
779
00:40:22,444 --> 00:40:28,543
♪♪
780
00:40:33,288 --> 00:40:35,052
ROSENMAN:
In the last week,
781
00:40:35,090 --> 00:40:37,457
if you saw what was going on,
you were immediately aware
782
00:40:37,492 --> 00:40:40,724
that it couldn't possibly
be finished in time.
783
00:40:40,762 --> 00:40:42,060
On Monday,
784
00:40:42,097 --> 00:40:44,965
everything was
in a state of preparation
785
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:46,866
roughly on target for a festival
786
00:40:46,902 --> 00:40:48,996
to be thrown
some time in November,
787
00:40:49,037 --> 00:40:53,065
and not for one that was
supposed to begin in four days.
788
00:40:54,376 --> 00:40:56,242
Let's clear the road, please!
789
00:40:56,278 --> 00:41:00,238
BEREN:
We showed up three days
before the festival opened,
790
00:41:00,282 --> 00:41:03,684
because that's what we were
supposed to do as food handlers.
791
00:41:03,718 --> 00:41:05,846
It was thrown together
at the last minute,
792
00:41:05,887 --> 00:41:09,949
so we had to build our own food
stands before we manned them.
793
00:41:09,991 --> 00:41:11,619
ROBERTS:
We have spoken
794
00:41:11,660 --> 00:41:15,028
to a lot of different
food concession people,
795
00:41:15,063 --> 00:41:17,362
and all of them,
the legitimate guys,
796
00:41:17,399 --> 00:41:20,096
went by the wayside
when we lost Wallkill.
797
00:41:20,135 --> 00:41:24,903
What was left was an outfit
called Food for Love.
798
00:41:24,940 --> 00:41:27,808
There were three of them...
Three guys.
799
00:41:27,842 --> 00:41:29,174
I think one of them
800
00:41:29,211 --> 00:41:30,688
had some kind of food catering
experience.
801
00:41:30,712 --> 00:41:34,308
I don't think the other two did.
802
00:41:34,349 --> 00:41:38,150
But we didn't have
any alternative.
803
00:41:40,021 --> 00:41:41,512
ROSENMAN:
I think it was Tuesday,
804
00:41:41,556 --> 00:41:43,320
the construction foreman
tells us,
805
00:41:43,358 --> 00:41:46,294
"We just don't have enough time
to finish everything.
806
00:41:46,328 --> 00:41:48,923
"So which would you like
to have us finish,
807
00:41:48,964 --> 00:41:52,799
"the gates and the fences,
or the stage?
808
00:41:52,834 --> 00:41:56,862
We don't have enough men
and material to do both."
809
00:41:56,905 --> 00:42:01,138
I remember thinking, "If we
don't have gates and fences,
810
00:42:01,176 --> 00:42:04,112
"then we're not gonna
collect tickets.
811
00:42:04,145 --> 00:42:07,547
"We'll be bankrupt.
812
00:42:07,582 --> 00:42:10,643
"And if we don't have a stage,
we'll be in jail.
813
00:42:10,685 --> 00:42:14,144
(laughing):
"Because there will be
100,000 kids running around
814
00:42:14,189 --> 00:42:15,748
"with nothing to do.
815
00:42:15,790 --> 00:42:17,816
For three days."
816
00:42:17,859 --> 00:42:19,157
So that was the answer.
817
00:42:19,194 --> 00:42:21,390
The answer was,
"Build the stage."
818
00:42:23,732 --> 00:42:25,667
(welding torch buzzing)
819
00:42:25,700 --> 00:42:27,828
TICIA AGRI:
I'd go there
in the middle of the night
820
00:42:27,869 --> 00:42:30,270
and people were building
the stage.
821
00:42:30,305 --> 00:42:33,002
It was going 24 hours.
822
00:42:34,376 --> 00:42:35,936
MONCK:
There was obviously
so much to do,
823
00:42:35,977 --> 00:42:38,776
and so little time
in which to do it,
824
00:42:38,813 --> 00:42:43,080
we had all come to realize
that all of our individual jobs
825
00:42:43,118 --> 00:42:45,952
were going to be left
somewhat undone.
826
00:42:45,987 --> 00:42:47,455
So we all kind of banded
together
827
00:42:47,489 --> 00:42:51,426
into one sort of SWAT team
trying to run around and finish.
828
00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:00,831
("You Ain't Goin' Nowhere"
by the Byrds playing)
829
00:43:00,869 --> 00:43:04,465
GEORGE:
I quit my job at the restaurant
in Ocean City with no notice.
830
00:43:04,506 --> 00:43:05,997
(laughs)
831
00:43:06,041 --> 00:43:09,205
I just told them
that I wouldn't be in anymore.
832
00:43:09,244 --> 00:43:10,610
And they said, "Why?"
833
00:43:10,645 --> 00:43:12,739
And I said,
"Well, I'm going to Woodstock."
834
00:43:12,781 --> 00:43:14,977
(song continues)
835
00:43:15,016 --> 00:43:17,349
DAYE:
We didn't get on the road
till around noon,
836
00:43:17,385 --> 00:43:20,753
and by the time
we got to within,
837
00:43:20,789 --> 00:43:25,159
I don't know, miles of Bethel,
838
00:43:25,193 --> 00:43:29,597
the traffic was just,
you know, crawling.
839
00:43:29,631 --> 00:43:32,601
The folks on the road,
the people who lived there,
840
00:43:32,634 --> 00:43:35,900
one would think that they
would throw things at us.
841
00:43:35,937 --> 00:43:37,337
No!
842
00:43:37,372 --> 00:43:39,170
They just welcomed us.
843
00:43:39,207 --> 00:43:43,372
♪ The morning came,
the morning went ♪
844
00:43:43,411 --> 00:43:47,974
KAUFMAN:
Never before in my life
845
00:43:48,016 --> 00:43:53,683
did I feel so much anticipation.
846
00:43:53,722 --> 00:43:55,816
(laughing):
This is going to be so cool!
847
00:43:55,857 --> 00:43:57,917
♪ My bride's gonna come ♪
848
00:43:57,959 --> 00:44:01,396
♪ Oh, ho, are we gonna fly ♪
849
00:44:01,429 --> 00:44:04,957
♪ Down in the easy chair? ♪
850
00:44:25,300 --> 00:44:30,466
STAROBIN:
We were at a dead standstill
for hours.
851
00:44:30,506 --> 00:44:32,372
People just got out
and sat on their cars
852
00:44:32,408 --> 00:44:34,104
and started talking
to each other,
853
00:44:34,143 --> 00:44:36,476
getting to know each other.
854
00:44:36,512 --> 00:44:38,743
You know,
starting long conversations
855
00:44:38,781 --> 00:44:42,081
about politics and about music.
856
00:44:42,117 --> 00:44:47,181
Before long, we felt like we had
hundreds of best friends.
857
00:44:47,222 --> 00:44:48,781
♪ Strap yourself to a tree... ♪
858
00:44:48,824 --> 00:44:50,918
ARTHUR VASSMER:
We were sitting
on the back porch
859
00:44:50,959 --> 00:44:54,259
and my God, the traffic,
all of a sudden, it started.
860
00:44:54,296 --> 00:44:56,197
And I'm telling you,
it never let up.
861
00:44:56,231 --> 00:44:58,200
We just opened the one door.
862
00:44:58,233 --> 00:44:59,201
But you couldn't let them in.
863
00:44:59,234 --> 00:45:00,759
It was impossible.
864
00:45:00,803 --> 00:45:02,965
And we let 40 or 50 people
at a time,
865
00:45:03,005 --> 00:45:05,440
they'd get their groceries
or whatever they needed,
866
00:45:05,474 --> 00:45:06,874
let them out the back,
867
00:45:06,909 --> 00:45:10,368
and then open up the door,
let another 50 in.
868
00:45:10,412 --> 00:45:13,610
And these people, some of them
walked four and five, six miles.
869
00:45:13,649 --> 00:45:16,141
"Where's the Woodstock?
Where's the Woodstock?"
870
00:45:16,185 --> 00:45:17,710
♪ We'll climb that hill ♪
871
00:45:17,753 --> 00:45:21,417
REPORTER:
This sight is hard to believe.
872
00:45:21,457 --> 00:45:23,085
We're over White Lake,
873
00:45:23,125 --> 00:45:26,186
in the midst of this
music festival encampment.
874
00:45:26,228 --> 00:45:28,993
We're up over the trees now,
we're coming in over...
875
00:45:29,031 --> 00:45:32,729
JOE TINKELMAN:
We were on the state highway,
and cars were stopping.
876
00:45:32,768 --> 00:45:36,102
And we realized that this was
parking for the concert,
877
00:45:36,138 --> 00:45:38,198
so we got out of the car
and started walking,
878
00:45:38,240 --> 00:45:41,642
and we saw people
setting up lawn chairs
879
00:45:41,677 --> 00:45:44,442
to watch this spectacle.
880
00:45:44,480 --> 00:45:47,609
(laughing):
It looked like this whole part
of New York state
881
00:45:47,649 --> 00:45:49,550
was just being turned
upside down
882
00:45:49,585 --> 00:45:51,645
by this event.
883
00:45:51,687 --> 00:45:54,521
REPORTER:
The traffic is terrible.
884
00:45:54,556 --> 00:45:56,149
It is backed up from White Lake
885
00:45:56,191 --> 00:45:58,319
right back through
on the Quickway past Monticello,
886
00:45:58,360 --> 00:46:03,992
and there's no place to park...
Everything is full.
887
00:46:04,032 --> 00:46:06,297
REYNOLDS:
They were announcing
on the radio
888
00:46:06,335 --> 00:46:10,329
that you couldn't get there,
and, you know, "Don't go."
889
00:46:10,372 --> 00:46:13,137
(laughing):
They were saying,
"Don't go, don't go!
890
00:46:13,175 --> 00:46:15,235
"You can't get in,
it's already overcrowded,
891
00:46:15,277 --> 00:46:18,645
and they're shutting it down,
and turn around and go home."
892
00:46:18,680 --> 00:46:22,742
(laughing):
Nobody was turning around.
893
00:46:22,785 --> 00:46:26,620
It sort of increased
our desire, more than anything.
894
00:46:26,655 --> 00:46:29,090
Like, one way or another,
we'll get there.
895
00:46:32,861 --> 00:46:38,493
("Get Together"
by the Youngbloods playing)
896
00:46:40,402 --> 00:46:46,569
(people talking in background)
897
00:46:48,343 --> 00:46:52,678
♪ Love is but a song to sing ♪
898
00:46:52,714 --> 00:46:54,649
♪ Fear's the way we die ♪
899
00:46:54,683 --> 00:46:57,585
LINDSEY:
As you walked in, it hit you.
900
00:46:57,619 --> 00:46:59,815
Suddenly, it just all
came into view at once.
901
00:46:59,855 --> 00:47:02,347
♪ You can make
the mountains ring ♪
902
00:47:02,391 --> 00:47:07,830
LINDSEY:
This whole enormous bowl
full of people.
903
00:47:07,863 --> 00:47:12,631
It was mind-boggling.
904
00:47:12,668 --> 00:47:16,605
ROSENMAN:
Coming over the hill and feeling
the energy of that crowd
905
00:47:16,638 --> 00:47:18,903
is something
that I'll never forget.
906
00:47:18,941 --> 00:47:22,537
There was so much power in it.
907
00:47:22,578 --> 00:47:24,843
♪ Come on, people now ♪
908
00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:26,348
♪ Smile on your brother ♪
909
00:47:26,381 --> 00:47:28,612
♪ Everybody get together ♪
910
00:47:28,650 --> 00:47:32,052
♪ Try to love one another
right now ♪
911
00:47:32,087 --> 00:47:34,613
STAROBIN:
It was indescribable,
912
00:47:34,656 --> 00:47:38,559
the feeling that came over me
of warmth,
913
00:47:38,594 --> 00:47:42,861
and, "Oh, my God, there are
this many people in the world
914
00:47:42,898 --> 00:47:45,197
that think like I think."
915
00:47:45,234 --> 00:47:47,226
(laughing):
"There are all these people
here!"
916
00:47:47,269 --> 00:47:52,708
I never knew there were
that many people in the world.
917
00:47:52,741 --> 00:47:56,200
("Get Together" continues)
918
00:47:56,245 --> 00:47:59,079
REYNOLDS:
Once we got there,
the fences were just trampled.
919
00:47:59,114 --> 00:48:03,108
We walked up that hill,
and we saw, you know,
920
00:48:03,151 --> 00:48:04,312
all these people.
921
00:48:04,353 --> 00:48:06,754
Our age, looked like us.
922
00:48:06,788 --> 00:48:08,313
Dressed like us.
923
00:48:08,357 --> 00:48:10,849
People... us.
924
00:48:10,893 --> 00:48:13,453
I mean, it was just...
it was...
925
00:48:13,495 --> 00:48:17,899
It was like, you know, meeting
your brothers and sisters.
926
00:48:17,933 --> 00:48:21,597
It was really beautiful.
927
00:48:21,637 --> 00:48:23,833
♪ Come on people now ♪
928
00:48:23,872 --> 00:48:25,431
♪ Smile on your brother ♪
929
00:48:25,474 --> 00:48:27,568
♪ Everybody get together ♪
930
00:48:27,609 --> 00:48:32,206
♪ Try to love one another
right now ♪
931
00:48:32,247 --> 00:48:37,436
♪ Right now ♪
932
00:48:37,519 --> 00:48:39,511
(song ends)
933
00:48:39,554 --> 00:48:42,524
MORRIS (on speaker):
We'll be getting our show on
in about five minutes.
934
00:48:42,557 --> 00:48:44,253
Just keep cool and relax.
935
00:48:44,293 --> 00:48:46,125
We'll be with you
as soon as we can.
936
00:48:46,161 --> 00:48:48,392
Thank you.
937
00:48:48,430 --> 00:48:50,626
Do you realize
that half of these people
938
00:48:50,666 --> 00:48:51,827
don't have tickets,
939
00:48:51,867 --> 00:48:53,211
and there are people
five miles away
940
00:48:53,235 --> 00:48:54,635
sitting on a highway
with tickets
941
00:48:54,670 --> 00:48:56,366
who have driven 2,000
or 3,000 miles?
942
00:48:56,405 --> 00:48:58,636
Whatever has to be done
to make it right,
943
00:48:58,674 --> 00:49:00,370
this is wrong.
MAN:
Yeah.
944
00:49:00,409 --> 00:49:04,210
ROBERTS:
It was obvious
we were in deep shit.
945
00:49:04,246 --> 00:49:06,238
After having worked
that afternoon,
946
00:49:06,281 --> 00:49:08,841
trying to organize people
to put the fences up,
947
00:49:08,884 --> 00:49:10,750
and actually pounding in posts
myself,
948
00:49:10,786 --> 00:49:13,517
I realized it wasn't going
to happen.
949
00:49:13,555 --> 00:49:15,683
We weren't going to be able
to ring
950
00:49:15,724 --> 00:49:18,421
about a mile of perimeter.
951
00:49:18,460 --> 00:49:20,939
MORRIS:
What are you going to tell
a few hundred thousand people
952
00:49:20,963 --> 00:49:22,829
who are sitting in your field
953
00:49:22,864 --> 00:49:24,342
when you're supposed to be
collecting money from them?
954
00:49:24,366 --> 00:49:25,977
"Go back out and come back in
when we get the tickets
955
00:49:26,001 --> 00:49:28,300
and we finish the fences
and the rest of it"?
956
00:49:28,337 --> 00:49:31,796
You are now giving the world's
greatest three-day freebie.
957
00:49:31,840 --> 00:49:33,206
That's what it is.
958
00:49:33,241 --> 00:49:35,039
No, there's a way to do it.
There is no way.
959
00:49:35,077 --> 00:49:36,409
MORRIS:
Artie came up with,
960
00:49:36,445 --> 00:49:38,209
"Can't we get a whole bunch
of girls,
961
00:49:38,246 --> 00:49:39,646
"and put them
in diaphanous gowns
962
00:49:39,681 --> 00:49:40,959
"and give them
collection baskets,
963
00:49:40,983 --> 00:49:42,542
and send them out
into the audience?"
964
00:49:42,584 --> 00:49:48,353
It was the most ludicrous thing
I had ever heard in my life.
965
00:49:48,390 --> 00:49:51,258
ROBERTS:
As a business venture,
it was dead.
966
00:49:51,293 --> 00:49:55,822
And I don't know why, but sort
of a curious calm overcame us,
967
00:49:55,864 --> 00:49:58,356
and it seemed like the gates
968
00:49:58,400 --> 00:50:02,098
just weren't really
what was important here anymore.
969
00:50:02,137 --> 00:50:04,299
MORRIS (on speaker):
It's a free concert from now on.
970
00:50:04,339 --> 00:50:05,568
(crowd cheering)
971
00:50:05,607 --> 00:50:08,577
That doesn't mean
that anything goes.
972
00:50:08,610 --> 00:50:12,445
What that means is, we're gonna
put the music up here for free.
973
00:50:12,481 --> 00:50:15,883
What it means is that the people
who are backing this thing,
974
00:50:15,917 --> 00:50:17,647
who put up the money for it,
975
00:50:17,686 --> 00:50:18,654
are gonna take a bit of a bath.
976
00:50:18,687 --> 00:50:19,746
A big bath.
977
00:50:19,788 --> 00:50:21,120
That's no hype.
978
00:50:21,156 --> 00:50:24,024
That's truth...
They're gonna get hurt.
979
00:50:24,059 --> 00:50:25,755
But what it means
is that these people
980
00:50:25,794 --> 00:50:28,389
have it in their heads
981
00:50:28,430 --> 00:50:31,832
that your welfare is
a hell of a lot more important...
982
00:50:31,867 --> 00:50:34,496
And the music is...
Than a dollar.
983
00:50:34,536 --> 00:50:39,372
(crowd cheering and applauding)
984
00:50:39,408 --> 00:50:41,673
BEREN:
The roar that went up
from that crowd
985
00:50:41,710 --> 00:50:44,373
was incredible.
986
00:50:44,413 --> 00:50:47,076
Despite its roots
987
00:50:47,115 --> 00:50:49,016
in trying to be
a capitalist enterprise,
988
00:50:49,051 --> 00:50:50,952
the concert was liberated.
989
00:50:50,986 --> 00:50:52,063
(coins clinking,
people talking in background)
990
00:50:52,087 --> 00:50:53,282
You don't even have to bother
991
00:50:53,321 --> 00:50:54,846
bringing your tickets
or anything,
992
00:50:54,890 --> 00:50:56,825
because they aren't going
to collect them.
993
00:50:56,858 --> 00:50:58,918
There's no way they can.
994
00:50:58,960 --> 00:51:00,952
They got a fence
that's, like, half up,
995
00:51:00,996 --> 00:51:03,329
and there are people
just sitting in that field.
996
00:51:03,365 --> 00:51:04,731
It's really beautiful.
997
00:51:04,766 --> 00:51:06,496
MAN (on speaker):
We're still waiting
998
00:51:06,535 --> 00:51:07,833
for the arrival of group one.
999
00:51:07,869 --> 00:51:09,838
Now, please bear with us.
1000
00:51:09,871 --> 00:51:11,305
Due to the traffic problems,
1001
00:51:11,339 --> 00:51:13,968
we're going to have to start
a little later.
1002
00:51:14,009 --> 00:51:16,501
MORRIS:
The bands were all
in different hotels,
1003
00:51:16,545 --> 00:51:18,514
and if you tried to drive
down to the site,
1004
00:51:18,547 --> 00:51:21,642
it would take you six hours
to do it.
1005
00:51:21,683 --> 00:51:25,176
It became obvious
that we needed helicopters.
1006
00:51:25,220 --> 00:51:27,985
But then
Richie Havens showed up,
1007
00:51:28,023 --> 00:51:31,460
and it was, like,
"Richie, please go on now."
1008
00:51:31,493 --> 00:51:34,088
And he said, "I'm not scheduled
to go on till later."
1009
00:51:34,129 --> 00:51:37,861
I said, "Richie,
we don't have anybody else."
1010
00:51:37,899 --> 00:51:40,266
HAVENS:
I actually was afraid
to go on first,
1011
00:51:40,302 --> 00:51:44,296
basically because I knew
the concert was late
1012
00:51:44,339 --> 00:51:46,831
and I didn't want to get
beer cans thrown at me.
1013
00:51:46,875 --> 00:51:48,639
You know, "Don't do this to me.
1014
00:51:48,677 --> 00:51:51,875
"Don't put me in front of your
problem like this," you know?
1015
00:51:51,913 --> 00:51:54,542
"My bass player
isn't even here."
1016
00:51:54,583 --> 00:51:58,350
But I went on, you know,
and it was beautiful.
1017
00:51:58,386 --> 00:52:02,016
♪ Hey, look yonder,
tell me what's that you see ♪
1018
00:52:02,057 --> 00:52:05,858
♪ Marching to the fields
of Concord? ♪
1019
00:52:05,894 --> 00:52:10,229
♪ Looks like Handsome Johnny
with his flintlock in his hand ♪
1020
00:52:10,265 --> 00:52:13,463
♪ Marching to the Concord war ♪
1021
00:52:13,502 --> 00:52:16,836
♪ Hey, marching
to the Concord war ♪
1022
00:52:16,872 --> 00:52:20,604
BEREN:
Once the festival started,
we opened the food stands.
1023
00:52:20,642 --> 00:52:24,670
And a throng of people
came running up the hill.
1024
00:52:24,713 --> 00:52:28,150
There were too many people,
too many arms reaching out,
1025
00:52:28,183 --> 00:52:30,414
so we just started
handing out hamburgers.
1026
00:52:30,452 --> 00:52:34,446
And people began to shower us
with joints.
1027
00:52:34,489 --> 00:52:38,051
I had one in each pocket,
one in my ear,
1028
00:52:38,093 --> 00:52:40,858
and I was smoking two at a time.
1029
00:52:40,896 --> 00:52:43,456
I got really high.
1030
00:52:43,498 --> 00:52:45,729
(audience cheering)
1031
00:52:45,767 --> 00:52:48,362
HAVENS:
I was onstage
for something like two hours
1032
00:52:48,403 --> 00:52:50,565
because nobody else was there
to go on.
1033
00:52:50,605 --> 00:52:53,871
(chuckles):
I did about four or five
encores, you know,
1034
00:52:53,909 --> 00:52:55,468
until I had nothing else
to sing.
1035
00:52:55,510 --> 00:52:58,674
And then "Freedom" was created
right there on the stage.
1036
00:52:58,713 --> 00:53:01,239
That's how "Freedom"
was created, onstage.
1037
00:53:01,283 --> 00:53:04,412
It was the last thing I could
think of to sing.
1038
00:53:04,452 --> 00:53:05,818
I made it up.
1039
00:53:05,854 --> 00:53:10,918
(playing opening to "Freedom")
1040
00:53:16,998 --> 00:53:20,833
CAROL GREEN:
I remember hearing Richie Havens
1041
00:53:20,869 --> 00:53:23,304
Playing "Freedom."
1042
00:53:23,338 --> 00:53:25,273
And I was way up on the hill,
1043
00:53:25,307 --> 00:53:28,334
and I heard it,
and I was transported.
1044
00:53:28,376 --> 00:53:31,938
HAVENS:
♪ Freedom, freedom ♪
1045
00:53:31,980 --> 00:53:35,314
♪ Freedom, freedom ♪
1046
00:53:35,350 --> 00:53:37,216
GEORGE:
It's a good word to use.
1047
00:53:37,252 --> 00:53:40,450
It wasn't just the freedom
of being able to smoke a joint,
1048
00:53:40,488 --> 00:53:44,516
it was the freedom of being able
to be who you were.
1049
00:53:44,559 --> 00:53:47,324
Not feeling that somebody
was going to judge you
1050
00:53:47,362 --> 00:53:49,263
or threaten you.
1051
00:53:49,297 --> 00:53:53,393
So, yeah, freedom
on a lot of levels.
1052
00:53:53,435 --> 00:53:57,497
("Freedom" continues,
audience clapping to rhythm)
1053
00:53:59,374 --> 00:54:02,173
AGRI:
I left the backstage area
and I went into the crowd,
1054
00:54:02,210 --> 00:54:05,078
and I went up, and I got
in the middle of the crowd,
1055
00:54:05,113 --> 00:54:08,345
and that was, like,
"Wow, look what we've done.
1056
00:54:08,383 --> 00:54:12,184
We actually pulled it off,
and it's happening."
1057
00:54:12,220 --> 00:54:14,155
MORRIS (on speaker):
What better way to start
1058
00:54:14,189 --> 00:54:15,919
than with the beautiful
Richie Havens?
1059
00:54:15,957 --> 00:54:18,449
MORRIS:
The audience reaction
was just wonderful.
1060
00:54:18,493 --> 00:54:21,361
It just brought the spirit
right up and you felt,
1061
00:54:21,396 --> 00:54:22,921
"Okay, this is going to work.
1062
00:54:22,964 --> 00:54:24,193
We're going to be okay."
1063
00:54:25,166 --> 00:54:26,395
And then, thank God,
1064
00:54:26,434 --> 00:54:29,233
we got the helicopter rotation
working,
1065
00:54:29,271 --> 00:54:31,831
and started to get people in.
1066
00:54:31,873 --> 00:54:35,640
MAN (on speaker):
We apologize for the noise
of the choppity-choppity,
1067
00:54:35,677 --> 00:54:38,909
but it seems there are
a few cars blocking the road,
1068
00:54:38,947 --> 00:54:41,542
so we're flying everybody in.
1069
00:54:41,583 --> 00:54:44,781
SPITZ:
Once the artists started
arriving,
1070
00:54:44,819 --> 00:54:47,846
the first band to go on
was Sweetwater,
1071
00:54:47,889 --> 00:54:51,087
followed by the acoustic acts.
1072
00:54:51,126 --> 00:54:55,655
(Sweetwater playing
"What’s Wrong")
1073
00:55:00,735 --> 00:55:04,228
(strumming opening to
"Joe Hill," crowd cheering)
1074
00:55:07,442 --> 00:55:13,609
♪ I dreamed I saw Joe Hill
last night ♪
1075
00:55:13,648 --> 00:55:17,346
♪ Alive as you and me ♪
1076
00:55:17,385 --> 00:55:19,479
BARNARD COLLIER:
It was after midnight,
1077
00:55:19,521 --> 00:55:22,184
and in fact,
it was starting to rain.
1078
00:55:22,223 --> 00:55:25,591
All through the crowd,
there were matches
1079
00:55:25,627 --> 00:55:28,153
and cigarette lighters
and candles,
1080
00:55:28,196 --> 00:55:31,132
and it looked like fireflies.
1081
00:55:31,166 --> 00:55:32,532
BAEZ:
♪ "I never died," says he ♪
1082
00:55:32,567 --> 00:55:34,468
CHRIS MOORE:
The field was illuminated.
1083
00:55:34,502 --> 00:55:38,769
Not as bright as the blue light
on Joan Baez on the stage,
1084
00:55:38,807 --> 00:55:42,209
but the immediate impact
was the size of that crowd.
1085
00:55:42,243 --> 00:55:44,712
("Joe Hill" continues)
1086
00:55:44,746 --> 00:55:49,309
MOORE:
There was nothing in that field
but human beings.
1087
00:55:49,351 --> 00:55:52,378
(song ends, crowd cheers)
1088
00:55:52,420 --> 00:55:56,084
MORRIS:
Joan Baez was just wonderful.
1089
00:55:56,124 --> 00:55:59,583
She ended that night
in a drizzle.
1090
00:55:59,627 --> 00:56:03,257
I looked out in the field
and saw all these people,
1091
00:56:03,298 --> 00:56:06,757
and it was, like,
"Let's go to sleep."
1092
00:56:06,801 --> 00:56:08,746
MORRIS (on speaker):
Maybe the best thing
for everybody to do,
1093
00:56:08,770 --> 00:56:12,332
unless you have a tent or
some place specific to go to,
1094
00:56:12,374 --> 00:56:16,971
is carve yourself out
a piece of territory,
1095
00:56:17,011 --> 00:56:20,880
say goodnight to your neighbor,
and say thank you to yourself
1096
00:56:20,915 --> 00:56:23,783
for making this the most
peaceful, most pleasant day
1097
00:56:23,818 --> 00:56:27,755
anybody's ever had
in this kind of music.
1098
00:56:27,789 --> 00:56:29,382
(motorcycle engines revving)
1099
00:56:29,424 --> 00:56:30,915
ROBERTS:
Joel and I got on the Hondas.
1100
00:56:30,959 --> 00:56:32,825
And we rode up to a hill
1101
00:56:32,861 --> 00:56:37,492
that was, you know, maybe
a mile away from the stage.
1102
00:56:37,532 --> 00:56:40,331
And in the distance,
you could see hundreds,
1103
00:56:40,368 --> 00:56:42,564
thousands of little campfires.
1104
00:56:42,604 --> 00:56:45,267
It was like an army at rest
before an enormous battle
1105
00:56:45,306 --> 00:56:47,901
the next day.
1106
00:56:47,942 --> 00:56:50,434
It was really beautiful.
1107
00:56:50,478 --> 00:56:52,970
That moment will stay with me
forever.
1108
00:56:53,014 --> 00:56:55,142
♪♪
1109
00:56:59,988 --> 00:57:02,116
(crowd cheering)
1110
00:57:02,157 --> 00:57:04,168
MAN (on microphone):
I guess the reason we're here
is music.
1111
00:57:04,192 --> 00:57:05,455
So let's have some music.
1112
00:57:05,493 --> 00:57:07,485
Ladies and gentlemen, Quill!
1113
00:57:07,529 --> 00:57:13,696
(playing "Waiting for You")
1114
00:57:13,735 --> 00:57:18,139
(band vocalizing)
1115
00:57:18,173 --> 00:57:19,383
LINDSEY:
The first day of the festival,
1116
00:57:19,407 --> 00:57:21,069
there were a lot
of people there.
1117
00:57:21,109 --> 00:57:24,204
Maybe 250,000, 300,000 people.
1118
00:57:24,245 --> 00:57:26,544
That was the folk day.
1119
00:57:26,581 --> 00:57:29,176
The second day of the concert
was the rock'n'roll day.
1120
00:57:29,217 --> 00:57:32,210
That's when everyone showed up.
1121
00:57:32,253 --> 00:57:34,415
They wanted to see the Who,
Airplane,
1122
00:57:34,456 --> 00:57:36,721
the Dead, later that night.
1123
00:57:36,758 --> 00:57:42,356
So the crowd grew
by about a hundred thousand.
1124
00:57:42,397 --> 00:57:44,161
DILLS:
Holy shit, this thing
1125
00:57:44,199 --> 00:57:48,364
is way beyond
what we ever could've imagined.
1126
00:57:48,403 --> 00:57:50,963
We just felt like we were going
to get crushed up
1127
00:57:51,005 --> 00:57:52,234
against the stage,
1128
00:57:52,273 --> 00:57:53,866
and we didn't really want that.
1129
00:57:53,908 --> 00:57:57,436
So like a lot of people, we just
decided to go out exploring,
1130
00:57:57,479 --> 00:58:01,610
walking around to see
what was going on.
1131
00:58:01,649 --> 00:58:03,345
BEREN:
On the periphery of the crowd
1132
00:58:03,384 --> 00:58:06,684
was a two-lane highway
of people,
1133
00:58:06,721 --> 00:58:10,385
and it never stopped moving
for the entire festival.
1134
00:58:10,425 --> 00:58:12,326
People were going
to the food stands,
1135
00:58:12,360 --> 00:58:14,192
they were coming
from the bathroom.
1136
00:58:14,229 --> 00:58:16,892
They were going God knows where.
1137
00:58:18,766 --> 00:58:20,701
GEORGE:
If you just started wandering,
1138
00:58:20,735 --> 00:58:22,829
you'd come across all kinds
of stuff.
1139
00:58:22,871 --> 00:58:24,772
("Buzzin' Fly" by Tim Buckley
playing)
1140
00:58:24,806 --> 00:58:27,970
A lot of it was like
just walking the boardwalk
1141
00:58:28,009 --> 00:58:29,170
and seeing the sights
1142
00:58:29,210 --> 00:58:31,179
and taking in the scene.
1143
00:58:31,212 --> 00:58:33,374
("Buzzin' Fly" continues)
1144
00:58:41,756 --> 00:58:44,920
DILLS:
Walking around,
I remember thinking,
1145
00:58:44,959 --> 00:58:48,521
"Holy shit, there are a lot
of breasts here."
1146
00:58:48,563 --> 00:58:51,727
Most of the nudity I'd seen
previously
1147
00:58:51,766 --> 00:58:54,429
was in Playboy,
1148
00:58:54,469 --> 00:58:57,667
and small bits on a hot date,
1149
00:58:57,705 --> 00:58:59,901
but, you know, really not much.
1150
00:58:59,941 --> 00:59:02,706
And there were a lot of people,
girls and guys,
1151
00:59:02,744 --> 00:59:07,705
who were very, very open
with their lack of clothing.
1152
00:59:07,749 --> 00:59:12,119
Especially down by the water.
1153
00:59:12,153 --> 00:59:16,955
STAROBIN:
The good thing about skinny
dipping is, we all went in.
1154
00:59:16,991 --> 00:59:20,018
Fat, skinny, it didn't matter.
1155
00:59:20,061 --> 00:59:22,394
Nobody looked, nobody cared.
1156
00:59:22,430 --> 00:59:27,664
It was just plain fun.
1157
00:59:27,702 --> 00:59:30,137
("Buzzin' Fly" continues)
1158
00:59:51,300 --> 00:59:52,734
GEORGE:
I was 17.
1159
00:59:52,768 --> 00:59:54,613
Normally, my jaw would be
on the floor, staring,
1160
00:59:54,637 --> 00:59:57,732
but when everything,
to a certain extent,
1161
00:59:57,773 --> 00:59:59,366
is beyond belief to begin with,
1162
00:59:59,408 --> 01:00:01,809
nothing surprises you.
1163
01:00:01,844 --> 01:00:05,781
BUCKLEY:
♪ I remember
how the sun shone down ♪
1164
01:00:05,815 --> 01:00:08,910
GEORGE:
There was kind of a, a path
in the, in the woods
1165
01:00:08,951 --> 01:00:11,921
where people had all kinds
of different shops set up.
1166
01:00:11,954 --> 01:00:16,085
They were selling, you know,
musical stuff,
1167
01:00:16,125 --> 01:00:19,027
and things like beads and crafts
that they had made.
1168
01:00:19,061 --> 01:00:24,432
Hand-tie-dyed clothing,
blown-glass pipes,
1169
01:00:24,467 --> 01:00:26,868
and stuff like that.
1170
01:00:26,902 --> 01:00:30,896
Kind of head shops in the woods,
that sort of thing.
1171
01:00:30,940 --> 01:00:33,910
There was one table set up where
they were just selling pot.
1172
01:00:33,943 --> 01:00:35,241
(chuckles)
1173
01:00:35,277 --> 01:00:37,269
We were well supplied.
1174
01:00:37,313 --> 01:00:38,872
("Buzzin' Fly" continues)
1175
01:00:38,914 --> 01:00:41,611
STAROBIN:
Saturday was kind of a day
1176
01:00:41,650 --> 01:00:44,711
where, you know, we walked,
like, a couple of miles,
1177
01:00:44,754 --> 01:00:46,848
checking things out.
1178
01:00:46,889 --> 01:00:52,157
There was so much happening that
that was almost as interesting
1179
01:00:52,194 --> 01:00:54,390
as seeing the music.
1180
01:00:54,430 --> 01:00:56,262
♪♪
1181
01:00:56,298 --> 01:00:58,995
JABOOLIAN:
Just to the other side,
it was a wooded area.
1182
01:00:59,034 --> 01:01:02,664
Well, that's where the Hog Farm
was set up.
1183
01:01:02,705 --> 01:01:05,368
This was commune life.
1184
01:01:05,407 --> 01:01:07,308
You know, I had heard about it,
1185
01:01:07,343 --> 01:01:10,472
but I had never seen it
in action.
1186
01:01:10,513 --> 01:01:14,746
JAHANARA ROMNEY:
We had been living in a group
for years by then,
1187
01:01:14,784 --> 01:01:18,812
and it was quite
an amazing experiment.
1188
01:01:18,854 --> 01:01:21,722
You know, the understanding
that the people around me
1189
01:01:21,757 --> 01:01:26,320
are all part of the same spirit.
1190
01:01:26,362 --> 01:01:28,558
HENRY DILTZ:
There was, like,
a couple hundred of them
1191
01:01:28,597 --> 01:01:31,692
with all these kids
running around.
1192
01:01:31,734 --> 01:01:34,704
They had teepees and yurts,
you know,
1193
01:01:34,737 --> 01:01:40,301
and all these various
little, you know, dwellings.
1194
01:01:40,342 --> 01:01:44,803
DAYE:
A whole bunch of them came
on all these exotic buses
1195
01:01:44,847 --> 01:01:46,941
that they had painted up.
1196
01:01:46,982 --> 01:01:49,542
It was magical.
1197
01:01:49,585 --> 01:01:53,317
(music playing in distance)
1198
01:01:53,355 --> 01:01:55,551
JABOOLIAN:
And the Hog Farm had built
a small stage.
1199
01:01:55,591 --> 01:01:58,254
And there was music there,
as well.
1200
01:01:58,294 --> 01:02:00,763
I didn't realize that at first.
1201
01:02:00,796 --> 01:02:05,291
GEORGE:
There was always some kind of
musical jam going on over there.
1202
01:02:05,334 --> 01:02:07,360
(playing blues tune)
1203
01:02:07,403 --> 01:02:09,804
Away from the,
the actual concert,
1204
01:02:09,839 --> 01:02:13,469
the Hog Farm was kind
of a center of gravity
1205
01:02:13,509 --> 01:02:16,604
for the festival.
1206
01:02:16,645 --> 01:02:18,773
ROSENMAN:
The Hog Farm turned out to be
1207
01:02:18,814 --> 01:02:21,807
an interesting choice
for security.
1208
01:02:21,851 --> 01:02:25,879
They didn't call themselves
a police force;
1209
01:02:25,921 --> 01:02:28,652
they called themselves
a please force.
1210
01:02:28,691 --> 01:02:32,059
They substituted,
"Hey, you, do this,"
1211
01:02:32,094 --> 01:02:33,926
with, "Would you please do
this?",
1212
01:02:33,963 --> 01:02:36,241
or, "Would it be all right
with you if...?", and so forth.
1213
01:02:36,265 --> 01:02:39,599
Keep back, keep back now,
let them through.
1214
01:02:39,635 --> 01:02:43,003
Everything's got room
to flow here.
1215
01:02:43,038 --> 01:02:45,564
(plays "Que Sera Sera" on kazoo)
1216
01:02:45,608 --> 01:02:50,808
WAVY GRAVY:
The please chiefs
were myself and Tom Law.
1217
01:02:50,846 --> 01:02:52,371
We turned it into fun.
1218
01:02:52,414 --> 01:02:55,680
Oh, yes.
(hums through kazoo)
1219
01:02:55,718 --> 01:02:58,847
ROBERTS:
They gave a nice flavor
to the festival.
1220
01:02:58,888 --> 01:03:01,187
We paid them $18,000.
1221
01:03:01,223 --> 01:03:02,851
I remember that.
1222
01:03:02,892 --> 01:03:04,732
ROSENMAN:
I don't remember paying them
anything.
1223
01:03:04,760 --> 01:03:06,558
I thought we just
chartered the jet.
1224
01:03:06,595 --> 01:03:08,035
ROBERTS:
Maybe that's what that cost.
1225
01:03:08,063 --> 01:03:10,055
Maybe that's where
the 18 grand went.
1226
01:03:10,099 --> 01:03:11,776
ROSENMAN:
They did it just because
they wanted to be there,
1227
01:03:11,800 --> 01:03:13,445
and because they felt
that they could be useful.
1228
01:03:13,469 --> 01:03:15,461
They were really nice people.
1229
01:03:15,504 --> 01:03:19,032
COUNTRY JOE MCDONALD:
♪ One, two, three,
what are we fighting for? ♪
1230
01:03:19,074 --> 01:03:21,566
♪ Don't ask me,
I don't give a damn ♪
1231
01:03:21,610 --> 01:03:23,636
♪ The next stop is Viet Nam ♪
1232
01:03:23,679 --> 01:03:26,877
STAROBIN:
In the afternoon, I kind of
wandered back to the concert.
1233
01:03:26,916 --> 01:03:29,647
I was determined
I was not going to miss
1234
01:03:29,685 --> 01:03:33,383
all these incredible people.
1235
01:03:33,422 --> 01:03:35,891
MCDONALD:
♪ Now come on, mothers,
throughout the land ♪
1236
01:03:35,925 --> 01:03:38,087
♪ Pack your boys off
to Viet Nam ♪
1237
01:03:38,127 --> 01:03:41,097
DEBRA CONWAY:
My boyfriend was draft age.
1238
01:03:41,130 --> 01:03:44,532
And, you know, we had
this future planned out
1239
01:03:44,566 --> 01:03:49,368
and it certainly didn't include
him coming home in a body bag.
1240
01:03:49,405 --> 01:03:51,601
And so, you know, when
Country Joe McDonald got up
1241
01:03:51,640 --> 01:03:53,632
on Saturday afternoon,
1242
01:03:53,676 --> 01:03:56,043
we were right there with him.
1243
01:03:56,078 --> 01:04:00,243
♪ And it's five, six, seven,
open up the pearly gates ♪
1244
01:04:00,282 --> 01:04:03,116
♪ Well, I ain't no time
to wonder why ♪
1245
01:04:03,152 --> 01:04:04,950
♪ Whoopee, we're all goin'
to die! ♪
1246
01:04:04,987 --> 01:04:07,684
All right!
(crowd cheering)
1247
01:04:09,291 --> 01:04:11,123
REYNOLDS:
We were 400,000 kids
on a hillside
1248
01:04:11,160 --> 01:04:13,686
who all were vehemently
against the war.
1249
01:04:13,729 --> 01:04:16,460
And, you know, for me, it was,
like, "These are our people!"
1250
01:04:16,498 --> 01:04:17,522
(chuckles)
1251
01:04:17,566 --> 01:04:19,933
"We found our people!"
1252
01:04:19,969 --> 01:04:22,165
(cheering continues)
1253
01:04:24,840 --> 01:04:27,036
REPORTER:
Are you enjoying the festival?
1254
01:04:27,076 --> 01:04:29,568
Yeah, it's out of sight...
It's beautiful.
1255
01:04:29,611 --> 01:04:33,048
Why did you come
to the festival?
1256
01:04:33,082 --> 01:04:35,677
To see the best music
in the world, man.
1257
01:04:35,718 --> 01:04:41,055
("Soul Sacrifice" by Santana
playing)
1258
01:04:41,090 --> 01:04:43,753
MOORE:
The only bored moment I had
that weekend
1259
01:04:43,792 --> 01:04:46,523
was when Santana was about
to appear,
1260
01:04:46,562 --> 01:04:48,622
and I didn't know
who Santana was.
1261
01:04:48,664 --> 01:04:52,726
And Santana woke me up.
1262
01:04:52,768 --> 01:04:56,864
("Soul Sacrifice" continues)
1263
01:04:56,905 --> 01:05:00,137
JABOOLIAN:
You got... you got drawn
into this music.
1264
01:05:00,175 --> 01:05:02,701
The song was "Soul Sacrifice,"
1265
01:05:02,745 --> 01:05:05,271
which most of us
had never heard before.
1266
01:05:05,314 --> 01:05:10,309
("Soul Sacrifice" continues,
Santana plays guitar solo)
1267
01:05:15,491 --> 01:05:19,087
BEREN:
Listening to it, I felt like
we had gone from civilization
1268
01:05:19,128 --> 01:05:22,565
to some place
where there was no rules.
1269
01:05:22,598 --> 01:05:27,969
And some people took the freedom
to extreme places.
1270
01:05:28,003 --> 01:05:29,733
("Soul Sacrifice" continues)
1271
01:05:29,772 --> 01:05:32,742
GOLDMACHER:
People were there
to have a good time
1272
01:05:32,775 --> 01:05:34,641
and they were doing it.
1273
01:05:34,676 --> 01:05:36,645
Now, it meant a lot of drugs.
1274
01:05:36,678 --> 01:05:42,117
It was mostly marijuana,
hashish, and LSD.
1275
01:05:42,151 --> 01:05:44,211
("Soul Sacrifice" continues)
1276
01:05:44,253 --> 01:05:46,518
COLLIER:
One girl told me
that just standing still,
1277
01:05:46,555 --> 01:05:48,183
she was getting stoned.
1278
01:05:48,223 --> 01:05:53,321
And my guess was that within
a thousand feet of the stage,
1279
01:05:53,362 --> 01:05:55,456
everybody was stoned.
1280
01:05:58,400 --> 01:06:00,528
("Soul Sacrifice" fades)
1281
01:06:00,569 --> 01:06:04,597
GOLDSTEIN:
There were a lot of people
who took a lot of drugs
1282
01:06:04,640 --> 01:06:07,804
in very strenuous circumstances
1283
01:06:07,843 --> 01:06:11,746
and were incapable
of dealing with that.
1284
01:06:11,780 --> 01:06:15,740
The freak-out tents were oases.
1285
01:06:15,784 --> 01:06:20,119
GOLDMACHER:
Wavy Gravy and the Hog Farm were
taking care of bad trips.
1286
01:06:20,155 --> 01:06:24,923
Freak-out tents had been set up
where people could lie down,
1287
01:06:24,960 --> 01:06:26,671
and folks from the Hog Farm
were in there, you know,
1288
01:06:26,695 --> 01:06:28,561
just holding people's hands
1289
01:06:28,597 --> 01:06:31,863
and just really being able
to guide them through it.
1290
01:06:33,435 --> 01:06:35,495
WAVY GRAVY:
We're telling them,
"You know, it's,
1291
01:06:35,537 --> 01:06:37,938
"it's going to be cool, man,
it's going to wear off.
1292
01:06:37,973 --> 01:06:40,636
You took a little acid,
and it's gonna wear off."
1293
01:06:40,676 --> 01:06:43,646
And then when somebody was
near normal to rock 'n' roll,
1294
01:06:43,679 --> 01:06:45,079
we said, "Hold it.
1295
01:06:45,114 --> 01:06:48,243
"Now, you see that brother
coming through the door?
1296
01:06:48,283 --> 01:06:50,115
"That was you three hours ago.
1297
01:06:50,152 --> 01:06:52,451
Now you go and help them out."
1298
01:06:52,488 --> 01:06:57,552
And that's the way the scene
regenerated itself.
1299
01:06:57,593 --> 01:06:59,619
♪♪
1300
01:06:59,661 --> 01:07:02,995
SPITZ:
They always knew that there were
going to be medical problems,
1301
01:07:03,031 --> 01:07:07,230
and they had prepared themselves
as best they could.
1302
01:07:07,269 --> 01:07:10,603
But like everything else
at the festival,
1303
01:07:10,639 --> 01:07:14,269
they were woefully understaffed,
1304
01:07:14,309 --> 01:07:17,837
and an emergency situation
was developing.
1305
01:07:17,880 --> 01:07:20,315
MAN (on speaker):
We need a doctor or a medic,
please,
1306
01:07:20,349 --> 01:07:22,215
over on this side of the stage,
please,
1307
01:07:22,251 --> 01:07:24,277
at your earliest convenience.
1308
01:07:24,319 --> 01:07:28,552
GOLDMACHER:
One of our people
came rushing up to me and said,
1309
01:07:28,590 --> 01:07:31,059
"We're out of medical supplies."
1310
01:07:31,093 --> 01:07:34,188
And I said,
"You've got to be kidding."
1311
01:07:34,229 --> 01:07:37,893
All the panoply of medical
situations you could encounter
1312
01:07:37,933 --> 01:07:40,698
will happen during the course
of 72 hours.
1313
01:07:40,736 --> 01:07:45,071
It's just what happens
in a city of 400,000 people.
1314
01:07:45,107 --> 01:07:48,043
This is a medical disaster
in the making.
1315
01:07:48,076 --> 01:07:50,875
(siren blaring)
1316
01:07:50,913 --> 01:07:53,610
GOLDSTEIN:
Leaving aside for the moment
1317
01:07:53,649 --> 01:07:57,245
those people who were diabetics
who needed insulin and so forth,
1318
01:07:57,286 --> 01:07:59,619
the casualties were mounting.
1319
01:07:59,655 --> 01:08:04,889
♪♪
1320
01:08:04,927 --> 01:08:07,487
MORRIS:
We got a call from
the governor's chief of staff
1321
01:08:07,529 --> 01:08:09,691
telling us that
Rockefeller was considering
1322
01:08:09,731 --> 01:08:13,259
sending in the National Guard.
1323
01:08:13,302 --> 01:08:14,998
SPITZ:
Nelson Rockefeller's office...
1324
01:08:15,037 --> 01:08:16,938
He was the governor
at the time...
1325
01:08:16,970 --> 01:08:19,203
Was in pretty constant
communication
1326
01:08:19,241 --> 01:08:21,073
with the festival people,
1327
01:08:21,109 --> 01:08:23,203
and Rockefeller
was always threatening
1328
01:08:23,245 --> 01:08:26,773
to send in the troops.
1329
01:08:26,814 --> 01:08:28,459
MORRIS:
They said it was a danger
to the community,
1330
01:08:28,483 --> 01:08:30,145
it was a danger
to public health,
1331
01:08:30,185 --> 01:08:32,345
it was a danger to any
damn thing they could think of.
1332
01:08:32,386 --> 01:08:33,877
They wanted to get rid of it.
1333
01:08:33,921 --> 01:08:35,200
And they were stupid enough
to believe
1334
01:08:35,224 --> 01:08:36,920
they could mobilize
the National Guard
1335
01:08:36,959 --> 01:08:38,153
and move these kids out.
1336
01:08:38,193 --> 01:08:39,889
And I kept saying,
1337
01:08:39,928 --> 01:08:41,692
"There's only one way
to do this,
1338
01:08:41,729 --> 01:08:43,858
and that's play it through."
1339
01:08:43,899 --> 01:08:45,742
In the end, there was
an assistant to the governor
1340
01:08:45,767 --> 01:08:47,326
who got it,
1341
01:08:47,368 --> 01:08:50,497
and he said, "What can we do?"
1342
01:08:52,908 --> 01:08:57,675
BARBARA ERSKINE MILLER:
Why are there Army helicopters
flying overhead?
1343
01:08:57,712 --> 01:09:01,309
You know, it looked like what
I saw on the news every night
1344
01:09:01,349 --> 01:09:06,310
in, you know,
the pictures from Vietnam.
1345
01:09:06,354 --> 01:09:09,950
DILLS:
Seeing that
they were military helicopters
1346
01:09:09,992 --> 01:09:11,720
was very disconcerting.
1347
01:09:11,760 --> 01:09:14,490
We didn't know really
why they were flying in.
1348
01:09:14,528 --> 01:09:17,828
You know, is this the start
of a militarization
1349
01:09:17,865 --> 01:09:21,200
to close this thing down?
1350
01:09:21,234 --> 01:09:23,296
MORRIS:
I was standing onstage,
1351
01:09:23,337 --> 01:09:26,033
and I could see these Hueys
coming in.
1352
01:09:26,073 --> 01:09:28,737
There were three or four of them
in a row.
1353
01:09:28,776 --> 01:09:31,609
And all I said was,
"Ladies and gentlemen,
1354
01:09:31,645 --> 01:09:33,673
the United States Army."
1355
01:09:33,715 --> 01:09:36,359
MORRIS (on speaker):
The United States Army has
lent us some medical teams.
1356
01:09:36,385 --> 01:09:42,416
There are 45 doctors
who are here without pay
1357
01:09:42,457 --> 01:09:44,925
because they dig
what this is into.
1358
01:09:44,959 --> 01:09:46,220
They are with us, man.
1359
01:09:46,260 --> 01:09:48,423
They are not against us,
they are with us.
1360
01:09:48,462 --> 01:09:51,331
They're here to give us all
a hand and help us.
1361
01:09:51,365 --> 01:09:54,631
♪♪
1362
01:09:54,670 --> 01:09:57,936
MORRIS:
That sound system was the only
source of communication
1363
01:09:57,972 --> 01:09:59,271
we had with the audience.
1364
01:09:59,307 --> 01:10:00,385
MAN (on speaker):
Elliot from Harvard,
1365
01:10:00,408 --> 01:10:01,417
the hitchhikers you picked up
1366
01:10:01,443 --> 01:10:02,740
need the pills from your car.
1367
01:10:02,778 --> 01:10:05,872
Please go to the
information station right away.
1368
01:10:05,914 --> 01:10:07,258
MORRIS:
What started happening was,
1369
01:10:07,282 --> 01:10:09,751
people would bring messages
to backstage.
1370
01:10:09,783 --> 01:10:11,061
And we did as many of them
as we could
1371
01:10:11,086 --> 01:10:12,314
in between performances.
1372
01:10:12,354 --> 01:10:13,651
MAN (on speaker):
Sidney McGee,
1373
01:10:13,689 --> 01:10:15,954
please come immediately
to backstage right.
1374
01:10:15,990 --> 01:10:18,426
I understand
your wife is having a baby.
1375
01:10:18,459 --> 01:10:19,758
Congratulations.
1376
01:10:19,795 --> 01:10:21,661
Wheat Germ,
1377
01:10:21,697 --> 01:10:24,257
Holly has your bag
with your medicine.
1378
01:10:24,298 --> 01:10:25,733
Please meet
at the information booth
1379
01:10:25,767 --> 01:10:27,235
as soon as you can, please.
1380
01:10:27,269 --> 01:10:30,797
MORRIS:
The information booth
became a center.
1381
01:10:30,838 --> 01:10:32,467
And we just said to people,
1382
01:10:32,507 --> 01:10:36,444
"If you're looking for somebody,
you got to go up there."
1383
01:10:36,478 --> 01:10:39,607
JABOOLIAN:
Everybody would put messages
on it.
1384
01:10:39,648 --> 01:10:41,139
So if you're looking
for somebody,
1385
01:10:41,183 --> 01:10:42,708
or you're trying to get
a ride home,
1386
01:10:42,751 --> 01:10:44,117
or, or whatever,
1387
01:10:44,152 --> 01:10:46,747
you could stick stuff up
on there.
1388
01:10:46,788 --> 01:10:49,257
MAN (on speaker):
Larry Alexander, Cousin Al
is sick.
1389
01:10:49,291 --> 01:10:51,487
Meet near
the information center.
1390
01:10:51,526 --> 01:10:53,392
ROBERTS:
We took a lot of phone calls
1391
01:10:53,428 --> 01:10:54,726
from worried parents,
1392
01:10:54,763 --> 01:10:56,891
wondering what was happening
up there.
1393
01:10:56,932 --> 01:10:58,764
And, you know,
if it was, like, "Call home,"
1394
01:10:58,800 --> 01:11:00,393
we'd relay it to the stage.
1395
01:11:00,435 --> 01:11:01,801
MAN (on speaker):
Helen Savage,
1396
01:11:01,837 --> 01:11:02,998
please call your father
1397
01:11:03,038 --> 01:11:05,837
at the Motel Glory in Woodridge.
1398
01:11:05,874 --> 01:11:10,039
DILLS:
I definitely wondered
if my parents were watching
1399
01:11:10,078 --> 01:11:12,070
and what they thought.
1400
01:11:12,114 --> 01:11:15,278
Because after Friday,
I'd had no contact
1401
01:11:15,317 --> 01:11:17,684
with anybody
from the outside world.
1402
01:11:17,719 --> 01:11:19,244
MAN (on speaker):
The Daily News,
1403
01:11:19,287 --> 01:11:22,189
in rather large headlines,
1404
01:11:22,224 --> 01:11:25,319
"Traffic Uptight at Hippiefest."
1405
01:11:25,360 --> 01:11:26,537
GEORGE:
The stage announcements
1406
01:11:26,561 --> 01:11:29,190
really became our news radio.
1407
01:11:29,231 --> 01:11:30,665
How we found out
1408
01:11:30,699 --> 01:11:32,895
what the outside world
was paying attention to.
1409
01:11:32,934 --> 01:11:36,268
And they would've thought
it was an utter disaster,
1410
01:11:36,304 --> 01:11:39,604
from what they were seeing
in the news and stuff.
1411
01:11:39,641 --> 01:11:44,306
♪♪
1412
01:11:58,560 --> 01:12:01,758
ROSENMAN:
The world expects this
to explode.
1413
01:12:01,797 --> 01:12:04,995
And I remember thinking
to myself, "This is perfect."
1414
01:12:05,033 --> 01:12:07,345
Because there's nothing kids
like better than to disappoint
1415
01:12:07,369 --> 01:12:09,702
what the world thinks
they're going to do.
1416
01:12:09,738 --> 01:12:13,402
MAN (on speaker):
Ladies and gentlemen,
Keef Hartley.
1417
01:12:13,442 --> 01:12:19,814
("Spanish Fly"
by Keef Hartley Band playing)
1418
01:12:23,819 --> 01:12:26,311
("Spanish Fly" continues)
1419
01:12:26,354 --> 01:12:29,017
REYNOLDS:
Late afternoon, the
sun came out, and it was hot.
1420
01:12:29,057 --> 01:12:32,619
And we walked around a bit,
because we got hungry.
1421
01:12:32,661 --> 01:12:36,257
And we quickly discovered
there was no food.
1422
01:12:36,298 --> 01:12:38,893
All the booths were out of food.
1423
01:12:38,934 --> 01:12:40,960
There was nothing.
1424
01:12:41,002 --> 01:12:43,494
BEREN:
We ran out of food.
1425
01:12:43,538 --> 01:12:47,873
Delivery trucks could not get
through the traffic jams,
1426
01:12:47,909 --> 01:12:49,207
so there was no more food.
1427
01:12:49,244 --> 01:12:53,306
No soda, no burgers,
no hot dogs, no nothing.
1428
01:12:53,348 --> 01:12:56,807
And then word spread very fast.
1429
01:12:56,852 --> 01:12:59,583
SPITZ:
Sure, there was
a sanitation crisis,
1430
01:12:59,621 --> 01:13:01,351
and there was a medical crisis,
1431
01:13:01,389 --> 01:13:03,290
but when the food started to go,
1432
01:13:03,325 --> 01:13:05,123
the producers knew
that this could turn
1433
01:13:05,160 --> 01:13:08,358
into an even more immense
problem.
1434
01:13:08,396 --> 01:13:12,094
But something really incredible
happened.
1435
01:13:12,133 --> 01:13:14,227
The people of White Lake
and Bethel
1436
01:13:14,269 --> 01:13:16,204
literally went
in their pantries.
1437
01:13:16,238 --> 01:13:18,036
Anything that was
in the refrigerator,
1438
01:13:18,073 --> 01:13:19,371
anything that was
in the freezer,
1439
01:13:19,407 --> 01:13:21,842
anything that was in the house,
1440
01:13:21,877 --> 01:13:23,106
they contributed.
1441
01:13:23,144 --> 01:13:26,637
MAN:
We got word over WVOS
1442
01:13:26,681 --> 01:13:28,775
that a lot of kids didn't have
anything to eat.
1443
01:13:28,817 --> 01:13:30,445
Stuff was taken over
to the school,
1444
01:13:30,485 --> 01:13:33,353
and they flew it to the,
to the site.
1445
01:13:33,388 --> 01:13:35,948
I have a 19-year-old myself,
1446
01:13:35,991 --> 01:13:40,656
I felt that we got to
give them a, a fair shake here.
1447
01:13:40,695 --> 01:13:44,223
Kids are hungry,
you got to feed them.
1448
01:13:44,266 --> 01:13:48,499
JOHN CONWAY:
Those helicopters
were going over constantly.
1449
01:13:48,537 --> 01:13:51,336
And also a lot of the neighbors
were involved
1450
01:13:51,373 --> 01:13:52,773
in efforts to make sandwiches
1451
01:13:52,807 --> 01:13:56,801
and get them to the,
to the helicopters.
1452
01:13:56,845 --> 01:13:58,756
GORDON WINARICK:
It was on the radio,
"Bring whatever you can."
1453
01:13:58,780 --> 01:14:00,908
And I decided,
we'll just send eggs,
1454
01:14:00,949 --> 01:14:02,975
because it's an egg area.
1455
01:14:03,018 --> 01:14:04,316
I tapped people for donations.
1456
01:14:04,352 --> 01:14:06,617
I said, "Look,
give me cases of eggs."
1457
01:14:06,655 --> 01:14:10,490
So we hard-boiled hundreds
of thousands of eggs.
1458
01:14:10,525 --> 01:14:11,869
LENI BINDER:
We would never have said,
1459
01:14:11,893 --> 01:14:13,589
"We don't want any part of you,
leave.
1460
01:14:13,628 --> 01:14:15,927
I don't care
if you're hungry or starving."
1461
01:14:15,964 --> 01:14:19,457
That was not our communities.
1462
01:14:19,501 --> 01:14:21,493
Maybe we were hicks,
but we did go,
1463
01:14:21,536 --> 01:14:24,904
as the Bible says,
welcome the stranger.
1464
01:14:24,940 --> 01:14:26,203
They were hungry.
1465
01:14:26,241 --> 01:14:27,641
We fed them.
1466
01:14:29,177 --> 01:14:30,372
ROMNEY:
Helicopters came in
1467
01:14:30,412 --> 01:14:33,314
with anything
people wanted to donate.
1468
01:14:33,348 --> 01:14:35,579
Like little bags
of picnic supplies
1469
01:14:35,617 --> 01:14:39,315
or green beans...
Even a tiny can of olives.
1470
01:14:39,354 --> 01:14:41,220
(chuckling):
You know, I just, "Yes!
1471
01:14:41,256 --> 01:14:42,815
"Bring it on!
1472
01:14:42,857 --> 01:14:47,989
We can take it and make it
into food for the masses."
1473
01:14:48,029 --> 01:14:51,261
DAYE:
The Hog Farm had set up
this huge kitchen,
1474
01:14:51,299 --> 01:14:54,167
and they were boiling brown rice
1475
01:14:54,202 --> 01:14:55,830
and frying up vegetables,
1476
01:14:55,870 --> 01:14:58,305
and it was fabulous.
1477
01:14:58,340 --> 01:15:05,076
♪♪
1478
01:15:05,113 --> 01:15:08,777
JABOOLIAN:
I found out about
the Hog Farm serving food
1479
01:15:08,817 --> 01:15:10,979
from the guy that sat next
to me.
1480
01:15:11,019 --> 01:15:13,818
He says, "Yeah, man,
they got free food up there.
1481
01:15:13,855 --> 01:15:16,154
You just, just go up there
and get in line."
1482
01:15:16,191 --> 01:15:18,023
♪♪
1483
01:15:18,059 --> 01:15:22,656
DILLS:
I and one of my friends offer
to help,
1484
01:15:22,697 --> 01:15:25,792
and they just put us on a pot,
1485
01:15:25,834 --> 01:15:28,497
and we, we scooped it
for people.
1486
01:15:29,904 --> 01:15:31,998
It was kind of cool to feel
like, "Wow,
1487
01:15:32,040 --> 01:15:35,704
"I'm helpless here,
as are most of these people,
1488
01:15:35,744 --> 01:15:38,680
"but there are people
who are taking care of us,
1489
01:15:38,713 --> 01:15:43,344
and in a sense, we're
taking care of each other."
1490
01:15:43,385 --> 01:15:45,877
BILL WARD:
People were good to one another.
1491
01:15:45,920 --> 01:15:48,856
I would see, I would see people
1492
01:15:48,890 --> 01:15:50,449
passing around a Coke
or something;
1493
01:15:50,492 --> 01:15:52,927
other people were sharing
their food.
1494
01:15:52,961 --> 01:15:54,259
♪♪
1495
01:15:54,295 --> 01:15:56,423
STAROBIN:
Everybody around us
had something,
1496
01:15:56,464 --> 01:15:58,660
and we just passed everything
around.
1497
01:15:58,700 --> 01:16:00,464
It was like the loaves
and the fishes,
1498
01:16:00,502 --> 01:16:02,733
it really was.
1499
01:16:02,771 --> 01:16:07,175
GEORGE:
This was actually
kind of a functioning city
1500
01:16:07,208 --> 01:16:09,404
out in the middle of nowhere,
1501
01:16:09,444 --> 01:16:11,436
and we realized
that it was functioning
1502
01:16:11,479 --> 01:16:15,644
because of people
pulling together.
1503
01:16:15,684 --> 01:16:19,644
It just had this feeling
that, "This was ours.
1504
01:16:19,688 --> 01:16:21,418
"This was the new city.
1505
01:16:21,456 --> 01:16:25,052
This was the alternative city,
and it worked."
1506
01:16:25,093 --> 01:16:27,653
♪♪
1507
01:16:31,066 --> 01:16:38,997
("Woodstock Boogie"
by Canned Heat playing)
1508
01:16:39,040 --> 01:16:41,874
MORRIS:
Saturday afternoon,
the show was good.
1509
01:16:41,910 --> 01:16:45,039
But Saturday night,
we really came up to speed
1510
01:16:45,080 --> 01:16:46,776
when the sun went down.
1511
01:16:46,815 --> 01:16:50,684
♪ Well, the little red rooster
told the little brown hen ♪
1512
01:16:50,719 --> 01:16:53,450
♪ "Meet you at the barn
about a half past ten" ♪
1513
01:16:53,488 --> 01:16:55,389
♪ Sing a last
little boogie... ♪
1514
01:16:55,423 --> 01:16:59,360
MORRIS:
I guess we got to a point
where we felt more comfortable,
1515
01:16:59,394 --> 01:17:02,330
and maybe we were proving
1516
01:17:02,363 --> 01:17:03,674
to the press
and the outside world
1517
01:17:03,698 --> 01:17:05,564
that we knew what we were doing,
1518
01:17:05,600 --> 01:17:06,829
and that this was special,
1519
01:17:06,868 --> 01:17:08,598
that there was
some kind of magic here.
1520
01:17:08,636 --> 01:17:11,333
And I would say that probably
gave us the second wind.
1521
01:17:11,372 --> 01:17:12,840
("Woodstock Boogie" continues)
1522
01:17:12,874 --> 01:17:14,968
GEORGE:
I was sort of in a daze.
1523
01:17:15,009 --> 01:17:17,410
You'd been listening,
watching music
1524
01:17:17,445 --> 01:17:19,141
starting in the afternoon
1525
01:17:19,180 --> 01:17:21,649
and going pretty much
all through the night.
1526
01:17:21,683 --> 01:17:24,414
There's no way
you couldn't get oversaturated
1527
01:17:24,452 --> 01:17:26,478
with the stimulus.
1528
01:17:26,521 --> 01:17:28,080
♪ I want to take you higher ♪
1529
01:17:28,123 --> 01:17:29,557
CROWD:
♪ Higher ♪
1530
01:17:29,591 --> 01:17:30,634
♪ I want to take you higher ♪
1531
01:17:30,658 --> 01:17:32,024
GEORGE:
For me,
1532
01:17:32,060 --> 01:17:34,791
the most memorable performance
that night
1533
01:17:34,829 --> 01:17:36,161
was Sly and the Family Stone.
1534
01:17:36,197 --> 01:17:37,893
SLY:
♪ I want to take you higher ♪
1535
01:17:37,932 --> 01:17:40,231
GEORGE:
The music, yes,
but the, the crowd
1536
01:17:40,268 --> 01:17:45,002
and just feeling
this incredible electricity.
1537
01:17:45,039 --> 01:17:47,201
I mean,
it was the middle of the night,
1538
01:17:47,242 --> 01:17:50,212
and everybody was up dancing.
1539
01:17:50,245 --> 01:17:52,805
It was just a pulsing hillside
1540
01:17:52,847 --> 01:17:55,715
of hundreds of thousands
of people.
1541
01:17:55,750 --> 01:17:58,777
("I Want to Take You Higher"
continues)
1542
01:17:58,820 --> 01:18:00,413
♪ I want to take you higher ♪
1543
01:18:00,455 --> 01:18:01,889
♪ Higher ♪
1544
01:18:01,923 --> 01:18:03,585
♪ I want to take you higher ♪
1545
01:18:03,625 --> 01:18:05,389
♪ Higher ♪
1546
01:18:05,426 --> 01:18:08,191
("My Generation"
by the Who playing)
1547
01:18:08,229 --> 01:18:09,993
DILTZ:
I was in front of the stage,
1548
01:18:10,031 --> 01:18:12,227
shooting it,
you know, taking pictures.
1549
01:18:12,267 --> 01:18:13,895
Roger Daltrey, up there,
1550
01:18:13,935 --> 01:18:17,633
with fringe on his cape
flying around.
1551
01:18:17,672 --> 01:18:19,231
And he'd twirl that microphone
around,
1552
01:18:19,274 --> 01:18:21,004
and, you know,
he would just miss the floor,
1553
01:18:21,042 --> 01:18:22,787
and then it would come arcing
through the air,
1554
01:18:22,811 --> 01:18:24,370
and he'd grab it just in time,
1555
01:18:24,412 --> 01:18:25,744
you know, to get into,
1556
01:18:25,780 --> 01:18:28,944
"Talkin' 'bout my generation."
1557
01:18:28,983 --> 01:18:30,628
And then there was Townshend
leaping in the air,
1558
01:18:30,652 --> 01:18:33,417
and doing his splits,
and landing on stage.
1559
01:18:33,454 --> 01:18:35,821
DALTREY:
♪ And don't try to dig
what, what, what we all say ♪
1560
01:18:35,857 --> 01:18:37,917
♪ Talking 'bout my generation ♪
1561
01:18:37,959 --> 01:18:40,428
GREEN:
"Talkin' 'bout my generation,"
1562
01:18:40,461 --> 01:18:43,329
and that was my generation.
1563
01:18:43,364 --> 01:18:44,662
When they sang that song,
1564
01:18:44,699 --> 01:18:47,498
they, you know,
elicited this clarion call,
1565
01:18:47,535 --> 01:18:48,867
and we went,
"Rock and roll!"
1566
01:18:48,903 --> 01:18:52,704
♪ This is my generation, baby ♪
1567
01:18:52,740 --> 01:18:54,299
("My Generation" concludes)
1568
01:18:54,342 --> 01:18:57,244
(crowd cheers and applauds)
1569
01:18:57,278 --> 01:19:01,716
DILTZ:
The Who was absolutely
fantastic,
1570
01:19:01,749 --> 01:19:04,184
and they were still playing
as the dawn came up.
1571
01:19:04,219 --> 01:19:07,678
("Naked Eye" playing)
1572
01:19:15,830 --> 01:19:20,928
("Naked Eye" fades)
1573
01:19:24,005 --> 01:19:26,167
All right, friends,
you have seen the heavy groups.
1574
01:19:26,207 --> 01:19:29,507
Now you will see
morning maniac music.
1575
01:19:29,544 --> 01:19:31,513
Believe me, yeah.
1576
01:19:31,546 --> 01:19:33,515
It's the new dawn.
1577
01:19:33,548 --> 01:19:35,726
("The Other Side of Life"
by Jefferson Airplane playing)
1578
01:19:35,750 --> 01:19:39,517
The regular guys
and Nicky Hopkins.
1579
01:19:39,554 --> 01:19:43,855
("The Other Side of Life"
continues)
1580
01:19:43,892 --> 01:19:45,169
PAUL KANTNER:
I could barely remember
our performance,
1581
01:19:45,193 --> 01:19:47,685
because it was 6:30
in the morning.
1582
01:19:47,729 --> 01:19:50,631
We just went out
and played as best we could.
1583
01:19:50,665 --> 01:19:52,743
We were pretty burned, though,
by the time we got onstage.
1584
01:19:52,767 --> 01:19:54,497
Good morning, people!
1585
01:19:54,535 --> 01:19:57,130
KANTNER:
And we could see there was
a lot of people just asleep.
1586
01:19:57,171 --> 01:19:59,902
And the fires were starting
to go out,
1587
01:19:59,941 --> 01:20:02,536
and people were crashing.
1588
01:20:04,712 --> 01:20:07,045
LAWRENCE:
I was walking around,
and everybody was sleeping.
1589
01:20:07,081 --> 01:20:12,782
I mean, people were horizontal
all over the place, you know?
1590
01:20:12,820 --> 01:20:14,789
It looked like after
a big party.
1591
01:20:14,822 --> 01:20:17,291
("Sunday Morning" by
the Velvet Underground playing)
1592
01:20:17,325 --> 01:20:21,820
♪ Sunday morning ♪
1593
01:20:21,863 --> 01:20:26,460
♪ Brings the dawn in ♪
1594
01:20:26,501 --> 01:20:30,802
♪ It's just a restless feeling ♪
1595
01:20:30,838 --> 01:20:35,902
♪ By my side ♪
1596
01:20:35,944 --> 01:20:41,611
♪ Watch out,
the world's behind you ♪
1597
01:20:41,649 --> 01:20:42,993
WAVY GRAVY (on speaker):
Good morning.
1598
01:20:43,017 --> 01:20:45,816
What we have in mind
is breakfast in bed
1599
01:20:45,853 --> 01:20:49,449
for 400,000.
1600
01:20:49,490 --> 01:20:53,723
Now, it's not going to be
steak and eggs or anything,
1601
01:20:53,761 --> 01:20:57,528
but it's gonna be good food,
and we're gonna get it to you.
1602
01:20:57,565 --> 01:20:59,727
We're all feeding each other.
1603
01:20:59,767 --> 01:21:01,929
(crowd cheering)
1604
01:21:01,970 --> 01:21:05,907
We must be in heaven, man!
1605
01:21:05,940 --> 01:21:07,841
ROMNEY:
What we served
was plain raw oats
1606
01:21:07,875 --> 01:21:10,674
with honey
and powdered milk mixed up,
1607
01:21:10,712 --> 01:21:12,874
'cause it wasn't any time
to toast oats.
1608
01:21:12,914 --> 01:21:14,644
(chuckling):
And, you know, it was just,
1609
01:21:14,682 --> 01:21:18,175
we threw nuts and seeds
and raisins in it.
1610
01:21:18,219 --> 01:21:20,984
And I think we had
ten serving stations,
1611
01:21:21,022 --> 01:21:23,821
and the lines of people in front
of each of the serving stations
1612
01:21:23,858 --> 01:21:25,850
were as long as you could see.
1613
01:21:25,893 --> 01:21:28,954
("Sunday Morning" continues)
1614
01:21:28,997 --> 01:21:31,762
The Yasgurs supplied us
with milk and yogurt.
1615
01:21:31,799 --> 01:21:35,258
And it was just like a gift
from an angel.
1616
01:21:35,303 --> 01:21:41,471
♪ Sunday morning ♪
1617
01:21:41,542 --> 01:21:43,909
("Sunday Morning" fades)
1618
01:21:43,945 --> 01:21:46,779
MORRIS (on speaker):
We have a gentleman with us.
1619
01:21:46,814 --> 01:21:48,578
It's the gentleman
upon whose farm we are,
1620
01:21:48,616 --> 01:21:50,107
Mr. Max Yasgur.
1621
01:21:50,151 --> 01:21:53,212
(crowd cheers and applauds)
1622
01:21:53,254 --> 01:21:57,123
MORRIS:
In the early afternoon,
Max came down to the stage,
1623
01:21:57,158 --> 01:21:58,702
and he said, "I'd like to speak
to the crowd."
1624
01:21:58,726 --> 01:22:00,160
And I said,
1625
01:22:00,194 --> 01:22:03,824
"I think the crowd would
very much like to meet you."
1626
01:22:03,865 --> 01:22:05,424
MAX YASGUR:
Is this on?
1627
01:22:12,040 --> 01:22:14,737
I'm a farmer, I don't know...
1628
01:22:14,776 --> 01:22:19,373
(crowd cheering and applauding)
1629
01:22:19,414 --> 01:22:23,078
I don't know how to speak
to 20 people at one time,
1630
01:22:23,117 --> 01:22:25,382
let alone a crowd like this.
1631
01:22:27,388 --> 01:22:32,486
But I think you people have
proven something to the world.
1632
01:22:32,527 --> 01:22:34,393
Not only to town of Bethel,
1633
01:22:34,429 --> 01:22:36,227
or Sullivan County,
or New York state,
1634
01:22:36,264 --> 01:22:38,631
you've proven something
to the world.
1635
01:22:38,666 --> 01:22:43,127
The important thing
that you've proven to the world
1636
01:22:43,171 --> 01:22:46,300
is that a half a million kids...
And I call you kids,
1637
01:22:46,340 --> 01:22:49,242
because I have children
that are older than you are...
1638
01:22:49,277 --> 01:22:52,441
A half a million young people
can get together
1639
01:22:52,480 --> 01:22:55,848
and have three days
of fun and music,
1640
01:22:55,883 --> 01:22:58,182
and have nothing
but fun and music.
1641
01:22:58,219 --> 01:23:00,211
And I God bless you for it.
1642
01:23:00,254 --> 01:23:01,847
(crowd cheering and applauding)
1643
01:23:03,791 --> 01:23:05,726
DILLS:
It was an affirmation, you know,
1644
01:23:05,760 --> 01:23:07,729
that instead of being angry,
1645
01:23:07,762 --> 01:23:11,062
that he was that positive
about us.
1646
01:23:11,099 --> 01:23:15,036
And I'm sure that his fields
were just destroyed.
1647
01:23:15,069 --> 01:23:18,767
But if a conservative
Upstate New York farmer
1648
01:23:18,806 --> 01:23:19,865
could feel that way,
1649
01:23:19,907 --> 01:23:22,502
well, that was pretty cool.
1650
01:23:22,543 --> 01:23:27,174
In that moment, I realized,
being in the middle of it,
1651
01:23:27,215 --> 01:23:29,684
that not only was Woodstock
bigger
1652
01:23:29,717 --> 01:23:31,447
than we ever could have
imagined,
1653
01:23:31,486 --> 01:23:36,288
but it was symbolically
even bigger.
1654
01:23:38,960 --> 01:23:41,589
(crowd cheering,
clapping rhythmically)
1655
01:23:41,629 --> 01:23:44,531
MAN (on speaker):
Ladies and gentlemen,
Mr. Joe Cocker.
1656
01:23:44,565 --> 01:23:45,965
Let's go for Sunday!
1657
01:23:46,000 --> 01:23:47,696
Yes, yes, well, good afternoon.
1658
01:23:47,735 --> 01:23:52,503
And this title just about
puts this all into focus.
1659
01:23:52,540 --> 01:23:55,237
It's called "With a Little Help
From My Friends."
1660
01:23:55,276 --> 01:23:58,212
("With a Little Help
From My Friends" playing)
1661
01:23:58,246 --> 01:24:04,675
♪ What would you do
if I sang out of tune ♪
1662
01:24:04,719 --> 01:24:10,681
♪ Would you stand up
and walk out on me ♪
1663
01:24:10,725 --> 01:24:18,132
♪ Lend me your ears
and I'll sing you a song ♪
1664
01:24:18,166 --> 01:24:21,967
♪ I will try not to sing
out of key ♪
1665
01:24:22,003 --> 01:24:24,598
♪ Oh, baby, I get by ♪
1666
01:24:42,255 --> 01:24:44,717
DILLS:
I really liked what Joe Cocker
was singing about,
1667
01:24:44,757 --> 01:24:49,718
because in one sense,
I had 450,000 friends.
1668
01:24:49,762 --> 01:24:53,065
("With a Little Help
From My Friends" continues)
1669
01:24:57,405 --> 01:24:59,772
COCKER:
When we got into "Little Help,"
1670
01:24:59,807 --> 01:25:03,710
I just felt that we'd really
caught a massive consciousness
1671
01:25:03,744 --> 01:25:05,940
in the crowd.
1672
01:25:05,980 --> 01:25:07,744
It was a powerful feeling.
1673
01:25:07,782 --> 01:25:09,148
(crowd cheering and applauding)
1674
01:25:09,183 --> 01:25:12,051
MAN (on speaker):
That's Joe Cocker!
1675
01:25:12,086 --> 01:25:16,615
COCKER:
And then somebody yelled at me,
"Joe, look over your shoulder."
1676
01:25:18,726 --> 01:25:20,490
MORRIS:
It was hot as could be.
1677
01:25:20,528 --> 01:25:23,521
And you look up in the sky
behind the audience,
1678
01:25:23,564 --> 01:25:26,159
and you can see
these black clouds
1679
01:25:26,200 --> 01:25:28,101
like Armageddon coming at you.
1680
01:25:28,135 --> 01:25:29,646
It looks like we're going
to get a bit of rain,
1681
01:25:29,670 --> 01:25:32,299
so you better cover up.
1682
01:25:32,340 --> 01:25:36,107
All of you up in the towers,
please come down.
1683
01:25:36,143 --> 01:25:37,521
You're making it
very, very dangerous.
1684
01:25:37,545 --> 01:25:39,878
COLLIER:
Hanging on
these big light stands
1685
01:25:39,914 --> 01:25:41,473
were a bunch of kids
who had used them
1686
01:25:41,515 --> 01:25:43,450
to get a better perch
to watch the show from.
1687
01:25:43,484 --> 01:25:48,684
People screamed, "Come down,
get down from there!"
1688
01:25:48,723 --> 01:25:51,468
MORRIS (on speaker):
All right, everybody,
just sit down, wrap yourself up.
1689
01:25:51,492 --> 01:25:54,951
We're gonna have to have
to ride it out.
1690
01:25:54,996 --> 01:25:59,559
Jody, get off the stage.
1691
01:25:59,600 --> 01:26:01,569
Get off the stage.
1692
01:26:01,602 --> 01:26:03,798
(wind gusting)
1693
01:26:03,838 --> 01:26:08,333
MORRIS:
I mean, all hell started
breaking loose.
1694
01:26:08,376 --> 01:26:10,607
And then, Barry Melton
of Country Joe and the Fish
1695
01:26:10,645 --> 01:26:12,079
grabbed a mic.
1696
01:26:12,113 --> 01:26:14,878
No rain, no rain, no rain!
1697
01:26:14,915 --> 01:26:20,377
MELTON AND CROWD:
No rain, no rain,
no rain, no rain!
1698
01:26:20,421 --> 01:26:27,555
No rain, no rain, no rain,
no rain, no rain!
1699
01:26:27,595 --> 01:26:29,086
(thunder claps)
1700
01:26:29,130 --> 01:26:30,496
LAW:
And then it hit.
1701
01:26:30,531 --> 01:26:34,935
It hit like a major,
you know, country storm.
1702
01:26:34,969 --> 01:26:38,736
It was not a tornado, but
it had that kind of feel to it.
1703
01:26:38,773 --> 01:26:40,139
(thunder rumbling)
1704
01:26:40,174 --> 01:26:42,200
Everyone scrambled
to cover equipment.
1705
01:26:42,243 --> 01:26:46,704
I mean, there was a billion
volts of equipment.
1706
01:26:46,747 --> 01:26:48,909
You wouldn't believe the amount
of electrical energy
1707
01:26:48,949 --> 01:26:51,646
on the stage
and in those towers.
1708
01:26:51,686 --> 01:26:54,520
ROSENMAN:
During the storm, I learned
1709
01:26:54,555 --> 01:26:58,583
that 50,000-volt cables
had become unearthed.
1710
01:26:58,626 --> 01:27:02,290
Then we could have
a mass electrocution.
1711
01:27:02,330 --> 01:27:04,993
Fortunately, that didn't happen.
1712
01:27:05,032 --> 01:27:09,629
(rain pattering,
thunder rumbling)
1713
01:27:09,670 --> 01:27:13,573
VIC WELLS:
There were a lot of people
who had plastic and blankets.
1714
01:27:13,607 --> 01:27:15,269
Of course,
the blankets got soaked.
1715
01:27:15,309 --> 01:27:18,177
You know,
you either just covered up,
1716
01:27:18,212 --> 01:27:23,446
or you just held your head up
and enjoyed it.
1717
01:27:23,484 --> 01:27:26,579
♪♪
1718
01:27:34,495 --> 01:27:37,465
STAROBIN:
The outside world thought
it was a disaster area.
1719
01:27:37,498 --> 01:27:40,866
Well, that's not
what we thought.
1720
01:27:40,901 --> 01:27:45,566
And so people started playing
in the mud like children.
1721
01:27:45,606 --> 01:27:48,474
It was like
they were six years old,
1722
01:27:48,509 --> 01:27:52,810
going down a waterslide
in their front yard.
1723
01:27:52,847 --> 01:27:57,478
♪♪
1724
01:28:06,660 --> 01:28:10,529
JAMES SALZER:
After the rain,
the crowd really thinned out.
1725
01:28:10,564 --> 01:28:16,504
I guess a lot of people
just wanted to get back home.
1726
01:28:16,537 --> 01:28:18,563
♪♪
1727
01:28:18,606 --> 01:28:20,598
DEBRA CONWAY:
I had to go to work
the next day.
1728
01:28:20,641 --> 01:28:23,008
So, you know,
like a lot of people,
1729
01:28:23,043 --> 01:28:25,171
we hiked back to where
the car was
1730
01:28:25,212 --> 01:28:27,647
and went home.
1731
01:28:30,384 --> 01:28:33,183
SPITZ:
For everybody at the festival,
1732
01:28:33,220 --> 01:28:36,782
battling the elements
was a constant struggle.
1733
01:28:36,824 --> 01:28:39,760
They were plagued by weather
from the get-go.
1734
01:28:39,794 --> 01:28:43,526
Then after the Sunday storm,
the site was a mess.
1735
01:28:43,564 --> 01:28:46,056
But the festival went on.
1736
01:28:46,100 --> 01:28:47,677
(Country Joe and the Fish
playing "Rock and Soul Music")
1737
01:28:47,701 --> 01:28:48,930
Marijuana!
1738
01:28:48,969 --> 01:28:51,404
SPITZ:
Country Joe and the Fish
was first up.
1739
01:28:51,439 --> 01:28:57,538
("Rock and Soul Music" continues
and fades)
1740
01:28:57,578 --> 01:29:00,480
There were a lot of great
performances that night.
1741
01:29:00,514 --> 01:29:03,143
But I think the one that really
stood out for most people
1742
01:29:03,184 --> 01:29:05,016
was Crosby, Stills, and Nash,
1743
01:29:05,052 --> 01:29:07,146
because it was their first time
1744
01:29:07,188 --> 01:29:08,520
they had ever performed
together.
1745
01:29:08,556 --> 01:29:10,115
MAN (on speaker):
Stills, and Nash.
1746
01:29:10,157 --> 01:29:11,557
(playing
"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes")
1747
01:29:11,592 --> 01:29:13,925
CROSBY:
I remember being terrified.
1748
01:29:13,961 --> 01:29:17,159
Nobody had seen us get up
and sing harmony together.
1749
01:29:17,198 --> 01:29:18,928
Nobody had seen it, this was it.
1750
01:29:18,966 --> 01:29:21,367
This was the first time.
1751
01:29:21,402 --> 01:29:24,304
♪ It's getting to the point ♪
1752
01:29:24,338 --> 01:29:28,969
♪ Where I'm no fun anymore ♪
1753
01:29:29,009 --> 01:29:35,779
DAYE:
There were moments where
the music was so mesmerizing,
1754
01:29:35,816 --> 01:29:38,445
so internalized,
1755
01:29:38,486 --> 01:29:42,947
that I became
the music I was listening to.
1756
01:29:42,990 --> 01:29:45,186
I remember sitting in the mud
1757
01:29:45,226 --> 01:29:47,388
listening to Crosby, Stills,
and Nash,
1758
01:29:47,428 --> 01:29:50,227
looking at the sheer beauty
of the night sky,
1759
01:29:50,264 --> 01:29:54,702
wrapped in a blanket of music.
1760
01:29:54,735 --> 01:29:58,399
It was the feeling of oneness
with it all.
1761
01:29:58,439 --> 01:30:00,738
("Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" ends)
1762
01:30:02,476 --> 01:30:09,144
("Star-Spangled Banner"
by Jimi Hendrix playing)
1763
01:30:16,056 --> 01:30:18,685
WAVY GRAVY:
The last morning
of the festival,
1764
01:30:18,726 --> 01:30:22,390
I'm wandering through people
rising up out of the mud.
1765
01:30:22,429 --> 01:30:25,399
And this amazing music,
suddenly...
1766
01:30:25,432 --> 01:30:27,594
(blows air)
1767
01:30:27,635 --> 01:30:30,662
It was Jimi Hendrix just filling
my ears
1768
01:30:30,704 --> 01:30:35,074
with the wonder
of the national anthem.
1769
01:30:35,109 --> 01:30:42,175
("Star-Spangled Banner"
continues)
1770
01:30:42,216 --> 01:30:44,583
(playing improvisational riff)
1771
01:30:44,618 --> 01:30:49,147
COLLIER:
I was backstage writing up
some notes,
1772
01:30:49,189 --> 01:30:54,924
when suddenly, into my head
stabbed this sound.
1773
01:30:54,962 --> 01:30:57,864
(continuing riff)
1774
01:30:57,898 --> 01:31:02,893
It sounded exactly
like rockets, missiles,
1775
01:31:02,937 --> 01:31:04,200
and bombs bursting in air.
1776
01:31:04,238 --> 01:31:06,332
(Hendrix continuing riff)
1777
01:31:06,373 --> 01:31:10,640
I'd never heard anything
like that in my life.
1778
01:31:10,678 --> 01:31:16,481
(Hendrix resumes melody
of "The Star-Spangled Banner")
1779
01:31:16,517 --> 01:31:18,918
LAW:
We're at
the most peaceful gathering
1780
01:31:18,953 --> 01:31:21,752
that was probably happening
on the planet at the time.
1781
01:31:21,789 --> 01:31:24,884
And he hooked us up
with Vietnam.
1782
01:31:24,925 --> 01:31:29,989
It was the devastation and
the brutality and the insanity.
1783
01:31:30,030 --> 01:31:33,694
(riff continuing)
1784
01:31:33,734 --> 01:31:36,260
That was a quintessential piece
of art.
1785
01:31:36,303 --> 01:31:39,740
(playing pedal effects
and whammy bar)
1786
01:31:39,773 --> 01:31:43,767
("Star-Spangled Banner" melody
resumes)
1787
01:31:50,384 --> 01:31:52,979
(holding chord,
chord feeding back)
1788
01:31:53,020 --> 01:31:55,546
GREEN:
There was an essence
that is indescribable.
1789
01:31:55,589 --> 01:31:57,615
You can feel it in your body,
1790
01:31:57,658 --> 01:32:00,218
you can feel it right here
in your heart,
1791
01:32:00,260 --> 01:32:02,320
when you know that this is life.
1792
01:32:02,363 --> 01:32:05,026
This is the essence of life.
1793
01:32:05,065 --> 01:32:08,763
He had it, and he gave it to us.
1794
01:32:08,802 --> 01:32:11,601
(modulating tone
with whammy bar)
1795
01:32:11,639 --> 01:32:19,046
(playing pedal effects)
1796
01:32:19,079 --> 01:32:20,547
(song pausing)
1797
01:32:20,581 --> 01:32:22,573
(concluding
"Star-Spangled Banner")
1798
01:32:22,616 --> 01:32:24,710
DILTZ:
Everybody was so still.
1799
01:32:24,752 --> 01:32:29,213
Most of the crowd had left.
1800
01:32:29,256 --> 01:32:30,781
I was onstage.
1801
01:32:30,824 --> 01:32:32,884
I was shooting right next
to him.
1802
01:32:32,926 --> 01:32:35,589
Just, God, it was just a moment,
you know,
1803
01:32:35,629 --> 01:32:37,427
that was just wonderful.
1804
01:32:37,464 --> 01:32:38,932
It's his guitar ringing out.
1805
01:32:38,966 --> 01:32:44,633
(Hendrix playing riff,
pedal effects)
1806
01:32:44,672 --> 01:32:47,301
And then suddenly,
it was all over.
1807
01:32:47,341 --> 01:32:49,833
("Star-Spangled Banner" fades)
1808
01:32:56,016 --> 01:33:02,388
MORRIS:
The site looked like Civil War
pictures of battlefields.
1809
01:33:02,423 --> 01:33:07,088
I was terrified
I might find somebody dead.
1810
01:33:07,127 --> 01:33:11,087
And so I walked all of the site.
1811
01:33:11,131 --> 01:33:14,932
And it stank, it really stank.
1812
01:33:14,968 --> 01:33:18,097
There were just a few people
wandering around.
1813
01:33:18,138 --> 01:33:19,436
Nobody injured, nobody dead.
1814
01:33:19,473 --> 01:33:22,307
A great relief.
1815
01:33:22,342 --> 01:33:25,904
And then we started the cleanup.
1816
01:33:25,946 --> 01:33:28,643
DILTZ:
What was left behind was
this incredible sea
1817
01:33:28,682 --> 01:33:32,915
of soggy, wet sleeping bags
and cardboard boxes
1818
01:33:32,953 --> 01:33:34,421
and tents that were all,
you know,
1819
01:33:34,455 --> 01:33:36,287
knocked down and trampled on.
1820
01:33:36,323 --> 01:33:40,624
All this flotsam and jetsam.
1821
01:33:40,661 --> 01:33:41,838
("Highway Anxiety"
by William Taylor playing)
1822
01:33:41,862 --> 01:33:43,558
GEORGE:
We stayed for a while,
1823
01:33:43,597 --> 01:33:45,862
helping clean up trash.
1824
01:33:45,899 --> 01:33:51,805
There were a lot of people
out there helping clean up.
1825
01:33:51,839 --> 01:33:54,741
("Highway Anxiety" continues)
1826
01:33:54,775 --> 01:33:58,337
STAROBIN:
We so did not want to leave.
1827
01:33:58,378 --> 01:34:01,837
We kind of sensed
that, you know,
1828
01:34:01,882 --> 01:34:04,647
we could change the world
for three days,
1829
01:34:04,685 --> 01:34:07,245
but the rest of the world
wasn't with us,
1830
01:34:07,287 --> 01:34:11,281
and we knew that it was going
to be a real culture shock
1831
01:34:11,325 --> 01:34:13,988
coming back into society.
1832
01:34:14,027 --> 01:34:19,694
REPORTER:
More than 350,000 people came
looking for peace and music.
1833
01:34:19,733 --> 01:34:23,033
Many said they learned a lot
about themselves
1834
01:34:23,070 --> 01:34:26,165
and learned a lot
about getting along together
1835
01:34:26,206 --> 01:34:27,674
and priorities.
1836
01:34:27,708 --> 01:34:31,406
And for most, that alone
makes it all worthwhile.
1837
01:34:31,445 --> 01:34:34,176
("Highway Anxiety" continues)
1838
01:34:34,214 --> 01:34:39,380
WAVY GRAVY:
We realized that we were part
of this amazing event
1839
01:34:39,419 --> 01:34:43,379
that nothing like it
ever was before.
1840
01:34:43,423 --> 01:34:48,384
LAW:
The festival became a symbol
of intelligence and humanity
1841
01:34:48,428 --> 01:34:53,560
and cooperation and love
and affection.
1842
01:34:53,600 --> 01:34:57,731
It was the start
of a phenomenal change
1843
01:34:57,771 --> 01:35:01,173
in a lot of people's lives.
1844
01:35:01,208 --> 01:35:04,701
MAX YASGUR:
When I realized, Friday night
and Saturday morning,
1845
01:35:04,745 --> 01:35:08,580
that we were getting up close
to the half-a-million mark,
1846
01:35:08,615 --> 01:35:12,245
and there was a sea of people
here,
1847
01:35:12,286 --> 01:35:14,517
I became quite apprehensive.
1848
01:35:14,555 --> 01:35:15,921
Uh...
1849
01:35:15,956 --> 01:35:18,721
Thoughts flashed through my mind
1850
01:35:18,759 --> 01:35:23,060
of some other problems that they
have had throughout the country.
1851
01:35:23,096 --> 01:35:24,997
And these kids,
1852
01:35:25,032 --> 01:35:28,400
these young people
made me feel guilty today,
1853
01:35:28,435 --> 01:35:29,960
because there were no problems.
1854
01:35:30,003 --> 01:35:34,065
They proved to me, and they
proved to the whole world
1855
01:35:34,107 --> 01:35:35,585
that they didn't come up
for any problems.
1856
01:35:35,609 --> 01:35:37,043
They came up
1857
01:35:37,077 --> 01:35:38,555
for exactly what they said
they were coming up for,
1858
01:35:38,579 --> 01:35:41,640
for three days
of music and peace.
1859
01:35:41,682 --> 01:35:47,986
DAYE:
It was a mark in cosmic time.
1860
01:35:48,021 --> 01:35:50,581
I have no doubt about that.
1861
01:35:50,624 --> 01:35:52,991
I'm not saying
it never happened before
1862
01:35:53,026 --> 01:35:55,825
or that it couldn't happen
in the future.
1863
01:35:55,863 --> 01:36:02,599
But that, that stopped
the clocks for three days.
1864
01:36:23,000 --> 01:36:27,028
GEORGE:
I felt like I had finally gotten
to fully experience
1865
01:36:27,071 --> 01:36:32,635
what I was hoping
the counterculture meant.
1866
01:36:32,676 --> 01:36:35,305
Woodstock was
a very powerful confirmation
1867
01:36:35,346 --> 01:36:37,474
that, "Yeah, this is
what you're looking for,
1868
01:36:37,514 --> 01:36:42,248
and that you're headed
in the right direction."
1869
01:36:42,286 --> 01:36:44,448
("Highway Anxiety" continues)
1870
01:36:44,488 --> 01:36:46,480
STAROBIN:
Everyone looking
after one another,
1871
01:36:46,523 --> 01:36:48,685
everybody caring
about one another.
1872
01:36:48,726 --> 01:36:52,458
I mean, once I experienced that,
1873
01:36:52,496 --> 01:36:57,332
I made it the basis
for the whole rest of my life.
1874
01:36:57,368 --> 01:37:01,533
("Highway Anxiety" continues)
1875
01:37:16,000 --> 01:37:19,869
ROSENMAN:
At Woodstock, we tried to let
the audience know,
1876
01:37:19,904 --> 01:37:21,600
in every way that we could,
1877
01:37:21,639 --> 01:37:24,438
that we believed in them.
1878
01:37:24,475 --> 01:37:28,242
That inside them
was a loving nature,
1879
01:37:28,279 --> 01:37:33,718
a decency,
and a fineness of spirit.
1880
01:37:33,751 --> 01:37:35,811
You can forget it sometimes,
1881
01:37:35,854 --> 01:37:41,794
but very few of us
want to be other than that.
1882
01:37:41,826 --> 01:37:43,818
You just need the opportunity.
1883
01:37:43,862 --> 01:37:47,526
(cheering and applauding)
1884
01:37:47,565 --> 01:37:51,593
("Highway Anxiety" continues)
1885
01:37:51,636 --> 01:37:53,662
(song ends)
1886
01:37:59,110 --> 01:38:04,242
("Catch the Wind"
by Donovan playing)
1887
01:38:07,185 --> 01:38:13,147
♪ In the chilly hours
and minutes of uncertainty ♪
1888
01:38:13,191 --> 01:38:21,191
♪ I want to be in the warm heart
of your loving mind ♪
1889
01:38:22,533 --> 01:38:26,937
♪ To feel you all around me ♪
1890
01:38:26,971 --> 01:38:31,409
♪ And to take your hand
along the sand ♪
1891
01:38:31,442 --> 01:38:39,441
♪ Ah, but I may as well try
and catch the wind ♪
1892
01:38:39,484 --> 01:38:43,945
♪ When sundown pales the sky ♪
1893
01:38:43,988 --> 01:38:47,015
♪ I want to hide a while
behind your smile ♪
1894
01:38:47,058 --> 01:38:53,259
♪ And everywhere I'd look,
your eyes I'd find ♪
1895
01:38:56,267 --> 01:39:02,503
♪ For me to love you now
would be the sweetest thing ♪
1896
01:39:02,540 --> 01:39:04,133
♪ 'Twould make me sing ♪
1897
01:39:04,175 --> 01:39:11,776
♪ Ah, but I may as well try
and catch the wind ♪
1898
01:39:11,816 --> 01:39:14,945
(vocalizing)
1899
01:39:24,028 --> 01:39:27,021
♪ When rain has hung the leaves
with tears ♪
1900
01:39:27,065 --> 01:39:31,969
♪ I want you near
to kill my fears ♪
1901
01:39:32,003 --> 01:39:36,134
♪ To help me to leave
all my blues behind... ♪
1902
01:39:41,079 --> 01:39:43,742
♪♪