Woodstock: Who Are The Artists Who Marked The Festival?
In 1969, more than 500,000 people gathered at the Woodstock
festival, considered one of the biggest rock gatherings of all time. The
Woodstock festival took place from August 15 to 18 in Bethel, New York in the
United States. From Jefferson Airplane to Janis Joplin via Jimi Hendrix, the
festival will see around thirty artists, including the biggest names of the
time. Let's come back to this very eclectic artistic program that has marked
the history of music.
- Janis Joplin
- Jefferson Airplane
- The who
- Joe Cocker
- Jimi Hendrix
Janis Joplin, Icon of The Sixties
It was not until around 2 a.m. on Sunday that the
husky-voiced singer began her first notes on stage. A few hours earlier, the
one nicknamed the "Pearl" had panicked at the first sight of the
crowd in front of which she was to play. She did not find the courage to go on
stage until a few hours later, after having absorbed a mixture of alcohol and
heroin.
Although rather tipsy, Janis Joplin will deliver a superb -
albeit (for her), somewhat dull - performance. She will perform with her new
group " Kosmic Blues Band " her biggest titles such as Summertime,
Kosmic Blues or the famous Piece of my Heart, and will finish with a superb
version of Ball and Chain.
However, Janis was not satisfied with her performance, which
led her to insist not to appear in the documentary film and the 1970 Woodstock
soundtrack album.
But Pete Townshend, who went on stage with the Who a few
hours after Janis, reportedly said that “… even Janis, on an evening off, was
incredible”.
Jefferson Airplane, Symbol of Woodstock
They are the epitome of psychedelic rock and the American
counterculture. Without them, Woodstock would not have existed. At least, as a
symbol, more than a festival.
It is 8 am on Sunday, when the group finally goes on stage.
Jefferson Airplane would have preferred to play at night, but the artists
before them had fallen behind. It was therefore after a sleepless night, as
much for them as for the public, that the members of the group interpreted 13
very energetic songs, including their emblematic hits. They will end their
historic concert with their famous song White Rabbit, true hymn of the hippies
of San Francisco. This song making a parallel between taking drugs and the
story of Alice in Wonderland, a book very popular in those years.
The Who and Their Legendary Performance at 5 A.M.
The Who are, in the history of rock, in a way the equals of
the Rolling Stones or the Beatles. The group will perform at Woodstock the
entirety of their new rock opera called "Tommy", including their
title We're not gonna take it which will appear in the documentary film of the
festival.
However, right in the middle of the Who's representation,
political activist Abbie Hoffman made his way on stage and tried to grab the
microphone and speak to the public. It was with rather colorful language that
guitarist Pete Townshend ordered him to leave the stage and hit him on the head
with his Gibson SG. Abbie rushed out of the press pit and disappeared into the
crowd. Fortunately tamed, it was one of the few public arguments in Woodstock.
Joe Cocker and His Cover of The Beatles At Woodstock
It is 3:00 p.m. when British singer Joe Cocker and the
Grease Band take the stage. The members of the group had a huge success with
their cover of the Beatles hit “With a Little Help from My Friends “, which
they both make unrecognizable and sublime. Joe Cocker's performance at
Woodstock in 69 was a triumph. After the Grease Band concert ended, a violent
thunderstorm fell on the festival, soaking the ground and paralyzing the
activities. Joe reportedly said, “Did I do this?”
Jimi Hendrix, God of The Guitar, Closes The Festival
Last but not least, Jimi Hendrix. It will be the guitar icon
that will have the honor of closing the Woodstock festival. Placed at the head
of the poster, he will be late and play on Monday morning rather than Sunday
evening as originally planned.
The highest-paid rock musician in the world, Jimi Hendrix,
agreed to headline the Woodstock Music and Art Fair for a price significantly
lower than its regular price, but he remained the highest-paid artist in the
festival. It is in front of an exhausted audience and an almost
post-apocalyptic landscape that Hendrix will perform one of the longest and
most emblematic shows of her career.
Between two pieces, the guitarist ventures into a cover in
his own way of the American anthem, while his musicians are not aware. The
first notes take up the air of the hymn, and very quickly, the melody turns
into an imitation of the American bombs that fall on Vietnam, machine guns and
sheaves of napalm.
This is how Jimi Hendrix ended what many consider the most
important musical event in all of history.
0 Comments