Woodstock 
Still Rocks at 40
By Tom Turco, Newseum Web director
Forty years ago in the upstate New York town of Bethel, about half a million people gathered for three days of peace, love and music at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. And everything was groovy, baby.
Bethel is located about 50 miles from the hamlet named Woodstock where the concert originally was to be held. When the agreement to hold the gathering in Woodstock fell through, Michael Lang, one of the concert’s co-creators, cut an impromptu deal with dairy-farm owner Max Yasgur for the large swath of land nestled in the Catskill Mountains. The organizers decided to stick with the Woodstock name.
It turned out to be quite a show. Little did the organizers know that they would attract more than twice the expected crowd, that the infrastructure would be insufficient to handle it, and that the concert would turn into a free event that lasted for several days.
Nearly half a century later, Woodstock has achieved a mythical stature that many musical gatherings have tried to re-create but have been unable to truly achieve. Woodstock tapped the zeitgeist in a unique way, and the ensuing legend has taken on a life of its own.
Woodstock was the embodiment of the counterculture movement, and is one of the "50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock & Roll," according to Rolling Stone magazine. At its core were the music and the fans. A dazzling array of legendary bands were showcased, including Jimi Hendrix, Santana, The Who, the Grateful Dead, The Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Richie Havens, John Sebastian, Sly & the Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane and Joe Cocker.
"It was unpredictable, spontaneous and organic," says USA Today rock music critic Edna Gundersen. "Music was the siren call to all of these young people. They took care of themselves, focused on the music and did so with joy and optimism. Against all odds, it succeeded as a magical event of peace and love and free expression."
It also was a turning point for music journalism, particularly for rock music. What had previously been relegated to underground publications or buried as a random curiosity in the dailies was now vaulted into the mainstream. The youth movement, rock music and all that went along with them were now front and center, demanding to be heard. Coverage of this demographic became not only a legitimate beat but also a smart market to cultivate.
The mostly local media coverage of Woodstock focused largely on the traffic, nudity, drugs, rain, mud and the hippy subculture. Former New York Times reporter Barnard Collier covered the event, despite his editors’ misgivings about the story. They wanted Collier to focus on the negatives. But he resisted, stood his ground and gained the support of Times top editor, Scotty Reston.
"There were lots of colors and wildly dressed people," he said. "The story just got better and better. The people were beautiful. Yes, there was nudity, but it was natural. It was certainly the best story I have ever done, and I’ve done quite a few. It was all a beautiful accident."
"Woodstock at 40," the Newseum’s newest exhibit,
will be displayed Aug. 1 through Oct. 31, 2009.
New Exhibit Takes Stock of Woodstock
WASHINGTON — Rolling Stone magazine called the Woodstock Music and Art Fair "the most famous event in rock history."
What started as a festival of music, peace and love in August 1969 became a mammoth gathering "half a million strong," as Joni Mitchell later sang.
But Woodstock was more than that. It marked a moment when the news media first recognized music and entertainment as a cultural and commercial force.
The Newseum’s new exhibit, "Woodstock at 40: The Rise of Music Journalism," opens Aug. 1, 2009, and features rarely seen photographs and artifacts from the historic music event. Included are the images and stories of photographers Dan Garson, Henry Diltz and Mark Goff, along with an original Woodstock press pass, press kit and festival tickets; an authentic Woodstock poster from concert promoter Michael Lang’s personal collection; and the original working list of musicians and how much they were paid.
Woodstock’s impact on the press will also be explored in "Woodstock" — a Newseum-produced video featuring rare archival footage and musical performances — that will be shown on the 90-foot video wall in the Robert H. and Clarice Smith Big Screen Theater. USA Today’s Edna Gundersen, Barnard Collier of The New York Times and Jan Hodenfield of Rolling Stone explain the enduring effect Woodstock had on music reporting.
Photographs taken by Garson — a teenager who obtained a coveted press pass to cover Woodstock for his high school newspaper — are being exhibited for the first time, along with his camera and reporter’s notes.
"The people were something else," Garson wrote about Woodstock. "Everyone was friendly and mostly cheerful, whether fully clothed or not." Garson died of cancer in 1992.
Diltz, the official Woodstock photographer, was a rising music photographer in Los Angeles when Woodstock promoter Michael Lang sent him a plane ticket and $500 to document the music festival. After Jimi Hendrix’s festival-ending performance, Diltz headed to Life magazine’s New York offices, where editors were planning a special issue on Woodstock. Life gave three of his photographs — of singers Grace Slick, David Crosby and Sly Stone — full-page treatment. Diltz went on to make a career photographing rock ‘n’ roll.
Goff covered Woodstock as a young reporter for Kaleidoscope, a Milwaukee-based alternative newspaper. From a small press pit just below the stage, Goff snapped close-up photos of musicians, including Joan Baez, Ravi Shankar and Sly Stone. His favorite memory of Woodstock is the spirit of the crowd.
"It really was peace, love and music," Goff said. "People were dancing in the rain and dancing in the mud."
Special Event: A live band, Woodstock ReCovered, will play some of the memorable songs from the historic rock festival at the Newseum this Saturday, August 1, to celebrate the opening of the new exhibit "Woodstock at 40: The Rise of Music Journalism." More >
This exhibit was made possible through the generous cooperation of Rona Elliot and Genesis Publications, publisher of "Woodstock Experience," along with Woodstock executive producer Michael Lang, Brad LeMee and the family of Dan Garson, and Henry Diltz and Mark Goff.
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