Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
They Played on the Main Stage at Woodstock 50 Years Ago--No, Really
A-HED
They Played on the Main Stage at Woodstock 50 Years Ago—No, Really
The estimated 450,000 fans who attended the 1969 music festival got to see Janis, Jimi and…Ira
By Charles Passy
Aug. 15, 2019 11:51 am ET
To recall the list of bands and performers who played the Woodstock Music & Art Fair in 1969 is to revel in rock ’n’ roll glory: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Santana, The Who, Grateful Dead and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
Woodstock still strikes chord.
Don’t forget Ira Stone. He also took the festival stage 50 years ago to play guitar, Hammond organ and harmonica for singer-songwriter Bert Sommer.
It’s been said if you remember Woodstock, you weren’t there. Mr. Stone and other lesser-known musicians were there, but few remember them.
“If I bring it up, people think I’m joking,” said Robert Leonard, a respected forensic linguist based at Hofstra University in New York. He is a former member of the ‘50s-themed group Sha Na Na, which performed right before Hendrix closed the musical extravaganza that drew some 450,000 fans to a farm in Bethel, N.Y.
Sha Na Na began as a vocal ensemble at Columbia University, and most of its members had their sights on professions other than music. Besides, after Woodstock and all the rest, what’s left for an encore?
“I played with Jimi Hendrix. I drank with Janis Joplin,” Mr. Leonard said. “Maybe I had done enough.”
....
Write to Charles Passy at cpassy@wsj.com
They Played on the Main Stage at Woodstock 50 Years Ago—No, Really
The estimated 450,000 fans who attended the 1969 music festival got to see Janis, Jimi and…Ira
By Charles Passy
Aug. 15, 2019 11:51 am ET
To recall the list of bands and performers who played the Woodstock Music & Art Fair in 1969 is to revel in rock ’n’ roll glory: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Santana, The Who, Grateful Dead and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
Woodstock still strikes chord.
Don’t forget Ira Stone. He also took the festival stage 50 years ago to play guitar, Hammond organ and harmonica for singer-songwriter Bert Sommer.
It’s been said if you remember Woodstock, you weren’t there. Mr. Stone and other lesser-known musicians were there, but few remember them.
“If I bring it up, people think I’m joking,” said Robert Leonard, a respected forensic linguist based at Hofstra University in New York. He is a former member of the ‘50s-themed group Sha Na Na, which performed right before Hendrix closed the musical extravaganza that drew some 450,000 fans to a farm in Bethel, N.Y.
Sha Na Na began as a vocal ensemble at Columbia University, and most of its members had their sights on professions other than music. Besides, after Woodstock and all the rest, what’s left for an encore?
“I played with Jimi Hendrix. I drank with Janis Joplin,” Mr. Leonard said. “Maybe I had done enough.”
....
Write to Charles Passy at cpassy@wsj.com
https://twitter.com/CharlesPassy
https://www.wsj.com/news/author/charles-passy