A month after two men landed on the freakin' moon, 500,000 guys and gals landed at White Lake, NY for the event that turned out to be the "high" point of the hippie era. Two stoned-out, mellow dudes, Michael Lang (promoter) and Artie Kornfeld (song writer and record producer†), hooked-up with two straight-laced, Ivy League-ish MBAs, Joel Rosenman and John Roberts, who were looking to invest in "interesting business propositions." They certainly did. They had to ask their dads to sign notes for even more than the $250,000 that they started with. When it was over, they owed millions. 25 years later, with royalties coming in, they were more than paid back. The show was put together in the spring and early summer and was close to being cancelled when the town officials in Wallkill, NY (the original concert site—never was planned for Woodstock) decided that they didn't want a bunch of dirty hippies mussing up their beautiful town. Thankfully, dairy farmer and great guy, Max Yasgur was willing to allow the promoters to use one of his fields in Bethel (for a price). Taking Woodstock , Ang Lee's fun 40th anniversary movie, is mostly accurate in how the deal was done. But, you've heard all this before. We're here for the music, which was pretty damn good. As was the whole vibe. Drove up Thursday to set up campsite (BTW, those are my tickets in the montage). Friday night's affair was pretty mellow. Saturday started pretty hot and just got better. Sunday, I had to drive back down to Rockland County and pick up a friend. Missed the rainstorm driving back, went straight to the tent where we were all staying, and didn't get out again til Monday afternoon. I understand Sunday/Monday was pretty good, too! When the movie and then the triple album set came out, most of this was new stuff to me. The album hit #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart and the movie did boffo box-office. Listed below are the memories that I missed out on. Looks like lots of folks had a pretty good time!

†Artie co-wrote The Rain, The Park And Other Things. See more at 45cat .
 

Friday, Aug 15 (5:00pm - 4:00am Saturday)
Richie Havens
Sweetwater(~6:15pm)
Bert Sommer(~7:45pm)
Tim Hardin(~8:50pm)
Ravi Shankar(~12:00am, rain interupts)
Melanie(~1:00am)
Arlo Guthrie(~1:45am)
Joan Baez(~3:00am)

Saturday, Aug 16 (2:15pm - 8:00am Sunday)
Quill
Country Joe McDonald(~2:50pm)
Santana(~3:30pm)
John Sebastian(~4:30pm)
Keef Hartley Band(~5:00pm)
Incredible String Band(~6:20pm)
Canned Heat(~7:15pm)
Mountain(~9:15pm)
Grateful Dead(~10:30pm)
Creedence Clearwater Revival(~12:45am)
Janis Joplin(~2:00am)
Sly & The Family Stone(~3:30am)
The Who(~4:30am)
Jefferson Airplane(~6:00am)

Sunday, Aug 17 (2:50pm - 10:00am Monday)
Max Yasgur
Joe Cocker(~3:00pm)
Mother Nature(~4:30pm)
Country Joe & The Fish(~7:20pm)
Ten Years After(~9:00pm)
The Band(~10:45pm)
Johnny Winter(~12:45am)
Blood Sweat & Tears(~2:00am)
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young(~3:45am)
Paul Butterfield Blues Band(~5:30am)
Sha-Na-Na(~7:00am)
Jimi Hendrix(~8:00am)

Updates 2020: A festival goer, Dave Tiedemann, took notes of when the artists appeared on stage. You can see his notebook towards the end of this Youtube video . As a result, all the start times above have been adjusted. Updated the Set List PDF to include those time changes and added four pages of neato ephemera photos, including the original poster and what music was on the charts that week. Check it out! 2021: Added four more pages—some singles and some books. 2022: Replaced a page for video releases (shoulda been there from the start!) and made some other updates.

Woodstock Performers' Set Lists—2022 edition Updated! Complete set lists for all Woodstock performers. Plus eight pages of ephemera photos (like WABC Survey, videos, albums, books)

Learn More! The blog on the Bethel Woods website has detailed info for each performer. Fascinating reading .

Network News Coverage: "Walter & others ," 8/18/69, How the Big 3 Networks reacted to our field of dreams.

Woodstock(Mar 26, 1970)

	Woodstock
	Cotillion SD3-500
	5/11/70  1  [UK: 6/70] UK
	Back Cover   Inside Cover   Tri-fold Inside Cover

Side One
John Sebastian	I Had A Dream	2:35
Canned Heat	Going Up The Country	3:20
[Chip Monck]	stage announcements
Richie Havens	Freedom	4:38
Country Joe & the Fish	Rock & Soul Music	2:08
Arlo Guthrie	Coming Into Los Angeles	2:07
Sha Na Na	At The Hop	2:00
Side Two
Country Joe McDonald	The 'Fish' Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin-To-Die Rag	3:15
Joan Baez (with Jeffrey Shurtleff)	Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man	2:07
Joan Baez	Joe Hill	2:40
[John Morris]	stage announcements
Crosby, Stills & Nash	Suite: Judy Blue Eyes	8:11
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young	Sea Of Madness	3:24
Side Three
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young	Wooden Ships	5:27
The Who	We're Not Gonna Take It	4:25
[Hugh Romney]	stage announcements
Joe Cocker	With A Little Help From My Friends	7:40
	rainstorm, crowd sounds, announcements, and general hysteria
Side Four
	crowd rain chant	2:20
Santana	Soul Sacrifice	8:06
[Muskrat]	stage announcements(NY Times)
Ten Years After	I'm Going Home	9:20
Side Five
Jefferson Airplane	Volunteers	2:44
Max Yasgur
Sly & The Family Stone	Dance To The Music	2:10
	Music Lover	6:59
	I Want To Take You Higher	4:07
John Sebastian	Rainbows All Over Your Blues	2:10
Side Six
Butterfield Blues Band	Love March	7:45
Jimi Hendrix	The Star Spangled Banner/Purple Haze & Instrumental Solo	12:45

Note: Sea Of Madness recorded at the Fillmore East (close, really), Coming Into Los Angeles came in from Los Angeles,
Hendrix was Popeil'd, and other performances edited or "sweetened" due to technical glitches on site.

	Woodstock Two
	Cotillion SD2-400
	3/71 BB [UK: 6/71]
	Back Cover   Inside Cover   Tri-fold Inside Cover

Side One
Jimi Hendrix	Jam Back At The House	6:09
	Izabella	3:32
	Get My Heart Back Together	8:02
Side Two
Jefferson Airplane	Saturday Afternoon/Won't You Try	4:52
	Eskimo Blue Day	6:00
Butterfield Blues Band	Everything's Gonna Be Alright	8:36
Side Three
Joan Baez	Sweet Sir Galahad	3:27
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young	Guinnevere	5:04
	4 + 20	2:10
	Marrakesh Express	2:09
Melanie	My Beautiful People	3:45
	Birthday Of The Sun	3:21
Side Four
Mountain	Blood Of The Sun	3:05
	Theme For An Imaginary Western	4:44
Canned Heat	Woodstock Boogie	12:55
Audience During Sunday Rainstorm	Let The Sunshine In	:50

Note: The Mountain tracks were not recorded at Woodstock
The release date of this album was moved back to 3/71 (from 5/71), as the album entered the Billboard charts on 4/10.

	Woodstock - 25th Anniversary Collection
	Atlantic 82636 (4-CD)
	8/94

Selections from above two albums, plus the following additional material:
Richie Havens	Handsome Johnny	5:47
	Freedom	6:24
Tim Hardin	If I Were A Carpenter	2:53
Arlo Guthrie	Walking Down The Line	5:11
Canned Heat	A Change Is Gonna Come/Leaving This Town	7:56
	Going Up The Country	4:14
Creedence Clearwater Revival	Commotion	2:45
	Green River	3:06
	Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won't Do)	3:41
	I Put A Spell On You	4:34
Janis Joplin	Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)	4:15
	Work Me Lord	7:53
	Ball & Chain	5:40
Jefferson Airplane	Somebody To Love	4:37
	Uncle Sam Blues	6:09
	White Rabbit	2:53
Joe Cocker	Let's Go Get Stoned	5:42
The Band	Long Black Veil	3:12
	Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever	5:05
	The Weight	4:47
Johnny Winter	Mean Town Blues	4:46
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young	Find The Cost Of Freedom	3:12
Jimi Hendrix	Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)/Stepping Stone	12:10

Note: Although there are some "new" tracks in this set, a lot of the stage banter and other bits were edited out.
Nice, but wait a few years...
 

The Mother Load†

For the 40th anniversary in 2009, Rhino put out a massive 6-CD set that set a new standard. Contains all of the above (with restored edits) and much more. Plus, in the original issue, a beautiful 80-page book. And special Target or QVC bonus disc bundles. Conspicuous by its absence is one of the most famous Woodstock memories: I'm Going Home by Ten Years After. Some idiot decided against okaying that track. Sony/Legacy jumped in with five Woodstock Experience 2-CD sets pairing albums of the time with complete sets at Woodstock for Winter, Airplane, Santana, Joplin & Sly. A&M released the Joe Cocker set and Rhino records, as a bonus disc to a massive box set, Paul Butterfield. Jimi's got plenty of choices, all without Larry Lee's two songs! Don't forget the DVD sets... Can't wait for the 50th!! On the magic internet tubes, you can find the almost complete audio concert. Traders have shared official releases with outtakes, soundboards, video, film, and audience recordings to make it about 95% complete. They won't stop until its all there. They're at V5 now (started in 2000). Find out more at the Woodstock Wiki link below.   †Looks kinda puny compared to what's next!

The Big One

Well, dreams do come true! For the 50th, Rhino released a mammoth 38-CD box with all but 3 songs that were played that weekend. One Sha Na Na track and the two Larry Lee songs in the Hendrix set. Andy Zax and crew (@ NPR, All Songs Considered) did an amazing job in bringing these tracks back to life. CS&N&Y, The Who, Ten Years After, Arlo—they all sound better than sitting in a bowl some 300' away from the stage! Sure, there were problems in setting up and recording (not to mention wacked out performers), but it's real, man! Of course, the $800 box sold out rather quickly (check eBay for a laugh), but Rhino has many other combinations to purchase .

Joni Mitchell's Woodstock Variations
Woodstock	Joni Mitchell (Ladies Of The Canyon)	4/70
She debuted the song at	The Assembled Multitude (45)	10/70
Big Sur in September	Matthews' Southern Comfort (45)	11/70
	Bonnie Raitt (3/27/71, Syracuse University)	3/71
	Joni Mitchell with L A Express(Miles Of Aisles)	11/74
	Eva Cassidy (Time After Time)	6/2000
Other Woodstock Songs
Going To Bethel	Route 17 (45) Youtube link	10/69
In The Peaceful Valley (Woodstock '69)	Steve Duboff (45) Youtube link	10/69
Woodstock	Thomas & Richard Frost (Visualise CD)†	rec late/69
Return To Woodstock	Jackie Watts (45)	late/69
For Yasgur's Farm	Mountain (Climbing)	3/70
Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)	Melanie & The Edwin Hawkins Singers (Candles In The Rain)	4/70
The Spirit Of Woodstock (Remains In America Today)	Ernie Maresca (45)	9/69
	Shakin' Stevens & The Sunsets (UK 45)	8/70
I Wish I Could Have Been There (Woodstock)	John Denver (Whose Garden Was This)	10/70
Woodstock Nation	Cosmic Michael (After A While) •	?/70

Note: †Record shelved by Imperial, finally released in 2002 by Rev-Ola
 

Links!