One of my fondest childhood memories comes from my sophomore year in high school when my parents went to Maryland to visit my sister at college for the weekend. The folks left me alone at home with zero supervision and the promise that upon their return the house would look exactly as they left it. Where did this tremendous deal of trust come from? Did they all of a sudden forget that I was the same punk kid who turned the dog’s lampshade neck protector into a funnel and held weekly study groups where the only material ever absorbed into anybody’s mind was THC? Of course I had to take advantage of this golden opportunity and throw a rager, but boy was I in for a surprise when I saw what resulted. Word of my coming party spread like the clap in Cancun during Spring Break and soon what was supposed to be a relatively controlled gathering of 25-30 of my friends transformed into an open house free for all complete with sex, booze, drugs, and enough poor decisions to make a disciplinarian parent die immediately from a stroke.
As wild as the party may have been, it was totally worth the chewing out from my parents and the property damage costs because from that day forward I have a gem of an experience crystallized in my mind and ready to draw upon whenever I need a reason to smile. Take my high school blowout and multiply that by a billion and you have something more along the lines of the rock and roll festival that changed the face of music in our society – Woodstock. When first planned, nobody expected Woodstock to attract more than a few hundred concertgoers, but much like I was in high school, they were blown away with what transpired. This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the monumental festival that brought together people from all walks of life for 3 days of peace and music.
When most of today’s youth – and by that I mean you – look back on Woodstock, visions of acid freaks, hippie women breast feeding their flower children, and Jimi Hendrix shredding the ax fill their heads. While all of these things did take place, to those who experienced it first hand, the “Aquarian Exposition” held at Max Yasgur’s 600-acre dairy farm was so much more than what meets the eye. Many of our own parents were in attendance and they can tell you that Woodstock was their chance to be themselves and express the most personal elements of their nature in a judgment free environment. Whether this meant letting your hair grow long or listening to music condemned by uptight elders, once you entered the scene at Woodstock, you were welcomed with open arms.
The beautiful thing about Woodstock was that in 1969, so few young adults really knew how many of their peers shared their same feelings of rebellion and need to break away from the rigid, suit-wearing order thrust on them by parents and teachers. Upon their arrival at Woodstock, these same teens and college kids saw that they were not alone in their angst and embraced their new contemporaries in a unique celebration of togetherness set to the greatest soundtrack of their generation. Nearly half a million people showed up to see 32 bands highlighted with standout performances by the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and The Who.
Referred to by many as “the most wonderful failure in music history,” the rush to Yasgur Farms caused massive traffic jams that clogged up highways for miles. The scene was not helped by enormous crowds, endless rain, and stifling humidity, but through it all people kept their spirits high and came alive to orchestrate one the most significant counter culture exhibits in modern history. The swampy concert grounds were rife with drugs, most notably marijuana, LSD, and mushrooms, but none of the users grew violent or disorderly, after all these substances just served to deepen their connection to the music and to each other. With the Vietnam War still at its height overseas and anti-war protests raging at home, Woodstock was an escape from the tension of the times where all could unite under less divisive themes such as sex and music, not war and politics.
The lasting impact of Woodstock is it’s grand display of initiative taken by the country’s youth. Tired of the norms they grew up on, a generation decided that they would forge a new way of doing things and would operate only on their own terms. We can learn a lot from the Woodstock experience as just three days at a muddy farm changed the world’s perception of kids as “hippies, beatniks, and misfits” into a powerful social and political force of the future. 40 years later, the Campus Socialite salutes all who were involved in Woodstock – you truly paved the way not only for modern music, but also for the can-do attitude of today’s America. Times may never again be as turbulent as they were in 1969 and there may never be another Woodstock but nobody will forget the impact of that fateful weekend in Bethel, NY anytime soon.
Jimi Hendrix’s Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock:
