From Jimi Hendrix to Carlos Santana and Melanie Safka, Woodstock 1969 held dozens of untold stories. Here are 10 of the most incredible moments experienced by the artists themselves on stage and backstage at the festival that changed music forever.
The Woodstock of 1969 was not just a festival. It was a symbol of freedom, music, and revolution. A three-day celebration that made history, defined an entire generation, and forever changed the world's relationship with music. Three days of "peace and music" — and ten stories that, as unbelievable as they may sound, are true.
From Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana to Melanie Safka and the Grateful Dead, the musicians of Woodstock lived through moments no one had ever seen before. Some soared, others fell, and all found themselves briefly at the center of a rapidly changing world.
Richie Havens was the first to take the stage. It wasn’t planned. The roads around Bethel Farm were jammed with half a million people. So Havens stepped forward with a guitar and a smile. His set, which was supposed to last twenty minutes, turned into almost an hour. And when he ran out of songs, he started improvising — and “Freedom” was born. One word, one slogan, one song that summed up the entire spirit of Woodstock.
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Soon after, Sweetwater — a young folk band — unwittingly became the first act to play at the festival. Their singer, 19-year-old Nancy Nevins, was just starting out. The band had asked to be the first to perform because their keyboardist had to report to the Air Force the next morning to avoid Vietnam. Thus, the band became the “opener” for Woodstock. A few months later, a car accident would end Nevins’ voice — but her Woodstock moment was forever.
Melanie Safka, then just 22 years old, took the stage in the pouring rain. The audience, wet and tired, lit candles and lights into the night, creating one of the most magical images of the festival. She later said: “I became the girl with the lights. From then on, wherever I sang, flames were lit.” From that moment on, her career skyrocketed.
Carlos Santana, on the other hand, experienced Woodstock… in a psychedelic journey. He has admitted that he had taken mescaline from Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, thinking that his turn would be hours later. Two hours later, he was called on stage. “My guitar was melting in my hands, like a snake,” he said with a laugh. “I prayed to God to keep me tuned and not… faint in front of everyone.” Despite all this, Santana’s set is considered one of the most explosive in the history of the festival.
The Grateful Dead were less fortunate. Electric rain, short circuits, and faulty microphones pushed them to their limits. Drummer Bill Kreutzmann later said, "It was so bad we didn't even put it in the documentary. We should have been called the Electrocuted Dead."
Creedence Clearwater Revival fared even worse. They took the stage at 2:30 in the morning, after a long delay. John Fogerty recalled: "Everybody was asleep. A guy, a quarter of a mile away, lit a lighter at me and shouted, 'Don't stop, John! We're with you!' At that point I was just playing for him."
Sly & the Family Stone brought rhythm and soul to Woodstock. “I Want to Take You Higher” woke the crowd up in the middle of the night. It was the set that united funk and rock and made Sly Stone one of the heroes of the decade. Cynthia Robinson would say years later: “We didn’t care who played last. We were there for the music, not our egos.”
The Who, however, had a different story. They wanted their money before they went on stage, Roger Daltrey accidentally drank tea laced with LSD, and at 5 a.m., in the fog and mud, they played “Tommy” in its entirety. At one point, activist Abbie Hoffman got on stage and started shouting into the microphone. Pete Townshend hit him with his guitar. As Daltrey later said: “It was Woodstock. Peace, music and… chaos.”
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The band Sha Na Na lived their dream. With a 50s rock 'n' roll sound, they were the most subversive choice of line-up. Woodstock was only their eighth appearance. A year later they had their own TV show and a career that spanned decades.
And finally, Jimi Hendrix. The man who closed the festival. Early Monday morning, in front of a sold-out crowd. Hendrix came up red-eyed from sleeplessness. He played for two hours — “Voodoo Child,” “Fire,” and of course “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the moment rock became a political act. “I was so tired I thought I was going to collapse,” he said later. “But when I started playing, everything came out of me.”
Woodstock wasn't perfect. It was wet, chaotic, full of delays and mud. But in that imperfection, something unique was born. It was the moment when music became a symbol of peace, freedom and hope.
Today, decades later, the stories of Woodstock 1969 continue to inspire. Not only because they belong to the past — but because they remind us that, at least for a moment, the world seemed free.
