Who Opened Woodstock?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

, , , ,


Richie Havens

, a Brooklyn-born singer who sang gospel as a teenager, began playing folk music in Greenwich Village clubs in the 1960s and was the opening act at the Woodstock Music & Art Fair in 1969, died Monday of a heart attack at his home in Jersey City, N.J., according to his agent. He was 72 years old.

Who opened Woodstock 1969?


Richie Havens

opening the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in Bethel, New York on August 15, 1969. Richie Havens opened Woodstock at 5:07 p.m. on Friday evening, and because many of the other musicians were stuck in traffic, he was on stage for a while and claimed he’d played every song he knew.

Who started the Woodstock concert?

The Woodstock Music Festival was the brainchild of four men, all age 27 or younger, looking for an investment opportunity:

John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld and Michael Lang

. Lang had organized the successful Miami Music Festival in 1968 and Kornfeld was the youngest vice president at Capitol Records.

Who was responsible for Woodstock?


Michael Lang
Died January 8, 2022 (aged 77) New York City, U.S. Occupation Concert promoter, producer Known for Woodstock Festival Children 5

How many died Woodstock 1969?

Many performers made appearances hours or days after they were expected to.

Three people

died during the festival. Two people died from drug overdoses and one from being run over by the driver of a tractor who did not notice the man sleeping under a sleeping bag.

Did the Beatles perform at Woodstock?

Although

the Beatles didn’t play at Woodstock

, Beatleness permeated the event in spirit and sound. Richie Havens performed three Beatle songs, and Joe Cocker and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young each performed one.

Were there any deaths at Woodstock?

Despite having over 500,000 people at the Woodstock festival,

only two people died

. One person died of a drug overdose. The other person who died at Woodstock was sleeping in a sleeping bag under a tractor. The driver did not know he was there, and accidentally ran him over.

How many died Woodstock 99?

Over the course of a weekend that aired live and uncensored via pay-per-view, Woodstock ’99 led to

three deaths

, 1,200 admissions to onsite medical facilities, 44 arrests, and numerous accounts of sexual assault.

Which Woodstock was the worst?


Woodstock 1999

was portrayed by the media as being marred by difficult environmental conditions, violence, sexual assault, looting, vandalism, and fires.

Why did Woodstock end?

At the end of July,

after a series of financial problems, venue changes and artist dropouts

, Woodstock 50 was killed. Tickets for the festival had not yet gone on sale when it was officially canceled a little more than two weeks before it was set to take place.

Who owned the farm at Woodstock?


Max Yasgur
Known for Leasing a field of his farm for the purpose of holding the Woodstock Festival Political party Republican Children Sam, Lois

Where are the Woodstock hippies now?

The historic site is now operated by the nonprofit

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

, which holds regular concerts and runs a museum to memorialize the Woodstock legend.

Who is the highest paid performer at Woodstock?

So it was certainly justified that

Jimi Hendrix

was billed as the overall headliner at Woodstock in 1969, and that he commanded the highest paycheck of all performers. Hendrix was paid $18,000 for appearing at Woodstock, which is the equivalent of about $125,000 today.

What happened with Limp Bizkit?

Where Is Limp Bizkit Now?

Since the official Limp Bizkit hiatus in 2005

, its members have been busy. Fred Durst has a burgeoning film career and had a well-received role in the movie Population 436. He was also involved in the business end of the music business as an A&R rep for the band’s label, Interscope.

Was Woodstock profitable?


It took a decade for the Woodstock organizers to turn a profit

. All told, Roberts, Rosenman, Lang and Kornfeld spent nearly $3.1 million ($15 million in today’s money) on Woodstock—and took in just $1.8 million.

How many babies conceived at Woodstock?

Waiting on the Woodstock babies


As many as three babies

were said to have been born at Woodstock. Singer John Sebastian, who says he was tripping during his performance, told the crowd, “That kid is going to be far out.”

How much did a bottle of water cost at Woodstock?

When people went to purchase water, they were met with a

$4 price tag per bottle

. There were some free fountains, but the lines to use those often resembled a Disneyland ride.

How much did Woodstock 99 make?

Woodstock ’99 totaled

$38 million

to produce. Tickets sold for about $150.

Did Pink Floyd perform at Woodstock?


On Friday night Pink Floyd topped the bill

, Saturday had The Who, Yes and Chicken Shack performing, while Sunday featured The Nice, Keef Hartley, Pentangle and Family. And then it was time for Woodstock…

Why didn’t Jim Morrison play at Woodstock?

Apparently, by 1969, Jim Morrison had such a raging case of agoraphobia that he refused to play outdoors

because of a genuine belief that it would give snipers too good of a shot

. Really. And, at that point, he still wasn’t The Saint so he couldn’t just roam around in disguise.

Did Donovan play at Woodstock?


Donovan appears at Woodstock Film Festival

.

What drugs were at Woodstock?

Drug use was rampant at Woodstock. Though marijuana smoking was incredibly common at the festival, but most of the 80 arrests were drug charges for harder drugs, like

LSD, amphetamines, and heroin

.

Were there toilets at Woodstock?


The organizers of Woodstock ’94 had 2,800 toilets

on hand, and the new Yankee Stadium, with a capacity of about 52,000 has 843 toilets, or about one toilet for every 62 fans.

Was Woodstock Free?

Woodstock was conceived as a profit-making venture.

It became a “free concert” when circumstances prevented the organizers from installing fences and ticket booths before opening day

. Tickets for the three-day event cost $18 in advance and $24 at the gate (equivalent to about $130 and $180 today).

Why was Woodstock 99 so violent?


Festival organisers didn’t have a proper security plan

, which meant the guards were unprepared for what turned out to be an aggressive crowd. They also had no way of getting to the stages. “There was no plan for security. The guards couldn’t really do anything around the stages at all.

Was Woodstock the biggest concert ever?

The Woodstock Festival was a three-day pop and rock concert that turned out to be the most popular music event in history.

Will there be a Woodstock in 2020?

Less than a month from when it was supposed to kick off,

Woodstock 50 is officially canceled once and for all

. Michael Lang, a cofounder of the original three-day concert, pulled the plug after attempting to move the event to Maryland.

Maria Kunar
Author
Maria Kunar
Maria is a cultural enthusiast and expert on holiday traditions. With a focus on the cultural significance of celebrations, Maria has written several blogs on the history of holidays and has been featured in various cultural publications. Maria's knowledge of traditions will help you appreciate the meaning behind celebrations.