Looking Back at Woodstock Day 4 – August 18, 1969
Portions curated from Woodstock.com – by Ray Benton – Also see DAY 1, August 15, 1969; DAY 2, August 17, 1969; Day 3, August 17, 1969
Woodstock Day 4? What happened to “3 Days of Peace and Music? RAIN! Other delays! Performance starts were pushed back into the “wee hours” and into a Day 4, Monday morning, August 18, 1969.
The Story
Whether you agree with the message or not, whether you condone the life-style or not, this historic event and its music is said to have “defined a generation.” This 4th installment on our 4-day look-back at Woodstock ’69 focuses on the legendary MUSIC that was performed there. The Story – The Collage Video – The Artists –
In August 15-18, 1969, the original Woodstock Festival brought together close to a half million people in a “celebration of peace, music and love.” An originally planned “3-day music and art fair” for 50,000 exploded into actually a 4-day event for 400,000 plus. Fifty years later, there are anniversary celebrations of Woodstock large and small taking place throughout the country and around the world. Coming at the time that the United States was embroiled in an unpopular war, still grieving from the death of Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, young people were reaching out to new styles of music. The Woodstock Movie brought those young people unforgettable music from legendary artists like Jimi Hendrix, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, The Who, Santana, and so many more. As you view this post, you may be surprised to learn some of the artists who appeared that neither made it into the movie or get mentioned when discussing Woodstock ’69.
Day 4, Monday, “Bonus Day,” included four performances and a few surprises.
Day 4 Collage Video
Day 4 Artists – Who was there?
Blood, Sweat & Tears – had a distinctive R&B sound and gained a huge popularity in the 60s. Their first few albums were well received and it was no big surprise that they ended up in Woodstock, too. They started around 1.30 am in the night of Sunday into Monday. So it was already the 18th of August, the last day of the festival.
Paul Butterfield Blues Band – known as one of the few original Chicago Blues followers. In 1965 and 1966 they made their legendary albums with the original line-up: the self-titled Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the Indian influenced East-West. Among others they played at the Monterey International Pop Festival 1967, too. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band played in the morning hours of Monday, the 18th. The starting time around 6.00 am.
Sha Na Na – Watch the Collage Video and note the shock and “what is this?” on the faces of the audience. What was this ’50’s rock ‘n roll band doing a late 1960’s rock festival? Most understood the humor and enjoyed it. The group was founded in 1968 and didn’t have an album contract at the time. Sha Na Na was the next to last act of Woodstock, performing at 7.30 in the morning of Monday, 18th of August.
Jimi Hendrix – Jimi Hendrix and his band were known under several names. But besides his backing band, it was just Jimi Hendrix playing. The band was scheduled as the last performance of the festival, Sunday night. Due to several delays, they eventually played on Monday morning, 9:00AM, when most of the audience had already left.