Whats That Sound 06-09 5.0 1/23/06 9:55 AM Page 297
Whats That Sound 06-09_5.0 1/25/06 2:28 PM Page 296 Woodstock The Woodstock Music and man, and Artie Kornfeld, and aggressive promotion, Art Festival was more than financed by John Roberts. It Woodstock mushroomed in just the largest and most was held in Bethel, New York, size, drawing a peak crowd of important of the open-air about forty miles away from between 300,000 and music festivals of the late Woodstock, the famous idyllic 600,000 people. 1960s. Woodstock was a artists’ colony where Bob In 1969 the counterculture defining cultural moment, a Dylan had retired in 1967. By was frequently demonized by confluence of powerful social using the name “Woodstock” the mainstream. As a result movements that were chang- and putting the Band on the the unprecedented gathering ing mainstream attitudes bill, the festival organizers of hundreds of thousands of about music, politics, race, subtly encouraged the mis- “hippies” in a single rain- the war in Vietnam, religion, taken idea that Dylan would soaked field, with insufficient socially acceptable behavior, perform. With the festival’s food, medical care, traffic live from ... the use of drugs, and the role proximity to New York City, a plans, and organization, of youth in American culture. lineup of major stars (includ- alarmed both the government The festival was organized ing the Who, Jimi Hendrix, and the media. Yet despite by Michael Lang, Joel Rosen- and Janis Joplin), and some the problems, Woodstock was Whats That Sound 06-09_5.0 1/23/06 9:55 AM Page 297 peaceful.
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