Journalist Takes Us Back to Woodstock
Some 55 years ago starting August 15, a small community in upstate New York hosted three days of peace, love and music – Woodstock. To mark the anniversary, Senior Planet revisits a 2019 interview with someone who was there – and literally wrote the book on it.
When 500,000 young people gathered in upstate New York on an August weekend in 1969, for three days of peace and music, no one expected we’d be talking about this concert 50 years later. Mike Greenblatt, 68, sat front and center at Woodstock, driving up from New Jersey. He took the brown acid and slept on the ground without a tent or a sleeping bag.
A music writer for over five decades, Greenblatt brings encyclopedic knowledge to his first book, “Woodstock 50th Anniversary: Back to Yasgur’s Farm” (Krause Publications). Every act and its set is analyzed and the book is packed with photos. In this personal and definitive account, Greenblatt reveals what happened before, during and after the legendary concert:
SP: What’s it like to publish your first book at 68?
Greenblatt: I’m thrilled. I’m ready for my 15 minutes. It’s gonna be so much fun this summer. Pat Prince, my editor at Goldmine magazine, (which has a book division), loved my Woodstock stories and encouraged me to write the book.
SP: How long did it take to write and research?
Greenblatt: A little over a year.
SP: What’s it like to still be writing about music at 68?
Greenblatt: Since 1974, all I’ve done in my life is write about music or tell people about it as a publicist or journalist. Music is my muse and my salvation. One of the themes of my Woodstock book is music as salvation.
SP: Why is Woodstock the most important concert of that era? And it’s not just important to baby boomers. Younger people are very impressed that I was there. it confers status.
Greenblatt: It was the only time in recorded history that 500,000 people gathered in one place at one time with not enough food or water or bathrooms and no police force. It was the second largest city in the state at the time. And there was not one reported incident of violence. The peace and love mantra that hippies were espousing from day one – we proved it at Woodstock. We fed each other, kept each other high, kept each other warm and laughing. The real show wasn’t on the stage. It was us!
SP: What are your thoughts about the best performances?
Greenblatt: Sly and the Family Stone rocked my world. I loved the Band, Johnny Winter, and Mountain. Of course Santana made their legend there. And Country Joe leading the “FISH” cheer represented freedom – the epitome of unrestrained freedom. I loved the vocals and harmonies of The Band and they all kept switching instruments.
SP: How did you remember so much? Did you take notes right after the concert? I was there too and don’t remember as many details as you!
Greenblatt: No notes. I was not a journalist back then. Certain things stand out like they happened yesterday. Sunday sticks out the most in my memory.
SP: Woodstock could’ve been a disaster. What explains the fact that everyone got along helping each other- and no violence?
Greenblatt: It was a cosmic accident, totally inexplicable. I can’t explain why everyone stayed calm. But part of the reason was the avuncular presence of John Morris (from the Fillmore East) on the stage. He was the adult in the room. He was so good, so responsible with a constant stream of words. He kept reminding us the whole world is watching.
SP: When researching the book, did you find out anything interesting that you didn’t know before? I loved the detail that Richie Haven’s ashes were scattered over the site.
Greenblatt: I did not know that Governor Rockefeller wanted to send in the troops, and John Morris convinced him not to. Could you imagine what might have happened? I also did not realize there were underground cables leading to the stage. By Sunday, so much soil had been washed away by the monsoon, the wires were perilously close to where we were sitting. The promoters feared people could be electrocuted. The long break was not just because of the rain. They had to reconfigure and move power to other cables.
SP: How would you say the Woodstock generation is aging, especially the musicians?
Greenblatt: It’s a different story for each person. We started out left wing, anti war but some have gone to the “dark side.” Others have kept the ideals that Joan Baez so eloquently communicated on the first night. The musicians themselves are tethered to that era, it’s part of their DNA. There is definitely a thread from August 1969 until today.
SP: What does aging with attitude mean to you?
Greenblatt: I may be 68 but my wife says I’m still 18. I’m the same rebellious pot smoking hippie that I was back then.
YOUR TURN
Were you at Woodstock? Let us know your favorite band and moment in the comments!
Kate Walter is the author of two memoirs: Behind the Mask: Living Alone in the Epicenter; and Looking for a Kiss: A Chronicle of Downtown Heartbreak and Healing. Her essays and opinion pieces have appeared in The New York Times, Newsday, New York Daily News, AM-NY, Next Avenue, The Advocate, The Village Sun and other outlets. She taught writing at CUNY and NYU for three decades and now works as a writing coach.
Photo of Kate Walter by Su Zen
Top Photo: Marie Hickman via Getty Images
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Comments
At 14 yrs. old, I was there for all 3 days, including before and after to witness the town burgeoning and the clean up afterwards.
My family summer home was in Bethel. My grandmother knew Max Yasgur, bought milk from him. Now it’s a year round home kept in the family. Our mother got a job at the festival hiring the local youth to work the food concessions. We’d take the back roads to the site avoiding the traffic.
It was a blast! It left it’s indelible mark on me for my entire life :)
Woodstock was my first assignment as a cameraman for Swedish Television, and I wars lucky to have Andy Bobrow as a my sound recordist. He had done sound at the Fillmore, and knew enough crew at Woodstock to get us back stage passes so I could film from the orchestra pit, which was a great luxury. It became clear from the start that this was a special event, and that the people were the story, not the musicians. That much said, I loved Santana and Country Joe, and the entire experience ! Peace!
I was there for Saturday & Sunday for some great music. I got to play at Bethel Woods. Brought back some great memories.
Robert, that’s Very Cool! I got to play with my band, UNUM, at Bethel Woods prior to it’s official opening. On the 30th anniversary of Woodstock!
I was there. It was good, glad I went.
That was then, this is now.
I moved on and I am very happy.
I was there for a day and a half, then left. What I remember more than the music is the experience. I remember Joan Baez and a band called the Electric String Band, but I was simply taking in the atmosphere, not really listening to the music. As for the fence, it was laying flat on the ground when I got there–I just walked over it. I don’t remember fences being cut. I brought my own food (think Spaghetti-Os), but everything I had got soaked, so I left after 1.5 days. Very glad I went, however.