Barefoot in Babylon: The Creation of the Woodstock Music Festival, 1969

by Bob Spitz, Bob Spitz

“Mr. Spitz feeds us every riveting detail of the chaos that underscored the festival.  It makes for some out-a-sight reading, man.”  The New York Times Book Review
 
Celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2014, the Woodstock Music Festival defined a generation. Yet, there was much more than peace and love driving that long weekend the summer of 1969. In Barefoot in Babylon, journalist and New York Times bestselling author Bob Spitz gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Woodstock, from its inception and the incredible musicians that performed to its scandals and the darker side of the peace movement. With a new introduction, as well as maps, set lists, and a breakdown of all the personalities involved, Barefoot in Babylon is a must-read for anyone who was there—or wishes they were.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction, Pop Culture, Summer, Biography, Rock N Roll

454 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1979

About the author

Bob Spitz is the award-winning author of The Beatles, a New York Times best seller, as well as seven other nonfiction books and a screenplay. He has represented Bruce Springsteen and Elton John in several capacities. His articles appear regularly in magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times Magazine; The Washington Post; Rolling Stone; and O, The Oprah Magazine, among others.

Reviews

[Literary Redhead · Rating 3 out of 5]

ACID TRIP
No way! Just no way it’s been a half-century since Woodstock. Hubs has a friend who went and emerged half brain dead because of all the acid dropped.

HAPPENING
It was that kind of event, along with a musical gathering never again duplicated with Jimi, Janis, the Dead, The Who, and a host of others from the peace and love era.

STURM UND DRANG
The intended focus is Woodstock’s creation, the Sturm und Drang of the planning, and BAREFOOT IN BABYLON captures that well.

HENDRIX ANTHEM
But where are the photos, where is the soul of the happening that changed the American landscape? I so wanted to be in that throng, hear the electric twang of Hendrix’s Anthem, smell the aromatic ganja, feel the deluge of rain upon the face.

LOVE BEADS, LONGING
Alas, when I “came upon a child of God walking along the road to Yasgur’s Farm,” I could neither see his love beads nor sense the longing in his heart. 3/5

Pub Date 29 Jul 2014.

Thanks to the author, PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#BarefootInBabylon #NetGalley

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1979, this fascinating book has been reissued on the 45th anniversary of Woodstock. It was a marker that defined a generation and this book tells the entire story of how it came into being, from the initial idea until the very last song. Now, if you are imagining a book filled with music anecdotes, then that is partly the case, but be aware that three quarters of this book leads up to the festival taking place and only the last third actually deals with what happened at the festival itself. That does not mean it is not interesting, far from it, but this is the full story of what happened and all the characters involved.

The story begins with John Roberts and Joel Rosenman, who were interested in financing different business propositions. They were contacted by Artie Kornfeld and Michael Lang with an idea for a recording studio/community for musicians which evolved into plans for a music festival. Not just any music festival though – a massive festival. What follows is a search for land in which to carry out their plans, which is fraught with difficulties, opposition and endless insurmountable barriers. These range from technical difficulties to security and the reluctant need for the help of the Establishment. After plans to use various locations ended in disaster, Max Yasgur became an unlikely saviour. With a place in which to finally hold the festival, they needed to book bands. However, this proved more difficult than initially thought, but eventually a breakthrough came through when some large acts agreed to appear. The first, pie in the sky, plans had included The Beatles, Dylan and The Stones. Well, none of them appeared, but once some headline acts were booked, it was easier to get people interested.

What followed could have been a disaster. A lack of infrastructure, tickets not taken, grid locked traffic and pandemonium as people poured in. The authorities feared for health and safety, but eventually the festival went ahead. Joan Baez entered into the spirit of the times, by wandering to the free stage to play for those who could not get close to the main stage, but others were more concerned about what was unfolding. Ravi Shankar, ushered off the stage by bad weather, was concerned the audience would be hurt. Janis Joplin was apparently ‘freaked out’ by the crowd and retreated to the performers pavilion with a bottle of vodka in one hand and a bottle of tequila in the other and the intention of taking a lot of drugs. Meanwhile, the Grateful Dead demanded payment up front and in cash and Pete Townsend swatted Abbie Hoffman into the photographers pit after the revolutionary thought just before their set would be the good time for a speech…

This book is a delight from cover to cover, but only if you are prepared to read a lot of detail. The music was obviously essential, but, for the crowd, there were other concerns. Rain, mud, near riots, a possible medical disaster, food shortages (there is a lovely image of a group holed up in the woods that wanted to, “liberate the food”) and possible electrocution was narrowly avoided. Eventually, what happened was a triumph for most, but there were certainly casualties of bad drugs and difficult conditions. This tells the whole story and I just wish there had been some photographs in the book, which would have helped me to picture all those involved. Still, a great read and one I heartily recommend.

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting tale of the true beginnings of Woodstock.

[Don Gerstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone seeking the story of how Woodstock festival came together, look no further. This is the definitive book.

Author Bob Spitz sifted through newspaper articles, pored over documents, and interviewed everyone remotely connected with the 1969 music festival. The result reads like a suspense novel, and the reader is taken on the same ride as the participants. It is amazing that the festival came together at all, and Mr. Spitz recounts the pitfalls on the way to the first note being sounded.

I first read the hardcover back in 1979, and somewhere in a box is that book. I believe there were pictures in that edition, which are missing from the Kindle version. This would only be a minor issue, as the author’s words tell more than any pictures would. If your knowledge of the festival is limited to knowing a few of the musicians who performed, this is a fascinating recount of the event.

Reading this, in fact, will provide insight into the principals who breathed life into something that began as a dream and morphed into something no one expected. Mr. Spitz pulls no punches, detailing the facts and letting the reader decide exactly what happened. It was not the bed of roses you might expect, especially when one considers the major differences between the four people who started the ball rolling. One can see right from the beginning that the dream would soon unravel, as the individual visions of what the festival should be were light years apart. Excellent book about a major event that was much more than most people could ever imagine. Five stars.

[Craig Werner · Rating 2 out of 5]

The least trustworthy of the overviews of Woodstock. Writing a decade or so after the festival, Spitz compiles a lot of information, but he's bought into the post-hippie backlash in ways that render his analysis borderline reprehensible. His perspective stays close to that of the financial backers and his distaste for the counterculture, part of which is obviously justified, jaundices his analysis at every turn. If you've read the other sources--Fontanale's oral history based Back to the Garden at the top of the list--you'll pick up some detail here, but if you're new to the story, stay away.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barefoot in Babylon is a concise history of how the Woodstock Music and Art Fair came to be. This being the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, it seemed like the perfect time to give this one a go.

The book is thoroughly researched and packed with a lot of details of what went on behind the scenes. It's written in a way that keeps the readers attention and makes you feel like you are in the room with John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Michael Lang, and Artie Kornfeld on February 6, 1969 when the idea is pitched by Lang and Kornfeld to Roberts and Rosenman, and you're with them every step of the way until the festival closes. You are taken on the rollercoaster ride of the planning, negotiations with various entities, setbacks, and victories that Woodstock Ventures endured to put on the now iconic festival and at the festival itself listening to the music and experiencing the atmosphere.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of this period of time or lived it, is a fan of the music, or wants to learn more about Woodstock itself and all that went in to putting it together. I found it to be completely fascinating. I was amazed by all the things these four went through in putting Woodstock together and seeing it through to the end. The author does an excellent job of giving you a lot of information, but in a way that doesn't overwhelm the reader.

My appreciation to NetGalley, Bob Spitz, and Penguin Group Dutton for gifting me an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Zach Hagen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever since my US world history class in high school, I've liked the idea of the counterculture movement of the 60s and 70s, and this book 100% gave me a great feel for the times in and outside of the music industry and just the overall culture of the youth. While some of the logistical set-up passages of the book got a little too specific at parts, which can be offputting, most of those details still added to the overall event as every moving part tries to come together at the end. There was also sometimes a feeling of too many characters and I'd have to look back at the cast list in the front to remind myself of someone but most main characters were made realistic and personable and as the cast grew it really reminded you of the grand scale of this movement. People weren't usually overpraised and groups like the police there shown to have great members like Wes Pomeroy and just terrible people like the majority of anti-hippie cops. The same happened with the red necks that kicked the Woodstock crew out of Wallkill where they were described as mean but right after we Max Yasgur, a more conservative old man, who was probably one of the nicest people in the entire book and really saved the whole festival (and the part where he came up to the stage for a mini-speech at the end was very very wholesome).

I only knew very broad details of Woodstock coming into this so it was very entertaining and surprising to see how many things went wrong and how much more could have gone wrong. I thought the part with the court hearing drama would only be a small part of the book but when it turned the whole momentum of the story when they just bailed and went to White Lake with not even a month left before the festival it was definitely a change of pace which I liked.

Lastly, the third and last part being the actual festival, did not disappoint. Each day had its fair share of pure panicked stress with the festival and the surrounding area literally being declared a disaster area, while also having the narrative of the onstage management with interactions with the artists and managers followed by great descriptions of the bands' reputation/legacy and their performances ranging from just awkwardly passable to generation-defining masterpieces, a great example being Jimi Hendrix. The very last part of the book left behind the panic feeling of the three main days and really gave it a poetic ending.

This was a very satisfying book to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it :)

[Tom Leland · Rating 3 out of 5]

WAY too much detail for my taste - endless logistics, legal hassles, financials. I wanted more about the bands, the music. Has a slapdash feel to the writing, with some odd diction here and there. Poor proofreading -- and surprising for a rock and roll-themed book to continually refer to Pete Townshend as "Peter", mispell "Daltrey" over and over, refer to "the Who" rather than "The Who", among other mistakes -- would be interesting to see how a true rock 'n roll insider would've told the story. The Middletown, NY of 1969 comes out looking absolutely awful. Glad though to know the story -- Woodstock was both a disaster and an unprecendted success.

[Tommy Chandler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow slow slow

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barefoot in Babylon is a concise history of how the Woodstock Music and Art Fair came to be. This being the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, it seemed like the perfect time to give this one a go.

The book is thoroughly researched and packed with a lot of details of what went on behind the scenes. It's written in a way that keeps the readers attention and makes you feel like you are in the room with John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Michael Lang, and Artie Kornfeld on February 6, 1969 when the idea is pitched by Lang and Kornfeld to Roberts and Rosenman, and you're with them every step of the way until the festival closes. You are taken on the rollercoaster ride of the planning, negotiations with various entities, setbacks, and victories that Woodstock Ventures endured to put on the now iconic festival and at the festival itself listening to the music and experiencing the atmosphere.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of this period of time or lived it, is a fan of the music, or wants to learn more about Woodstock itself and all that went in to putting it together. I found it to be completely fascinating. I was amazed by all the things these four went through in putting Woodstock together and seeing it through to the end. The author does an excellent job of giving you a lot of information, but in a way that doesn't overwhelm the reader.

My appreciation to NetGalley, Bob Spitz, and Penguin Group Dutton for gifting me an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Scott Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly detailed and engrossing

An essential read if you're at all interested how Woodstock happened. This is probably the best researched, most detailed book on Woodstock to date...every aspect of the planning and production seems to be covered at a level of detail that's absent from the books by Micheal Lang and Roberts/Rosenman. Recommended.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about what went on behind the scenes at Woodstock. Surprisingly readable, and entertaining. If you are interested in how they raised money for the festival or how they rented the portajohns or how they got all those stars to appear on one stage read this book.

[MB KARAPCIK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you ever fantasize about going to Woodstock? When I was much younger, I thought it would be so cool to attend one of the most famous rock festivals of all time. The music, the debauchery, the togetherness--I believed that it was all peace and love and guitars.

After reading this book, my opinion changed drastically because it sounded like an utter disaster even without the mud. This book was written about the conception of the festival and the whole process right up to the bitter end. Two businessmen and two hippies develop the festival, spending tons of cash, bending over backwards to get the right artists, the right venue, and to pull it off without a hitch. But, let me tell you, there was nothing but hitches.

Right from the start, the logistics sounded incredibly complex and coupled with the difficulties of getting a venue, it's amazing there even was a festival. Until you start reading, you cannot even imagine how much work went into bringing this festival to life. There's so much push back from the towns where they want to host the festival, from the police force who may provide security, from the commune of hippies who come out to help, and even from the musicians who demand heaven and earth.

So much information to read about it, but it's very dense with details, so sometimes it moves along at a very slow pace. My other caveat is that I wanted way more stories about the bands and artists who perform and felt it just brushed over the musicians with a little bit of color.

For instance, I watched a documentary or read a book (I cannot remember exactly) on Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young a while ago, and I learned that Neil Young did not want the cameras poised at him at all. As you may suspect, he was very anti-commercialism and wanted the music to be the star. Some stories like this appeared like Jimi Hendrix hiding out until the last day and how both Janis Joplin and Grace Slick from Jefferson Airplane felt intimidated by the immense crowds. I really wanted more of that.

Despite my disappointment, this chronicle dispels the notions that this festival only evoked peace, love, and understanding. Back in college, I wrote a short story for one of my writing classes about a girl attending the festival, and I wish I knew about this book. It would have changed my perspective, and actually I would love to read a book written from a festival goer's experiences to get a full picture.

[Ron Scheese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendous Insights - a Compelling Read

Just finished "Barefoot in Babylon: The Creation Of The Woodstock Music Festival" by Bob Spitz

The author has become one of my favorite biographers for his well researched and documented detailed narratives. "Barefoot" is one of his earlier works, originally written in 1979, just 10 years after Woodstock and recently re-released in 2019 to mark the festivals 50th Anniversary.

Fair warning, this is not about the music but about the messy, behind the scenes antics required to pull off an idea for a music and arts festival. Full of lawyers, businessmen, security and electronics experts as four partner promoters develop what would be one of the defining moments of the 60's.

Spitz had unfettered access to the business files and records of the promoters and with many still alive at the time if the writing, plenty of interview access as well. What emerges is a detail narrative of stops and starts, breakthroughs, setbacks and battles. As the festival proceeds and the plans fall apart, the reader gets a behind the scenes glimpse of crisis management. The fact that the festival actually occurred and the participants made it through three days of love and peace is actually a miracle.

5 stars for tremendous insights and a compelling read.

Check it out!

[Rachel Prince · Rating 5 out of 5]

A detailed and at times exuberant book stuffed with more details than I could ever imagine. I’ve read a couple books about Woodstock, watched documentaries, even talked to people who were there while in Woodstock (I am obsessed) — this book is full of new details and stories I’ve never heard before.

This book doesn’t chronicle the performances or activities of attendees in detail, it does mention them and explain the happenings for better context. What it focuses on is the people who created the festival and all the exciting and disheartening things that went into making sure the festival came to fruition. Reading this will give you a more well rounded view on Woodstock. It wasn’t all peace love and music, man!

My only qualm was towards the end of the book some of the timelines seemed jumbled. Multiple individuals storylines are followed and seemed to braid together haphazardly toward the final section of the book. It doesn’t fully hinder understanding of what was happening, but it did force me to reread to make sure I knew what was going on.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

A VERY detailed, comprehensive history of the 1969 Woodstock festival and the promoters who were responsible for all the behind-the-scenes fiascos...the book is so comprehensive, in fact, that I skimmed several chapters because I simple couldn't care about all the tedious details. There's actually too much information presented here and the book gets bogged down. I was interested in what it took to put on such a large festival, with considerations for things like sanitation and concessions and sound. I knew the festival had been moved at the last minute, but I hadn't known the details of why. (The owners of the first property literally received multiple death threats -- that's how much hippies were hated in the 60's.) There's not too much detail about the performances themselves, which I guess is fair because this book is about the months leading up to the festival. A map is included, but I would have liked pictures.

[Ralphz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of what people think about Woodstock is driven by flower-power memories and utopian dreams. But the reality of the legendary music festival is a lot more difficult, a story of greed and drugs and hatred and extortion - and some good music, too.

This is a terrific account of the festival, from its birth in the heads of two hippie entrepreneurs, and their intersection with Establishment money men. It tracks the story through all the ups and downs, twists and turns, and triumphs and setbacks. And the bad drugs and cold food and awful toilets and the mud.

There's too much to share here, from the drugged-out artists to the blissed-out kids, the peaceful cops to the hateful townsfolk (especially in a town that at first accepted then turned away the festival). And even a group that out hippied the hippies.

There's a lot that I learned here, mostly that Woodstock was less an "Aquarian Exposition" and more like a military operation that survived almost insurmountable odds.

[Tom Jokic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book giving a detailed behind-the-scenes look at the staging of the Woodstock Festival. It deals with the personalities and egos of the main organizers - their various strengths and flaws - and how they managed, against staggering odds and massive pushback - to stage an event that lives in the minds of many as the epitome of the hippie movement.
If you're only interested in the music and the artists - this is not the book for you. This tells the story of the massive undertaking and obstacles of putting on the festival - and it gets deep into the mud - but it is truly an exceptional book. Found it in a Florida airport bookstore in Feb 2020 and was drawn to it instantly. I roared through it in a couple of days.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting read, but a real slog to get through it. It's all about everything that went into planning the festival, all of the challenges and roadblocks, and how they finally, actually pulled it off. I suppose that before I read this, I just thought a bunch of bands showed up and played for free out in a farm field. I never thought about local government regulations, and roads, and parking, and food, and security, and electricity, and plumbing, etc. There is surprising little about the music and performers in this book. I give it 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3 because I feel like a learned a lot... just very slowly.

[Bana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. It was just a book that wasn’t easy to pick back up when you put it down. I found the long chapters/parts within the chapters to be difficult to read since there weren’t easy stopping points. And it was very dense with facts and so many names that it required a lot of brain power for me to read.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to upgrade the stars to 4.5. I really enjoyed this detailed look at Woodstock and it's many players and participants. I learned several new tidbits that I had not heard before. Interesting if you are interested in this era.

[Betsy Eastman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good if you’re really into Woodstock and all the nitty gritty details! I got this last summer and I’ve picked it up now and then when I have time. I enjoyed being teleported back to 1969 and feeling like I was there amongst the chaos and beauty of the whole festival.

[Lisa Bentley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately a DNF for me.

Barefoot in Babylon should have explored the fun and the excitement of Woodstock but I feel like it was far too heavy and I couldn’t find the fun.

Barefoot in Babylon by Bob Spitz is available now.

[Carrie Flora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the detailed backstory. So many characters to keep track of! I wish the book spent a little more time on the weekend itself as WELL as the aftermath. There were maybe 5 pages devoted to what happened after the festival.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last 80 pages were what I wanted of them but it was a long read and the first 2/3 really were not worth it to me. An incredibly in depth account and extremely informative, but way more info than I really cared about and very specific. Very technical and specific. Total drag for most of it.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very whispy thin regarding the music. Really a slog to get thru, but a cool book!

[Otis Doss III · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this back in college, in the late '70s. It is a very interesting story about how the 1969 Woodstock music festival came to be.

[Kemp · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Read About A Seminal Event in American History

Thoroughly researched and sourced history of what started as a lightbulb of an idea and ended up defining a generation.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book!! It’s like actually being there. Feeling the energy and the crowds. The music and the art must have been amazing.

[Evelyn]

Exhaustively researched but must admit I prefer the oral history to this history.