Woodstock: Back to Yasgur's Farm

by Mike Greenblatt

"We're all still at Woodstock"
--Richie Havens
 
The year was 1969. Richard Nixon was in the White House. Neil Armstrong was on the Moon. And revolution was in the air. In that backdrop, 500,000 young people gathered on a mid-August weekend in upstate New York for the promise of three days of peace and music. What they experienced at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was something far greater.
 
Celebrating "the greatest peaceful event in history," Woodstock 50th Back to Yasgur's Farm offers a dazzlingly and compelling front-row seat to the most important concert in rock history, an implausible happening filled with trials and triumphs that defined a generation.

Author and Woodstock attendee Mike Greenblatt brilliantly captures the power of music's greatest performers such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Santana and the Who, while sharing stories both personal and audacious from the crowd of a half million strong who embraced not only the music but each other.

The book features a Foreword by Country Joe McDonald, whose rousing solo acoustic version of "The Fish Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag" was one of the most memorable performances at Woodstock.  In addition, all 32 performances at the festival are showcased.

Equal parts circus and surreal, Woodstock 50th Back to Yasgur's Farm tells a transcendent tale of a musical and mythical moment in time.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

Published July 9, 2019

Reviews

[Zeb Kantrowitz]

This book was published in 2019 for the actual 50th anniversary. One thing I can say for Greenblatt is that his narration is spot on. Unlike many people I can tell he was there by his comments about the groups and the people surrounding him. Few know that Jimi Hendrix didn't perform until Monday morning when almost everyone had left, a big downer.

Very much worth reading.

[Annie]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Woodstock 50th Anniversary Back to Yagur's Farm is a retrospective collection of memories and photographs of one of the most iconic watershed moments of the 20th century. Released 9th July 2019 by Penguin Random House on their Krause imprint, it's 224 pages and available in hardcover format.

This is a well put together book full of history and lots and lots of photos. There are photos of the bands who played there and their playlists at the festival as well as the performance fees they were to receive. There are also numerous photos of the people who flocked to Woodstock to experience a defining moment in modern history.

There were quotes from many people who were there along with some insightful follow-ups 50 years later. Obviously some are no longer with us, but many of the half a million young people who showed up are still alive. I particularly liked the then-and-now reminiscences from the couple who were pictured in the instantly recognizable photo from 1969 hugging each other wrapped in a blanket. (Spoiler, they're still together and in this book).

This is an interesting and well written book. Four stars. (The eARC I received for review comprised about 35% of the finished content but was complete enough to make a thorough evaluation).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[B. Conklin]

I was only 9 when Woodstock took place. I remember my parents discussing all sorts of topics at the time: political assassinations, race riots, Vietnam, the Moon landing. Just not Woodstock. Then again, I was a diehard Monkees fan with very little exposure to contemporary music. I enjoyed this memoir of the event, recounted from the point of view of the author’s firsthand experiences, as well as reflections by both planners and participants. I learned a couple of interesting things: 1) performers were afraid to go on stage as the opening act, accounting for the first of many delays, others due to rain and fear of electrocution; 2) due to those delays, each day’s concert began in mid-afternoon and lasted all that night into the following morning. Not sure I would have been able to stay awake. My main question was how 500,000 attendees went to the bathroom—seriously. This wasn’t mentioned at all, so I had to look up how there was only one porta-potty for every 833 attendees! This led to overflowing toilets by the end of Day 1 with sewage mixing with mud and draining into the crowd underfoot by the end of Day 3. The impact on the environment is also minimized with barely a reference to the garbage and cleanup, which would have been extensive. However, the focus of this book was on drug-inspired “peace and love,” so anything negative, aside from some infighting among the organizers, was kept to a minimum.

[Cat]

It just never gets old (sigh*). I missed going to Woodstock by a hair.. So I never get tired of anything having to do with Woodstock (except anniversary concerts((Nope.))) I loved the idea of Woodstock, the music, the whole vibe was so wonderful and so is this book. If you were there-you lived it(!)- if you missed it, you can live the event vicariously again and again. I have learned so much about Woodstock over the years. It just boggles the mind that a half a million young adults could gather together in one place and there was no violence! Would that could happen again today. Such a sad world it's become. But we had one bright, shiny moment in Woodstock! Thank you Mike Greenblatt. Wonderful book!
I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

[Jim Collett]

This was a fun book to read. It had a nice mix of personal recollection and historic information. There were quite a few passages from other attendees and many of the performers. There is also a nice section in the that goes through the entire performance schedule, giving each group or singer a two-page spread listing the song set, including a photograph or two and some commentary on the performance. Great read!

[Jim]

A nice bit of remembrance and photographs from one of those seminal events for a generation. Of course I was too young to have known much about it, beyond seeing the news reports, but I have read about it over the years. My main take-away from the book is that bands who got time on the movie and soundtrack seemed to prosper, why the less fortunate ones seemed to fade away, mostly. Some of the bands I didn't know were there. A pretty amazing event for those lucky enough to witness it.

[Amy]

I can't say I read every page but the book gives great pictures and stories that I never heard before. Worth a look. Interviews with some of the bands, people attending. If they had the amount the posted the money each band made that night. Not everyone at the festival thought is was peace and love.

[Brian White]

I really enjoyed this. It was great seeing what each of the acts was paid to perform and their set lists. Don’t think I’ve ever seen that. Although I’m about 10 years too young for Woodstock the authors comments about being 17 and feeling indestructible and tripping your ass off made me think back to those wild high school years. Miss those days!!

[Annarella]

An interesting and well written book full of photos and anecdotes about Woodstock.
I liked how the book is organised and stories about this legendary musical events.
A great book if you want to learn something new.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

[Jack]

A nice recollection of a young man’s, who became a freelance journalist, experiences at the 1969 Woodstock festival augmented by recollections of the some of the performers, the crew, and others who were at the Festival.

[Kimberly DuBois]

Very good account of the August 1969 Festival - definitely worth the read if you are interested in the topic. Lots of great photos as well.