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Woodstock: Interviews and Recollections
Featuring a foreword from legendary director Martin Scorcese, Interviews and Recollections combines stories, anecdotes, and perspectives from dozens of musicians and filmmakers about the making of the Academy Award-winning documentary Woodstock . Assembled by associate producer Dale Bell, the oral history takes readers behind the scenes―and behind the camera―at the decade-defining event.
384 pages, Paperback
First published August 15, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 4, 2025
I listened to this book over 17 hours on 14 CDs.
If you are looking to produce, film or record a huge musical festival with vintage camera and sound equipment, then this is the book for you! Think about that. This book really addresses a rather small niche of people, but it pulls in all of the people that are drawn to the name "Woodstock" like moths to an outdoor light on a summers night.
Why did I pick up this book? Well, I was in a hurry at the library, and in BIG letters,(besides the worst photo probably ever taken of Janis Joplin) was printed "Woodstock"! But, in much smaller letters was the rest of title, "An Inside Look at the Movie that shook up the World and Defined a Generation".
So, in reality, this book does do a fine job in telling the story of the pains of filming this huge, oversized musical festival. The author Dale Bell covers many avenues in the production and tells the story by means of open, detailed interviews with the many members of the crew.
The production, as you know, turned out to be a huge hit. The concert did not even brake even, The highest paid artist Jimi Hendrix, was only paid $18,000 . The three-day concert, which attracted more than 350,000 people, was actually a financial disaster. Yet through the subsequent release of a live album and an Oscar-winning documentary, Woodstock’s architects were eventually able to make a profit. Today, the economics of rock and roll are reversed. A few weeks later, Hendrix was paid $43,000 for playing at the Isle of Wight Festival.
If you are looking to produce, film or record a huge musical festival with vintage camera and sound equipment, then this is the book for you! Think about that. This book really addresses a rather small niche of people, but it pulls in all of the people that are drawn to the name "Woodstock" like moths to an outdoor light on a summers night.
Why did I pick up this book? Well, I was in a hurry at the library, and in BIG letters,(besides the worst photo probably ever taken of Janis Joplin) was printed "Woodstock"! But, in much smaller letters was the rest of title, "An Inside Look at the Movie that shook up the World and Defined a Generation".
So, in reality, this book does do a fine job in telling the story of the pains of filming this huge, oversized musical festival. The author Dale Bell covers many avenues in the production and tells the story by means of open, detailed interviews with the many members of the crew.
The production, as you know, turned out to be a huge hit. The concert did not even brake even, The highest paid artist Jimi Hendrix, was only paid $18,000 . The three-day concert, which attracted more than 350,000 people, was actually a financial disaster. Yet through the subsequent release of a live album and an Oscar-winning documentary, Woodstock’s architects were eventually able to make a profit. Today, the economics of rock and roll are reversed. A few weeks later, Hendrix was paid $43,000 for playing at the Isle of Wight Festival.
August 26, 2026
A cacophony of recollections that should have been saved for a night at the bar
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews