History Trivia / Woodstock

** Water, at least, was not a problem as one of the nearby ponds had been tapped for it and provided abundantly during the festival. However, they got more than they bargained for as the last two days of the festival were beset by torrential storms that aggravated the existing issues and forced the promoters to shuffle the lineup around almost constantly. The Music/GratefulDead especially suffered from the effects of the rain as their lighting and sound were subpar; some of the band also got electric shocks.[[note]]A major reason they're neither in the movie nor on the album[[/note]] A turntable underneath the main stage, meant to allow one act to play while the next one was setting up, also failed, exacerbating these issues. (Richie Havens wasn't supposed to open the show, but since he was there and Sweetwater was not, he was asked to; after he'd run out of his planned material he [[ThrowItIn improvised]] "Freedom" right there on stage; it became one of his signature songs)

** Music/JamesTaylor and Billy Preston were under consideration due to his Beatles connection. When the request for the Beatles to perform at Woodstock was sent to Apple Records, the label asked the promoters whether Taylor and Preston, who were both signed to the label, could perform as well. Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang says he and other organizers received the letter asking whether Lennon, Taylor, and Preston could perform at a bad time where he was distracted by a location falling through, and they never got the agreement finalized.

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Production_issues total mess]] production wise and was canceled on July 31, 2019, only weeks before it was supposed to take place. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so. On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but there were many criticisms of the lineup, including by [[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-woodstock-50-won-apos-182010961.html longtime concert organizer Randy Phillips]]. Instead of signing up Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and The Killers[[note]]UnfortunateImplications again -- that was the band scheduled to be the ''first band playing on day one''. THE KILLERS.[[/note]] the festival should have focused on the Woodstock veterans and filled out the rest of the lineup with classic rock acts and newer groups that fit Woodstock's aesthetic better. According to a ''Rolling Stone'' [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320 post-mortem on the festival]], Michael Lang had ''wanted'' some of these artists, and had sought out everyone from Music/BruceSpringsteen to Music/BrunoMars to Music/{{Phish}} to Music/StevieWonder, but none of those artists said yes. Joan Baez refused because the plans kept changing and seemed "too complicated to even get involved in."

** Raven had played at one of the organizers' Woodstock Sound-Outs warm-up festivals in 1968 and 1969, and had a bad time, so they declined a spot at the actual festival. Other Sound-Outs performers who did not appear at Woodstock include The Blues Magoos, Artie & Happy Traum, Music/SoftMachine, Cat Mother & The All-Night Newsboys, Music/DonMcLean, Lothar and the Hand People, Fear Itself, Music/VanMorrison, and the aforementioned Procul Harum.

** Raven had played at one of the organizers' Woodstock Sound-Outs warm-up festivals in 1968 and 1969, and had a bad time, so they declined a spot at the actual festival. Other Sound-Outs performers who did not appear at Woodstock include The Blues Magoos, Artie & Happy Traum, Music/SoftMachine, Cat Mother & The All-Night Newsboys, Music/DonMcLean, Lothar abd the Hand People, Fear Itself, Music/VanMorrison, and the aforementioned Procul Harum.

** Music/JamesTaylor and Billy Preston were under consideration due to his Beatles connection. When the request for the Beatles to perform at Woodstock was sent to Apple Records, the label asked the promoters whether Taylor and Preston, who were both signed to the label, could perform as well. Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang says he and other organizers received the letter asking whether Lennon, Taylor, and Preston could play at a bad time where they were distracted by a location falling through, and they never got the agreement finalized.

** Music/JamesTaylor was under consideration due to his Beatles connection. When the request for the Beatles to perform at Woodstock was sent to Apple Records, the label asked the promoters whether Taylor, their latest signing, could perform as well. When it looked like the Beatles were definitely not going to happen, Taylor's appearance fell apart too.

** Tommy James And The Shondells were told by their secretary that "a pig farmer wants you to come and play in his field" and assumed it was small local event.
** Spirit kept to their promotional tour plans.

** Music/JoniMitchell turned down a spot after her manager and agent David Geffen talked her into keeping scheduled appearance on ''Series/TheDickCavettShow'' instead.[[note]]Geffen was worried Mitchell wouldn't make it back to New York City for the taping in time. Ironically, that episode -- taped the day the festival ended and aired the next night -- turned into something of a Woodstock post-show, considering Cavett's other guests were the Jefferson Airplane, David Crosby and Stephen Stills[[/note]] She's spoken ever since about how much she regrets listening to Geffen. She later wrote the song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aOGnVKWbwc Woodstock]]" about the festival, based on what her then-boyfriend Graham Nash had told her about it.

** Music/TheDoors thought it would be a cheap imitation of the Monterey Pop festival. Also, Jim Morrison disliked playing outdoor shows. John Densmore actually did go, though.

** Lighthouse initially said yes, but backed out shortly thereafter
** Blind Faith turned down the gig to work on new music and their live act, only to break up just a few months later

** It's a Beautiful Day lost out on a spot due to pure chance. Famed music promoter and manager Bill Graham demanded that Woodstock book another one of his bands if they wanted the Grateful Dead to play. The promoters loved both of the bands Graham suggested - Music/{{Santana}} and It's a Beautiful Day - so much that they couldn't decide. So they flipped a coin, and It's a Beautiful Day lost.

** Procul Harum said no because they were exhausted after a long tour, and guitarist Robin Trower's wife was about to give birth to their baby back in England.

** Blues Image were convinced to turn a spot down by their manager, who told them it was going to rain and there was only one road out of the festival (both of which were true). The band really wanted to go anyway, but ultimately acquiesced to their manager and played a show in nearby Binghamton, New York instead.
** The Rascals thought about going, but turned down the offer and used the weekend to work on their upcoming ''See'' album instead.
** Mind Garage, an early ChristianRock band known for their psychedelic versions of liturgical music, were invited to play the festival but turned the offer down.
** Laura Nyro was asked and declined, citing severe, crippling stage fright.

** One artist who wasn't supposed to play was John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful. He was sitting backstage taking LSD with friends and was asked to perform to fill in a gap between scheduled performers who hadn't arrived yet. His voice is the first one you hear on the original ''Woodstock'' record album, with his gentle ballad "I Had A Dream".
** An artist who didn't know what she was getting into was Melanie Safka. Primarily known in England and Europe, not the U.S., she was invited to the "Woodstock Music and ''Art Fair''" and pictured playing for 500 people in folding lawn chairs at a relaxed arts and crafts show. Terrified by the actual size of the crowd as she was flown in by helicopter, she [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-melanie-singer-songwriter-856281/ wondered how she could captivate so many people]]. But she did, and as the rain fell and she saw the people holding up candles[[note]]this was before the days of audiences holding up lighters to encourage a band, although after Bert Sommers' set, a bit after 8 p.m., production coordinator John Morris exhorted attendees to light matches as it got dark. [[Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival John Fogerty]] thinks the lighter tradition did start there with ''one guy'' who lit a cigarette as he yelled to the band not to worry, people were listening, even though it was 1 a.m.[[/note]] she understood what was happening. The memory of that night became "Candles in the Rain", her first U.S. hit. She was the first solo female artist to play at the festival. Her seven-song set started at 11 p.m. on the first night, replacing Incredible String Band who didn't want to play in the rain. They went on the next evening, around 6 p.m., right before Santana.

** The Music/JeffBeck Group were actually signed on to play...but Beck broke up the band right before the festival

** Laura Nyro was asked and declined, citing severe, crippling stage fright.
** Music/{{Donovan}} was asked and declined -- no one seems to know why, perhaps for personal reasons.

* FranchiseKiller: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_%2799 Woodstock '99]], which forever tragically tarnished the name of Woodstock forever for its actions and going against what ''made'' the original so memorable and a classic.

** Music/TheBeachBoys were also contacted, but there's never been a specific reported reason why they turned it down. However, 1969 was a terrible year for the band all around. They were badly in debt and manager Murry Wilson had just sold the rights to their song catalog behind their backs, devastating his son and band mastermind Brian. They may have just wanted to take a break from the spotlight.

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Cancellation_controversy total mess]] production wise and was canceled on July 31, 2019, only weeks before it was supposed to take place. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so. On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but there were many criticisms of the lineup, including by [[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-woodstock-50-won-apos-182010961.html longtime concert organizer Randy Phillips]]. Instead of signing up Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and The Killers[[note]]UnfortunateImplications again -- that was the band scheduled to be the ''first band playing on day one''. THE KILLERS.[[/note]] the festival should have focused on the Woodstock veterans and filled out the rest of the lineup with classic rock acts and newer groups that fit Woodstock's aesthetic better. According to a ''Rolling Stone'' [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320 post-mortem on the festival]], Michael Lang had ''wanted'' some of these artists, and had sought out everyone from Music/BruceSpringsteen to Music/BrunoMars to Music/{{Phish}} to Music/StevieWonder, but none of those artists said yes. Joan Baez refused because the plans kept changing and seemed "too complicated to even get involved in."

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Cancellation_controversy total mess]] production wise and was canceled on July 31, 2019, only weeks before it was supposed to take place. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so. On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but there were many criticisms of the lineup. Instead of signing up Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and The Killers, the festival should have focused on the Woodstock veterans and filled out the rest of the lineup with classic rock acts and newer groups that fit Woodstock's aesthetic better. According to a ''Rolling Stone'' [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320 post-mortem on the festival]], Michael Lang had ''wanted'' some of these artists, and had sought out everyone from Music/BruceSpringsteen to Music/BrunoMars to Music/{{Phish}} to Music/StevieWonder, but none of those artists said yes.

** An artist who didn't know what she was getting into was Melanie Safka. Primarily known in England and Europe, not the U.S., she was invited to the "Woodstock Music and ''Art Fair''" and pictured playing for 500 people in folding lawn chairs at a relaxed arts and crafts show. Terrified by the actual size of the crowd as she was flown in by helicopter, she wondered how she could captivate so many people. But she did, and as the rain fell and she saw the people holding up candles[[note]]this was before the days of audiences holding up lighters to encourage a band, although after Bert Sommers' set, a bit after 8 p.m., production coordinator John Morris exhorted attendees to light matches as it got dark. [[Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival John Fogerty]] thinks the lighter tradition did start there with ''one guy'' who lit a cigarette as he yelled to the band not to worry, people were listening, even though it was 1 a.m.[[/note]] she understood what was happening. The memory of that night became "Candles in the Rain", her first U.S. hit. She was the first solo female artist to play at the festival. Her seven-song set started at 11 p.m. on the first night, replacing Incredible String Band who didn't want to play in the rain. They went on the next evening, around 6 p.m., right before Santana.

** Music/TheRollingStones turned down a spot because Music/MickJagger was busy working on the film ''Film/NedKelly.''

** Music/TheBeatles, who, contrary to popular belief, ''were'' asked. But the members were too busy working on ''Music/AbbeyRoad'', couldn't coordinate their schedules and possibly weren't even interested in the first place.

** Music/JoniMitchell turned down a spot after her manager and agent David Geffen talked her into keeping scheduled appearance on ''The Dick Cavett Show'' instead.[[note]]Geffen was worried Mitchell wouldn't make it back to New York City for the taping in time. Ironically, that episode -- taped the day the festival ended and aired the next night -- turned into something of a Woodstock post-show, considering Cavett's other guests were the Jefferson Airplane, David Crosby and Stephen Stills[[/note]] She's spoken ever since about how much she regrets listening to Geffen. She later wrote the song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aOGnVKWbwc Woodstock]]" about the festival, based on what her then-boyfriend Graham Nash had told her about it.

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Cancellation_controversy total mess]] production wise and was announced canceled on July 31, 2019. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so. On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but there were many criticisms of the lineup. Instead of signing up Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and The Killers, the festival should have focused on the Woodstock veterans and filled out the rest of the lineup with classic rock acts and newer groups that fit Woodstock's aesthetic better. According to a ''Rolling Stone'' [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320 post-mortem on the festival]], Michael Lang had ''wanted'' some of these artists, and had sought out everyone from Music/BruceSpringsteen to Music/BrunoMars to Music/{{Phish}} to Music/StevieWonder, but none of those artists said yes.

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Cancellation_controversy total mess]] production wise and was announced canceled on July 31, 2019. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so. On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but there were many criticisms of the lineup. Instead of signing up Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and The Killers, the festival should have focused on the Woodstock veterans and filled out the rest of the lineup with classic rock acts and newer groups that fit Woodstock's aesthetic better. According to a ''Rolling Stone'' [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320 post-mortem on the festival]], Michael Lang had ''wanted'' some of these artists, and had sought out everyone from Music/BruceSpringsteen to Music/{{Phish}} to Music/StevieWonder, but none of those artists said yes.

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Cancellation_controversy total mess]] production wise and was announced canceled on July 31, 2019. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so. On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but there were many criticisms of the lineup. Instead of Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and The Killers, the festival should have focused on the Woodstock veterans and filled out the rest of the lineup with classic rock acts and newer groups that were more appropriate for Woodstock's aesthetic. According to a ''Rolling Stone'' [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/woodstock-50-disaster-872320 post-mortem on the festival]], Michael Lang had ''wanted'' some of these artists, and had sought out everyone from Music/BruceSpringsteen to Music/{{Phish}} to Music/StevieWonder, but none of those artists said yes.

** The planned 50th anniversary concert at Watkins Glen was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#Cancellation_controversy total mess]] production wise and was announced canceled on July 31, 2019. The festival's richest financial backer, Dentsu, pulled out of the festival on April 29 and declared Woodstock 50 canceled, although a judge later ruled they had no right to do so. On June 10, [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/woodstock-50-loses-festival-grounds-846494/ they lost their venue and their replacement production company.]] Not only were they unable to get necessary permits and start work on the venue early enough[[note]]a major element of the [[DisasterDominoes cascading failure chain]] that was [[Film/GimmeShelter Altamont]][[/note]], not only did the company hired to produce the event insisted on limiting attendance to 75,000 for safety reasons (the original event on the Yasgur farm had over 500,000), but organizer Randy Phillips [[http://fortune.com/2019/05/02/why-woodstock-50-wont-happen/ criticized the artists' lineup]] as lacking the "lineage, the connection to the original" that would have helped to recreate the iconic atmosphere. Instead of Imagine Dragons, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and the Killers, he says, this is the kind of event where you should try to get Music/CrosbyStillsNashAndYoung back together; the planners should have taken their cues from the [[https://www.deserttrip.com Desert Trip festival]] and recruited more active rockers from the 60s such as Music/PaulMcCartney and Music/BobDylan. Michael Lang had ''wanted'' these artists, but not everyone was available; in fact, some of them were actually playing a Woodstock commemorative show put on by Live Nation that same weekend at the original site.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Thanks mostly to ScrewedByTheNetwork, ScrewedByTheLawyers and OldShame, only a limited amount of music from Woodstock '69 got released in the first few years after the festival. Eventually some bootleg tapes of the artists not on the ''Woodstock'' soundtrack and ''Woodstock Two'' started circulating, but a good chunk of the festival was believed to be lost. One act (The Keef Hartley Band) reputedly didn't even get recorded because their manager wanted the organizers to pay him for the privilege (eventually some tapes surfaced). But the discovery and restoration of the complete tapes in the early 2000s and the ultimate release of the ''Back to the Garden'' complete set in 2019 rectified the situation for good. Still, it wasn't actually "complete": the Music/JimiHendrix estate asked for two songs from his set not to be included,[[note]]Both songs were actually StepUpToTheMicrophone performances by Larry Lee, his rhythm guitarist at the time[[/note]] and Music/ShaNaNa had one song not recorded and another that only had the last few seconds recorded. And, the extremely limited edition and [[CrackIsCheaper exorbitant price]] of the set guarantees that this will remain in place in the future. (The WXPN marathon mentioned below marked most people's first chance to hear the complete set).

** Music/EmersonLakeAndPalmer, although there's no reported reason as to why.

** Music/JoniMitchell turned down a spot after her manager and agent David Geffen talked her into keeping scheduled appearance on ''The Dick Cavett Show'' instead[[note]]Geffen was worried Mitchell wouldn't make it back to New York City for the taping in time. Ironically, that episode -- taped the day the festival ended and aired the next night -- turned into something of a Woodstock post-show, considering Cavett's other guests were the Jefferson Airplane, David Crosby and Stephen Stills[[/note]]. She's spoken ever since about how much she regrets listening to Geffen. She later wrote the song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aOGnVKWbwc Woodstock]]" about the festival, based on what her then-boyfriend Graham Nash had told her about it.

** Music/JoniMitchell turned down a spot after her manager and agent talked her into keeping scheduled appearance on ''The Dick Cavett Show'' instead[[note]]Ironically, that episode -- taped the day the festival ended and aired the next night -- turned into something of a Woodstock post-show, considering Cavett's other guests were the Jefferson Airplane, David Crosby and Stephen Stills[[/note]]. She's spoken ever since about how much she regrets listening to them, and later wrote the song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aOGnVKWbwc Woodstock]]" about the festival.