Fifty-one years ago this past weekend, a crowd of half a million converged at Max Yasgur's Farm in Bethel, New York for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. The four-day event became a cultural touchstone and mythical ideal, strengthened even more by the Woodstock film and soundtracks that proliferated the marketplace during the early '70s and beyond. While performers, fans, and countless supposed attendees participated in even more myth-building, a small group of historians and researchers worked
For fans of Woodstock, Friday was a big day. For the physical media-minded, the giant 38-CD/1-Blu-ray box began shipping out, and Craft's standalone Creedence Clearwater Revival Live At Woodstock album was released. Those who may have been unable to purchase the big set have reason to rejoice as several individual acts' sets from Woodstock have begun to pop up on digital download and streaming services. Last week saw the release of Woodstock recordings from Tim Hardin; Melanie; Mountain;
Fifty years ago this summer, more than 400,000 fans convened at Max Yasgur's farm for a music festival that would come to define not only the era, but the entire ethos of music festivals to come. With every passing decade, the magic of Woodstock has been celebrated and, indeed, re-marketed to new generations of music fans. The '90s saw two new Woodstock-branded festivals and an array of 25th anniversary products, including a compilation called Woodstock Diary and a 4-CD box set. To mark the