Decades Project: ’64-89: Woodstock Alex Chen
Plummer/P1
June 2nd, 2003:
From August 15th to August 17th, 1989, a rock festival near Woodstock, NY began, which also became a symbol of the rising popularity of American counterculture in the late 1960s. Four people had wanted to build a recording studio at Woodstock, and decided to stage a concert to promote the idea of the studio. They had originally expected from 50,000 to 100,000 people to come, although it soon became clear that many more people than expected would attend. Due to the audience that was so much larger than expected, traffic jams up to 20 miles long blocked many roads, and admission fees were sometimes waived. In addition, volunteers had to relieve many potential problems. Helicopters often had to fly in food, doctors, and medical supplies, which were in shortage. The gathering also had to overcome torrential downpours. However, the problems still did not discourage people from attending the festival, and many of the greatest musicians of the 1960s performed in the festival. Some unknown bands even became stars overnight, and the event also symbolized a milestone in the history of rock music.
Meanwhile, while the festival was peaceful despite light security, many local residents were alarmed at the festival, especially at the untraditional customs practices by the young people. There were a few cases of nudity, and an abundance of bad “LSD trips.” Members of counterculture, which the event is characterized by, were often called hippies and shunned by society. They protested the Vietnam War, experimented with sex and drugs, rejected authority, and dressed unconventionally. I don’t think it was the best idea for Billy Joel to put this event into this song, because there were really more major events during this period of time. For example, Billy Joel did not put the events of the Challenger explosion and Chernobyl inside the song, which belonged to the same part of the song as Woodstock, and did more to shape our history. There are also a handful of other more major events Billy Joel left out; that were more important than Woodstock. Woodstock was simply an event that marked the peak of counterculture, but little else.
Word Count: 355
Works Cited:
Sandow, Greg. “Woodstock Festival.” Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia2003. 1997-
2003. Microsoft Corporation. 22 May, 2003. <
“Thousands Overwhelm Woodstock Festival.” 20th Century Day by Day. CD-ROM. New York:
Dorling Kindersley, 1999,