Wednesday, September 2, 2009

134 - The Woodstock Story; Linanne Sackett and Barry Levine








I was so thrilled to have received a copy of The Woodstock Story Book from Lisa Roe in the mail last week. (Thanks Lisa)

Can you remember what your life was like in 1969? Were you even born yet? I was around, and I can remember. I wasn’t at Woodstock, but I read all about it, watched on television, and talked about with all my friends.

Forty years ago in 1969, on the site of a grassy pasture in upstate New York, three famous days August 15th, 16th and 17th, made world history. At a time when there were no cell phones, no email, no blogs, no GPS, word still traveled, and some 500,000 people traveled far and wide for this historic event. No one imagined a crowd this large would show up. People parked as far as fifteen miles away, expecting music and fun. The tickets were free, and what resulted no one could have anticipated. The music flowed almost continuously while people got high, some bathed in ponds and just about all enjoyed the music of: Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Joe Cocker, Santana, Grace Slick, Jefferson Airplane, Creedance Clearwater Revival, The Who, Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and so so many more musical talents that would define this generation. This historical event defined the hippie generation; a generation who wanted peace not war.

Barry Levine captured the entire event in photographs. From setting up for the performers, until the last of the attendees departed. His photos documented the entire event, including the mud soaked pastures and mountains of debris left behind after the event. So incredible was the photography that Woodstock won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

The Woodstock Story Book is an awesome coffee table sized book, with some 240 fabulous color photographs, along with poetic verse. There was some nudity in a few of the photos, but nothing that I found offensive. This fabulous book would make a great gift item for someone who attended the event, or just someone like myself who grew up with the music and the culture of this generation. RECOMMENDED

10 comments:

  1. Gorgeous Book. I was the right age for it. I didn't know it was happening until it was on the news. I remember it well. The biggest lie Baby Boomers tell is "I was at Wookstock". I only wish I had been.

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  2. Peace, man!

    Seriously, this is a terrific review of what looks like a great book. I liked a lot of the Woodstock bands as a child. You were so lucky to get a copy of this one. The photos must be incredibly interesting as well as historical.

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  3. I wasn't yet alive in 1969, but my uncle used to talk about it all the time when I was growing up. He didn't go either, but, like you, he watched it on television. He wanted to be there--and in spirit, I suppose he was. :-)

    This sounds like it might make a good Christmas gift for my uncle. Thanks for the recommendation!

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  4. I need to go check out that book. It was an important time for me, and I loved the (original) movie and album!

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  5. This looks cool. I really want to see Taking Woodstock.

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  6. This book was so much fun to look through! My 22 year old son still listens to music from Woodstock!

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  7. I have this book on my coffee table with the Visions of America book. Loved it.

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  8. Cool Book by Barry.

    WOODSTOCK LIVES ONLINE!!!! Join us. We're a small group of folks based at Utopia Studios in Woodstock who are keeping the spirit of Woodstock alive.

    Listen to RADIO WOODSTOCK 69 which features only music from the original Woodstock era (1967-1971) and RADIO WOODSTOCK with music from the original Woodstock era to today’s artists who reflect the spirit of Woodstock. Watch Woodstock TV.

    Win a Woodstock special limited edition white Stratocaster guitar (like the one Jimi Hendrix played at Woodstock) and Collector's Edition Woodstock DVD.

    Go to http://www.woodstockuniverse.com for details and to join our Woodstock Universe online community.

    Peace, love, music,
    RFWoodstock
    rfwoodstock@gmail.com

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  9. Sounds great! I was a young girl then but I still tell my mom that if I had been 7 or 8 years older, I so would have been there!

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  10. I was born in 1969 so all I can do is read about that time period. This looks like a fun book to go through!

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