Today, December 15, 1919, Max Yasgur was born, the owner of the dairy farm in Bethel, New York, where the Woodstock Festival was held in 1969. Max yasgur was a man who fought through significant local resistance to ‘all the long-haired hippies and anti-war young people playing loud music’ coming to the area to make sure the event took place. There were protest signs around town. This was one of the protest signs, “Stop Max’s Hippie Music Festival. No 150,000 hippies here. Buy no milk.”
Max Yasgur was initially offered $50,000 to lease the land for the festival. It was a rainy year and he needed the money. He also believed in the right to self-expression even. This was true even if he did not agree with the actions and attitudes of the festival attendees.
There is a legend that the locals were selling water to folks at the festival. Max Yasgur apparently was angered by this and slammed his hand on his kitchen table. He yelled “Water is free”. His son, Steve Yasgur, remembers exactly what his father said. “He told us to take every empty milk bottle from the plant, fill them with water and give them to the kids, and give away all the milk and milk products we had at the dairy.”
Woodstock is one of The USA’s largest and most historical musical events. It set the tone for social, racial, religious and artistic shifts that we are still experiencing ripples today.
For those who do not know, here is a list of performers at the legendary festival concluding with Jimi Hendrix famed version of “The Star Spangled Banner” on electric guitar:
Richie Havens
Country Joe McDonald
John B. Sebastian
Incredible String Band
Sweetwater
Bert Sommer
Tim Hardin
Ravi Shankar
Melanie
Arlo Guthrie
Joan Baez
Quill
Keef Hartly
Santana
Canned Heat
Mountain
Janis Joplin
Sly & The Family Stone
Grateful Dead
Creedence Clearwater Revival
The Who
Jefferson Airplane
Joe Cocker
Country Joe & The Fish
Ten Years After
The Band
Blood Sweet And Tears
Johnny Winter
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Sha-Na-Na
Jimi Hendrix
3 Days of Peace & Music
