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glavama da učestvuju u nečem izu- zetnom. Njihovi menadžeri su za to vreme više brinuli o glasinama da je čitav poduhvat na ivici bankrota, pa su čekovi Rozmana i Robertsa po- stali vrlo sumnjivi. Kada smo kod honorara, najpla- ćeniji izvođač bio je Džimi Hendriks sa 18.000 dolara, mada je verovatno najbolje prošla Džoan Baez inkasi- ravši 10.000 dolara sama na bi- ni sa akustičnom gitarom (i ravnopravni član) sa ukupno 750 dolara, ali njima je upravo ovaj nastup doneo svetsku slavu i obez- bedio dugogodišnju (i višemilionsku) karijeru, koja traje do danas. Nasu- prot tome, neki od bendova iz najvišeg platnog razreda, kao Blood , Sweat and Tears ili pomenu- ti Kridensi , nisu dopustili upotrebu snimaka svojih nastupa u filmu, što je nanelo nenadoknadivu štetu nji- hovim karijerama. Na Vudstoku su Krozbi, Stils i Neš predstavili publici zaključni deo svoje magične slagalice – Nila Jan- ga. Dženis Džoplin se zauvek usa- dila na presto kraljice roka. Pit Ta- uzend je usred žestokog nastupa grupe The Who nimalo biranim re- čima najurio sa bine političkog ak- Gejbrijelom u stomaku). Negde pri dnu finansij- ske liste bila je grupa Santana (Karlos je još bio samo gitarista i
of the natural amphitheatre of Max Yasgur’s meadow, during the weekend from Friday 15 th August to the early morning hours of Monday 18 th August 1969, there were 32 performances of current and upcoming rock stars, who would be elevated to the status of legends just by taking part in Woodstock. “For us, Woodstock was just another festi- val. One that was more poorly organised than others and had too many people. It was only when the lm appeared that we realised it had been something important, because we started playing sports halls in- stead of theatres and clubs,”said Alvin Lee, guitarist of the bandTenYears After.That was my rst interview with any of the heroes of Woodstock and it would be an understate- ment to say that I was shocked. Neverthe- less, thousands of young people somehow felt that this remote farm was the place to be at that moment. They ocked from all sides of the continent to this land washed with summer rain, blocking access roads and creating, over those three days, a separate country of love, peace and music. THE HIGHEST PAID PERFORMER WAS JIMI HENDRIX The expected number of 200,000 at- tendees was more than doubled, but this long-haired nation self-managed the space ably. They shared food, water (and other stu ), helped each other to cope with the August rains and enjoyed themselves to- gether like pigs wallowing in mud. The Gov- ernor of the State of New York at one point threatened to send National Guard troops to maintain order, but the organisers (“nor- mal folk”) talked him out of such action. However, the personnel of the nearby mil- itary base were extremely useful, and es-
ranks of well-standing “normal” people of the same generation that they found the re- quired nanciers – Joel Rosenman and John Roberts – initially with the desire to open a recording studio somewhere in the rural ar- ea near Woodstock, where the generation’s unwilling leader was hiding. That idea soon shifted to a desire to stage a three-day mu- sic festival that would celebrate peace and love (but also earn some money).
FAVOURITE REFUGE FOR VARIOUS HAIRY FREAKS
However, the local authorities of Woodstock – who were already upset by the large number of un- desirable visitors to their sleepy community that was slowly be- coming an art colony and a fa- vourite refuge for various hairy freaks – refused to grant permis- sion to hold the event. Leaping to the organisers’ aid was one Max Yasgur, who o ered his own farm, lo- cated 70 km away, as a possible site for the festival. Production costs rose, and tick- et earnings were doomed when organis- ers declared the event free of charge, after having decided at the last moment to in- vest their remaining funds in a high-quality stage instead of more secure fencing and a ticket o ce. Composing the programme didn’t run smoothly either, but when Lang managed to reach agreement on collab- oration with the then extremely popular Creedence Clearwater Revival, it became much easier to convince other performers. Amongst other things, from the per- spective of travelling musicians, the sum- mer festival season needed to be fully ex- ploited. Thus, on the stage at the bottom
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