Book Lists: Woodstock

"[A] vivid and lively account of those hectic and historic three days....The best fly-on-the-wall account, tantamount to having had a backstage pass to an iconic event." --New York Post Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Woodstock with the definitive book on the festival. The Woodstock music festival of 1969 is an American cultural touchstone, and no book captures the sights, sounds, and behind-the-scenes machinations of the historic gathering better than Michael Lang's New York Times bestseller, The Road to Woodstock. USA Today calls this fascinating, entertaining, and blissfully nostalgic look back, "Invaluable." In The Road to Woodstock, Michael Lang recaptures the magic for the generation that was there...and for the generations that followed.

Think "Woodstock" and the mind turns to the seminal 1969 festival that crowned a seismic decade of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. But the town of Woodstock, New York, the original planned venue of the concert, is located over 60 miles from the site to which the fabled half a million flocked. Long before the landmark music festival usurped the name, Woodstock-the tiny Catskills town where Bob Dylan holed up after his infamous 1966 motorcycle accident-was already a key location in the '60s rock landscape. In Small Town Talk, Barney Hoskyns re-creates Woodstock's community of brilliant dysfunctional musicians, scheming dealers, and opportunistic hippie capitalists drawn to the area by Dylan and his sidekicks from the Band. Central to the book's narrative is the broodingly powerful presence of Albert Grossman, manager of Dylan, the Band, Janis Joplin, Paul Butterfield, and Todd Rundgren-and the Big Daddy of a personal fiefdom in Bearsville that encompassed studios, restaurants, and his own record label. Intertwined in the story are the Woodstock experiences and associations of artists as diverse as Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Tim Hardin, Karen Dalton, and Bobby Charles (whose immortal song-portrait of Woodstock gives the book its title). Drawing on numerous first-hand interviews with the remaining key players in the scene-and on the period when he lived there himself in the 1990s-Hoskyns has produced an East Coast companion to his bestselling L.A. canyon classic Hotel California. This is a richly absorbing study of a vital music scene in a revolutionary time and place.

Excerpts from interviews conducted in 1988 with producers, performers, security people, medics, technicians, etc., are interwoven to present a chronology of the 1969 rock festival from the initial brainstorm to the final drive home. Interviewees include David Crosby, Abbie Hoffman, Richie Havens, Wavy Gravy, Miriam Yasgur, Paul Kantner, Chip Monck, and many others. Includes many bandw photographs. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Giftable 50th anniversary commemorative with never-before-seen images and original interviews. Hear from performers and attendees in their own voices! Featuring Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and The Grateful Dead, as well as unsung audience members and folks behind the scenes. This compendium remembers all the people who made the three days of peace and music an impossible success. The world today feels far removed from the one in which Woodstock was possible, where half a million strangers congregated peacefully for three days.  Longtime music writer Daniel Bukszpan offers insights on how the festival is still making an impact on pop culture, while candid interviews, set lists, and beautiful photographs relive the beautiful chaos and once-in-a-lifetime performances at Yasgur's farm. With images by renowned photographers, including Amalie R. Rothschild and Elliott Landy, including the cover photo of Janis Joplin.

From interviews and other accounts, this amazing music festival and social event is re-created.

With lively verse and illustrations reminiscent of the era's album covers, this tale commemorates the historic three-day music festival that became a symbol of the peace and love mantras of an entire generation: Woodstock. Dairy farmer Max Yasgur made rock 'n' roll history when he allowed a group of flower children to gather on his farm. Thousands from across the land flocked to listen to the rock groups of the day--the Grateful Dead, Richie Havens, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Santana. They pitched a tent village, danced joyfully in front of the giant stage blasting music celebrating the Aquarian a≥ and when it was over, they set out to rebuild the universe.

A far-out counting board book celebrating the peace and love of Woodstock! Little rockers will love counting everything from peace signs and guitars to bell-bottoms and rock bands in this out-of-sight board book with simple rhyming words and groovy illustrations. It's the perfect gift for every little flower child and music fan.