Summer of Love
Back in the summer of ’69, we wanted to go to Woodstock in the worst way. We were definitely a product of the music of that time. But Woodstock, NY, seemed like a foreign country when you lived in Tallahassee, FL. So we had to experience the festival vicariously.
As Woodstock turns 40, it looks like there may be some sort of recreation to appeal to those of us who remember those good old days. There are lots of ideas being tossed around by Michael Lang and Joel Rosenman, two of the original organizers, although their inability to agree on anything is getting in the way of pulling something off. It seems Rosenman is the practical member of this duo, and Lang shoots from the hip.
There is the possibility of a concert in Prospect Park in the fall that would accommodate 300,000 people. I’m sure that would sell out completely as people of my generation remember what that summer was like.
But meanwhile there’s a Heroes of Woodstock concert tour (with Jefferson Starship and Melanie) that seems like it’s actually going to happen.
I’m going to dig out my tambourine and an old recording of “Candles in the Rain” just in case. I really don’t want to miss it again.
Doesn’t the '69 picture below of Michael Lang tug at your heartstrings? At age 64, he still sports a shaggy head of hair and an alluring smile.
posted by Barbara at 3:35 PM
10 Comments:
Oh, my. I know two people who went to Woodstock. One of them hitchhiked back home, and was picked up by a lady in a bathrobe, who turned out to be the MIL of L's preschool teacher.
gosh - '69! I was expecting my third child (at age 24) and the trip to Woodstock would have been like a trip to the moon! I remember the "scene" though.
I had a friend in So. Oregon who grew up in NY. She and some friends planned to go to Woodstock, but then they heard it was raining and decided not to go. She says her headstone will read: "didn't go to Woodstock because she didn't want to get her hair wet." She still smacks herself in the forehead every time she tells the story.
I wonder what I'm missing or what I'm doing that might define my own generation. I can't imagine Woodstock.
Woodstock is to be imagined, Kristin! The reality was too overwhelming.
Here's an awesome old video of Melanie's song that I discovered in the past year and watch regularly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkeqhqU69gw&feature=related
It's close to a religious experience. And check out the old folks in the audience getting into it.
Tut-tut -- Now that's a connection to Woodstock!
Pauline -- For most of us, it would have been like a trip to the moon. But I'll bet it was fun!
Terry -- A bad choice she made that day!
Kristin -- I have to remind myself that you weren't even born yet in '69!
Kate -- I could picture you there!
MC -- The video is a perfect reminder of what the music was like back then. We were all so passionate. I'll bet Melanie still has that hauntingly beautiful voice.
Hold it! Summer of Love"...that was '67 in San Francisco!
I don't guess it amtters...I couldn't go to either. I was 10 and 12 respectively and my parents were really square!
Real square man!
Bulletholes -- There were lots of summers of love back in the '60s.
I wish I'd been old enough to go to Woodstock. My dad might have taken me -- he'd have been into it. My mom, not so much. (She voted for Nixon, for Pete's sake.)
Go Melanie!
(Word verification: Parknest. Which is what Prospect Park would become if that concert is held there -- a nest for thousands of people!)
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