40 years on

In August 1969, an estimated 400,000 young people converged on a dairy farm in upstate New York for a music festival that would leave a legacy that endures today.

Rainstorms failed to dampen the spirits of the revellers, whose good behaviour over the four days inspired Joni Mitchell to write her classic song ‘Woodstock’.

With the help of some of those who were there, take a nostalgic look back at the festival.

Music by Canned Heat; Country Joe and The Fish; Woodstock audience; The Band; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young;
Joni Mitchell; Jimi Hendrix; Jefferson Airplane. Images courtesy AP, Getty Images and Rex Features.

Includes archive interview material with Woodstock organiser Joel Rosenman, festival-goers Tom Law and Duke Devlin,
author Joel McKower, and Joni Mitchell. Slideshow production by Paul Kerley. Publication date 14 August 2009.

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