A richly illustrated panel discussion transcript comprises the first part of the book. It is followed by a roots of Woodstock photo essay that highlights such Woodstock writers and performers as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Allen Ginsberg, Pete Seeger, and Richie Havens. In addition it chronicles the Arts and Crafts origins of the town from the 1800s, and highlights the town's hallowed tradition of weekend-long musical concerts. These began in the early 1900s with Woodstock's Maverick festivals, and stretched up through the countercultural Sound-Outs of the 1960s. Bob Fass, a Woodstock Sound-Out emcee and host of WBAI's Radio Unnameable for close to fifty years has contributed a brilliant and evocative foreword to the book. Also included are a compendium of important Woodstock players, a map of historic 1960s locations in the Woodstock area, and 115 images many of them rare, vintage photos of the Woodstock music and art scenes.

As the fiftieth anniversary of the Woodstock festival nears, Woodstock 1969 stands out for its singular voice. Photojournalist Jason Lauré followed his unerring instinct for being in the right place at the crucial moment. He and coauthor Ettagale Blauer trace the historic events that preceded the festival and then envelop the reader with photographs of the headliner rock stars that performed during the landmark three-day concert including the Who, Janis Joplin, Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane, and Santana. Threading his way back and forth from the stage, through a sea of happy audience members, Jason Lauré photographed the communal life that was an essential part of the phenomenon that was Woodstock. Never intrusive, yet working close-up, he managed to capture these innocent moments in the pond and in the woods with the same compassion and intimacy he brought to his coverage of all the crucial events of the era. After Woodstock, he photographed such legends as Jimi Hendrix, Tina Turner, and Jim Morrison of the Doors. Woodstock 1969 gives the reader an appreciation of the lasting impact of the festival, showing the way it changed the lives of all who experienced it. It served as the high point of the counterculture that started in earnest in the Summer of Love, and also as a leading influence in the decades that followed. The book concludes with a look at Woodstock's lasting legacy, from Greenwich Village and the rock scene of the Fillmore East to the establishment of Earth Day and the burgeoning environmental movement.

The perfect gift for music fans and anyone fascianated by Woodstock, Barefoot in Babylon is an in-depth look at the making of 1969’s Woodstock Music Festival—one of Rolling Stone’s “50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock and Roll.” “Mr. Spitz feeds us every riveting detail of the chaos that underscored the festival. It makes for some out-a-sight reading, man.”—The New York Times Book Review Fifty years ago, the Woodstock Music Festival defined a generation. Yet, there was much more than peace and love driving that long weekend the summer of 1969. In Barefoot in Babylon, journalist and New York Times bestselling author Bob Spitz gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Woodstock, from its inception and the incredible musicians that performed to its scandals and the darker side of the peace movement. With a new introduction, as well as maps, set lists, and a breakdown of all the personalities involved, Barefoot in Babylon is a must-read for anyone who was there—or wishes they were.

Building on their studies of sixties culture and theory of cognitive praxis, Ron Eyerman and Andrew Jamison examine the mobilization of cultural traditions and formulation of new collective identities through the music of activism. They combine a sophisticated theoretical argument with historical-empirical studies of nineteenth-century populists and twentieth-century labour and ethnic movements, focusing on the interrelations between music and social movements in the United States and the transfer of those experiences to Europe. Specific chapters examine folk and country music, black music, music of the 1960s movements, and music of the Swedish progressive movement. This highly readable book is among the first to link the political sociology of social movements to cultural theory.

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

Woodstock: The 1969 Rock and Roll Revolution celebrates the fascinating story of how the music event came to be and the people that made it part of history. How can you explain the Woodstock Festival, 50 years after the event, to those who were not fortunate enough to take part? The concert that changed the history of rock music and an entire generation cannot be reduced to the photos. Half a million young people come to Bethel, New York, from every corner of the world to experience three days of music together. This event, now legendary, resounds with the psychedelic notes of Santana and the sublime guitar of Pete Townshend of The Who, the rich voices of Joan Baez and Janis Joplin, and the many other artists who appeared one after another on the stage. Yet, it was perhaps the guitar of Jimi Hendrix as he played his version of the American national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” as Woodstock screamed its impetuous, revolutionary protest against the war in Vietnam, that became the symbol of an epochal dissent. In Woodstock, journalist and music critic Ernesto Assante presents those unforgettable days through exclusive interviews and photos he has recorded throughout his entire career. Michael Lang, Carlos Santana, Joe Cocker, Grace Slick, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Bob Weir, Roger Daltrey, Graham Nash, will all take us to Bethel to re-live and give thanks to the extraordinary figures that made Woodstock a legend that still echoes today.