"Woodstock" is a
popular song
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...
written by
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
. Three versions of the song were released in the same year, 1970. Mitchell's own version was first performed live in 1969 and appeared in April 1970 on her album ''
Ladies of the Canyon'' and as the B-side to her single "
Big Yellow Taxi
"Big Yellow Taxi" is a song written, composed, and originally recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell in 1970, and originally released on her album '' Ladies of the Canyon''. It was a hit in her native Canada (No. 14) as well as Aust ...
". This publication was preceded by
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...
's cover version, which appeared on their March 1970 album ''
Déjà Vu
''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is a French loanword for the phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford Univer ...
'' and became a staple of
classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
radio and the best-known version in the United States. A third version, by the British band
Matthews Southern Comfort
Matthews Southern Comfort (MSC) was originally a British country rock/folk rock band, formed in 1970 by former Fairport Convention singer Ian (later Iain) Matthews. The original line-up consisted of Matthews, lead guitarist Mark Griffiths (who ...
became the best known version in the United Kingdom, and was the highest charting version of the song, reaching the top of the UK singles chart in 1970.
The song's lyrics refer to the
Woodstock Music and Arts Festival of 1969, telling the story of a concert-goer on a trek to attend the festival. Mitchell, who was unable to actually perform at the festival herself due to scheduling conflicts, was inspired to write the song based on an account of the festival relayed to her by then-boyfriend
Graham Nash
Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...
, who had performed there. The
anthem
An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...
ic song, as well as the festival it commemorates, is symbolic of the
counterculture of the 1960s
The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon that developed throughout much of the Western world in the 1960s and has been ongoing to the present day. The aggregate movement gained momentum as the civil rights mo ...
.
Lyrics
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
composed the song based on what she had heard from her then-boyfriend
Graham Nash
Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...
about the
Woodstock Music and Art Festival
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
. She had not been there herself, since a manager had told her that it would, instead, be more advantageous for her to appear on ''
The Dick Cavett Show
''The Dick Cavett Show'' was the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including:
* ABC daytime, (March 4, 1968–January 24, 1969) originally titled ''This Morning''
* ABC prime time, Tuesdays, We ...
''. She composed it in a hotel room in New York City, watching televised reports of the festival. "The deprivation of not being able to go provided me with an intense angle on Woodstock," she told an interviewer shortly after the event.
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...
, interviewed for the documentary ''Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind,'' stated that Mitchell had captured the feeling and importance of the Woodstock festival better than anyone who had actually been there.
The lyrics tell a story about a spiritual journey to
Max Yasgur
Max B. Yasgur (December 15, 1919 – February 9, 1973) was an American farmer who was the owner of a dairy farm in Bethel, New York, where the 1969 Woodstock musical festival was held from August 15–18, 1969. He sold his farm in 1971 and ret ...
's farm, the place of the festival, and make prominent use of sacred imagery, comparing the festival site with the
Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
("and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden"). The saga commences with the narrator's encounter of a fellow traveler ("Well, I came upon a child of God, he was walking along the road") and concludes at their ultimate destination ("by the time we got to Woodstock, we were half a million strong").
There are also references to the horrific "mutual assured destruction" of the Cold War ("bombers riding shotgun in the sky...") contrasted against the peaceful intent of the festival goers ("...turning into butterflies above our nation").
Releases and cover versions
Joni Mitchell
Prior to its release on any album, Mitchell performed "Woodstock" at the
1969 Big Sur Folk Festival, one month after Woodstock. The solo performance can be seen in the festival concert film ''
Celebration at Big Sur
''Celebration at Big Sur'' (also known simply as ''Celebration'') is a film of the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival in Big Sur, California, featuring Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and others.
Released in 1971, the film was di ...
'', released in 1971. Mitchell had not yet developed her distaste for large festival gigs. Released on Mitchell's third album ''
Ladies of the Canyon'' in March 1970, "Woodstock" served as the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
for that album's single "
Big Yellow Taxi
"Big Yellow Taxi" is a song written, composed, and originally recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell in 1970, and originally released on her album '' Ladies of the Canyon''. It was a hit in her native Canada (No. 14) as well as Aust ...
". Mitchell re-recorded "Woodstock" for her two live albums, ''
Miles of Aisles
''Miles of Aisles'' is the first live album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in 1974 on Asylum Records. It is a double album documenting her concerts in support of the ''Court and Spark'' album with her backing band for th ...
'' and ''
Shadows and Light''. The original track was included on the 1996 compilation ''
Hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
''. Mitchell's original version featured a stark and haunting arrangement – a solo vocal,
multi-tracked backing vocals, and a
tremoloed
In music, ''tremolo'' (), or ''tremolando'' (), is a trembling effect. There are two types of tremolo.
The first is a rapid reiteration:
* Of a single note, particularly used on bowed string instruments, by rapidly moving the bow back and f ...
Wurlitzer electric piano
The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptua ...
, all performed by Mitchell.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
About the same time that ''Ladies of the Canyon'' appeared,
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...
's upbeat
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
arrangement was released as the lead single from their 1970 ''
Déjà Vu
''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is a French loanword for the phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford Univer ...
'' album. This version opens with a lead guitar
riff
A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...
played by
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
, who also plays the solo.
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has com ...
sings the lead vocal with backing harmonies from
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...
,
Graham Nash
Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...
, and Young. The Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young version of "Woodstock" is also notable for the stop-time instrument patterns, just prior to the "We are stardust, we are golden..." chorus.
[
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young had learned the song from Mitchell herself, who was Nash's girlfriend at the time, but the band's version introduced major changes in tone. ]Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
was involved early in the song's development, and a recording taped on 30 September 1969, half a year before the album came out, with Hendrix playing bass and overdubbing guitar was released in 2018 on the album ''Both Sides of the Sky
''Both Sides of the Sky'' is a compilation album by Jimi Hendrix, released by Legacy Recordings and Experience Hendrix on March 9, 2018. The 13-track album, including ten previously unreleased recordings, were recorded with either the Jimi Hendri ...
''. Sound engineer Eddie Kramer
Edwin H. Kramer (born 19 April 1942) is a British recording producer and engineer. He has collaborated with several artists now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppel ...
stated that with Jimi "... helping the song along, it sounds like Crosby, Stills & Hendrix". The final version had Stephen Stills singing a slightly rearranged version of Mitchell's lyrics which put the line, "we are billion year old carbon" — which only appeared in her final chorus — into each of the first three choruses. Then that line was replaced with "we are caught in the devil's bargain" in the last chorus, which was also in Mitchell's final chorus.
"Woodstock" was one of the few ''Déjà Vu'' tracks where Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young all performed their parts in the same session. Later the original lead vocal by Stephen Stills was partly replaced with a later vocal recorded by Stills, who recalled: "I replaced one and a half verses that were excruciatingly out of tune." Neil Young disagreed, saying that "the track was magic. Then later on rosby, Stills & Nashwere in the studio nitpicking ith the result that
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
Stephen erased the vocal and put another one on that wasn't nearly as good."
The Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young version of "Woodstock" peaked at #11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in May 1970 and #3 in Canada. A different recording of "Woodstock" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young was played under the closing credits of the documentary film ''Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
'' released March 1970.
Personnel
*David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...
– harmony vocals, rhythm guitar
*Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has com ...
– lead vocals, organ
*Graham Nash
Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...
– harmony vocals, electric piano
An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...
*Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
– harmony vocals, guitars
Additional musicians
*Greg Reeves
Gregory Allen Reeves (born ) is an American bass guitarist. He is best known for playing bass on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's album ''Déjà Vu'' (1970).
Early life
Reeves grew up in Warren, Ohio, and graduated from Warren Western Reserve Hi ...
– bass guitar
* Dallas Taylor – drums
Matthews Southern Comfort
"Woodstock" became an international hit in 1970 and 1971 through a recording by Matthews Southern Comfort
Matthews Southern Comfort (MSC) was originally a British country rock/folk rock band, formed in 1970 by former Fairport Convention singer Ian (later Iain) Matthews. The original line-up consisted of Matthews, lead guitarist Mark Griffiths (who ...
. The group performed "Woodstock" on the ''Live in Concert'' program broadcast live by BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
on 28 June 1970 – frontman Iain Matthews
Iain Matthews (born Ian Matthews MacDonald, 16 June 1946) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was an original member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention from 1967 to 1969 before leaving to form his own band, Matthe ...
would recall that the group required an additional song for their set on the scheduled radio session, and that the choice of "Woodstock" was his own suggestion, Matthews having just become familiar with the Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
version as he had purchased her ''Ladies of the Canyon'' album earlier that week. Due to the positive response to that song, the BBC contacted Matthews's label, Uni Records
Uni Records (short for the label's legal name Universal City Records and rendered as UNI) was a record label owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which long featured a distinctive UNi logo, was established in 1966 in music, 1966 by MCA executive Ned Tanen ...
. According to Matthews, the label "had no idea what the BCwere talking about and contacted my management, who asked me about it. Uni suggested that we record the song and add it to the newly recorded Matthews Southern Comfort album, ''Later That Same Year
''Later That Same Year'' is the 1970 album by country rock/folk rock musician Ian Matthews' band, Matthews Southern Comfort. This was Ian's third album after his departure from Fairport Convention in 1969 and was released in November 1970, short ...
''. I declined to mess with the completed album, but agreed to have them release the song as a single."
According to Matthews his band's BBC Radio performance of "Woodstock" echoed the Joni Mitchell original: however for their studio recording of the song – made at the Willesden Green studio Morgan Sound – the band radically customized the song's arrangement. Matthews would later admit to unease upon eventually meeting Joni Mitchell because he had changed the melody – (Ian Matthews quote:)"I couldn't reach erhigh notes" – but Mitchell replied that she preferred his arrangement. Matthews Southern Comfort bassist Andy Leigh would recall: "We took he song
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
apart and reassembled it and we knew we had something. We were an album band. We didn't do singles." In fact, Uni had issued one single off each of the first two of the three Matthews Southern Comfort albums. "But we knew this rack
Rack or racks may refer to:
Storage and installation
* Amp rack, short for amplifier rack, a piece of furniture in which amplifiers are mounted
* Bicycle rack, a frame for storing bicycles when not in use
* Bustle rack, a type of storage bin ...
... was something special."
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...
, Uni's parent company, agreed to release Matthews Southern Comfort's version of "Woodstock" only if the Crosby Stills Nash & Young version failed to chart in the United Kingdom; when that proved to be the case, MCA (Andy Leigh quote:) "reluctantly released ours because of that agreement but they wouldn't spend a penny on promotion ... But our managers, who were excellent, hired a PR, a songplugger. Tony Blackburn
Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and TV presenter. He first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s, before joining the BBC, on the BBC L ...
, who had the breakfast show on Radio 1, played 'Woodstock' and kept playing it and other DJs started doing the same." Matthews would recall that once Tony Blackburn made "Woodstock" by Matthews Southern Comfort his record of the week, "it began to sell 30,000 copies a day, eventually going from #10 to #1 in a week."
Issued on 24 July 1970, "Woodstock" debuted on the UK Top 50 on 26 September 1970 and reached #1 on 31 October 1970 remaining there for two additional weeks: a #2 hit in Ireland, "Woodstock" also had widespread success on the European continent, charting in Austria (#15), Denmark (#9), Finland (#23), Germany (#27), the Netherlands (#17), Norway (#2), Poland (#2), and Sweden (#2). In early 1971, the track also reached #3 in South Africa, #4 in New Zealand, and was a minor hit in Australia (#55).
In November 1970, "Woodstock" by Matthews Southern Comfort had its US single release on the group's regular US label, Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
, another MCA affiliate. Initially the single's US release had only marginal impact, with "Woodstock" by Matthews Southern Comfort spending six weeks on the 101–150 singles chart in ''Record World
''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...
'' in December 1970 – January 1971 and then dropping off having peaked at #110. However upon "Woodstock's" January 1970 single release in Canada – where a 30% Canadian Content
Canadian content (abbreviated CanCon, cancon or can-con; ) refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requirements, derived from the Broadcasting Act of Canada, that radio and television broadcasters (inclu ...
radio airplay quota was being phased in – the track received airplay at least partially because of its Canadian authorship, and assisted by airplay on Canadian radio stations with US listeners – notably CKLW
CKLW (800 AM) is a commercial radio station in Windsor, Ontario, serving Southwestern Ontario and Metro Detroit. CKLW has a news/talk format. It features local hosts in morning and afternoon drive times, with syndicated Canadian hosts in midd ...
, the Windsor ON station credited with the track's Canadian "breakout"- "Woodstock" accrued newfound US interest, debuting on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 dated 6 March 1971 at #83 to rise to a #23 Hot 100 that May. In Canada "Woodstock" reached a #5 peak on the ''RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' 100 singles chart.
But by the time of the North American success of Matthews Southern Comfort's "Woodstock", the band was no more: an October 1970 shake-up at MCA Records (UK) had resulted in Matthews Southern Comfort splitting with MCA – with the resultant cancellation of a US tour set to begin that November, the month of "Woodstock's" US single release – and in December 1970 Matthews had abruptly quit. Matthews would attribute his departure to the demands incumbent on his band's success with "Woodstock:" (Ian Matthews quote:)"It created all this peripheral stuff that took up my time. What would've been time learning to be a songwriter, it became time spent doing interviews, photographs, tours and appearances;" "It all came to a head after a dreadful soundcheck at Birmingham town hall. I left the building, walked down to the station, got on a train home and locked my door for a week." Matthews' debut solo album ''If You Saw Thro' My Eyes'' was a Vertigo Records
Vertigo Records is a record company with United Kingdom origins. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Uni ...
release of 1 May 1971 while his former co-members – as Southern Comfort – would have three Harvest Records
Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969.
History
Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...
album releases before disbanding in 1972.
In the UK, "Woodstock" would be the final single release by Matthews Southern Comfort – who had had two precedent non-charting UK singles – and "Woodstock" would remain Matthews' sole UK charting single: although previously a member of Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...
Matthews had not been featured on their one charting single: "Si tu dois partir", and Matthews would never rank in the UK charts as a solo artist. In other territories two further tracks were issued as singles from the third and final Matthews Southern Comfort album ''Later That Same Year
''Later That Same Year'' is the 1970 album by country rock/folk rock musician Ian Matthews' band, Matthews Southern Comfort. This was Ian's third album after his departure from Fairport Convention in 1969 and was released in November 1970, short ...
'' – which outside the British Isles included "Woodstock" – : "Mare, Take Me Home" and "Tell Me Why" both of which just made the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at respectively #96 and #98, while "Mare, Take Me Home" peaked at #86 in Canada (Matthews Southern Comfort had a total of four US single releases, having had one non-charting US single: "Colorado Springs Eternal", in April 1970). Iain Matthews – as Ian Matthews – would as a solo act place three singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and also the Canadian charts, one of which: the November 1978 release "Shake It
"Shake It" is a song by American pop band Metro Station, released as the third single (and debut British single) from the group's 2007 self-titled debut studio album.
"Shake It" was the band's first charting single, peaking at number 10 on th ...
", would become a major hit, reaching a ''Billboard'' Hot 100 peak of #13 in April 1979, also reaching #6 in Canada.
Despite his issues with "Woodstock's" success in 1970, Iain Matthews would state in 2017: "Any kind of success in this business takes me by surprise. 'Woodstock' was the first and most exciting. It's still opening new doors to this day."
Chart history
Weekly charts
;Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
;Assembled Multitude
;Matthews Southern Comfort
Year-end charts
;Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
;Matthews Southern Comfort Band
Others
* Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
incorporated Woodstock's lyrics and structure into live renditions of " Dazed and Confused" between 1973 and 1975.
* In 1994 Toto co-founder and long time vocalist Bobby Kimball
Robert Troy Kimball (born March 29, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter best known as the original and longtime frontman of the rock band Toto from 1977 to 1984 and again from 1998 to 2008. Kimball has also performed as a solo artist and ...
included a rock version of the song as opener on his solo album ''Rise Up''. Kimball's version is closer to the arrangement of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young than to Mitchell's original.
* In 1995 Tuck & Patti
Tuck & Patti are an American jazz duo consisting of guitarist William Charles "Tuck" Andress (born Oct. 28, 1952 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) and singer Patricia "Patti" Cathcart Andress (born October 4, 1949, in San Francisco).
Music career
Guitarist Tu ...
included their own version of "Woodstock" (with Patti adding scat-singing and percussive vocals in between the verses) in their album "Learning How to Fly."
* In 1997 James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...
performed "Woodstock" live at the 12th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
induction ceremony in tribute to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
* The 2000 album release '' Time After Time'' by Eva Cassidy
Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996) was an American singer and guitarist known for her interpretations of jazz, folk, and blues music, sung with a powerful, emotive soprano voice. In 1992, she released her first albu ...
featured her live rendition of "Woodstock" performed at the Maryland Inn in Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
in the winter of 1995. Cassidy was a fan of the song due to the Matthews Southern Comfort version.
* A version of "Woodstock" was released on the 2004 album ''Grace of the Sun'' by Richie Havens
Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style ...
.
* On her 2008 album ''A Long and Winding Road
''A Long and Winding Road'' is Maureen McGovern's twelfth studio album and was released in 2008 by PS Classics. It is a cover album of songs that were from the 1960s and early 1970s, written by notable songwriters of that era. Inside the album cov ...
,'' Maureen McGovern
Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs " The Morning After" from the 1972 film '' The Poseidon Adventure''; "We May Never Love Like This Again" from ''T ...
sings the first verse and chorus of "Woodstock" as lead-in to her rendition of "Imagine
Imagine may refer to:
* Imagination
Music Albums
* ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008
* ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002
* ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012
* ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971
** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
."
* America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
remade "Woodstock" for their 2012 release ''Back Pages
''Back Pages'' is the 17th studio album by America, released on July 26, 2011 by eOne. The album is the band's first studio album of cover versions of songs by some of their favorite songwriters. The album features guest appearances by Mark Knopf ...
,'' a cover album that, according to group member Gerry Beckley
Gerald Linford Beckley (born September 12, 1952), better known as Gerry Beckley, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician, and a founding member of the band America.
Early life
Beckley was born to an American father and an English moth ...
, comprises "killer songs that are great examples that come from our best songwriters." Beckley's co-member Dewey Bunnell
Lee Merton "Dewey" Bunnell (born 19 January 1952) is a British-American musician, singer, guitarist, and songwriter, best known as a member of the folk rock band America (band), America.
Biography
Bunnell was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, Engla ...
states: "Joni Mitchell's 'Woodstock' is an anthem for me in the truest sense...a call to action....and I've always been a child of the 60's at heart."
* Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer.
Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, John Abercrombie, ...
included the song in his 2017 album ''Hudson
Hudson may refer to:
People
* Hudson (given name)
* Hudson (surname)
* Henry Hudson, English explorer
* Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back
* Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...
''.
* The song "Dimitri Mendeleev" by Astronautalis
Charles Andrew Bothwell (born December 13, 1981), better known by his stage name Astronautalis, is an American alternative hip hop artist currently based in Brooklyn, New York.
History
After gaining some recognition in local circles in Jacksonvi ...
contains the line "Joni Mitchell said 'we are stardust, we are golden'" in reference to "Woodstock".
* New Zealand recording artist Brooke Fraser released a cover of "Woodstock" on the special edition of her 2010 album Flags. The cover was also included on her 2019 compilation album, B Sides.
*In 2017, John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...
recorded a cover of the song as a Spotify Single.
*David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...
re-recorded the song in his 2018 album ''Here If You Listen
''Here If You Listen'' is an album by David Crosby and his collaborators Michael League, Becca Stevens, and Michelle Willis, who perform on tour together backing Crosby as The Lighthouse Band, and was released on October 26, 2018 by BMG Music.
...
'', with his Lighthouse Band: Michael League
Michael League (born April 24, 1984) is an American composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the bandleader of New York-based instrumental band Snarky Puppy and the international music ensemble Bokanté. He also founded the band Fo ...
, Becca Stevens
Becca Stevens (born June 14, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who draws upon elements of jazz, chamber pop, indie rock, and folk.
Early life and education
Stevens was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as the youngest ...
and Michelle Willis
Michelle Willis (born November 6, 1986) is a British-born, Canadian-raised singer/songwriter and keyboard player. She performs regularly as a solo artist and as a side musician with David Crosby and Becca Stevens. She has also worked with Iggy & T ...
.
References
External links
* (Joni Mitchell)
* (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
* (Matthews Southern Comfort)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodstock
1969 songs
1970 singles
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young songs
Anti-war songs
Joni Mitchell songs
Songs written by Joni Mitchell
Iain Matthews songs
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Woodstock Festival
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)
Reprise Records singles
Atlantic Records singles
Uni Records singles
Songs based on American history