Arthur Lawrence Artie Kornfeld

born September 9, 1942

 Arthur Lawrence Artie Kornfeld

On the move

Arthur Lawrence Kornfeld, or simply Artie Kornfeld, was born in Brooklyn to Irving Kornfeld, a New York City policeman, and his wife, Shirley.

They also lived in Levittown, but moved other times, too.  According to Kornfeld’s site, he attended six different schools including high school in North Carolina in the mid-50s.

Back in New York after high school, Kornfeld started to play guitar and work in the Brill Building, the famous songwriting site where hundreds of hit songs came from.

 Arthur Lawrence Artie Kornfeld

Pied Piper

In 1965 he and Steve Duboff recorded the song “Follow Me, I’m the Pied Piper.” It reached #87 on the Billboard charts. With that song and others, Artie and Steve, billed as The Changin’ Times, opened for Sonny & Cher on their first nationwide tour.

In 1966, British singer Crispian St Peters covered the song. He had much luck with it that summer as it reached #1 in Canada, #4 in the US, and #5 in the UK.

Cowsills

Kornfeld was instrumental with the initial breakthrough with the Cowsills, a family band.  He wrote and produced their 1967 hit “The Rain, the Park & Other Things” and its follow-up “We Can Fly,” which launched the family band’s career.

His All Music credit listing is a long one and includes such classic names as Jan and Dean, The Beach BDusty Springfield, Cher, The Turtles, Lesley Gore, The Rotary Connection, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, and others.

Meets Michael Lang

In 1967, Capital Records hired Kornfeld as the Vice President and Director of Rock Music. As the story goes, it was while Kornfeld was in that position that he met Michael Lang, a kid from the old Brooklyn neighborhood.

That friendship developed the idea for a recording studio. The recording studio idea developed into the idea of a music festival to raise the needed capital.

Woodstock Ventures

Though Lang by 1969 was living in Woodstock, NY, the site he and Kornfeld thought would be perfect for a recording studio, he often slept at Kornfeld’s NYC apartment. From there they began their search for backers who turned out to be Joel Rosenman and John Roberts. The four formed Woodstock Ventures, which went into fabulous debt while producing the most famous music festival of all time.

Artie

Kornfeld is no longer a part of Woodstock Ventures. Roberts and Rosenman bought him out shortly after the event ended. He continues to be active in the music field.

 

Unrecognized

In September 2025, Kornfeld posted the following on his Facebook page:

Artie Kornfeld With all your millions hits on the Woodstock site aren’t you living? Insulted that your lives that you dedicated to peace and music is being ignored by the rock Hall of Fame I’m a little pissed on that in the rock Hall of Fame. I only wrote 70 charts songs read three major labels, put the Woodstock movie together or we wouldn’t even be talking about Woodstock and rock might’ve died and I did it because of us not because of me Where the rock ‘n’ roll children were babies a lot of us and those are born in World War II had to live through Vietnam and that’s my main region for Woodstock was Vietnam protesting having friends die there anyway I should be at the rock Hall of Fame. I wrote as many hits as anybody in there that produce as many his records and I ran three major labels. I mean, I did put out while walk away Renae the Piper dead man’s curve. I do them by the angels. The shows I wrote boy had some most of the people in there but the politics of the rock Hall of Fame, which was Rolling Stone at the beginning and now seems to be for some reason in the Clive Davis fault I’m not sure why maybe not I’m not against Clive. I just don’t like that part of the music industry. I’m a studio guy I did produce 65 mountains most of that good some of them good anyway remember, I love the flower girl and I’m the pie Piper and if we don’t get us in the rock Hall of Fame, then we won’t come back from dead man’s curve thank you Brian Wilson for writing that with me and thanks for giving me credit and Rolling Stone. ARTIE.

 Arthur Lawrence Artie Kornfeld