The 24th festival of 1969. I realize that there were other 1969 music events such as jazz, country, and folk festivals, but I am limiting my ongoing coverage to what I generally refer to as rock festivals. I included the Newport Jazz Festival earlier in the month because it included several rock bands as well.
1969 Laurel Pop Festival
Nice line-up
The Laurel Pop Festival does not make the list of answers when we ask anyone, “Name a festival that happened in 1969.” If we said “Laurel Pop Festival” to anyone, we likely get a blank look.
The line up for that weekend suggests otherwise on both counts. We should know it. Look at the line up:
July 11
Al Kooper
Jethro Tull
Johnny Winter
Edwin Hawkins Singers
Led Zeppelin
Buddy Guy
July 12
Jeff Beck
Ten Years After
Sly and the Family Stone
Mothers of Invention
Savoy Brown
Guess Who
This post’s background audio mentions that five of the Laural Pop acts played at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in August.
Actually not.
Three did and I’ve underlined them. I again note that Johnny Winter played. The guy was indefatigable that summer!
Nick and Bobbi Ercoline
Perhaps the most iconic photo of Woodstock attendees (as opposed to Woodstock performers) is the picture of Nick and Bobbi Ercoline.
For Laurel Pop we have John and Debbie. I suppose had Laurel Pop become as famous as Woodstock, we’d recognize them today, too.
The picture of John and Debbie is from a site that attendees have commented about their experiences there.
Wet ending
From the Baltimore Sun:Lost in the smoky haze of 1960s history is The Laurel Pop Festival held in July 1969, which was attended by 15,000 fans and offered an incredible lineup of some of the biggest pop performers of the year. Held just one month before Woodstock, The Laurel Pop Festival ended in controversy as rain-soaked fans built bonfires with wooden folding chairs and refused to leave as the concert dragged on into the early morning.
Laurel History Boys
A site called the Laurel History Boys posted a piece in 2019 on their golden anniversary presentation of the event. Lot’s of pictures and information about Led Zeppelin.
Link to that piece followed by a video with an interview with Kevin Leonard, one of the Laurel History Boys.
Sources agree on the year, 1947. Sources agree on the date: the 10th. Sources disagree on the month: June or July. The majority say July, so here we are.
Arlo’s page only uses the year. I suppose once one approaches their eighth decade, a month really doesn’t matter.
Arlo’s site says, “Arlo is the eldest son of Marjorie Mazia Guthrie, a professional dancer with the Martha Graham Company and founder of The Committee to Combat Huntington’s Disease, and America’s most beloved singer/writer/philosopher/artist Woody Guthrie.”
Growing up the child of American icons has both its pros and cons. A pro: name recognition from the start. A con: name recognition from the start.
Many Americans associated the name Guthrie with Communism at a time when the Cold War to defeat the Red Menace was still at its height.
Activist Arlo Davy Guthrie
Woody’s Friends
Friends of his father, Woody, friends like Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, Fred Hellerman and Lee Hays (The Weavers), Leadbelly, Cisco Houston, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee were part of Arlo’s early life.
Arlo was also one of the many young artists who gravitated to Greenwich Village’s folk scene.
Activist Arlo Davy Guthrie
Alice’s Restaurant
For many, myself included, our first encounter with Arlo Guthrie was hearing “Alice’s Restaurant.” It came at a perfect time: anti-Vietnam War fervor peaking, anti-Establishment in tone, and simply a great story.
For many of those same listeners, Thanksgiving has meant listening again to Arlo’s masterpiece as much as watching the Detroit Lions play.
The song also likely played a big part in his invitation to the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. He didn’t sing “Alice’s Restaurant” that misty night, but he did declare that the “NY Thruway was closed!”
Not true, but a Woodstock myth too good to not hold onto.
Activist Arlo Davy Guthrie
City of New Orleans
And as funny and reaffirming as “Alice’s Restaurant” is, “City of New Orleans” is comforting and nostalgic. A yearning for the slower times and relaxed travel by train.
Activist Arlo Davy Guthrie
Activist Republican
For a bit, Arlo joined the Republican party because he felt it needed more people with his type of views, but lately he’s back to the Democratic Party.
Activist Arlo Davy Guthrie
Retirement
On October 23, 2020, Arlo posted the following on his Facebook page.
Gone Fishing
It’s been a great 50+ years of being a working entertainer, but I reached the difficult decision that touring and stage shows are no longer possible. I’ve cancelled the upcoming shows, and am not accepting offers for new ones. That’s the short version. For the longer version continue reading…
As a folksinger, I never really thought much about getting older. It seemed to me that I could just continue year after year, decade after decade, singing and playing as I had done for most of my life. As the years went by, it got more difficult to keep touring, but I did it, mostly because I’d been doing it my entire life. It was the life I knew and loved.
In 2016 on April 1st, April Fools Day, I got really dizzy in the parking lot of the hotel, and started seeing as though I were looking through a kaleidoscope. That evening the show went on as though nothing had happened. I had no idea I’d just encountered a mini stroke until weeks later, when I was told about it. It didn’t appear to affect my performance, or my state of being. I continued touring for the next 4 years.
Then, on Thanksgiving Day 2019 (of all freaking days) it happened again. This time I was on my way to The Church / The Guthrie Center to help out with our annual Thanksgiving Dinner that we hold every year. I had pulled over to fuel up and realized I couldn’t continue to drive safely, as everything was spinning around, sort of like the old days, but without the help of illegal substances. I was taken to the hospital, and was under evaluation, when I broke out. I had an important gig at Carnegie Hall in New York – The end of an annual series I’d been doing for decades and it was Sold Out. I had to be there. It was imperative.
The next morning I left the hospital, took the family and headed for New York. And what a show it was! We wrapped up 50 years with a terrific evening with the entire family on stage. I really enjoyed it.
The following day I flew to my home in Sebastian, FL just as I had done for years, this time with the history of Carnegie Hall behind me. My girlfriend, Marti picked me up at the airport, and we settled into the routine of being on the river I loved. Two nights after arriving home, I awoke in the morning and was lurching from sIde to side. I knew something was wrong, and went to keep a doctors appointment we’d previously set up. The doc said “You need to go to the hospital – Now.”
So, Marti took me to the hospital nearby in Vero Beach. They kept me there for 3 days, running tests of all kinds, and essentially informed me that I’d suffered a stroke. This time was more serious, as I’d lost some ability to walk, and I wondered if if would be able to play music. I spent about a week in a rehab center to re-learn the basics, like walking. I went home after that, and began a regimen of playing guitar, walking… All the things I would need to continue touring and performing. During the entire time, Marti kept the family and close friends advised as to my progress, and took really great care of me. I needed all the help I could get. And she was there to see it done right.
By the the time our first shows began in 2020, I was at about at 80% and felt like I was improving. Then the pandemic hit. All the shows we had planned for 2020 were at first, postponed, then rescheduled and finally cancelled. My hopes for a gradual recovery onstage came to an abrupt end.
Meanwhile, I’d decided back in 2018 to move from the home in Florida. And just as I’d returned from our last gig in Tennessee, a buyer appeared, and we had a deal on the table to sell The CrabHouse. I wasn’t in any shape to go through the intricacies of selling a guitar pick, let alone a home with 30 years of stuff we’d collected. Marti ended up doing it all. She finalized the deal, and dealt with the stuff that either had to be sold, moved or thrown out. It was quite a lot. But, through garage sales, online markets, movers and friends, she’d pretty much emptied the CrabHouse of everything, and we moved into her place about a mile away.
We were there for a few weeks, before it was safe enough to return to The Farm in Massachusetts. That was in June 2020. Since then we’ve been holed up at The Farm trying to keep out of harms way, and also trying to provide some online entertainment for our friends who were, and continue to be, holed up wherever they are. My band and crew arranged a few short gigs that were filmed at The Church, but when I saw the play-back in the editing room I realized that it was not up to the standards I expected of myself, let alone the expectations that our friends and fans had come to enjoy.
A folksinger’s shelf life may be a lot longer than a dancer or an athlete, but at some point, unless you’re incredibly fortunate or just plain whacko (either one or both) it’s time to hang up the “Gone Fishing” sign. Going from town to town and doing stage shows, remaining on the road is no longer an option.
I don’t remember answering the question on the other side of that piece of paper when I was asked “Kid! Have you rehabilitated yourself?” But, the short answer is now clearly, “No!” In fact, I hope to be a thorn in the side of a new administration pretty soon. Tom Paine once wrote “To argue with a man who has renounced the use … of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead….” In other words, you cannot and should not argue with people who don’t care, or hold the caring of others in contempt. A healthy suspicion of authority, left, right or center has been the hallmark of my career since the beginning, and I will continue to poke fun at cultural, political, or personal absurdities as I see it. I’m actually looking forward to it.
I’m happy, healthy and good to go, even if I’m not going anywhere. I’ve taken back 6-9 months that I used to spend on the road, and enjoying myself with Marti, my family and friends. In short – Gone Fishing.
Despite the sad news, Guthrie and his music will continue to be a beacon for what is best about us.
Those of you who have followed this blog (thank you!) already know that despite the notion that Woodstock was the only rock festival in 1969, that year was a very busy for festivals. By July 8, 21 festivals had happened with 25 more to go before the end of the year.
Woodstock Ventures was simply another one on that long list. Four more guys who decided to put on festival.
Bumpier Day Wallkill Woodstock
The Bumpy Road to Wallkill
In April, Howard Mills had agreed to rent a piece of property to Woodstock Ventures and the Town of Wallkill granted the necessary permits.
There are many accounts of the Woodstock Festival. Each has its unique perspective. Nevertheless, it is important to keep in mind that thoroughly organizing such an event is far more important than someone taking notes on everyday’s every conversation and keeping a written record of the moment to moment happenings.
Bumpier Day Wallkill Woodstock
Bob Spitz, Barefoot in Babylon
Many consider Bob Spitz‘s Barefoot in Babylon (originally published in 1979; re-released in 1989) one of the better accounts of the days leading up to the famous Fair. Having said that, Spitz relates conversations the organizers had as if he or someone had recorded them. They were not. Based on his research, though, July 8, 1969 was a big day on the road to Bethel and the Woodstock festival.
Bumpier Day Wallkill Woodstock
8 July 1969
Providing food for attendees an obvious priority. Woodstock Ventures had problems finding people or a group to do that job. At a point, the Ventures had arranged for Nathan’s hot dogs to provide their food, but on this date the Middletown Fire Department unanimously turned down a proposal to supply personnel to run Nathan’s food concessions.
The fire companies’ membership objected to the long hours Nathan’s had required. Middletown is next to Wallkill, the planned site of the event. Peter Goodrich, assigned the task, continued to try to find companies for the festival’s food concession stands.
“Scotchtown” was the intended location of the event. Middletown is just south of that Wallkill area. Click on the picture to enlarge.
Bumpier Day Wallkill Woodstock
Fire protection
On the same day, Wes Pomeroy (security) and Don Ganoung (general assistant) met with the Wallkill fire advisory board to discuss the festival’s fire protection needs. Instead of evaluating the festival’s requirements and coming to an informal arrangement, the advisory board decided not to act on the proposed plans until the town board asked it do so.
Bumpier Day Wallkill Woodstock
Another Wallkill!
On the same day, Joel Rosenman, one of the four Woodstock Venture organizers, received a letter from Margaret Y Tremper, the deputy town clerk from the Town of Shawangunk, NY. The letter informed the festival organizers that the festival address used on advertising was misleading as Wallkill, NY (about 30 minutes away in Ulster County) was not the same as the Town of Wallkill (Orange county), where the festival actually was. She requested that they correct their advertising to avoid having thousands of attendees mistakenly arriving at her location and not theirs.
Bumpier Day Wallkill Woodstock
Outside worries
On that day, a Smoky Robinson and the Miracles concert in Boston resulted in scattered incidents of stone throwing and window breaking after the sound system has problems. The last thing the organizers needed was additional reasons for Wallkill to kill their event.
Bumpier Day Wallkill Woodstock
Legal changes
Miles Lourie resigned as counsel for Woodstock Ventures because of the recent appointment of Peter Marshall as an additional counsel.
All these things made July 8, 1969 a busy day for those on the bumpy road to a Bethel, NY. Unbeknownst to its residents, in 5 weeks a festival called Woodstock would make history there.
And little did anyone know that this apparent mountain of a day was simply a molehill!
Bumpier Day Wallkill Woodstock
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