After Richie Havens jumped started Woodstock and the second performance there, following Sri Swami Satchidananda‘s convocation, was the band Sweetwater who’d been stuck in traffic.
The band’s poor luck continued when in 1970 none of their performance was included on the 3-record movie soundtrack nor the 3-hour movie.
Their set began around 6:30 PM and they were on stage about an hour. An interesting piece of trivia about the band was it had no guitarist.
Another bit of Woodstock Sweetwater trivia would be that the last song Richie Havens had sung was Motherless Child. What did Sweetwater open with? Motherless Child. The traditional song was one that many bands covered. Their version was less emotional, but longer and since it was a larger band playing, this version was more intricate, more percussive as was the band’s style.
Sweetwater Woodstock
Look Out
Nanci Nevins wrote Look Out. It is interesting to hear a rock band without a rock guitar, or any guitar for that matter. Flute, keyboards, lots of percussion.
Look out, somebody’s comin’ He’s got the key to your door He ain’t who you thought of He’s not what you’re lookin’ for
Sweetwater Woodstock
Alex Del Zoppo
Before the next song, keyboardist Alex Del Zoppo explains the reason for their being late part of which was that the “man” had to stop them and bust them.
Sweetwater Woodstock
For Pete’s Sake
Nanci Nevins describes For Pete’s Sake as a bossa nova blues. It is an instrumental and was their third single released on June 18, 1969.
Sweetwater Woodstock
Day Song
The band described Day Song: “We’re doing a thing now, it’s sorta’ a folkie thing, it was written by Nanci and it’s about a captain and so forth sailing his ship and it includes Nanci and her acoustic guitar and the cello…”
Captain sailed the ship today Old Love, she just sighed Met his mother on the way They stopped and cried Cat on the sill See the sad rain fall Do as you will I love you more than all Old Love sailed the ship today Captain he just sighed Met her father on the way They stopped and cried Cat on the sill See the sad rain fall Do as you will I love you more than all Sing the song of sailin’ away Sing it from your heart Sing the song of sailin’ away Even though we part
Sweetwater Woodstock
What’s Wrong
One of the nicest things about Rhino Record’s Woodstock release is the inclusion of stage announcements and stage patter. The collection gives a much fuller “there” experience to the listener.
Before beginning What’s Wrong, Nanci Nevins mentions that Alex had written the song and that he wrote a lot of their material. She also goes to mention Albert’s t-shirt has the band’s name on it. I suppose she felt she needed to remind the audience of the band’s name. Keep in mind that Sweetwater is technically the festival’s opening act and opening acts are typically not the best known of the performers at a show or festival.
Also heard is the sound of a helicopter in the background. It is no Woodstock Haze that that sound was often part of the whole experience.
Specifically topical protest songs were not the norm at Woodstock. That the event was a protest rally is often thought but hardly supported. Having said that, What’s Wrong heads in that direction:
What’s wrong in our schools? Politicians are blowing their cools Over they who refuse to abide by the rules Though they should be separate dealings
What’s wrong at the zoo? The animals sense all our fears coming through Our facade yet there’s not a thing that they can do It’s hurting their poor, helpless feelings What’s wrong?
The song is nearly 15 minutes long and gave the band a chance to display its chops.
The crystal spider crawled into Alex Del Zoppo’s brain in a waking dream. A “fantasy experience” that yielded a surrealistic web of sound for his band, Sweetwater.
While “My Crystal Spider” ranks as the most psychedelic of Sweetwater’s songs, the songwriter says his creepy-crawly creation wasn’t necessarily the product of an altered state:
“Psychedelic substances may have helped to bring this into focus, but it is not about that,” keyboardist Del Zoppo says today.
“It’s about having a runaway pet spider in an unusually whimsical environment.”
Have you seen my crystal spider He has eyes of mercury He has left his web of paisley Be aware, if you care Would you please Send him back to me
Have you seen my crystal spider He has eyes of mercury He has left his web of paisley Be aware, if you care Would you please
Sweetwater Woodstock
Two Worlds
The band goes right into the next song, Two Worlds. It was one of the five songs in the set that had appeared on their first album.
I’ve got two worlds But I don’t belong I’ve got two ways Neither’s very strong
But I’m singing songs And working too hard I can’t stop living I never get tired
I’ve got two loves To keep me satisfied No loving pain Ever made me cry
I’m not afraid I just want more The things I’ve got Is all I live for.
At the end of the song, Nanci, as many of the Woodstock performers mentions, “There sure are a lot of people here.” She then introduces the band members.
Also said at this point by another of the band members (Moore?) is: “All you cats on the sound tower got to get down…you got to come down. You gotta!”
That constant reminder/request/demand that kids get off the sound towers was dominant theme of the weekend.
Sweetwater Woodstock
Why Oh Why
“Here’s a little music to come down the tower by.”
“This is music to get down on your knees by…so I hope you can dig it.”
I wonder what a Sweetwater song would have sounded like had they had an electric guitarist? This song is an exciting one, but I keep hearing the missing guitar licks.
Why oh why do I keep on trying. Why oh why when I know there’s No denying. You know that I love you baby, and you know that Love is true. If I can’t count on you baby baby then you know What I might do.
Why oh why do I keep on telling myself that your too hip your Gonna put me on a shelf.
Sweetwater Woodstock
Let the Sunshine In/Oh Happy Day
The band seques right into two covers: Let the Sunshine In from the then very popular play Hair and Oh Happy Day, the very successful 1968 single by the Edwin Hawkins Singers.
“Hey the west coast really gets things started!” John Morris
Interestingly, the Bert Sommer is the next performer and he was not only in the play Hair, but his hair and head appeared on the show’s first Playbill.
President Trump had survived his 2020 Senate impeachment trial and his retaliatory behavior following that acquittal put on full display his righteous view of what it meant disloyalty to him meant.
Then came the November election. It took several days to complete the count, but in the end Joe Biden won despite the President’s immediate and repeated false accusations of election fraud.
Save America March
He declared a “Save America March” for January 6, 2021, the day that Congress formally and Constitutionally counts the electoral votes and officially declares the next President.
On that day, President Trump, Donald Trump, Jr, and Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani spoke to the crowd. Trump continued to prevaricate and repeat debunked claims of widespread election fraud. He incited the crowd with statements like, “We will never give up, we will never concede.”
Only seven minutes into the 75 minute speech, the crowd chanted: Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump!
His inflammatory words pushed an already embittered and combative crowd to their successful, if temporary, violent takeover of the Capitol building forcing the members of Congress into hiding within. Dozens were injured and five died, including a Capitol police officer.
Some Trump supporters said that Trump adversaries Antifa had surreptitiously incited the insurrection. That it had lead the charge into the Capitol. FBI reports found no such evidence.
In the weeks following, dozensof insurrectionists were identified, arrested, and charged.
Calls for Trump’s removal from office immediately followed, albeit mainly from the Democrats, but from some Republicans as well.
The irony of his July 27, 2020 tweet was not lost on those who saw the riot as the insurrection it was. Most Republicans stuck their head in the ground or up their….
Trump Impeachment Redux
Monday 11 January 2021
Monday 11 January: the New York Times reported that House Democrats introduced an article of impeachmentagainst President Trump for inciting the mob that attacked the Capitol, vowing to press the charge as Republicans blocked a separate move to formally call on Vice President Mike Pence to strip him of power under the 25th Amendment.
The dual actions came as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her caucus sought to ratchet up pressure on Mr. Pence to intervene and push Trump to resign. If they did not, the Democrats promised immediate consequences for Trump’s role in an attack that put the lives of the vice president, members of Congress and thousands of staff working on Capitol Hill at risk as officials met to formalize President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory.
“The president’s threat to America is urgent, and so too will be our action,” Pelosi said.
Trump Impeachment Redux
Pence Called Upon
Tuesday 12 January: the House voted to formally call on Vice President Mike Pence to use the 25th Amendment to strip President Trump of his powers after he incited a mob that attacked the Capitol, as lawmakers warned they would impeach the president the next day if Pence did not comply.
Lawmakers, escorted by armed guards into a heavily fortified Capitol, adopted the nonbinding measure just before midnight largely along party lines. The final vote was 223 to 205 to implore Mr. Pence to declare Mr. Trump “incapable of executing the duties of his office and to immediately exercise powers as acting president.” [NYT article]
Trump Impeachment Redux
Impeachment
from the New York Times
Wednesday 13 January: Democrats in the House of Representatives debated and voted on a single article of impeachment against President Trump, charging him with “incitement of insurrection” over last week’s violence at the U.S. Capitol.
Though he said he would not re-convene the Senate until January 19, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, was said to support the effort as a means of purging his party of Mr. Trump.
Trump Impeachment Redux
Giuliani Out
Monday 17 January: the New York Times reported a person close to President Trump said that Rudolph W. Giuliani, his personal lawyer, would not be taking part in the president’s defense in the Senate trial.
Trump met with Giuliani the night of January 16 at the White House and the next day the president began telling people that Giuliani was not going to be part of the team. It was unclear who would be a defense lawyer for Trump, given that many attorneys had privately said they would not represent him.
Giuliani himself at first said he was taking part in the trial and then a day later said he would had no involvement.
He told ABC News on Sunday 17 January that he would not be part of the defense, noting that he was a potential witness since he gave a speech at the January 6 rally.
Trump Impeachment Redux
McConnell Admits Trump Provocation
January 19, 2021: Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, said that the mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6 had been “provoked by the president and other powerful people,” stating publicly for the first time that he holds President Trump at least partly responsible for the assault.
“The mob was fed lies,” Mr. McConnell said, referring to attempts by Mr. Trump to overturn the election based on bogus claims of voter fraud.
“They were provoked by the president and other powerful people. And they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like.” [NYT article]
McConnell Seeks delay
January 21, 2021: Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the minority leader, asked Democrats to delay the impeachment trial until mid-February. His request complicated Democrats hopes of reaching a swift agreement to prevent the proceeding from interfering with the crucial first weeks of President Biden’s tenure. [NYT article]
Trump Impeachment Redux
Date Announced
January 22, 2021: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosisaid that House Democrats plan to send the article of impeachment to the Senate on Monday 25 January, triggering the start of the Senate’s trial of former President Donald Trump on Friday 29 January.
Unless senators strike an agreement to delay the trial, it would begin on Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET. [CNN article]
Trump Impeachment Redux
Senator Patrick J. Leahy
Aides and other officials said that Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Senate president pro tempore, was expected to preside over former President Donald J. Trump’s impeachment trial, assuming a role filled last year by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.
January 26: U.S. senators, who act as jurors in an impeachment trial, were sworn in.
The trial itself scheduled begin on February 9, giving the nine House impeachment managers and Trump’s defense team two weeks to file briefs and finalize their legal preparations. [NPR article]
In a meticulously detailed 80-page pretrial brieffiled with the Senate, the nine House Democrats preparing to prosecute the case next week argued that Mr. Trump was “singularly responsible” for a violent attack on the democratic process, and would do anything to “reassert his grip on power” if he were allowed to seek election again.
The impeachment managers argued that the riot at the Capitol on January 6 was the direct result of a campaign by former President Donald J. Trump to undermine American democracy and overthrow the election at any cost.
They warned that acquitting him and failing to disqualify him from future office could do grave damage to the nation. [NYT article]
In their 14-page filing, the former president’s attorneys largely ignored the factual assertions contained in the House document, denying the allegation without presenting evidence, and asserting that it is up to the House to prove its case.
They argued that Trump did not incite the crowd on Jan. 6 “to engage in destructive behavior.” They focus much of their reply on the argument that the Constitution’s impeachment provision does not apply to a president who is no longer in office. [NPR story]
Trump Impeachment Redux
Trial Begins
Tuesday 9 February
The Senate voted to proceed with the impeachment trial of former President Donald J. Trump, rejecting his defense team’s claim that it would be unconstitutional to prosecute a president after leaving office.
The 56-to-44 vote, with six Republicans joining all 50 Democrats, paved the way for the House Democrats trying the case to formally open their arguments on Feb 10 as they seek to prove that Mr. Trump incited an insurrection by encouraging supporters who stormed the Capitol last month and disrupted the counting of Electoral College votes.
The 44 Republicans who agreed with Trump’s claim that a former president cannot be subject to an impeachment trial seemed to all but guarantee that he would have the 34 votes he needs on the final verdict to avoid conviction. [NYT article]
Trump Impeachment Redux
Wednesday 10 February
The House managers presented for nearly eight hours on , walking the jury — senators who were in the Capitol during the attack on January 6 — through footage of the riot and of former President Trump’s speeches in the weeks leading up to it. Most of that had been publicly available and previously televised, but parts of their presentation — like security camera footage of staff members sheltering in offices and radio chatter from Capitol Police officers — had not been released before.
Trump’s lawyers sought to avoid arguing the case on its merits, saying the trial itself was in violation of the Constitution. [NYT article, NPR article]
Trump Impeachment Redux
Thursday 11 February
The NY Times reported that House impeachment managers had wrapped up their incitement case against former President Donald J. Trump by warning that he remained a clear and present danger to American democracy and could foment still more violence if not barred from running for office again.
With the sounds of a rampaging mob still ringing in the Senate chamber, the managers sought to channel the shock and indignation rekindled byvideos they showed of last month’s attack on the Capitol into a bipartisan repudiation of the former president who inflamed his supporters with false claims of a stolen election.
“My dear colleagues, is there any political leader in this room who believes that if he’s ever allowed by the Senate to get back into the Oval Office, Donald Trump would stop inciting violence to get his way?” RepresentativeJamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland and the lead impeachment manager, asked the senators. “Would you bet the lives of more police officers on that? Would you bet the safety of your family on that? Would you bet the future of your democracy on that?”
Trump Impeachment Redux
Friday 12 February
The NY Times reportedthat lawyers for Donald J. Trump delivered an incendiary but brief defense of the former president , calling the House’s charge that he incited an insurrection at the Capitol a “preposterous and monstrous lie” as they falsely equated his conduct to Democrats’ own combative rhetoric.
Confident they have enough votes from Republicans to acquit Mr. Trump, the lawyers used only about three of their 16 allotted hours, allowing senators to proceed Friday afternoon to a period of questioning the prosecution and defense.
Earlier, the defense team had channeled the former president’s own combative style and embrace of falsehoods to claim, contrary to facts, that Mr. Trump never glorified violence during his presidency and that he consistently called for peace as the rampage at the Capitol unfolded. Showing video clips of Democrats urging their supporters to “fight” and Mr. Trump venerating “law and order,” they sought to rewrite not just the narrative of his campaign to overturn the election but that of his entire presidency.
“This trial is about far more than President Trump,” said Bruce L. Castor Jr., one of the lawyers, as he closed the defense. “It is about silencing the speech the majority does not agree with. It is about canceling 75 million Trump voters and criminalizing political viewpoints.”
Trump Impeachment Redux
Saturday 13 February
Mitch McConnell
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, privately told his colleagues he was ready to acquit Mr. Trump, confirming that an eventual conviction was exceedingly unlikely.
Acquittal
The voted on Saturday to acquit Donald J. Trump.
Voting 57-43, the Senate fell 10 votes short of the two-thirds necessary for conviction. Seven Republicans voted to find the former president guilty of “incitement of insurrection,” with all 50 Democrats, the most bipartisan support for conviction in any of the four presidential impeachments in U.S. history. [NYT article]
Senator Schumer responds
After the acquittal, Senate majority leader Charles Schumer spoke. His beginning remarks were:
The case of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial was open and shut. President Trump told a lie — a big lie — that the election was stolen, and that he was the rightful winner. He laid the groundwork for this big lie in the months before the election, he told the big lie on election night, and he repeated the big lie more than 100 times in the weeks afterwards. He summoned his supporters to Washington, assembled them on the Ellipse, whipped them into a frenzy, and directed them at the Capitol.
And then he watched, as the violence unfolded, and the Capitol was breached, and his own Vice President fled for his life—and President Trump did nothing.
None of the facts were up for debate. We saw it. We heard it. We lived it. This was the first presidential impeachment trial in history in which all Senators were not only judges and jurors, but witnesses to the constitutional crime that was committed.
The former president inspired, directed, and propelled a mob to violently prevent the peaceful transfer of power, subvert the will of the people, and illegally keep that president in power.
After Senator Schumer spoke, Senate minority leader McConnell spoke. He had voted to acquit because, he explained, Congress could not impeach and find guilty someone no longer President, but still condemned Trump.
January 6th was a disgrace.
American citizens attacked their own government. They used terrorism to try to stop a specific piece of democratic business they did not like.
Fellow Americans beat and bloodied our own police. They stormed the Senate floor. They tried to hunt down the Speaker of the House. They built a gallows and chanted about murdering the Vice President.
They did this because they had been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on Earth — because he was angry he’d lost an election.
He added later:
There’s no question — none — that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it.
Later, former President Donald Trump thanked most of the Senate Republicans for his impeachment acquittal adding that the political movement he began with his 2016 election has “only just begun.”
“We have so much work ahead of us, and soon we will emerge with a vision for a bright, radiant, and limitless American future,”
While thanking GOP allies, Trump – who was considering another presidential run – attacked Democrats by saying “it is a sad commentary on our times that one political party in America is given a free pass to denigrate the rule of law.” [NPR article]
It took 50 years for most people to hear all the music from the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. The rumors were that It was out there. Boxed. Stored. Warehoused.
Bootlegs of much existed, but where were the originals? We even found out that some of the cuts on the original 3-disc album weren’t from Woodstock!
In 2005, producer Andy Zaxfound the boxes. To use the word painstakingly is an understatement, but over the next 14 years Zax worked with the tapes and in 2019 Rhino Records released the 38-disc box entitled Woodstock – Back To The Garden:The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive. Other somewhat smaller offerings were also available.
Over that half century, The Woodstock Music and Art Fair had became an iconic event not just musically, but socially as well, and as with any historic event, the story often took on a life of its own. “Woodstock Haze” is a phrase the late great alum Charlie Maloney coined to describe such inaccuracies.
Richie Havens Woodstock
Richie’s Set
One of the more famous Woodstock stories is that to avoid further delays the fretting and anxious Woodstock Ventures organizers coerced Richie Havens to open.
Richie’s recollection was always that after nearly 2 1/2 hours, singing every song he knew, he left the stage in a state of sweat-soaked exhaustion. Sweat-soaked exhaustion? Yes. 2 1/2 hours no. 45 minutes. Woodstock Haze.
Hello. How are you?
Before he began, the caring Richie speak to the crowd.
“Hello. How are you? How are you in the back? Can ‘ya hear? Groovy…wow…it’s really beautiful to see so many people together. I know it might be a tiny bit uncomfortable, but so can sleeping…be…a tiny bit uncomfortable. “
His set was as follows:
From the Prison > Get Together > From the Prison
I’m a Stranger Here
High Flyin’ Bird
I Can’t Make It Anymore
With A Little Help from my Friends
Handsome Johnny
Strawberry Fields Forever
Motherless Child/Freedom
Richie Havens Woodstock
From the Prison
Richie Havens is well known for covering others’ songs and at Woodstock he opened with Jerry Merrick’s From the Prison with abit of Dino Valenti’s Get Together in between. From the Prison had appeared on Havens’s 1968 Something Else album.
To be kind to the next door neighbor To be kind to the jailhouse screw; To be kind to a child, in the fantasy wild Is the best thing you can do Is the best thing you can do
As simple as Havens’s presentations typically are, his guitar style combined with Williams’s guitar and Ben Zebulon’s percussion create a wonderfully effective and immediately engrossing moment.
From the Prison had appeared on Havens’s 1968 Something Else Again album.
Richie Havens Woodstock
I Am a Stranger Here
His second song is another has a familiar beginning which echoes his Motherless Child/Freedom encore. The song had appeared on Electric Havens in 1968.
In the late ’60s, as Havens rose to stardom, producer Alan Douglas of Douglas Music had taken some original solo demos and overdubbed them with electric instruments. He called the album Electric Havens and it was one of of two albums (the other being The Richie Havens Record) of similarly overdubbed solo demos probably recorded from sometime between 1963-1965 before Havens’s first official release on Verve, Mixed Bag[from AllMusic. com].
I cannot find the person who wrote this song. Perhaps Havens himself. Jerry Merrick did write a song with the same title, but it is not the song Havens sung at Woodstock.
Richie Havens Woodstock
High Flying Bird
There’s a high flyin’ bird, flying way up in the sky, And I wonder if she looks down as she goes on by? Well, she’s flying so freely in the sky.
Lord, look at me here, I’m rooted like a tree here, Got those sit-down, can’t cry, Oh, Lord, gonna die blues.
Billy Edd Wheeler wrote the song. From a Citizen Times article: His songs have been recorded by a musical Who’s Who: Elvis Presley, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, Glen Campbell, Judy Collins, The Country Gentlemen, John Denver, Hazel Dickens, Richie Havens, The Kingston Trio, Tim O’Brien, Roy Clark, Tom T. Hall, Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Kenny Rogers, Hank Snow and others.
Richie Havens Woodstock
I Can’t Make It Anymore
Written by Gordon Lightfoot, fans had fallen in love with this song already. It was also from Mixed Bag.
I get too low with no reason You say its the moon or maybe the season But something’s not the same And I won’t let my mind believe Baby, something’s wrong Or the feelings gone I can’t make it anymore I can’t make it anymore.
Richie Havens Woodstock
With A Little Help From My Friends
Obviously a Beatle song and as good as Havens’s version it (and still is) will be Joe Cocker’s cover on Sunday that will become the Woodstock cover of this song.
Interestingly, Richie Havens said that he was still learning the lyrics as he asked the crowd to sing along and he sort of helps them and they sort of help him. The both sort of succeed.
More interesting, is that the year before, Richie had released his 1983 double-album, which had both studio and live recordings on it. One of the live songs is With A Little Help From My Friends and how do you think Richie introduced it? Yup…he didn’t really know the lyrics so could we help out! You trickster you.
Richie Havens Woodstock
Handsome Johnny
Photo by Jim Shelley
Havens’ was rarely overtly political, but the song Handsome Johnny is an exception to that rule. Louis Gossett, Jr co-wrote the song with Havens. At Richie Havens’s memorial service held on August 15, 2013 at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Gossett told the story of how a letter arrived for him just he, a struggling Hollywood actor, was about to be evicted from his apartment. Inside the letter was a check from Havens. The check was for royalties earned from Handsome Johnny.
Hey, what’s the use of singing this song, some of you are not even listening. Tell me what it is we’ve got to do: wait for our fields to start glistening, Wait for the bullets to start whistling. Here comes a hydrogen bomb, here comes a guided missile, Here comes a hydrogen bomb: I can almost hear its whistle.
Richie Havens Woodstock
One Hundred Million Songs
After Handsome Johnny, Havens spoke to the crowd.
There’s a hundred millions songs gonna’ be sung here tonight. All of them gonna’ be singing about the same thing which I hope everybody who came, came to hear…really…and it’s all about you…actually. You, me, and everybody around the stage and everybody who hasn’t gotten here and the people who are gonna’ read about you tomorrow. Yes. And how really groovy you were.
He then went on to talk about the clogged roads and that the reason was because though promised at the 1939 World’s Fair, the road construction had never happened. Why? Maybe we didn’t vote.
Sage words even today.
Richie Havens Woodstock
Strawberry Fields Forever
While the Beatles themselves may not have attended Woodstock, their songs were. As he typically did, Havens made the song his own.
Let me take you down ‘Cause I’m going to Strawberry Fields Nothing is real And nothing to get hung about Strawberry Fields forever
Richie Havens Woodstock
Motherless Child/Freedom
He’d been on stage about 42 minutes by the end of Strawberry Fields and he walked away to Zebulon’s percussion. MC John Morris. the crowd wanted more.
A MOMENT was about to happen. Havens began playing and repeating the word freedom.
Eight times.
He then moved into Motherless Child, traditional song that dated back to American slavery. A child torn from those they loved.
It would be a vast overstatement to say the primarily white male audience at Woodstock could relate to those lyrics, but enough alienation existed in 1969 among that audience that they felt like they knew.
