Often regarded, and rightfully so, as the greatest music festival of all time, The Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969 was missing one of the biggest acts in the world at that point on their bill. Despite being in America at the time of the festival, the band declined to attend and perform. For this Pageia Obscura I'm going to explore the reason for Jimmy and the band taking a pass on this seminal event in rock and roll history.
The 1969 Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in Bethel, New York featured a veritable who's who of talent in Rock and Roll. The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and Santana, make up a short list of the acts that played on the Woodstock stage over those four days. The film of the event, directed by Michael Wadleigh and co-edited by a young and unknown Martin Scorsese, has gone on to be the most successful concert film of all time. For some, the event is the vision of the 60's, and Jimi Hendrix's rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner" has gone down as being one of the seminal moments of the era. So why wasn't Led Zeppelin there?
It's obvious Led Zeppelin did not have an aversion to playing outdoor festivals, they had previously played events similar to Woodstock in Austin and Seattle, and even played at the Texas International Pop Festival held only weeks after the end of Woodstock. Indeed during the event, the band was literally in driving distance and could have turned up quite easily, with gigs in Asbury Park, New Jersey and Wallingford, Connecticut. Indeed, at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park, their opening act was Woodstock standout Joe Cocker.
It has long been assumed that Led Zeppelin had been booked but decided later to pull out; this is not so. Led Zeppelin was never booked to play Woodstock according to the man who created and ran the event, Michael Lang, "Their manager [Peter Grant] said he didn't want them to be just another band on the bill." Peter Grant echoed pretty much the same sentiment in an interview with Dave Lewis before his death in 1993.
A talent agent from Premier Talent later explained further some of the reasoning on why Led Zeppelin chose not to make the festival to Billboard Magazine two years after the event, "There's a misconception in the business that from a monetary point of view festivals are successful. At the time of Woodstock, Led Zeppelin played five dates around the area at triple the money. The festival audience usually travels from 200-300 miles to make the festival scene, which usually means a "barring clause" goes up against working the area. Zeppelin would not have been able to play those five dates if they had done Woodstock. The same is true today. I advise my acts against festivals."
It is nice to imagine what Woodstock might have been like with Led Zeppelin on the bill, but it just was never meant to be. The band decided to set their sights higher, refusing to settle on being just another band on a loaded bill playing for pittance. The band of course would go on to be one of the most financially successful of all time, and the strategy is hard to argue with.
The 1969 Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in Bethel, New York featured a veritable who's who of talent in Rock and Roll. The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and Santana, make up a short list of the acts that played on the Woodstock stage over those four days. The film of the event, directed by Michael Wadleigh and co-edited by a young and unknown Martin Scorsese, has gone on to be the most successful concert film of all time. For some, the event is the vision of the 60's, and Jimi Hendrix's rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner" has gone down as being one of the seminal moments of the era. So why wasn't Led Zeppelin there?
It's obvious Led Zeppelin did not have an aversion to playing outdoor festivals, they had previously played events similar to Woodstock in Austin and Seattle, and even played at the Texas International Pop Festival held only weeks after the end of Woodstock. Indeed during the event, the band was literally in driving distance and could have turned up quite easily, with gigs in Asbury Park, New Jersey and Wallingford, Connecticut. Indeed, at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park, their opening act was Woodstock standout Joe Cocker.
A talent agent from Premier Talent later explained further some of the reasoning on why Led Zeppelin chose not to make the festival to Billboard Magazine two years after the event, "There's a misconception in the business that from a monetary point of view festivals are successful. At the time of Woodstock, Led Zeppelin played five dates around the area at triple the money. The festival audience usually travels from 200-300 miles to make the festival scene, which usually means a "barring clause" goes up against working the area. Zeppelin would not have been able to play those five dates if they had done Woodstock. The same is true today. I advise my acts against festivals."
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| Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock |
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