Jimi Hendrix: "A Band of Gypsies" PWP

Bad weather and logistical problems caused long delays. Jimi Hendrix did not appear on the Woodstock Festival stage until Monday morning. The audience which had peaked at over 500,000 people, counted at most, 180,000, many of whom merely waited to catch a glimpse of Hendrix before leaving.

Festival MC Chip Monck introduced the band as "The Jimi Hendrix Experience", but Hendrix quickly corrected this to "Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, for short it's nothin’ but A Band Of Gypsies" and launched into a two hour set, the longest of his career.

As well as the two percussionists, the performance notably featured Larry Lee performing two songs and Lee sometimes soloing while Hendrix played rhythm in places. Most of this has been edited out of the officially released recordings, including Lee's two songs, reducing the sound to basically a three piece.

The concert was relatively free of the technical difficulties that frequently plagued Hendrix's performances, although one of his guitar strings snapped while performing "Red House". Jimi kept on playing.

The band, unfamiliar with playing large audiences and exhausted after being up all night, could not always keep up with Hendrix's pace. Regardless, the guitarist managed to deliver a memorable performance, climaxing with his highly-regarded rendition of the The Star-Spangled Banner, a solo improvisation which is now regarded as a special symbol of the 1960s era.


(Photo credit: Larry C Morris)

"Before the rains came" - Woodstock August '69

"Fest goers settling in for the music. Before the rains came."

Jim Thoms

"I have to be there" - PWP

"In May of 1969, my friends and I, from Youngstown, Ohio, learned that Jimi Hendrix was to perform in a festival in NY. I asked my father if we could stay at my Aunt's house in Buffalo before driving to Woodstock. He agreed. However, watching the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite on Aug 14th, there was a NY State Trooper telling the audience that the rains had created a huge mud hole and that many roads were closed. That was all my father needed to hear. He said I could not go and I was watching the TV thinking "I have to be there". So we left anyway...."

Lewis Nuzzle

A Moment of Muddy Grace

Joe Cocker was the first officially scheduled act at the Woodstock Festival's final day, Sunday, August 17, 1969 . He went on stage at about 2.00 pm. Though Cocker was in the music business for quite a while he was hardly known. But after his triumphal success at Woodstock the man with the soulful voice became famous everywhere. Especially well received was the Beatles' cover song "With a Little Help from My Friends" which was already the second performance after Richie Havens' version on the first day. Cocker's backup band at that time was the superb Grease Band - a formation that lasted only two years. Shortly after Cocker's 1-hr gig a heavy thunderstorm washed over the festival and everything was brought to a stop for several hours.

(Photo courtesy: Don Hogan Charles)

Country Music Workshop @ the White House

Michelle Obama invited 120 middle and high school students from Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia to the White House for a country music and song writing workshop yesterday. Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss led the workshop and later performed for the students, the President, Mrs. Obama and their family and friends.

The performance and workshop was the second in a music series Mrs. Obama launched last month to encourage arts and arts education. Pretty well perfect.

(photo credit: HuffingtonPost.com)

Simple Salads for Summer: PWP

FRESH AND FRESHER Clockwise, from top left: tuna, egg, green beans; carrots, blueberries, sunflower seeds; croutons, tomatoes, mozzarella; walnuts, blue cheese, raspberries; couscous, oranges, honey; strawberries, tomatoes, Parmesan.

(photo credit: Francesco Tonelli)

Willie K was PWP @ Kauai's block party

Jimi Hendrix, Gabby Pahinui, Andres Segovia, Eddie Van Halen, Luciano Pavarotti, Janis Joplin, Bob Marley, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, and Willie Nelson - does this sound like the world's most eclectic get together? Nah, they're just a few of the influences that rumble through Willie K's heart-stopping performances. Whether he is playing acoustic solo guitar or ripping it up with his electric band, Willie knows how to capture an audience. His shows are energetic, polished, witty, recklessly technical, and always played straight from the heart.

Saturday night Willie performed for over two hours under the stars at the Sheraton Kauai ho'olaule'a, Poipu Kauai's annual block party. Pretty well perfect.

(Photo courtesy of the Locktefeld Agency)