Artie Kornfeld was one of the co-creators of Woodstock, at his home in Delray Beach. ( Gary Coronado/The Palm Beach Post)
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It’s been a long road from a 600-acre farm in Bethel, N.Y., to a comfortable, one-story home in a gated community in Delray Beach.
But it all makes sense to Artie Kornfeld.
The 66-year-old, Brooklyn-born Kornfeld has packed in a lifetime’s worth of interesting experiences – from watching his parents fight for civil rights in the segregated South to co-writing songs such as The Pied Piper and Dead Man’s Curve.
But it’s what happened on that farm 40 years ago that has him fielding calls from all over the world. Along with Michael Lang, John Roberts and Joel Rosenman, he created a little music festival called Woodstock, where he was famously dosed with acid and spent three days tripping on peace, love and music.
He’s writing about it in an upcoming memoir, The Pied Piper of Woodstock, and when he looks back on 1969, he explains the festival in the lingo of a man still dazed from the experience.
The Pied Piper, says Kornfeld, “got all the bad people out, so the children could be free to express themselves.”
The three-day event, on Aug. 14-16, 1969, brought 500,000 seekers to Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethel, N.Y. They endured impossible traffic and torrential rains to have their minds summarily expanded and blown by communal positivity, by the sounds of Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Joe Cocker, Santana and Jefferson Airplane, and, in many cases, by a variety of legal and illegal substances.
Forty years later, Kornfeld, an award-winning producer, writer and manager, who’s worked with everyone from Brian Wilson and Jan and Dean to Vanilla Ice and Sheryl Crow, now lives quietly in Delray Beach with longtime girlfriend Caroline Ornstein and fluffy cat Boo Boo.
But to Kornfeld, it’s just another stop on a curious, painful but ultimately bountiful journey. And if the conversation lasts long enough, there are shockingly casual reminders that he isn’t the typical Delray transplant from New York.
“This is Jimi’s belt,” he says at one point.
Jimi? Jimi Hendrix?
“Yeah,” Kornfeld says, lifting his T-shirt and pointing to the intricate strip of leather holding up his jeans. He seems more impressed with the artistry of the leatherwork – “This is tie-dyed leather!” he says. “You can’t do that!”
“There’s no B.S. with Artie,” says his friend Rochelle Kerner. “His stories are truly astounding. He really is the history of rock and roll.”
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Boca Raton resident Dion DiMucci agrees. “He’s a very soft-spoken guy, a visionary,” says Dion, who worked with Kornfeld back in the day. “He’s a real lover of the music, and (of) getting it to the people’s hearts.”
Kornfeld is a man of principles, too, some of which have prevented him from making as much money as he could have. He protested Pepsi’s sponsorship of Woodstock ‘94, the 25th-anniversary concert because “that means politics were involved … It was sponsored by the enemy.”
(An ill-fated third concert, Woodstock ‘99, in which he was not involved, exploded in a rash of rapes, fights and fires, which Kornfeld said he envisioned 30 years earlier at the original show, as a result of the psychedelic drugs he’d been passed.)
Kornfeld’s sense of community responsibility was instilled early by father Irving, a police officer and union organizer, and mother Shirley, instrumental in the segregation-busting Freedom Rides sponsored by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).
“Woodstock started for me when we moved to North Carolina, and I saw the hatred,” says Kornfeld, who recalls giving his bus seat to an African-American woman who, by law, should have gone to the back, and having the police called on both of them. It was an experience “that enraged me,” said Kornfeld.
In 1969, though, he was an entrenched part of The Establishment. “I was not counterculture. I produced the music that caused the counterculture to happen,” says Kornfeld, who, by the age of 21, was the youngest vice president ever at Capitol Records and eventually earned more than 100 gold records.
It was his industry work on the corporate, rather than musical, side of the business that sparked a conversation over a game of pool with Lang, a Miami head shop owner and concert promoter. “Michael said, ‘You never get to go to shows anymore,’ ” Kornfeld recalls.
The two dreamed up a concert involving the giants of the day, like The Who and the Beatles, perhaps at a Broadway theater, but Kornfeld’s wife, Linda, suggested they do it on a farm. Lang had friends in Woodstock, N.Y., so they began planning for a massive festival there. Kornfeld predicted about 50,000 attendees, with Lang predicting twice that and Linda Kornfeld projecting 500,000, which turned out to be about right.
Kornfeld threw himself into the project, even though he’s sure it cost him the presidency of Capitol Records – “I started doing radio interviews, saying ‘If you’re tired of saying “I had a friend come home dead from Vietnam,” peacefully show up at Woodstock.’ “
The concert, named for the nearby small town, was to have taken place in an industrial park in Wallkill, but officials nixed those plans. It was then moved to Yasgur’s farm in Bethel.
Even though he was one of the producers, Kornfeld hitchhiked to the show because of last-minute business in New York and got stuck in the horrendous traffic, just like everybody else. And once there, his experience was profound, from his scary trip to the music to the relative lack of violence.
“There was a cocoon that covered us, a pod of protection over us,” says Kornfeld, who is keeping some of his juiciest memories for his book.
In the years since Woodstock, Kornfeld’s fortunes have grown, waned and stabilized. He lost his first wife, Linda, in the early ’80s. And then his 16-year-old daughter, Jamie, to a drug overdose.
“It’s all for a purpose, isn’t it?” he says. “I thank God I had a daughter for 16 years, and don’t say ‘You son-of-a … you know.’ “
He’s been sober for years, and doesn’t touch anything stronger than Pepsi Max and cigarettes. Kornfeld moved to Broward County in 1999, and then to Delray five years ago, where he lives with Caroline Ornstein. He is working with some bands, and wrote a few songs for a B.B. King album that has yet to be released.
“He writes songs all the time,” says Ornstein. “I tell him, ‘You should record that,’ and he’ll say, ‘That’s just for now, not for them.’ ”
Kornfeld doesn’t share all of his music, but he’s keeping the Woodstock spirit alive in his Woodstock Nation show on ArtistFirst Radio, on his Web site (artiekornfeld-woodstock.com) and in every interview he gives, whether it’s to a European journalist or an area middle school student doing a project.
“I’m not gonna change,” he says, smiling. “I’m not alone. The Woodstock Nation is bigger than it was.”
And that nation, he hopes, still has the power to make the changes that Woodstock’s founders wanted to see 40 years ago.
“You’re more powerful,” he says, “than you think.”
I think Artie Kornfeld was reported in some books to have more of a burden than a help to his Woodstock partners. I’m not sure if I’ll get his book. He sounds like he’s full of it.
Paul-Burden or not, it is what it is, now isn’t it? Maybe without his alleged ‘burden,’ the event would not have had quite the affect. The judgment you assume (based on what you know, which is probably quite limited) is exactly the mentality that leads to hatred, war, and suffering.
What is he promoting other than himself?
Paul>
Explain to me exactly how Artie could’ve been a burden to his partners when he was the only one out of the 4 who could’ve brought it all together for them. He was THE person who got the acts at Woodstock to sign the contracts for the movie. No Artie Kornfeld = NO Woodstock & NO Woodstock movie. The only burden Artie could’ve been to his partners would be when he refused to have any part of Woodstock 94 & 99 wich Woodstock Ventures did out of greed resulting in the dark cloud that hovers over any conversation about Woodstock. You right though Paul, Artie is full of it – Full of
Peace, Love, Compassion, Understanding, Vision & Light! I agree with Caroline.
Desibeer,
Please see note to Paul about what Artie is full of!
Funny, he wanted politics left out of the 30 year anniversary of Woodstock, and yet all he does is talk about leftist politics. His whole promotion of the original Woodstock was promoted on leftist politics! Hypocrite. And what a good role model. His own daughter dies of a drug overdose at sixteen?! Are you kidding? Is this really someone the Palm Beach Post would like to celebrate?
Boy Bob, you’ve got issues. Kiss your gun goodnight for me.
Bob, Artie has stated many times that “you can’t redo Woodstock!” And i agree!!! It was a special time in history that can’t be done again. Diff. people diff. time. The 30th was about celebrating what was. Not trying to recreate it. In 99′ (30th ann.) things were much diff. music was much diff. Bill Clinton was eliminating the national debt and avoiding war etc.. The man (Artie) did his part and he showed you the way to get it done in 69′. Woodstock ventures did it in 94′ & 99″ without him and look what happened!! When you get a Bobstock together be sure to let us know. I think Elvis said it best “A little less conversation, a little more action”. Did you really just bash a man who hasn’t made a dime off of what Time mag called the “greatest peaceful event in the history of mankind” because his duaghter died from an overdose – A man who has had a major part in creating the soundtrack of YOUR/OUR life and given his gold records and a whole lot more to charity??? You should be more than ashamed of yourself!!! Judge the man on what he has done and not what happened to those he loved. I’ll keep the rest of my opinion about your comment to myself. I try not to use profane lang. in public forums.
Dr Mnuel Hurtado MD also lives here and was the Woodstock doctor! PPP did an article about that also
GREAT front page article of the Spirit of the Woodstock Nation and that it still lives in this politically obsessed world of hate & violence. Nice to see the people responsible for Woodstock still living its true meaning of Peace, Love & Music.
PS: nice Woodstock website link posted… kudos
Paul & Bob
Paul:He’s not FULL OF IT, He’s full of love, compassion and hope.
He has given all to Charities to raise $ for sick children. Check the available facts, before commenting.
Bob:As for the loosing his beloved daughter, many families have suffered the same, They belong to a special club, that you’d better hope your not ever in that club.
I was 16 and a bit too young to have been there, but Woodstock was aa big influence on me. Thank you Artie for your part in mking it happen. I really believe there is a Woodstock state of mind in many of us today due to this event. I have to believe that Vietnam wouldn’t have ended when it did but for the “Woodstock” generation stepping up and demanding an end to the war.
Artie was only dosed on the third day of Woodstock. Not during the whole festival.
I heard he was high all the time and took a shit on Jerry Garcia’s chest.
I recently thanked Artie for creating the event which literally saved my life. By producing the festival he made it possible for a seventten year old girl to hop onto the back of my motorcycle while I was stuck in traffic offf 17B of the NYS Thruway. I was headed to Woodstock for refuge from a society which terrified me. Alienated and alone I didn’t think I was going to make it. The girl really dug me and tried desperately to understand my angst. Less than a year later she became my wife. We have remained mattied for 39 years. Our interview with Dateline NBC is imminent. Check your local listings
Peace, and thanks once more Artie!
To All of you Nay Sayers Who have already posted their opinions
I say
“YOU CANNOT TAKE THE SPECK OUT OF YOUR FRIENDS EYE UNTIL YOU TAKE THE TELEPHONE POLE OUT OF YOUR OWN”. “JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED”
Who ARE YOU TO PASS JUDGEMENT ON ANY ONE ??
Mr. Kornfeld has a lifetime of experience to share from his free will and heart.
I Say Good Fortune to him I hope he sells millons of copies and keeps spreading the light.
AFTER ALL THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS IS PEACE, LOVE AND LIGHT IN THIS WORLD NOW ISN’T IT.
Thank you Artie for all you do for the world. Artie continues to “Hold the Light” for Woodstock Nation.
At least he’s not on QVC “Selling out” to sell a few books like another Woodstock partner.
I don’t know Mr Kornfeld, but a member of a band he produced for RCA named Max Demian basically blames him for single-handedly ruining his career. I’ve just forwarded this article to him.
IMHO – I think a man who has made so many careers happen should know when one shouldn’t oir at least be entitled to have an off project or whatever the case may be. Not sure of the specifics of the argument though i would try to be more clear about the accusation when speaking about it in a public forum rather than to just say someone feels he ruined thier career. Artie Kornfeld took a gay black women (Tracy Chapman) and made her career happen in a time when the exceptance of our brothers and sisters living alternative lifstyles wasn’t exactly being celebrated. The man certainly does not lack skills!
PS: My purpose for forwarding this article is positive – maybe they will communicate and clear the air. Over time, people change and there is never a good reason for bad blood.
I dug out an old woodstock book by a guy named Spitz. It says that Artie and his wife threw someone out of their trailer so they could have it for themselves. Really uncool. Vanilla Ice, Ice Ice Baby
I read a silly post on an article about Artie Kornfeld by this guy who was trying to jump on a bashing bandwagon with a bunch of other cluless, unresearched fools. And get this, the only thing he could personally remember about Kornfeld was that he had a hand in Vanilla Ice’s career and figured mentioning it was the easiest way to make fun of him. How lame is that? Not to mention “Ice Ice Baby” sold uh, eleven million copies! The guy probably still owns a dusty copy of the album somewhere.
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Here’s a clue:
Vanilla Ice’s single “Ice Ice Baby” was the first hip hop single to top the Billboard charts, and has been credited with helping to diversify hip hop by introducing it to a mainstream white audience. etc etc..
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Ha ha, yeah, that Artie Kornfeld. Let’s all join together and laugh in his face. Are you kidding me or what? I await a list of your accomplishments.
Sign the petition to induct Artie Kornfeld into the Rock Hall of Fame and go bash on a Ronnie Spector page please!!!
Hippies played while we paid. Hope you had a great time you fuck.
Vietnam vet
Get over yourself and stop hating. Don’t destroy what you attempted to preserve (freedom), by hating the country folk who wanted your life and others spared.
Thanks for fighting a politicaly motivated uneccessary war (sarcasm). Sorry that you got duped by a government that didn’t care about you and still doesn’t (no sarcasm). Nothing but love love love for you brother! We’ll still be here for you if ever you come to your senses. I got a flower for your gun right here!
Wow. What a bunch of air fairies. All that matters is peace and love? Sounds wonderful. For those of you who want to live your lives in a haze, you can thank a guy with a gun for making it possible. I’m a Boomer who wasn’t at Woodstock but am intrigued at its place in pop culture. Other than that, it’s embarrassing. If you don’t think so, watch the movie. yuk
If you were stupid enough to go to Vietnam, that’s your problem, not my fault. You weren’t fighting for me, you don’t know me. Just because you got suckered is no reason to be angry at people that were smarter than you.
That is insensitive, dude. It’s unbelievable the stuff people write when they are anonymous and have some freedom of expression. Ignorant, period.
Michael Lang’s book The road to Woodstock ROCKSs. Looks like Mr. Kornfeld is trying to cash in on the anniversary like every other capitalist hippie with tales of brushes with greatness. If you want to know about woodstock then read Lang’s book. I would think nothing else could be added.
Sarah,
I’m sure Lang’s book does rock. Artie thinks so himself! Michael Lang was the link between the original Woodstock Soundouts and an integral part of the foursome (actually fivesome when you realize Artie’s wife Linda was also involved in the thought process) that brought Woodstock to the masses creating an event that will go down in history. You seriously need to check yourself before you call him a “capitalist hippie” in the same post in wich you praise Lang though.
I saw Michael Lang on a home shopping channel the other night selling a collection of Woodstock stuff worth about $80 tops for over $800. Show me where Artie Kornfeld is asking anybody for money!
Artie Kornfeld does a free radio show every week, is scheduled to appear at West Fest (a free concert) in San Francisco on Oct. 25th for free in celebration of Woodstock’s 40th anniversary and, has given his gold records away to charitable causes etc etc etc. I could be wrong but i never heard about Michael Lang doing anything for charity.
When asked by an interviewer in the movie “Woodstock Revisited” about asking $6 for bottled water Lang even admits to trying to charge $10!!! That was back at the Woodstock Soundouts before the Woodstock Festival ever happened. Lang is also the one who went behind everyone’s back and copyrighted Woodstock to monopolize on it later. Lang is also the one running around sending “Cease & Desist” orders to anyone he can find that tries to celebrate Woodstock out of greed. Lang even sent a cease & desist order to the free event (West Fest) that Artie Kornfeld will be at to celbrate the 40th. (DO YOU EVEN READ THE NEWS ON THE NET??) WTF is that??? These guys are not even charging anyone to get in and feeding people for free and Lang tries to squeeze some cash out of them or shut them down??? GET A DAMN CLUE SARAHV!!!
Artie gave you Woodstock 69″ – FREE!!! Lang gave you 94′ & 99′ – overpriced, understaffed poorly put together (let alone the non-peaceful acts that got booked) in 94′ and the same in 99′ that led to riots because the people just couldn’t take it anymore.
Artie Kornfeld’s “The Pied Piper of Woodstock” is a neccessary book that will give the other side of the story and it would be an abomination to read Lang’s book and not Artie’s. Artie Kornfeld didn’t need Woodstock to make money!!!
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Here’s a FREE clue for you:
Artie Kornfeld is the Legendary Songwriter, Record Producer, Music Label Executive, Manager, and Co-Creator, Producer, and Promoter of Woodstock ‘69.
Artie has worked with: Jan Berry, Jan & Dean, The Angels, The Shirelles, The Changin’ Times, Crispian St. Peters, The Cowsills, Johnny Crawford, Freddie Cannon, Cher, Jay & the Americans, Al Hirt, Connie Francis, Gene Pitney, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, The Tokens, The Hullabaloos, Oscar Benton & Artie Kaplan, Jerry Butler & Betty Everett, Bert Sommer, Dusty Springfield, Minnie Ripperton, Tony Orlando, Reparperata & The Delrons, Wayne Newton, Bobby Hebb, Woody Allen, The Bangles, Survivor, and many, many more.
On top of that, Artie has signed, promoted, or developed: Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, Jack Johnson, Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman, Melissa Etheridge, Extreme, Edie Brickell, Vanilla Ice, Kix, Sass Jordan, Nuclear Valdez, Queensryche, Depeche Mode, Felony, Billy Joel, John Fogerty, Santana, Steve Perry, Kiss, Neil Young, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Petty, Survivor, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, The Band, Blondie, Davy Jones, The Left Banke, Bert Sommer, Bob Seger, Triumph, The Cowsills, J.Giles Band, Roger Miller, Linda Ronstadt, Alanis Morissette, Lou Rawls, Mandrill, Jimmy Castor, George Segal, Tragically Hip, April Wine, Joe South, Wilson Phillips, Alice Cooper, Paul Cotton, Michelle Shosked, Joe Cocker, ZZ Top, Marshall Tucker, Greg Allman Band, Ratt, Vixon, Steel Heart, Asia, TNT, Quiet Riot, Eddie Money, Patti Griffin.
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STILL THINK ARTIE KORNFELD NEEDS TO SQUEEZE MONEY OUT OF WOODSTOCK OR THE HIPPIES???????? Go look through your record collection and listen to some of the music Artie Kornfeld has helped bring into our lives. Then come back here and apologize to the man for your blantant disregard of the facts!
Artie is the only guy i know of in the industry putting himself out there for the right reason when all the others are hiding behind the cash they made and keeping to themselves while they spend it or making sure that every philanthropic thing they do gets blasted in your face to boost thier own plastic image.
Artie Kornfeld is a ray of light in the darkness that is the music industry!!! His actions and words are sincere.
It seems i found somthing to add, Sarah……..
Woodstock was a historical event of that time period. I’m sorry I missed it but at 13 I don’t think that my mother would have let me go. I assume Billyfeet was responding to the Vietnam vet. Many of the young men that went to Nam did not want to go-they were drafted. They came home with arms and legs blown off and were treated like crap by their own countrymen. Thank God for the brave men and women that fight for our freedom. Too bad there’s no draft today-we could send Billyfeet to Iraq!
Farout..Make love no ward..peace and love
Wow! a lot of ill will here. I attended Woodstock, yet I NEVER agreed with the often bad treatment the Viet Nam Vets recieved on their return. As a matter of Fact I have ridden with the Patriot Guard and Warriors Watch on occasion to honor the men fighting in Iraq, especially those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. No matter if you are pro or contra the War, Democrat or Republican, Liberal or Conservative, these men deserve our respect. We are all in this together. It’s time to come together as a nation. We have to first learn to live together on the local level so that we can interact on the global level as a world partner without alienating other nations.
It’s time to start thinking as Us, We, One. Soften your heart. Love one another.
Peace,
Christopher
Artie has always been so nice to me….never pretentious…never big-headed…alwayz simply the koolezt dude in a loose mod.
I’m proud to call him my friend…
At the core of every hippy, granola crunching, peace loving, shallow minded, idealistic Peace Protester still clinging to the legend and after glow of Woodstock is solid,rotten, self-serving, elitist snobbery and fear.
It was an era of decadence and indecency that the media has turned into a soul-less money maker.
This guy, and all of his phoney peace nics pals are just going back to the buffet for a little more money and fame to feed their egos and finance their self importance. They don’t have a clue of what it means to actually make a stand for something.
I feel like I need a bath just for dipping into this conversation. My “Fraud” meter is pinned at max!!
You are so off on your opinion you don’t even deserve a response to it. Please see my response to SARAHV! Then, once you get your head together let me know and i’ll give you a formal education on the topic.
Fraud. Scam. Self-promoting has-been.
Now now, Michael Lang isn’t all bad. We still love him and you should to. Heck, we love you don’t we?
Were you at Woodstock Roadman? Was it the brown acid that made you an idiot or were you born that way.
It was a concert. Let it go. I can’t believe with all the real news in the world the Palm Beach Post would waste ink on this story. Vanilla Ice? What have you done in the last 20 years? Just another geezer squeezing the last dollar out of a 40 year old concert. Pathetic.
It’s amazing how many people have no idea of what they are talking about on this page. Please refer to my response to SARAHV & Truthhurts. Your also invited to come back and actually learn somthing of wich you speak once you’ve figured out you have no idea what’s really going on.
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SOME OF US ACTUALLY TOOK THE TIME TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH!
Hey RoadmanDan. Does this Kornfeld have you on his payroll. You seem to be defending him the way a good wife defends her husband. You two have something going on? The guy apparently didn’t have his shit together enough to stop his kid from dying from drugs. And you idolize this dude? Maybe if he gave his kid the same attention he gave his own demons. I’m sure you’ll have something to say about my post too, boot licker. So how far away is the end of the 40th of Woodstock. Can’t wait.
FloridaDude,
Please see my reply to your bashing below….
I defend what i believe in and I idolize NO man! If you hear (read) a person shooting off at the mouth trashing someone or somthing YOU believe in or care about and falsifying the facts in order to do it, do you not step up and speak your mind? If you witness an injustice, do you not try to make it right? For every negative opinion of a person or thing there is a positive one to be had. Am i wrong for being the one to voice (type) the positive? Do not both sides of a story deserve to be heard before judgment is passed?
Exactly what would this world be if we did not stand up (less the violence) for what we believe is right? My words are that of an observer, not a servant. A person who can’t stand to listen to (or read) people speak out in a negative way on a subject they obviously know nothing about (when i feel i do) just for the sake of doing it. I speak what i see, what i know and what i believe. Always have and always will! Regardless of who appreciates it or gets pissed off by it! It’s my nature and i don’t apologize for it. It would seem as though it is your nature to speak your beliefs as well. I don’t need to be paid for it though and if i were i wouldn’t be so sincere about it i assure you. Perhaps Artie blames himself for his daughters death and would agree with you though.
Perhaps it was that Artie didn’t have his shit together enough to save his daughter from her tragic death. Perhaps HE was the one who gave her the drugs without caring about the potential consequences. None of us will probably ever know the truth though so, why should anyone pretend that they do and bash him as though they had priviledged information that it was the worst case scenario when the facts they do have access to describe a diff. person? If they take the time to learn the facts! I personally can’t believe that any parent would knowingly lead thier own child down that path though. Let alone Artie Kornfeld of whom i’ve known of since i was a child! In a way, i defend Artie as a part of myself. For he has been a part of my life and my memories and, his work and image have been a constant in my life for as long as i can remember in one way or another, be it Woodstock or just through music alone. The more i learn the more i realize this fact. A boot licker? Nothing could be further from the truth!
As i see it a parent can never know everything that thier child does when they are not there to protect them and we CANNOT ALWAYS be there to protect our children! Especially, when our kids reach thier teens and begin to start searching for themselves and where they fit in life. Our teen years are ones of exploration, meant to be filled with trial & error. Sometimes those trials and errors lead to tragedy and sometimes they lead to greatness. It would be wonderful if would could choose our children’s trials and errors for them but we can’t no matter how hard we try. It’s never easy to grow up in the shadow of a successful parent. Unfortunatly, the more successful a parent is the harder adolescense is for the child in almost every case. In the absence of fact i choose to believe the most likely scenario and not the one that forces me to assume Artie was the demon himself in the equation. Why do you, my friend?
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As for looking forward to the end of the 40th anniversary of Woodstock: Well, as soon as it does end i will be looking forward to the 41st, 42nd and every other anniversary of the event i am priviledged enough to observe. Why would anyone want to forget an event that reminds people that brotherly (and sisterly) love can work and potentially change the world? Well, that’s a question i can’t answer. It would seem anyone with that desire doesn’t understand what it really stands for and teaches us and, has their own personal issues that deny them from being able to see the big picture. I myself believe Woodstock should be excepted as a national if not world holiday. Not to celebrate the drugs and debauchery that some relate it to. But to celebrate the potential for each of us to be able to express ourselves and to be tolerant of each other. Woodstock proved that peace can work. Why would you or anyone want to forget that? Many people around the world get it. The real question is, why can’t you get it?
I’ll end by embelishing a quote from Artie Kornfeld himself, taken from the Woodstock documentary and found worthy of being repeated in the film “Omega Man” by Charlton Heston.
Woodstock gives us the ability ….”Just to see, just to realize what’s really important. The fact that if we can’t all live together in peace, if you can’t be happy, if we have to be afraid to walk down the street, if you have to be afraid to smile at somebody, right…. What kind of a way is that to go through this life?” ….it isn’t any way to go through life and Woodstock represents that realization and serves as an example.
It’s not a proverb or a story in some book. It’s not empty words from an elder, politician or religeous leader that you have to believe without the proof to back it up. Woodstock was real! something you can really sink your minds teeth into and see for yourself and, it’s message is as real and as important today as it ever was and it always will be. To celebrate Woodstock’s anniversary is to pass this life lesson down to future generations. It’s a positive thing!
I ask you again.. why would anyone want to forget that truth and desire it’s observance to end?
Peace my brother!
I can’t believe such vituperative comments are here. It must be that anonymity makes people feel like they can say mean things about people they don’t even know. And how can anyone condemn a person because their child overdosed on drugs? Artie is an old family friend whom I first met in the 70’s. He was always kind to me and my family. The same was true of his wife Linda. Caroline is lovely too. I also remember very clearly how distraught he was at the loss of his family members. That is a very personal thing that no one should presume to understand if they weren’t there. Anyway, I hope he makes BIG money from his connection with Woodstock though, knowing Artie, I doubt that the money is his focus.
There is so much anger being expressed here. I think that truth is a many-layered perception; we are human beings, subject to our emotions, our varied and colored recollections, wounded by our failures, manufactured by our defensive stances. Woodstock is forever a badge on the sash across my breast, carved on the totem of my life.
You want the Artie truth? YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
“There is no way to peace, peace is the way.”
~A. J. Muste
“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.”
~Peace Pilgrim
“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
http://www.timeisloveblog.com
Over-rated hasbeen. Get out of the time warp.
Clearly people…you have no idea what you are talking about. Listen to Artie’s radio show. His radio guests were at Woodstock and verify all that RoadMannDan is saying. I sent Artie a question, just me….a humble woman who was 13 years old during Woodstock 69, and Artie was gracious and answered my question. He is the real deal. Simple, loving, and living a Quijote life: to make a better world.
Robin