Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Woodstock: Just Said No

Doing some research for my Live Aid post, I happened upon this list of acts who declined their invitations to play Woodstock. I had never seen this list.

Declined Invitations:
1. The Beatles (John Lennon said he couldn't get them together)
2. Led Zeppelin (Got a higher paying gig elsewhere)
3. The Doors (Jim Morrison hated large outdoor venues)
4. Bob Dylan (Turned it down because of his disgust of the hippies hanging around his house)
5. The Byrds (Turned it down because of a melee during their performance at the first Atlanta International Pop Festival, held at the Atlanta International Raceway on July 4 and July 5, 1969)
6. Tommy James & the Shondells (Turned it down because of being misinformed about the size and scope of the event)
7. Jethro Tull (Turned it down because they thought it wouldn't be a big deal.)
8. The Moody Blues (Unknown reasons)
9. Mind Garage (Declined because they thought it wouldn't be a big deal and had a higher paying gig elsewhere)

Bands who cancelled:
1. Jeff Beck Group (The band broke up in July, forcing cancellation)
2. Iron Butterfly (Stuck at the airport, their manager demanded helicopters and special arrangements just for them. Were wired back and told, as impolitely as Western Union would allow, "to get lost", but in other 'words'.)
3. Joni Mitchell (Joni's agent put her on "The Dick Cavett Show" instead)

No comments: