Woodstock 1969 Headliners: Where Are They Now?

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Woodstock 1969 Headliners: Where Are They Now?

In August 1969, an estimated 400,000 people traveled to the little-known town of Bethel, New York, to attend Woodstock, a rock and folk festival held on a property belonging to local farmer Max Yasgur. Organizers initially anticipated no more than 50,000 attendees, but that number quickly doubled, tripled, quadrupled and so on before reaching the whopping final tally. Additionally, the event was originally marketed as “Three Days of Peace and Music,” but it ended up lasting four days. Thirty-two acts performed over the course of the festival, with many of them rocking out until the wee hours of the next morning. Friday night’s headliners included Richie Havens and Joan Baez; Saturday featured Janis Joplin, The Who and Jefferson Airplane; Sunday boasted Joe Cocker and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and Jimi Hendrix closed out Monday with a two-plus-hour set starting at 9 a.m. Many artists passed on what would have been the opportunity of a lifetime. Simon & Garfunkel were busy recording an album, Led Zeppelin had another show scheduled at Asbury Park Convention Hall in New Jersey, The Doors worried Woodstock would be a “second-class repeat of Monterey Pop Festival” (in guitarist Robby Krieger’s words) and Joni Mitchell canceled to appear on The Dick Cavett Show. For those who couldn’t make it out to the festival site (which is now on the National Register of Historic Places), Woodstock was memorialized in an Oscar-winning eponymous documentary and a soundtrack album. Events have also been held to commemorate the 25th, 30th and 40th anniversaries. Woodstock 50 had been planned to take place in Bethel, New York, in August 2019 with headliners including The Killers, Miley Cyrus, Dead & Company, Chance the Rapper, Jay-Z and Imagine Dragons. However, it ended up being canceled in the wake of various production issues. In honor of the 50th anniversary, take a look at where some of the top 1969 headliners are now.

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Canned Heat

The rock band’s current lineup includes original members Adolfo “Fito” de la Parra, Harvey Mandel and Larry “The Mole” Taylor. Their most recent release, Christmas Album, hit stores in 2007.

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Creedence Clearwater Revival

The rock group disbanded in 1972 after just four years together. Their breakup was bitter, leading John Fogerty to refuse to perform at their 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

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Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

The folk supergroup’s members have had plenty of ups and downs since disbanding in 2015, but Neil Young said in a 2017 interview that they have “every chance of getting together again” one day. Crosby, Stills & Nash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, two years after Young entered as a solo artist.

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Grateful Dead

The rock band stopped performing as the Grateful Dead after the 1995 death of founding member Jerry Garcia. However, their core members still perform today as Dead & Company with John Mayer on guitar.

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Janis Joplin

The “Piece of My Heart” songstress died from a heroin overdose at the age of 27 in October 1970, just one year after taking Woodstock by storm. She was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

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Jefferson Airplane

The psychedelic band separated into two groups in the early 1970s: Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady formed Hot Tuna, and their bandmates started Jefferson Starship. Jefferson Airplane received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.

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Jimi Hendrix

The rock star died from an overdose at age 27 in September 1970, one month after fellow Woodstock headliner Joplin’s death and one year after the festival. His band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. He remains one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

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Joan Baez

The “Diamonds & Rust” singer is still making music, with her most recent album, Whistle Down the Wind, being released in March 2018. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

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Joe Cocker

The “You Are So Beautiful” crooner died at the age of 70 in December 2014 after battling lung cancer.

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Santana

The lineup of Carlos Santana’s Latin rock band has changed countless times through the years, but it remains one of the bestselling groups of all time. Santana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

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Sha Na Na

The doo-wop group is still active in the music industry, with original members Donald “Donny” York and John “Jocko” Marcellino going strong after five decades together.

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Sly & The Family Stone

The funk band dissolved in the mid-1970s after years of substance abuse and personal issues between its members. Frontman Sly Stone continued performing as a solo act before retiring in 1987. However, he unretired not long after, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

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The Band

The roots rock group stopped touring in the mid-‘70s, but started up again in 1983. It has not performed since founding member Rick Danko’s 1999 death.

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The Who

Although the London-based group split in 1983, its members reunited for a 25th anniversary tour in 1989. They spent a few years apart, only to come together again in 1996. They have been performing ever since.