Inspired by Joe Cocker
I was an 18-year-old musician the summer of Woodstock, playing electric bass in the show band at the Olympic Hotel in Fallsburg, New York, about a 20-minute ride from the festival site. A few days before the concert, I drove to the site on a beautiful summer day and watched as they were building the stage. The setting was magnificent: a huge, upward-sloping open field in a lovely area of the Catskill Mountains. I bought a concert ticket (I think for $3.50). My friends and I drove to the site on Sunday morning. We knew all the back roads and were able to park within about a quarter-mile of the site. Tickets were unnecessary, as it had become a free, open festival. When we arrived, Joe Cocker had just taken the stage. I'll never forget his rendition of The Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends.” He totally rearranged that song and made it his own, and to me it was the musical highlight of the festival.
Robert Miller, New York City