The 20 most iconic sets at the legendary 1969 Woodstock music and art fair

In Saturday's second surprise show after Country Joe McDonald, Sebastian was fresh off the Lovin' Spoonful and working on his first solo album, from which he previewed three tracks, along with two Spoonful favorites.

He told the crowd he had been “freaked out” by his size, but the Woody boy was in fine form nonetheless, covering Bob Dylan ('Walkin' Down the Line') — but sadly without enough time to play his epic ' Alice's Restaurant Massacree'', to what would surely be an appreciative crowd.

The brass-rock group's big lineup change from 1968 (swapping leads from Al Kooper to David Clayton-Thomas) was still reverberating, but a hit album and singles like “Spinning Wheel” softened the tumult – as did a strong performance which included a Joe Cocker cover (“Something's Coming On”), nearly 12 hours after Cocker performed the original himself.

The New York singer-songwriter was not on the festival bill. he just showed up and entered Friday's lineup with an acoustic flavor in the time of the storm. It hit fast – just 25 minutes to 1:00am. – but the crowd loved her. This experience inspired her first Top 10 hit, “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)” and her first gold album, Candles in the rain.

Ten Years After wasn't the only blues-rock favorite to light up the Sunday portion of the show. Winter cut through a warm midnight set consisting mostly of covers, with younger brother Edgar Winter joining the group for three of his nine songs.

Booked because, along with Dylan, they defined the laid-back, rustic ethos of the real Woodstock (where the group resided), there were high expectations for Sunday's Ten Years After set and a lingering sense of disappointment. after all, it wasn't just that. However, a listen to the show – including the full set for the 50th anniversary edition of The Band's classic self-titled LP – says otherwise. The band members have acknowledged some wear and tear waiting for his opening time, but he still played songs from his first two albums with an unassuming (but crowd-pleasing) confidence.

With four albums already out (the latest, Alleluiaarrived just weeks before the festival) the Los Angeles blues 'n' boogie troupe regaled the faithful with a series of lengthy jams, including the occasion's “Woodstock Boogie” and a cover of John Lee Hooker's “Rollin' . Akefia.” “Going Up the Country,” meanwhile, became the opening song for the next film.

Already an icon of the folk and protest movements that were so much a part of the spirit of Woodstock, Baez — six months pregnant with son Gabriel — closed the first night in the early hours of Saturday morning with a 13-song set that covered Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Willie Nelson, Pete Seeger and The Rolling Stones. Baez warmed up by playing, unannounced, the festival's free stage after Friday night's storm.

Talk about a setup. the quartet had established local fame, but their debut album was not to be Climbing! for another seven months. Nevertheless, Leslie West staked his claim as one of the best guitarists in Woodstock's august ranks, raising the Mountain's stock exponentially—though to his dying day, he was complaining about Janis Joplin making the last bagel backstage. .

Although “Going Home” is the one that lives on in glory in the film, the British blues-rock outfit played five other songs during an eclectic hour on stage, showing the power of their ensemble beyond their lightning-quick guitar heroics Alvin Lee.

In the midst of a successful three-album run, CCR was able to load up their set with favorites like “Proud Mary,” “Bad Moon Rising” and “Green River.” “Keep on Chooglin'” and “Suzie Q,” meanwhile, showed the quartet could also jam with plenty of fire.

What exactly was a bunch of Columbia University students doing dressed like 50's greasers playing Danny and the Juniors hits at Woodstock? Entertaining those left until Monday morning, of course, with enough crazy choreography to make any festival-goer assume those shared sandwiches may well have been dosed.

The front man, somewhat reluctantly, kicked off Woodstock with a furious, impassioned performance whose highlights — “Handsome Johnny,” covers of The Beatles' “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Hey Jude” and an iconic medley of “Freedom” and ” Sometimes I feel like I'm motherless” — quickly planted a flag that something special was about to descend on Bethel.

The quartet's second show suffered a bit from the late hour (3:30 a.m. Monday) and its own nervousness (“We're scared for nothing,” Stephen Stills told the crowd), but the mix of acoustic and electric sets was a key part of creating a supergroup that would go on to great and mythological heights.

With festival organizers still deliberating on day two, McDonald was tricked into getting the crowd ready for Santana on Saturday. His ad hoc solo set included “Fish Cheer” (“Gimme an F!…”) and “Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag,” staples for any Woodstock playlist. (He and his band The Fish returned for their scheduled show on Sunday, which was delayed by that afternoon's storm.)

Not many knew who the British singer was when he and the Grease Band opened the Sunday portion of the festival. By the time Cocker was done with his indelible, gut-wrenching rendition of The Beatles' “With a Little Help From My Friends,” no one could forget him.

Tommy almost in its entirety, for starters; Pete Townshend takes Abby Hoffman off the stage with his guitar for a second. You couldn't ask for a more adventurous show, with rare books (“Heaven and Hell,” “Naked Eye”) sometimes getting lost in the shuffle.

With a new band without rehearsing, Hendrix's closing set was admittedly bewildering. But if anyone is going to get something still worthwhile out of such circumstances, it would be Hendrix. And turning “The Star Spangled Banner” into a psychedelic work ensured that it would be legendary, regardless of any other shortcomings.

San Francisco's Rainbow Coalition wanted to take Woodstock higher, and they did—with a nine-song, few-hour show that brought Woodstock to life as surely as any good DJ does at a night scream in this day and age .

The element of surprise gave this other Bay Area troupe a head start on Saturday afternoon. Some knew Carlos Santana from Al Cooper Super Sessionbut the release of his own band's debut album was still a few weeks away. But the hexagon killed it, putting some rocket fuel into a career that's still going strong 55 years later.