Woodstock film, showcases the electri-
fying stick work of 20-year-old drum-
mer Michael Shrieve. Santana wrapped
up the gig with “Fried Neckbones and
Some Home Fries.”
“I went out and saw this ocean as far
as I could see,” Carlos Santana recalled
of the crowd. “An ocean of flesh and hair
and teeth and hands... I just prayed that
the Lord would keep me in tune and in
time... It was like plugging into a whole
bunch of hearts... It was incredible. I’ll
never forget the way the music sounded,
bouncing up against a field of bodies.”
Added vocalist and keyboardist Gregg
Rolie, “If I had known what it was all
about and what Woodstock ended up
meaning, I probably would have been
frightened to death.”
AFTER WOODSTOCK: The festival cat-
apulted Santana to fame. Just weeks
after Woodstock, the group’s debut
album was a smash, peaking at No. 4 on
the Billboard 200 pop chart, with “Evil
Ways” a Top 10 single. The next album,
Abraxas, featuring the hit “Black Magic
Woman,” proved another chart-topper.
With numerous personnel changes,
Carlos Santana has kept the band going
for 50 years, its popularity ebbing and
flowing but with undeniable peaks—
such as its 1998 induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and 1999’s
No. 1 album Supernatural, with smash
singles “Smooth” and “Maria Maria.”
The classic lineup— Santana, Shrieve,
Rolie, Neal Schon, Michael Carabello—
reunited in 2016 for Santana IV. In
2019, Santana was headlining a multi-
year residency at House of Blues in
Las Vegas and touring to promote a
new album.
John Sebastian
3:30–4:00 PM
After Santana’s set, the rains came
down, the next group wasn’t ready
to play, and electrical problems were
hampering the sound system. Lighting
designer Chip Monck feared a lull
might stall the concert, so he collared
a bona fide star who wasn’t scheduled
to appear at the festival. John Sebastian
had vaulted to fame as founder and
front man of the Lovin’ Spoonful, the
folk-blues group that had turned out
such hits as “Do You Believe in Magic”
and “Summer in the City.” The band
broke up in 1968, and the 25-year-old
Sebastian, who lived near the festi-
val site and was working on his first
solo album, came up to Yasgur’s farm
purely as a spectator. “I ended up back-
stage because I knew everybody,” he
recalled. “These were all people I had
played with, hung out with, sat around
tables smoking dope with. This was
absolute community. I felt very much
at one with the whole group.”
Monck pressed him into service—
realizing he had the star power to keep
the crowd riveted. Borrowing a gui-
tar from pal Tim Hardin, the warm-
voiced singer “had dropped some acid,
but went on anyway, talking to the
audience like they were old friends,”
Lang wrote. “I simply love whoever
is here,” Sebastian said before his first
song. “Clean up some trash as you leave
and it will all go for the best.” He sang
five songs: “How Have You Been?”
“Rainbows All Over Your Blues,” “I Had
a Dream,” “Darlin’ Be Home Soon,” and
“Younger Generation.” The crowd loved
it, and by the time Sebastian finished,
the rain had stopped. The impromptu
performance, which he nevertheless
dismissed as one of his worst, also sup-
plied a memorable image (right) by the
now revered rock photographer Henry
Diltz. “I’ve spent years living down the
outfit I was wearing,” Sebastian said. “It
was tie-dyed Levis jeans and jacket. My
Woodstock ‘suit of lights,’ as someone
called it.”AFTER WOODSTOCK: Now 75, Sebastian
went on to release several solo albums
and scored a huge hit in 1976 with the
theme song to the sitcom Welcome Back,
Kotter. He has worked steadily as a ses-
sion man for other artists, frequently
contributes to film and TV soundtracks,
and wrote a 1993 children’s book, JB’s
Harmonica. A Rock and Roll and
Songwriters hall of famer, Sebastian
continues to tour.52 LIFE WOODSTOCK