now 76; a documentary on his turbu-
lent life and career is due out this year.The Who
5:30–6:35 AM
Though the British rockers put on a
great show, their appearance included
one of Woodstock’s few sour notes. The
Who—creative force Pete Townshend,
bass guitarist John Entwistle, drum-
mer Keith Moon, and singer Roger
Daltrey—were bona fide stars. Their
1965 single “My Generation,” was a
teen anthem, and they’d made a huge
splash at Monterey Pop. Indeed, the
group’s theatrical live gigs—with
Daltrey’s soaring vocals and guitar vir-
tuoso Townshend’s fiercely rhythmic
style, often with his famed windmill-
ing flourish (and sometimes ending in
a smashed instrument)—were sensa-
tional. The Who had just released what
many consider their masterpiece, the
rock opera Tommy, much of which theyand hands and fingers raised in peace
signs, heads and voices crying out into
the night, crying the anguished plea of
the ’60s, ‘Higher, higher!’ ”AFTER WOODSTOCK: Sly & Co. were
at their peak and would be a seminal
influence on the disco movement of
the 1970s, but drugs and dissension
would bring the group down—not least
their leader. Stone’s voracious cocaine
consumption made him increas-
ingly erratic, volatile, and unreliable.
After the group disbanded in 1975,
Stone went solo, with far less success.
Meanwhile his personal troubles spi-
raled amid continued substance abuse
and various legal entanglements, and
he became a reclusive figure, at one
point descending into homelessness. In
2015 Stone was awarded $5 million in a
lawsuit against his former manager and
lawyer for unpaid royalties, but a judge
overturned the decision. The singer is
CONTINUED ON PAGE 64MANY WHO WERE THERE
would say that the peak
performance of the entire
festival came from the vibrant
funk of Sly and the Family Stone
at four a.m. Despite the hour,
Sly Stone (opposite) lived up to
his lyrics when he sang to his
ecstatic listeners, “I want to
take you higher!” Perhaps more
than any single artist in that
weekend’s parade of talent, Sly
and his big brassy band lit up
the Woodstock night.
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