Paul Butterfield
Blues Band
6–7:15 AM
Steeped in Chicago blues, Butterfield’s
group originally included Michael
Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop. They
departed in 1966 and ’68, respectively,
and the leader’s six a.m. turn—which
was not recorded or filmed—featured
Teddy Harris on piano and saxophon-
ist David Sanborn among several horn
players. The short, sweet set included
blues standards like “Born Under a Bad
Sign” and “Driftin’ and Driftin’,” and
was warmly received by the remain-
ing crowd.
AFTER WOODSTOCK: Butterfield, a
vocalist and master harmonica player,
toured and recorded, sometimes with
his mentor, Muddy Waters, up until his
1987 death at 44 from a heroin overdose.
Sha Na Na
7:45–8:15 AM
Perhaps the most incongruous group
to appear at Woodstock, the act was
both an homage to and a parody of the
greased-back ’50s; the group started
out together at Columbia University.
In fact, they put on a pretty spectacular
show at concerts, performing a playlist
of rock ’n’ roll, rockabilly, and doo-wop
all decked out in lamé, with powerful,
rangy voices and explosively energetic
choreography. If you happened to be
asleep when Sha Na Na took the stage,
you might well have wakened to “Get a
Job,” “Teen Angel,” “Wipe Out” (which
a generation of schoolkids drummed on
their desks), “Blue Moon,” “The Book of
Love,” “At the Hop,” and “Duke of Earl.”AFTER WOODSTOCK: Their 90 seconds
of screen time in the Woodstock movie
made Sha Na Na famous and helped
ignite a ’50s nostalgia craze in the 1970s.
Sha Na Na eventually wound up with
its own syndicated TV show, which
ran from 1977 to 1982. The group—
which has changed personnel numer-
ous times—continues to get audiences
dancing in the aisles. Many early mem-
bers went on to careers in academia,
law, and medicine.Jimi Hendrix
9–11:15 AM
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame boldly
describes him as “the most giftedWHAT REMAINED OF THE
dwindling crowd early on
Monday morning was treated
to one of the stranger
inclusions on the Woodstock
docket: Sha Na Na (above),
a costumed ’50s throwback
act. But what a show they put
on. The surviving audience
loved them. Those stoics
of Monday morning (it was
estimated there may have
been as few as 40,000 people
left) were rewarded by the
festival finale, Jimi Hendrix,
opposite, with his newly
formed band, Gypsy Sun and
Rainbows. The great guitarist
dazzled the faithful with his
legendary three-minute-
and-forty-seven-second
“Star-Spangled Banner.”82 LIFE WOODSTOCK