August 16, 2009 6:52 PM
Woodstock - groups that weren't there
From the Edmonton Sun, an article by Darryl Sterdan,
Forget about who was at Woodstock ... check out the bands that weren't there -- and the reasons why
The BeatlesAlthough The Fabs had played their famous rooftop set on their Apple HQ in London that January, they hadn't done a full concert since 1966 -- and were days away from finishing Abbey Road. Those are the facts -- but the rumours are more fun. One story goes that promoters contacted John Lennon, who refused to play unless Yoko's Plastic Ono Band was included. Another version has Lennon eager to perform but unable (or unwilling) to enter the U.S., since then-President Richard Nixon wasn't exactly a fan.
. . . .The Doors
The L.A. rockers supposedly cancelled at the last moment due to Jim Morrison's distaste for large outdoor gigs. Drummer John Densmore was at the festival, and can be seen in the film at the side of the stage during Joe Cocker's set.
Bob Dylan
Zimmy was allegedly being courted, but backed out after one of his kids got sick. Word is he was also ticked off at the hippies hanging around his house near the town of Woodstock. Instead, he played at the Isle of Wight festival in the U.K. two weeks later.
. . . .Jethro Tull
Singer-flutist Ian Anderson supposedly passed because he "didn't want to spend the weekend in a field of unwashed hippies" . . . .
Led Zeppelin
The British blues-rock phenoms were urged to perform by their record label, but famously combative manager Peter Grant reportedly refused "because at Woodstock we'd have just been another band."
. . . .Joni Mitchell
Mitchell was the victim of bad advice -- her agent told her it would be a better career move to do The Dick Cavett Show. She wrote her iconic song Woodstock based on what boyfriend Graham Nash told her.
The Moody Blues
The Nights in White Satin crew was listed on the original posters, but backed out after being booked in Paris the same weekend.
. . . .The Rolling Stones
Even if the Stones were invited to Woodstock, they couldn't have played because singer Mick Jagger was filming Ned Kelly all summer in Australia. If that wasn't enough, Keith Richards' wife, Anita Pallenberg, had just given birth to their son Marlon in London that week.
. . . . .Frank Zappa
The iconoclastic Mothers of Invention leader once claimed the band had been invited to play but he passed. Given his well-publicized disdain for hippies, that might have been a good move for all concerned.
Roy Rogers
In the recently expanded Woodstock DVD, festival producer Michael Lang says he wanted the cowboy crooner to close the weekend by singing Happy Trails -- but "his manager didn't think it was such a great idea." Can't imagine why.
Read entire article at the Edmonton Sun.
