Woodstock survivors: What musicians remain from the 1969 festival
Published in Entertainment News
Country Joe McDonald had one of the most iconic moments at Woodstock — or any music festival, for that matter — leading the sea of hippies in the Vietnam protest cheer “And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for?!”
On March 7, the country-psych legend became the latest Woodstock alum to pass away, at the age of 84.
He follows Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, who died in January at 78. One of the most prolific and enduring musicians of his generation, Weir was a mere 21 years old when he took the stage at the historic gathering of nearly half a million people in Bethel, New York, in August 1969.
And he wasn’t even the youngest: That distinction belonged to a member of Sha Na Na. Yes, Sha Na Na was there.
Two of the festival’s biggest stars — Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin — were dead in just a little over a year. Others, like John Fogerty and Neil Young, are still energizing crowds today, both having reached 80.
Of the five female or female-fronted acts, Joan Baez — prominently depicted in the recent Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” — is the only one still active.
Woodstock featured 32 acts with more than 150 musicians onstage over its four days. More than five decades later, a little over 80 of those performers are still around to say they were there — in the rain, the mud and the madness — for the “3 Days of Peace and Music” that turned into four (Aug. 15-18).
Here is the lineup, in order, with the surviving musicians from the acts listed.
FRIDAY-SATURDAY
Richie Havens
Flown in by helicopter, the coffeehouse performer and his backing musicians were heroic when thrust into action to unexpectedly open the show, most notably with the improvised “Freedom.” Havens died in 2013 at 72.
Living: Paul “Deano” Williams (guitar), Daniel Ben Zebulon (percussion).
Sweetwater
The Los Angeles group — a fusion of folk, rock and jazz, with flute, cello, conga, keyboards and drums (no guitar) — was scheduled to open the festival Friday afternoon but was caught up in traffic, leaving Havens to buy time while they arrived by helicopter. Four months after Woodstock, in December 1969, Nancy Nevins was rear-ended on a California freeway and badly wounded, damaging her vocal cords and effectively ending her singing career. The group disbanded in 1971.
Living: Nancy Nevins (vocals/guitar), Elpidio Cobian (congas), Alex Del Zoppo (keyboards), Fred Herrera (bass).
Bert Sommer
The singer-songwriter from The Left Banke was a hit at Woodstock and had a few years of success as a musician and actor before dying in 1990 at 41.
Living: Ira Stone (guitar, organ, harmonica).
Unknown: Charlie Bilello (bass).
Ravi Shankar
The sitar virtuoso did a 45-minute set of classical Indian raga and went on to a prolific career that included touring with George Harrison. He died in 2012 at 92.
Living: Maya Kulkarni (tamboura).
Melanie
The quirky folk-pop singer who went on solo, acoustic and unscheduled at 1 a.m. drew two encores. She had a No. 1 hit two years later with “Brand New Key.” She died in 2024 at 76.
Arlo Guthrie
With “Coming Into Los Angeles,” a Dylan cover and a 10-minute comic monologue, Woody’s son was a Woodstock hit despite him being in a less-than-lucid state, per bethelwoodscenter.org. The 78-year-old ceased touring after suffering a stroke in 2019 but came out of retirement in 2023, when he last performed.
Living: Arlo Guthrie and bassist Bob Arkin.
Joan Baez
Baez was six months pregnant when she closed the first night beginning at 3 a.m. The 85-year-old performed at the star-studded tribute concert for Bob Weir in San Francisco on Jan. 17 and appeared at No Kings protests in the fall.
Living: Joan Baez, Richard Festinger (guitar), Jeffrey Shurtleff (vocals, guitar).
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
Quill
The Boston rock band — one of three Woodstock acts without an album (along with Santana and Sha Na Na) — opened the Saturday slate at noon with a set that did not win over the crowd. The band broke up in 1970 after releasing one album. Roger North became a noted instrument designer and inventor.
Living: Roger North, Dan Cole (vocals), Phil Thayer (keyboards).
Country Joe McDonald
Before taking the stage with The Fish, he was rushed out for a half-hour solo set while Santana got ready.
Santana
Carlos Santana, just 21 and hallucinating on mescaline, led the virtually unknown Latin rock band in a sizzling Saturday afternoon set. At 78, he is still touring and was joined for a set by Michael Carabello in 2024. Keyboardist Gregg Rolie, 78, went on to co-found Journey and tours as part of Ringo’s All-Starr Band.
Living: Carlos Santana, Gregg Rolie, Michael Shrieve (drums), Michael Carabello and José “Chepito” Areas (percussion).
John Sebastian
The Lovin’ Spoonful frontman, who was spotted in the crowd and thrust onto the Woodstock stage unbilled, while tripping (!), performed at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in December.
Keef Hartley Band
For its first American date, this horn-driven British blues-rock band, led by the former Bluesbreakers drummer, had the misfortune of following Santana on Saturday afternoon, combined with the misfortune of not being filmed. The band lasted until 1972. While Hartley died in 2011 at 67, several other members remain active.
Living: Miller Anderson (guitar, vocals), Jimmy Jewell (saxophone), Henry Lowther (trumpet, violin).
Incredible String Band
The Scottish psych-folk band, which refused to play day one in the rain, has the most mysterious Woodstock alum in Christina “Licorice” McKechnie. She left the band in 1972, embraced Scientology and was last heard from in 1990. Her former husband told the Telegraph UK last year, “She literally made a conscious decision to become homeless … she just loved being homeless.” There was a tribute to the band in London in the fall.
Living: Rose Simpson (vocals, multi-instrumental), Robin Williamson (vocals, multi-instrumental), Mike Heron (multi-instrumental).
Unknown: Christina “Licorice” McKechnie (vocals)
Canned Heat
The L.A. band took the stage Saturday evening with Bob “The Bear” Hite informing the audience that “we’re just gonna play a little blues!” What followed was a hot, crowd-pleasing set. Guitarist-singer Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson was the first Woodstock alum to die, in September 1970. Hite, the co-lead vocalist, died in 1981. Adolfo “Fito” de la Parra continues to lead a touring version of Canned Heat.
Living: Adolfo “Fito” de la Parra (drums), Harvey "The Snake" Mandel (guitar).
Mountain
Like Creedence Clearwater Revival, people didn’t associate Mountain with Woodstock because there was no footage in the documentary, despite it giving a rousing Saturday night set. Six months later, the band released its signature hit “Mississippi Queen” and then broke up in ’72, reunited in ’74 and disbanded in ’75. Following the death of frontman Leslie West in December 2020, Laing became the last surviving member of Mountain's classic lineup. He leads Corky Laing’s Mountain.
Living: Corky Laing (drums).
Grateful Dead
The Dead, which played a chaotic, rain-soaked late Saturday night set — that Fogerty claimed “put the crowd to sleep” — flourished until the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995. Bill Kreutzmann, 79 and the last surviving member of the original band, left Dead & Company in 2023, while Mickey Hart, 82, was a member up until its last show in August.
Living: Mickey Hart (drums), Bill Kreutzmann (drums).
Creedence Clearwater Revival
John Fogerty was so displeased with the band’s set — many felt otherwise -— that he did not allow the footage in the film. The band split in 1972, creating a mess of legal challenges. Fogerty is on tour this summer.
Living: John Fogerty, Stu Cook, Doug Clifford.
Janis Joplin and the Kozmic Blues Band
Also missing from the film was this fiery but uneven 2:30 a.m. Sunday set by Joplin, who was struggling with addiction, with her new band. Trumpeter Luis Gasca went on to a long career in Latin jazz.
Living: Luis Gasca and Terry Clements (saxophone).
Sly & the Family Stone
The soul-rock pioneers from San Francisco took the crowd “Higher” in the wee hours of Sunday morning with one of the most acclaimed sets of the festival. Sly Stone, who was mostly inactive past the ’70s, died in June at 82. Jerry Martini, 83, leads the group The Family Stone with Sly’s daughter.
Living: Jerry Martini, Freddie Stone (guitar), Rose Stone (vocals, piano), Larry Graham (bass), Greg Errico (drums).
The Who
The Who, the lone British Invasion band at Woodstock, went on at 5 a.m. Saturday and devoted the bulk of its set to “Tommy.” The two principals wrapped up what was presumed to be the band’s retirement tour in October.
Living: Roger Daltrey (vocals), Pete Townshend (guitar).
Jefferson Airplane
Grace Slick, who greeted the Sunday morning crowd at Woodstock with “Good morning, people ... It's the new dawn," retired in 1990. Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady are still active as Hot Tuna.
Living: Grace Slick (vocals), Jorma Kaukonen (guitar), Jack Casady (bass).
SUNDAY-MONDAY
Joe Cocker and the Grease Band
Joe Cocker opened the Sunday afternoon slate at 2 p.m., stepping off a helicopter and onto the stage where the Grease Band had already started. He slowly won over the crowd and delivered one of the ultimate Woodstock performances with the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends.” Cocker died in 2014 at 70. Neil Hubbard went on to play with Roxy Music. Chris Stainton is still touring as an Eric Clapton band member.
Living: Chris Stainton (keyboards), Neil Hubbard (guitar).
Country Joe and the Fish
Country Joe was a solo hit on Saturday and then returned with his Berkeley, California, psych-rock protest band at 6:30 p.m. Sunday after a nearly three-hour rain delay. Barry “The Fish” Melton still performs blues and rock shows while also maintaining a second career as a public defender in California. McDonald died of complications from Parkinson's disease.
Living: Barry Melton (guitar), Mark Kapner (keyboards), Doug Metzner (bass), Greg “Duke” Dewey (drums).
Ten Years After
The British blues-rock band toughed it out through the rain and technical issues on Sunday night, delivering the memorable “I'm Going Home.” The band first split in 1974, and frontman Alvin Lee died in 2013 at 68. Ric Lee (no relation to Alvin), 80, still leads a version of Ten Years After.
Living: Ric Lee (drums), Chick Churchill (keyboards), Leo Lyons (bass).
The Band
With the passing of Garth Hudson in 2024, there are no surviving members of the group that was based right there in Woodstock. There was buzz around the performance that Bob Dylan might show up, so there was some disappointment within the crowd despite it being a strong set of songs from the debut album. Nonetheless, The Band chose not to be part of the film, thinking the performance was not “up to snuff.”
Johnny Winter
With the clock ticking past midnight, the quartet played an electrifying blues-rock set, also not included in the film. Edgar Winter, who went on to a solo career the year after Woodstock, was just seen jamming with Billy Strings in Nashville in February. Tommy Shannon went on to become the bassist for Stevie Vaughan’s Double Trouble and is still active.
Living: Edgar Winter (keyboards), Tommy Shannon (bass).
Blood, Sweat & Tears
The jazz-rock group went on at 1:45 a.m. Monday and struggled with the horns in the mix, while ending strong with “When I Die” and “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy.” Its brief mainstream success ended with the departure of David Clayton-Thomas in 1972. Guitarist Steve Katz went on to produce the Lou Reed albums “Rock 'n' Roll Animal” and “Sally Can't Dance” and become the VP of Mercury Records. A touring version of Blood, Sweat & Tears continues today, though none of its current members played Woodstock. Clayton-Thomas last performed in 2020, according to setlist.fm.
Living: David Clayton-Thomas (vocals, guitar), Steve Katz, Fred Lipsius (alto sax, keyboards), Jim Fielder (bass, guitar), Bobby Colomby (drums, percussion), Chuck Winfield (trumpet, flugelhorn), Jerry Hyman (trombone, recorder).
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
The supergroup played its second-ever show at Woodstock, having debuted the previous night with Joni Mitchell, who would write the anthem “Woodstock.” David Crosby died in 2023 at 81. The other three members remain active — Stephen Stills less so in recent years.
Living: Stephen Stills (vocals, guitar), Graham Nash (vocals, keyboards), Neil Young (vocals, guitar).
Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Butterfield and company took the stage with Chicago blues at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m. Monday. It broke up in 1971 after a sixth album, and Butterfield died in 1987 at 44. On stage with him was another future legend, David Sanborn, who died in 2024 at 78. Howard Feiten, 77, patented the Buzz Feiten tuning system and continues recording, teaching and building guitars.
Living: Howard Feiten (guitar), Trevor Lawrence (saxophone).
Sha Na Na
Weirdly enough, the most out-of-place group at Woodstock went on Monday morning right before Jimi Hendrix with a ’50s revival act that baffled the crowd. They would become the only Woodstock act to have its own prime-time TV show (1977-81). In addition, its former members include a VP at Columbia Pictures (the late Denny Greene), an orthopedic surgeon (Scott Powell), an entertainment lawyer who managed Green Day among others (Elliot Cahn), a linguistic expert (Rob Leonard) and a provost of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (Alan Cooper). Henry Gross, the youngest musician at Woodstock, at 18, continued with a music career.
Living: Rob Leonard, Scott Powell, Alan Cooper, Donald “Donny” York, Richard “Joff” Joffe, Dave Garrett (all, vocals); Henry Gross and Elliot Cahn (guitar); Bruce “Bruno” C. Clarke (bass); Joe Witkin (piano).
Jimi Hendrix Gypsy Sun and Rainbows
This legendary set, scheduled for late Saturday night, didn’t get on until 9 a.m. Monday with the crowd dwindled to an estimated 40,000. Hendrix was introducing this new band — following The Jimi Hendrix Experience — that included his military buddy Billy Cox, a bassist from Wheeling, West Virginia, who graduated from Schenley High School in Oakland. Cox, 84, still takes part in the Experience Hendrix tribute tours.
Living: Juma Sultan and Gerardo Velez (percussion).
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