Ranking Woodstock Performances from Best-to-Worst

by Julian Spivey
Thursday, August 15 marks the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, the epic three-day music festival that took place in 1969 in Bethel, N.Y. The festival billed as “3 Days of Peace & Music” saw some of that era’s biggest musical acts like The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix grace its stage and helped to make stars out of other acts like Santana, Crosby, Stills & Nash (who performed its second ever gig at the festival) and Joe Cocker. Michael Wadleigh’s documentary that would be released in 1970 helped seal Woodstock’s place in pop culture history.
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Today we’re going to rank all of the musical performance from Woodstock that appeared in Wadleigh’s documentary from best-to-worst. We’d love to delve further into the performances at the festival in general, but unfortunately cameras weren’t rolling for many of the biggest acts at the festival like CCR and the Grateful Dead. 

1. "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" by Country Joe McDonald 

I know this is going to be controversial – after all Jimi Hendrix DID Woodstock – but, I feel like Country Joe McDonald’s performance of “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag” is the performance that truly hits home what Woodstock was all about and what that era was all about. It was a group of people coming together for peace and love amidst the Vietnam War and this is possibly the greatest anti-Vietnam War song of that era. I truly enjoy “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag” because its satire – so it’s comical and yet striking and the performance at Woodstock just seemed to capture the moment in time better than anything else on the documentary. 

2. "With a Little Help from My Friends" by Joe Cocker and the G​rease Band 

​Joe Cocker was relatively unknown before performing at Woodstock in 1969 and being featured in the documentary the next year, but it was a star-making performance for him. “Woodstock” the documentary probably did more for the careers of Cocker and Carlos Santana, also previously unknown, than any others. Cocker and his Grease Band where able to take The Beatles “With a Little Help From My Friends” off the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album and turn it into an epic soulful number. Cocker actually made the song sound cooler than The Beatles’ version led by Ringo Starr. That’s hard to do. 

3. "Purple Haze," Woodstock Improvisation & "Villanova Junction" by Jimi Hendrix 

​There’s no doubt that Jimi Hendrix was the star of Woodstock, ending both the festival and the documentary. Hendrix had it in his contract that nobody could perform after him, so with the set times being pushed back so far over the weekend he actually closed the festival early Monday morning after many had gone home. So, the crowd for Hendrix may have been smaller than for any other performer at the festival. That didn’t stop him from putting on an iconic rock performance. Hendrix had the most performances featured on the “Woodstock” documentary, but it’s the performance of “Purple Haze” followed by an improvised instrumental and the instrumental “Villanova Junction” that closes out the event that stood out as the best performance to me, even over the epic performance of our National Anthem that will appear soon on this list. 

4. "Handsome Johnny" by Richie Havens 

​Richie Havens was the very first performer at Woodstock, though he wasn’t supposed to be (it was scheduled to be the band Sweetwater), but when other artists got caught in the massive traffic jam leading to the festival he went on and guys in charge of the event kept talking him into continuing his set until other arrives (some say he performed three hours). His performance of the anti-war song “Handsome Johnny” has always been one of my favorites from the festival and documentary and I truly wish more people knew of both Havens and this song. It’s a folk classic. 

5. "Coming into Los Angeles" by Arlo Guthrie 

​Arlo Guthrie might not be a household name today, but I have a feeling in 1969 among the hippie crowd he would’ve been one of the bigger names at Woodstock, especially after 1967’s Alice’s Restaurant. This is an example of one of the best performances at Woodstock that isn’t done any favors by Michael Wadleigh’s documentary. The song itself – and the performance – is definitely top five for me, but the film cuts the performance off before the end, and shows less of the festival performance onscreen than any other on the documentary – choosing instead to show Guthrie’s arrival via helicopter (as the roads were blocked by cars attempting to make the festival) and, as the song is about smuggling drugs, to a lot of time to show attendees of the festival smoking a ton of pot and doing other drugs. Guthrie’s exclamation, “Lotta Freaks!” before the performance is one of the most memorable moments of the documentary though. 

6. "Star-Spangled Banner" by Jimi Hendrix 

7. "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by Jimi Hendrix

​If the words “peace,” “love” or “hippies” aren’t the first words to pop into your mind when hearing the name “Woodstock” than it’s likely going to be “Jimi Hendrix.” At the time Hendrix was pretty much the biggest act in the music world right along with The Beatles and got the chance to close out Woodstock. His performances of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and “The Star-Spangled Banner,” with the first deftly leading into the other, show why many consider Hendrix to be the greatest guitarist of all-time. Hendrix’s version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” is the reason so many young guitarists want to learn the song, and just about everyone does it the Hendrix way. What’s interesting is with Hendrix’s improvisations on our National Anthem echoing the sounds of the bombs glaring in the night and it being during the height of the Vietnam War it almost comes off as somewhat of a protest performance. Either way it’s brilliant. 

8. "Summertime Blues" by The Who

The Who were without a doubt one of the biggest acts to perform at Woodstock, but maybe weren’t quite as bit into the hippie peace and love aspect of it all with the Abbie Hoffman incident and all when guitarist Pete Townshend may or may not have hit Hoffman in the back and definitely threatened to kill the next person who crossed his stage in a moment unfortunately not captured by the documentary. But, one thing for certain was that The Who were one of the most badass bands in the world and played a lengthy set, most of which wasn’t captured on camera, but there rocking cover of Eddie Cochran’s early rock classic “Summertime Blues” was and it was terrific. 

9. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" by Crosby, Stills & Nash 

Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and David Crosby had all come from other great ‘60s bands to form the folk-rock trio “Crosby, Stills and Nash,” which would go on to become iconic. But, believe it or not, Woodstock was only the trio’s second performance together and Stills told the audience, “we’re scared shitless!” You wouldn’t have known the trio was just in its early stages with the way they harmonized together on the epic “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.” 

10. "I'm Goin' Home" by Ten Years After 

​Ten Years After, a blues-rock band from England, weren’t well known when they performed at Woodstock, but their amazing soulful performance of their song “I’m Goin’ Home” with the rock classics “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” interspersed into it really skyrocketed them to fame when the documentary premiered in 1970. The group would have their most well-known song “I’d Love to Change the World,” perhaps inspired by the band’s time at Woodstock, would debut in 1971. 

11. "We're Not Gonna Take It"/"See Me, Feel Me" by The Who 

​The Who’s Woodstock performance of “We’re Not Gonna Take It”/”See Me, Feel Me” off their Tommy rock opera album is one of the cooler performances captured in Michael Wadleigh’s 1970 documentary because of the way the lights at night played off of Roger Daltrey and the rest of the band shading them in an orange and sometimes blue light. This is also a performance where Wadleigh’s use of multiple panels onscreen showing what multiple cameras captured just makes the whole performance look really great. 

12. "Soul Sacrifice" by Santana

​This is perhaps the ranking I’ll catch some grief about. Santana was unknown at the time of Woodstock in 1969, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody as Carlos Santana was only 22 at the time. The guitarist and his group’s performance at Woodstock, especially on the jam “Soul Sacrifice” was epic, even if Carlos himself might not remember a whole lot of it – he’s said he was high on psychedelics at the time and reportedly felt that his guitar was a slithering snake he had to tame. The reason why it ranks so low on my list is I’ve never been the biggest fan of instrumentals and this one goes on too long, especially the extended drum solo by Michael Shrieve. One of my favorite parts of the documentary though comes during this performance as the camera shows in multiple panels the band performing with audience members dancing to the song in interspersed and in about a two-second clip you can see a completely nude man dancing with a sheep – I want to know that dude’s story so badly! 

13. "A Change is Gonna Come" by Canned Heat

The blues-rock performance of “A Change is Gonna Come” by Canned Heat is terrific, but I can’t help but wish one of the group’s best known hits like “Going Up the Country,” which had its studio recording appear in the documentary early on, or “On the Road Again” – both of which were performed at Woodstock – had been chosen for the documentary instead. 

14. "Joe Hill" by Joan Baez 

Joan Baez was one of the most political folk artists of her era and she certainly didn’t shy away from this at Woodstock. Prior to her performance her husband David Harris, who was an anti-draft protester, had been arrested and convicted for draft evasion. Baez speaks of his arrest to the audience before performing what she claimed was his favorite song, “Joe Hill,” the tale of a real-life labor activist who died under controversial circumstances. Baez has a beautiful voice, but her two performances captured in the Woodstock documentary just aren’t that memorable. 

15. "Uncle Sam Blues" by Jefferson Airplane

​Jefferson Airplane was one of the pioneering psychedelic rock bands of the ‘60s with memorable hits like “White Rabbit,” “Somebody to Love” and “Volunteers,” all of which were performed at Woodstock, but not captured for the documentary. The more interesting of the two performances was “Uncle Sam Blues,” a bluesy anti-war number with vocals by Jorma Kaukonen that was originally done with Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady’s group Hot Tuna. 

16. "I Want to Take You Higher" by Sly & the Family Stone

​Sly & the Family Stone were certainly one of the most memorable acts at Woodstock and if you’re really into soul and funk music this would probably rank a good deal higher on your list, but the performance of “I Want to Take You Higher” just drags on too long for my tastes, but like some of the other performances captured on film the lighting giving Sly Stone a blue glow is fascinating. 

17. "Freedom"/"Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" by Richie Havens 

​This performance by Woodstock’s unintended opener Richie Havens is amazing because he was frankly out of material and was constantly being asked by the festival’s promoters to keep extending his set as they were waiting on other acts to arrive. So, Havens improvised “Freedom” right on the spot with a bit of the traditional Negro spiritual “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” thrown in. 

18. "Won't You Try"/"Saturday Afternoon" by Jefferson Airplane 

​Grace Slick introduced Jefferson Airplane’s performance at Woodstock memorably as “morning maniac music,” as their set which was supposed to be the headliner of Saturday night didn’t begin until around 8 a.m. on Sunday morning due to delays. Slick is a very memorable vocalist, but her performances are not showcased on the documentary. Instead we get a combination of “Won’t You Try” and “Saturday Afternoon,” which I could have taken or left. 

19. "Rock & Soul Music" by Country Joe McDonald and the Fish 

​Country Joe McDonald was the only act to perform more than one set at Woodstock playing a solo set on day two of the festival and then with his band the Fish on day three. The performance captured in the documentary is the short and sweet “Rock & Soul Music,” which is otherwise unmemorable, especially given that another McDonald performance ranks atop this very list. 

20. "Younger Generation" by John Sebastian 

​John Sebastian called Woodstock “a mindfucker of all-time” and truly seemed to be having one of the better times at the festival among performers, although I’m simply going off his one performance for this. Sebastian played a short and sweet mellow set of just five songs, ending with “Younger Generation,” which is captured on film and interspersed with an awful lot of footage of naked toddlers running around. 

21. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" by Joan Baez

​Lovely vocal by Joan Baez on the traditional spiritual. 

22. "At the Hop" by Sha Na Na

​How did this performance even happen at Woodstock? Sha Na Na was completely out of date even in 1969 with their throwback ‘50s vibe, sound and look. Sha Na Na was the penultimate performance at Woodstock before Jimi Hendrix, so at least they could say they opened for Hendrix. 

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What's your favorite Woodstock performance?