One of the many little known facts of Craig T. Nelsons life is that he was actually the brains behind the first Woodstock concert in 1969. At first it may seem counter intuitive that Craig T. Nelson, a simple man, single handedly put together the greatest concert of all time, but upon reflection, it seems almost trivial. Who else would have the connections in the music world that he had, allowing him to book incredible acts like Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane?
It was a simple idea: bring together the greatest music talent of the time for a three day long music festival. It became so much more. Woodstock has become the defining event of a generation and we can thank no one more than Craig T. Nelson. The man who many of us thought of as merely one of the greatest actors of all time also turns out to be one of the greatest concert organizers of all time.
When I last interviewed Mr. Nelson I had to ask him about his experience at Woodstock. I myself was not born yet, and unable to attend said concert so I felt it imperative to get the view of someone who had actually been there. When I asked him what his favorite part of the three day concert experience was he said it was when Jimi Hendrix invited him up on stage to play the song Purple Haze with him. I was a bit skeptical at first. Though I was not personally at the concert, I have never read anything about how Craig T. Nelson played with Jimi Hendrix at the greatest concert of all time. When I expressed my skepticism, he quickly went into the back room and pulled out a picture of him on stage. Its hard to picture Mr. Nelson with the long, beautiful locks of hair that he possessed in the sixties. They were all the rage back then. None the less, the picture speaks for itself. I was convinced, Craig T. Nelson not only organized and promoted the greatest concert of all time, but he played with Jimi Hendrix at the show he created.
Although thats all the information I was able to extract from Nelson, I was able to obtain more from a kindly street urchin I met on my way home. He explained to me that it was actually Nelsons idea to provide entertainment at Woodstock. Before he came along, the festival was being promoted under the slogan peace, love, and talking amongst yourselves. Nelson and his partners put their collective heads together and tried to decide on how to entertain the spectators. Some within the group wanted to put together a series of World War I-era ragtime musicals, and promote it as three days of peace, love, and vaudeville. However, Nelson didnt care for this idea. He knew that rock n roll was the wave of the future, and he felt that only rock would bring the large number of people they were hoping for. But the question still remained: how could the organizers attract some of the biggest rock stars in the business? Suddenly a light bulb went off in Nelsons head: What if I told you guys that I attended Princeton with Davey Jones?. Nelsons query was met with a stunned silence. THE Davey Jones? From the Monkees?. The very same, Nelson responded. And I just got off the phone with him, and he said The Monkees would love to play. Once word got out The Monkees were playing, it was only a matter of time before the other top musical acts of the day decided to join as well. Without Nelson, its hard to believe that Woodstock could have come even close to the legendary status it achieved.
Craig T. Nelson felt that the Woodstock of 1969 could never be topped and didnt bother setting up similar concerts in the following years. It wasnt until 1994 that he felt he was ready to undertake such an incredible task again. He attempted to continue with what the first Woodstock really meant: peace, love, and happiness. He arrived in the self proclaimed Love Bus hoping to recreate the feeling of 69. Unfortunately, Woodstock 94 failed to live up to the expectations. Its hard to believe this considering acts such as Melissa Ethridge and The Cranberries were present.
