Woodstock: Now & Then

Nancy Dubuc, the executive VP and general manager of HISTORY, and Brad Abramson, the VP of production and programming at VH1, talk to TV Real Weekly about a special—marking the first-time collaboration for the two cable channels—on the 40th anniversary of Woodstock.

The mere mention of the word, “Woodstock” conjures up various visceral, emotional reactions: nostalgia to those who attended or who identified with the three-day rock concert held in upstate New York, and a longing for a time dominated by passionate causes; disdain by those who dismissed the festival as an unruly, unsanitary event, which celebrated sex, drugs and rock and roll; and dismissal by young people, referring to the event as, “that hippie gathering,” and who don’t understand what the event represented for their parents.

There is no doubt that the Woodstock Music and Art Fair held in upstate New York on August 15 to 17, 1969, was a pivotal moment in American popular culture and history. An estimated 500,000 people gathered to hear the best rock bands and singers of the day. Despite the torrential rain, shortages of water, food and plumbing facilities, the event remained peaceful.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, VH1 Rock Docs and HISTORY have collaborated on an original documentary event called Woodstock: Now & Then. This two-hour special looks at the frenzied planning of the event, the chaotic three days of the festival, the downpour, the endless fields of mud, the bad “brown acid” being passed around, the traffic jams that shut down the New York State thruway, and, of course, the music from Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Sly and the Family Stone, Santana and many more.

Mixing first-hand accounts, the original soundtrack and rare archive footage, Woodstock: Now & Then allows viewers who remember or attended the event to relive it, young viewers a chance to get caught up in the magic of those three days, and puts into perspective the festival’s legacy.

Woodstock: Now & Then premieres on Friday, August 14, at 9 p.m. on VH1 and VH1 Classic and on Monday, August 17, at 8 p.m. on HISTORY.

TV REAL: Baby boomers will flock to this program because they remember the event. What do you want to offer younger viewers who weren’t alive at the time?

ABRAMSON: For VH1, it was important to make Woodstock relevant for our younger viewers. One of the story lines features kids from the Paul Green School of Rock putting on a Woodstock tribute concert. It was pretty amazing to see how much these kids, mostly teenagers, love this music. For a lot of younger music fans, it’s the classic rock of The Who, Hendrix and Joplin that serves as an entry point—it’s just that accessible. It’s also fun for younger viewers to imagine their parents— grandparents even—dropping acid and frolicking in the mud. It’s kind of a kick-in-the-face reminder to young people: Hey, you didn’t invent rebellious behavior—the sex, drugs and rock and roll thing has been going on for decades.

TV REAL: And for those of us who remember Woodstock, does this film give us the chance to relive the experience?

DUBUC: At HISTORY, we are always digging deeper, finding fascinating and undiscovered story angles and fleshing them out with rich detail. Our director, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple, has crafted the definitive view of Woodstock. Not only does Woodstock: Now & Then have fantastic archival footage and photos of the performances and crowds, but also peppered throughout are incredible interviews with the people who were part of the experience.

Among the interviewees are Michael Lang (the festival producer), Country Joe McDonald, Richie Havens, Graham Nash, Wavy Gravy (who served as "Chief of Please"), director of the original Woodstock film Michael Wadleigh and editor Thelma Schoonmaker; plus several people who met at Woodstock and later married. And there is plenty of great music including Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Sly and the Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, Richie Havens, Country Joe & the Fish, Santana, The Who and much more.

Viewers will walk away feeling not only like they were there, living through Woodstock, but will have the most complete 360-degree view of this event ever before seen in film.

TV REAL: How did the collaboration between HISTORY and VH1 come about?

DUBUC: Woodstock is a project that HISTORY and VH1 felt would resonate with, and make sense for, both our brands. No moment has better or more iconically brought together the elements of history and music than Woodstock. Add to that the auspices of this film—it is directed by Barbara Kopple and executive produced by Michael Lang—and we had a natural fit for both our respective networks.

TV REAL: How did Barbara Kopple and Michael Lang become involved in the project?

ABRAMSON: A year and a half ago, we at VH1 started discussing our plans for the Woodstock anniversary. We knew it was a big one and we knew we’d have to get started early. Our executive producer Steve Mintz reached out to Woodstock founding organizer Artie Kornfeld, who connected us with Michael Lang. Lang had already hooked up with Barbara Kopple and we brought them in to meet with us. It worked out perfectly.

TV REAL: How is Woodstock still relevant today?  And what is the concert’s legacy?

ABRAMSON: Woodstock is perhaps the defining moment of the counterculture. Today, when you think of hippies, or Hendrix, or bad acid, you think of Woodstock. You forget the Vietnam War, the assassinations, or the fact that the Manson murders took place just five days earlier. It’s become mythology at this point. I both love and hate the fact that people refer to boomers as "Woodstock Nation." It’s such a powerful brand that it’s become cultural shorthand for an entire generation, for better and for worse.

TV REAL: What kind of research went into the film? How did you find archival images?

ABRAMSON: The production team scoured the web and did massive outreach to find new characters for the story: the couple on the Woodstock album cover, the couple who met and fell in love over some LSD, the guy from France who went to Woodstock his first weekend in the States—and never left. Having Michael Lang as an executive producer didn’t hurt; he had the connections to get us some never-before-seen material. We were able to find a lot of photos and performances that are truly mindblowing.

TV REAL: How does this film fit in with the other programs HISTORY is airing about 1969: Moonshot and Sex in ’69: The Sexual Revolution in America?

DUBUC: The summer of ’69 was a moment of undeniable importance: we sent men to the moon, Woodstock rocked a sleepy farming community, "free love" was the mantra of the day and Charles Manson and his ‘family’ committed unspeakable, horrific crimes. 1969 was a perfect storm for HISTORY, enabling us to celebrate and explore an incredibly important era. These are the kinds of stories that are part of the fabric of HISTORY. Our viewers will see (or have seen) each of these events in four groundbreaking specials. Moonshot and Sex in ’69 have already aired. Woodstock: Now & Then airs on VH1 on Friday August 14, and on HISTORY on Monday, August 17 and Manson premieres on HISTORY on Monday, September 7.