became woodstock. host: let's bring in our viewers. were you there 50 years ago? caller: i was. i was 16 years old. i was working at a summer camp .rea we all quit and said we are going to woodstock. let me come. i have seen the documentary in the 1980's. noticed inng that i the documentary, it did not grasp the real hold of what was going on. it was a vietnam war protest for the most part. i was kind of disappointed about that. host: we will get a response from our guest. do you remember what you ate and were you slept? caller: peanut butter sandwiches. people had like it's. we slept right there. host: your response? guest: what bob said about the peanut butter sandwiches rings true. people brought what they could. the larger context is interesting. hallmark of the polarization of the war in vietnam. there were massive demonstrations. fundamentallynot political. abbie hoffman tried to get on stage. the bands in the festival organizers did not treat this as a political event. fundamentally about the wa

became woodstock. host: let's bring in our viewers. were you there 50 years ago? caller: i was. i was 16 years old. i was working at a summer camp .rea we all quit and said we are going to woodstock. let me come. i have seen the documentary in the 1980's. noticed inng that i the documentary, it did not grasp the real hold of what was going on. it was a vietnam war protest for the most part. i was kind of disappointed about that. host: we will get a response from our guest. do you remember what you ate and were you slept? caller: peanut butter sandwiches. people had like it's. we slept right there. host: your response? guest: what bob said about the peanut butter sandwiches rings true. people brought what they could. the larger context is interesting. hallmark of the polarization of the war in vietnam. there were massive demonstrations. fundamentallynot political. abbie hoffman tried to get on stage. the bands in the festival organizers did not treat this as a political event. fundamentally about the wa

>> legacy of woodstock? thategacy of woodstock is in 500 years when they forgot about the beatles, if there are people still living, they were -- they will remember the greatest peaceful event. time magazine made woodstock number two of the top events of mankind when they said it was the greatest peaceful man-

seems to have become a lot more important than what woodstock actually was this idea of woodstock in some ways has become a shorthand for something and people in gauging this idea when they buy trinkets at shops but that has nothing to do with woodstock itself now tell us a little bit more about the festival what was the significance of it at the time. at the time i don't i don't know if people really realized how significant it was at the time but it will be remembered because of peace and love but also remember because of what it stood in contrast to what led up to it and what followed a lot of people forget i think just how violent this time was in the united states with the manson murders just a little bit over a week before would stop. there was the violence at the altamont festival featuring the rolling stones where a young person was stabbed and beaten to death after which i mean that it was in this situation that he had not there were there was also a vietnam war there was also there were also a lot of violent riots taking place at that time so then the movement itself that t

these kids were into woodstock. when i went to korea, these kids were into woodstock. i spoke at 12 colleges in 15 days in korea. one kid, i was speaking at one and this kidoul comes from the back waving a rolex watch saying, i love you. i want to give you a gift, i want to give you a gift. he's waving a rolex watch. i'm wearing my 19-year-old swiss army watch eyewear and now i am wearing my $12 watch because i am not into that kind of stuff. down, he wasing tall and that is unusual for a korean, but that is touching. i said i don't need your watch, brother. i just love you. he was all excited that he came up. out of nowhere come i thought he was going to stab me. he's waving this watch. it was hysterical and there was a translator there. i have no idea what he was saying, anyway. do you still get the juices flowing when the reaction? >> yeah, that's why i do my radio show every week. do you think at 72, it is easy to sit from 10:00 to 11:00 and try to come down in two hours? the shows are good because i have great acts on. >> finally, what is the legacy of woodstock?

woodstock festival. aarti kornfeld talks about the historic attractedconcert that 3 million people to a dairy farm in upstate new york. he recounts details of how woodstock came together, signing the musical artists and the concept and business arrangements for the documentary film. mr. kornfeld is the author of "the pied piper of woodstock." greg peterson conducted the interview. it is about half an hour. artie: i wanted to be a baseball player. i always loved music and my mother always had liked benny goodman or the lombardos. the two brothers, they both had bands. what were the two guys who had bands? she listened to big band music and my uncle loved jazz. he was always listening to jazz. those were the influences i had. greg: was your mother a pianist or a performer? artie: my mother became a very famous -- she was the founder of the freedom rise. if you get my book, it will blow your mind about shirley kornfeld. she was the star in my family, not me. greg: today, you are the star. artie: i am just a

>> originally, woodstock was supposed to be in woodstock. when we couldn't be in woodstock anymore, i wanted to take the name with me because i thought it really gave everybody the idea of what we were doing in kind of a nice, concise way. but i wanted to be close to woodstock, so we looked in expanding circles from the town and found the perfect place to do the festival in saugerties, which was 10 miles out of town. it belonged to mr. schaller, who was the owner of schaller & weber meats, an old, sort of a well-known german meatpacking company. i spoke to the caretaker. he said, "yeah, it sounds interesting, and i'll check." he checked, and he said, "yeah, we would like to talk about it." of course, they didn't know what they were talking about. [laughter] >> but it was a fee and they never used the place except for hunting. so i said, "great, we have a site." we thought, you know, we would offer $5,000 and we'd be off and running. in the meantime we, through an attorney that i was using, miles laurie, met with john and joel, john roberts a

it was supposed to be in woodstock. when we could it be in woodstock anymore. i gave everybody the idea of what we were doing. i wanted to be close to woodstock. we looked into expanding circles. it was 10 miles out of town. a big long to mister schaller. and they all sort of well-known german company. we spoke to the caretaker. it sounds interesting. we like to talk about it. we did not know do not know what they were talking about. and they never used the place. so i said great. we have a say. and when we thought for $5,000 we would offer it to them and would be off and running. .. .. >> they seem interested but not really convinced and at the end of the conversation i think i had mentioned that i was doing this festival and that was another project we working on. and they seemed to perk up at that and asked us if we will come back and come back with a budget. we went away in we were talking through the festival and he called me in terms of proceeding and i said sorry, let's continue to talk but at the studio. and they didn't. we said we could still do both p

and so i played the whole rest of my big woodstock concert for that guy. >> my woodstock experience isd us. >> and this is bobby erkaline. >> damp, moist mud, body odor, weed, campfires, cooking, patchouli oil. >> the 20-year-old nurse is falling in love with a boyfriend of three months at the time. and after they embrace in a pink bedspread found in the mud, they unwittingly end up on the cover of the triple album. years later, the bedspread fell apart, but the boyfriend, turned out to be a keeper. nick and bobby married 48 years. >> i like to think that our longevity, our love for each other, is symbolic of what went on at the woodstock concert amidst all of that chaos. there was an underlying feeling of love and kindness and peace and goodwill and i think it's a nice thing to be remembered for. >> it was very peaceful. >> see, just three out of half a million stories that show why out of countless concerts, woodstock gets a golden anniversary. >> there was a cooperative spirit. there was a generosity to each other. >> and how do you account for that? was this just this cosmic loop.

wasn't as great after woodstock and woodstock wasn't that great itself woodstock seemed great when the movie came out a year later and the soundtrack the people that were at woodstock had no idea that they were at something that would be aggrandized immortalized turned into a historical icon and romanticized. as far as us all being a we i remember the battles that we used to have amongst the we back in those days when i was programming music and i was part of that underground and it's kind of not quite accurate that all the boomers were unified there was a spectrum of thought they were the kids that went into razzi there were the kids that were for the vietnam war there were the kids that were against it they were the ones in the middle that didn't get involved in politics there were people listening to top 40 radio that didn't listen to the album rock stations and they were all boomers i think we i think we assign too much. traits to too many characteristics too with a broad brush to generations and i think that we did it then i think we do it now i don't think that woodstock was exac

what is woodstock become some want of a theme park. mark hedrick has run a souvenir shop on the thames main street for over 20 years. marketing is a stronghold in any kind of market like this the there was very little marketing done when the concert was done in fact that to the best of my knowledge there was never a shirt so. that now the marketing stuff came after the fact. but here in the town you know we still like to take advantage of that. the local economy is benefited greatly since the festival took place and it doesn't matter now that it was held over 90 kilometers away in the time of bethel it's been 50 years since the woodstock festival and the town of woodstock still draws thousands of tourists every year but why do they come here when many of those weren't even born when the festival took place back in 1969. i think it's just i think it's not just people who are here and. that feeling of woodstock lived a special place for people like the people that believe in peace and this is the place. back at mark souvenir store busine

kornfeld: we were always going to call it woodstock even though there wasn't enough land at woodstock to have it in. i had the band at capitol. one of my best friends was living up there, richie was living up there, everyone was up in woodstock or coconut grove, florida or sausalito in california. that was the way it was. location, michael did a stupid thing. he went out and built a site on the hill with no permit from the town. that wiped out the budget. i didn't even think i was going to sell tickets. i was shocked. when it was all over, we were $1 million in debt. it cost $2.4 million. the initial budget was $250,000. michael went 600% over budget, i went 60% over budget. but i had too many people on the road still. i did not promote it very heavy. i planned it out. i knew how to promote records. i'd been writing songs so many years, and they were buying my songs. i knew my audience. i knew them, and i knew the program directors. i got disc jockeys talking about it. it was really, like bruce, who lives here. he said woodstock was not your greatest promotion, tracy chapman was. he's

. >> what is the legacy of woodstock? >> the legacy is in 500 years when they forgot about the beatles, if there are people still living, they were members this event. time magazine made woodstock number two of the top events of mankind when they said it was the greatest peaceful man-made event in history of all mankind and it was second to man landing on the moon. legacy of artie kornfeld is what? >> that i am sitting with you right now. 45 years later. >> i am so thrilled. >> i hope what i do next year will be my legacy. yeah. >> thank you. >> my pleasure. original planers was to have it in woodstock which is 60 miles north east of here. woodstock, new york was a bohemian community and a lot of musicians lived there often on including bob dylan, the band, richie havens, van morrison, the organizers called their company woodstock ventures and they started looking for a place for their festival. they could not find a place in woodstock that was large enough. they found a property that might was down thehich road from wood

the woodstock festival. he recounts the formation of the festival and preparation, including booking the acts and securing the farm used as the venue. this was recorded at the north inre bookstore in vermont 2009. >> it is wonderful for us to be here in a state where we feel the spirit of woodstock still lives and we know there is a woodstock here. i fit all three of the criteria about people interested in the book. i was interested in the topic from a historical musical perspective, being a music writer. i wish i had been there, but i was 12 years old living in north carolina, so didn't get to go. there,eel like i was because of getting to spend so much time with michael, working on the book, and all the incredible people i got to meet that worked on woodstock with michael, whose stories are part of the book. going to talke amongst ourselves for you guys to listen and think of questions, because we will have time for questions at the end. i'm going to go through a little back story with michael, because lik

carlos santana came here 40 years after woodstock.ield, tears in his eyes and said this is ground zero for peace and love. ♪ >> reporter: a number of security officers, while aghast at what they saw, praised the celebrants for their good manners. "excuse me, i'm sorry, and thank you" were terms of common usage between cops and kids. sure, there are plenty of stories about the bedlam that marked those three days, but half a century later, lawrence says that's not the enduring meaning of woodstock. >> it became a rallying cry for young people who were disappointed with the way their government was treating them, disappointed with the progress of civil rights and an unpopular war in vietnam, and woodstock to them was a gathering of the tribes. it gave them optimism. it gave them that idea that we could change the world. >> and so it's all over except for the massive cleanup job that remains. the woodstock music and art fair having quietly folds its tent and steals away. >> reporter: and the festival's anniversary has always provided a ma

but is woodstock become somewhat of a theme park. mark hedrick has run a souvenir shop on the thames main street for over 20 years. marketing is a stronghold in any kind of market like this the there was very little marketing done when the concert was done in fact that to the best my knowledge there was never a shirt so. now the marketing stuff came after the fact. but here in the town you know we still like to take advantage of that. the local economy is benefited greatly since the festival took place and it doesn't matter now that it was held over 90 kilometers away in the time of bethel it's been 50 years since the woodstock festival and the town of woodstock still draws thousands of tourists every year but why do they come here when many of those weren't even born when the festival took place back in 1969. this night i think it's just i think it's not just people who are here and. that feeling of woodstock like this special place for people like the people that believe in peace and this is the place. back at mark souvenir store b

became woodstock.ost: let's bring in our viewers. were you there 50 years ago? caller: i was. i was 16 years old. i was working at a summer camp .rea we all quit and said we are going to woodstock. let me come. i have seen the documentary in the 1980's. noticed inng that i the documentary, it did not grasp the real hold of what was going on. it was a vietnam war protest for the most part. i was kind of disappointed about that. host: we will get a response from our guest. do you remember what you ate and were you slept? caller: peanut butter sandwiches. people had like it's. we slept right there. host: your response? guest: what bob said about the peanut butter sandwiches rings true. people brought what they could. the larger context is interesting. hallmark of the polarization of the war in vietnam. there were massive demonstrations. fundamentallynot political. abbie hoffman tried to get on stage. the bands in the festival organizers did not treat this as a political event. fundamentally about the war

but as woodstock become somewhat of a theme park. mark hedrick has run a souvenir shop on the times' main street for over 20 years. marketing is a stronghold in any kind of market like this the there was very little marketing done when the concert was done in fact that to the best my knowledge there was never a shirt sold. now the marketing stuff came after the fact. but here in the town you know we still like to take advantage of that. the local economy is benefited greatly since the festival took place and it doesn't matter now that it was held over 90 kilometers away in the time of bethel. this night i think it's just i think it's not just people who are here and. that feeling of woodstock like this special place for people like the people that believe in peace on earth this is the place. back at mark souvenir store business is steady who says tourist numbers are up despite this year's festival being canceled the lure of woodstock remains unfettered we do get visitors and many people claim to have been woodstock and. maybe they we

jerry and judy griffin thought they were going to woodstock for the music event of the lifetime.nstead, they found the romance of a lifetime. here's how the story goes. judy and her friends were on the way to the festival when her car broke down. >> we saw these three girls hitchhiking. they had no idea where they were going, other than they wanted to go to woodstock. >> reporter: the whole group rode in together to rock out among 5 hundred thousand people, and jerry and judy couldn't take their eyes off of each other. ♪ what would you do if i sang out of tune ♪ >> the music in a way was the focus, it became secondary because -- >> especially to us because we found each other. >> reporter: they've been

woodstock, 50 years, sunday at opena.m. eastern on washington journal" and live on "american history tv" on c-span3. open >> this weekend, american history tv joins our spectrum cable partners to showcase the history of bozeman, montana. to watch more from the cities on our current work, visit c-span.org/citiestour. we continue now with our look at the history of bozeman. i first moved to bozeman, there were so many story, story street, story motors, story distributing, story hills. but there was not a lot written on him. there was a historian who once said to me, you know, bozeman is misnamed. it ought to be story. or storyville, or story town. personally, i think bozeman has a better ring to it than any of those other options. so it remained bozeman. nelson's curious about story since his name was plastered all over the place here. i just wanted i doubt more about it. there has not -- i just wanted to find out more about it. there has not been a full-length biography about it, so over the years, i put it together. nelson

>>> and three days of peace and music that defined a generation. 50 years since woodstock >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening i'm peter alexander in for lester. breaking this evening, thousands of frustrated travelers at airports across the country facing serious disruptions and long lines as the customs computer system has crashed nationwide the chaos erupting right at the heart of the summer travel season with fliers returning after long flights left waiting for hours with few answers we get late details this evening from ron allen >> reporter: tonight mounting frustration at airports coast to coast. >> this is crazy i've been here three hours i've never waited and i'm an american >> i knew something was wrong when i went to the parking and it was really packed >> reporter: a nationwide outage of the customs system leaving travelers stuck waiting. from washington's to jfk in new york to dallas, crowds of anxious fliers left with few answers, some people choosing to sit out the mess in a statement u.s. customs and border protection saying it is

woodstock to do years sunday at 9:00 a.m. eastern. tvo live on american history on c-span3. our look at bozeman continues. crystal: we are here in the extreme history project offices which used to be a historic brothel. extreme history is a nonprofit that is located here in bozeman. we bring history to the public in fund engaging and relevant ways. tourshistoric walking throughout the summer. we do a lecture series in the winter and we do workshops and other events around history. we try to get people to engage in history. what better way then in a historic brothel? in the 1980's, there was a real push to uncover more of the social history. in doing that, there is more to history than just wars and generals and all of those things that we have been studying as historians for many years. we started looking at women's history. we started looking at minority community history. we really discovered that there is so much more to tell within these narratives that we constructed over the years. that is really how the extreme history project was formed. a colleague of mine started t

so many people are cynical i think, 50 years after woodstock, about woodstock, about the woodstock nationf that about you. en you look at this what do you see? >> woodstock signifies that we arcan coexist in unity andny with grace and elegance and yeah, ing funky, too. if people want to say, "oh, they're freaking hippies, man. th get on my nerves." well, you know what-- we were so glad that you were not at woodstock, becse at woodstock whatever we had whether it was--it was just granola, we shed it. and if you feel that hippies are like kumbaya, bunch of-- or whatever. it's okay you keep yourself with that frequency. mahatma gandhi or martin luther king or you know all the guys who people call kumbaya people, you know they're my heroes. kumbaya-- >> reporter: because people say that critically or the- it cyically, "kumbaya people." >> yeah. and i'm aware of that, you know. but i always tell them kumbaya will always kick your ass from re to eternity and back. because kumbaya is here to stay. ♪ ♪ sreenivasan: one of new york city's newest art centers-- the shed-- is currently featuring a pe