Who’s Still Around for Woodstock 50?
Updated to note the death of Canned Heat bassist Larry Taylor on August 19, 50 years and a day after his Woodstock appearance.
I asked this question on Quora: What acts from the original Woodstock might still be available for the 50th Anniversary festival, in their 1969 lineups?”
I got a lot of answers that missed the mark, like “The Who,” who are only half the Who they once were. So I decided to look into this myself.
There is, of course, a Woodstock Wiki, which tries to organize all the performers, set lists, and other details of the event. One of the things you discover is that many of the musical selections were either not recorded or filmed, or are lost. Some can only be confirmed if someone in the audience had a portable cassette recorder.
Anyway, let’s start with the performers who were billed as solo acts. I know a lot of the had backing bands, but let’s face it. If Janis Joplin isn’t available, the Full Tilt Boogie Band isn’t going to be invited.
All living artists are presented with their ages as of August 2019.
Solo Artists, still living
The backing musicians who appeared onstage with these solo folkies have proven most difficult to confirm their current status. But it is at least worth noting that only two of the surviving solo performers appeared with any backup.
- Joan Baez (78)
- Backing Musicians: Richard Festinger (71) – guitar. Jeffrey Shurtleff (74: Facebook) – vocals, guitar
- Arlo Guthrie (72)
- Backing Musicians: Bob Arkin (?) – bass (younger brother of Alan Arkin, interviewed in the New York Times in 2014);
Paul Motian(d. 2011, age 80) – drums;John Pilla(d. 1988?) – guitar
- Backing Musicians: Bob Arkin (?) – bass (younger brother of Alan Arkin, interviewed in the New York Times in 2014);
- Country Joe McDonald (77) (played one set solo and one with the Fish)
- Melanie Safka (72)
- John B. Sebastian (75)
Solo Artists, deceased
Joe Cocker(d. 2014, age 70)Tim Hardin(d. 1980, age 39)Richie Havens(d. 2013, age 72)Jimi Hendrix(d. 1970, age 27)Janis Joplin(d. 1970, age 27)Ravi Shankar(d. 2012, age 92)Bert Sommer(d. 1990, age 41)Johnny Winter(d. 2014, age 70) (some of his set included brother Edgar Winter, who will be 72)
Groups Who Are All Alive
Country Joe & the Fish
- “Country” Joe McDonald (77) – guitar, harmonica, vocals
- Barry “The Fish” Melton (72) – guitar, kazoo, vocals
- Greg “Duke” Dewey (71) – drums
- Mark Kapner – (?) keyboards, organ (Facebook page still active)
- Doug Metzler (?) – bass
- Stephen Stills (74) – guitar, vocals, organ, piano, percussion
- David Crosby (77) – guitar, vocals
- Graham Nash (77) – guitar, vocals, organ, percussion
- Neil Young (73) – guitar, vocals, organ, piano
We will make note of their backing musicians, although by my own criteria, they would not count as part of the actual “band”
- Greg Reeves (64) – bass
Dallas Taylor(d. 2015, age 66) – drums
At age 14, Greg Reeves would be considered the youngest person on stage at Woodstock. At that time he was known to carry a fake driver’s license, procured by Rick James, showing him to be 19, though that was a common practice for underage musicians.
The Incredible String Band
- Mike Heron (76) – guitar, vocals
- Robin Williamson (75) – guitar, piano, violin, vocals
- Christina “Licorice” McKechnie ? (73) – percussion, vocals
- Rose Simpson (age unknown) – bass, recorder, vocals, percussion
It appears Ms. McKechnie has not been seen by friends or former bandmates since 1990. Every few years, though, some fan has engaged a private detective to locate her, and to learn that she is alive and well, and merely wants to “hide in plain sight.”
Groups with deceased members
The Band
- Robbie Robertson (76) – guitar, vocals
Rick Danko(d. 1999, age 55) – bass, vocalsLevon Helm(d. 2012, age 71) – drums, vocals, mandolin- Garth Hudson (82) – organ, piano, clavinet, synthesizer, saxophone
- Richard Manuel (d. 1986, age 42) – piano, organ, vocals, drums
Blood, Sweat & Tears
- David Clayton-Thomas (77) – vocals
- Bobby Colomby (75) – drums
- Jim Fielder (72) – bass
- Dick Halligan (75) – keyboards, trombone, flute
- Jerry Hyman (72) – trombone, recorder
- Steve Katz (74) – guitar, harmonica, vocals
- Fred Lipsius (76) – alto sax, piano
Lew Soloff(d. 2015, age 71) – trumpet, flugelhorn- Chuck Winfield (76) (status unconfirmed) – trumpet, flugelhorn
Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Paul Butterfield(d. 1987, age 44) – vocals, harmonica and flute- Howard “Buzzy” Feiten (70) – guitar
Rod Hicks(d. 2013, age 71) – bass- Ted Harris (?) – keyboards
Phillip Wilson(d. 1992, age 50) – drums and vocalsSteve Madaio(d. 2019, age 70) – trumpet and percussion- Keith Johnson (?) – trumpet and percussion (a comment on the Woodstock Whisperer blog indicates he is still kicking as of November 2018)
- David Sanborn (74) – alto saxophone and percussion
- Trevor Lawrence (?) – baritone saxophone and percussion (Well-traveled session baritone sax man, last posted to his Facebook page in June. 2019)
Gene Dinwiddie(d. 2002, age 65) – tenor saxophone, percussion and vocals
Canned Heat
Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson(d. 1970, age 27) – guitar, harmonica, vocalsBob “The Bear” Hite(d. 1981, age 38) – vocals, harmonica- Harvey “The Snake” Mandel (74) – guitar
Larry “The Mole” Taylor(d. August 19, 2019, age 77) – bass- Adolfo “Fito” de la Parra (73) – drums
Creedence Clearwater Revival
- John Fogerty (74) – vocals, guitar, harmonica
Tom Fogerty(d. 1990, age 48) – rhythm guitar, vocals- Doug “Cosmo” Clifford (74) – drums
- Stu Cook (74) – bass, keyboard
The Grateful Dead
Jerry Garcia(d. 1995, age 53) – guitar, vocals- Bob Weir (71) – guitar, vocals
- Bill Kreutzmann (73) – drums and percussion
- Mickey Hart (75) – drums and percussion
Ron “Pigpen” McKernan(d. 1973, age 27) – keyboards, harmonica, congas, vocals- Tom Constanten (74) – keyboards, vocals
- Phil Lesh (78) – bass
Jefferson Airplane
Marty Balin(d. 2018, age 76) – vocals, tambourine, maracas- Grace Slick (79) – vocals. tambourine, maracas
Paul Kantner(d. 2016, age 74) – guitar, vocals- Jorma Kaukonen (78) – guitar, vocals
- Jack Casady (75) – bass
Spencer Dryden(d. 2005, age 77) – drumsNicky Hopkins(d. 1994, age 50) – piano
Keef Hartley Band
Keef Hartley(d. 2011, age 67) – drums- Miller Anderson (74) – guitar, vocals
- Jimmy Jewell ? (74) – saxophone
- Henry Lowther (78) – trumpet, violin
Gary Thain(d. 1975, age 27) – bass
Mountain
- Leslie West (73) – guitar, vocals
Felix Pappalardi(d. 1983, age 43) – bass, vocals- Norman D. Smart II (72) – drums
Steve Knight(d. 2013, age 77) – keyboards
Quill
- Jon Cole – Bass, vocal
- Dan Cole – Vocals
- Roger North – drums
Norman Rogers– Guitar, vocals- Phil Thayer ? – Keyboard
Santana
- Carlos Santana (72) – guitar, vocals, maracas, cowbell
- Gregg Rolie (72) – vocals, keyboards
- Jose “Chepito” Areas (73) – percussion, trumpet
- Mike Carabello (71) – congas
- Michael Shrieve (70) – drums
David Brown(d. 2000, age 52) – bass
Sha Na Na
- Joe Witkin (? birthday not given) – keyboards and vocals
- Jocko Marcellino (69) – drums
- Donald “Donny” York (?-current vocalist) – vocals
- Rob Leonard (? currently a forensic linguist) – vocals
- Alan Cooper (? Biblical scholar) – vocals
Frederick “Dennis” Greene(d. 2015, age 66) – vocals- Dave Garrett (? as of 2016) – vocals
- Richard “Richie” Joffe (? as of 2016, lawyer) – vocals
- Scott Powell (71, orthopedic surgeon) – vocals
- Henry Gross (68) – guitar
- Bruce Clarke III (? Literature Professor) – bass guitar
- Elliot Cahn – rhythm guitar and vocals
Sha Na Na was started with a group of Columbia University students, and continues to perform was an ever-changing roster. As the list above shows, many of the member went on to much higher pursuits. Many of the current and former members are still able to gather for anniversary shows. Yes, Henry Gross had the one-hit wonder “Shannon” in 1977.
Sly & the Family Stone
- Sly Stone (76) – vocals, keyboard, harmonica
- Rose Stone (74) – vocals, keyboards
- Freddie Stone (72) – vocals, guitar
Cynthia Robinson(d. 2015, age 71) – trumpet- Greg Errico (70) – drums
- Larry Graham (72) – bass
- Jerry Martini (75) – saxophone
Sweetwater
- Nancy Nevins (70) – Lead vocal
- Alex del Zoppo – Keyboards
- Fred Herrera – Bass
- Elpidio “Pete” Cobian – Congas
August Burns– celloAlan Malarowitz– DrumsAlbert Moore– Flute
Ten Years After
Alvin Lee(d. 2013, age 68) – guitar, vocals- Leo Lyons (75) – bass
- Chick Churchill (73) – organ
- Ric Lee (73) – drums
The Who
- Roger Daltrey (75) – vocals
- Pete Townshend (74) – guitar, vocals
John Entwistle(d. 2002, age 57) – bass, vocalsKeith Moon(d. 1978, age 32) – drums
That’s about 135 people who took to the stage to sing or play an instrument nearly 50 years ago. Of those, 42 are confirmed to have passed away. That does seem like an average mortality rate for people born mostly in the 1940s. Consider that many of these performers would have spent a large portion of their youth indulging in the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and long stretches on the road. The fact that only five of these had joined the “Dead at 27 club” seems to be indicative that they tried to take better care of themselves than was previously imagined.
It seems the most obscure band, even after 50 years, remains Quill. Very little information is available about the members’ whereabouts today. They were the first act on stage after noon on Saturday, August 16. Technical difficulties meant there was no sync track with the film cameras, so they did not appear in the movie or on the records. Their single album is not available in iTunes, where I am trying to drive some affiliate traffic through links above. But I bet you’re curious, so here’s a listing for the album on Discogs, which includes a YouTube of the LP in its entirety
Sweetwater is perhaps the better known of the “lost” Woodstock bands. A California psychedelic band with jazz leanings and members who played flute and cello, their career was derailed when lead singer Nancy Nevins was several injured in a car accident. Her recovery took several years, during which the band kind of petered away. The were the subject of a docudrama on VH1 in 1999.