4 Woodstock Versions of Classic Songs That Will Give You Serious Festival FOMO

Even half a century later, the FOMO for Woodstock is real. The Woodstock Music and Art Fair convened at Max Yasgur’s dairy farm on a steamy, rainy weekend in mid-August 1969. Nearly half a million attendees arrived at the farm, ready to partake in the music, the free love, and the copious amount of drugs that went along with both.

For some, they didn’t attend Woodstock because they were too far away, they didn’t have the time, or they didn’t have the money. Some were too young or old. Some weren’t even born yet. Whatever the reason you have for not being at one of the biggest cultural events in modern music history, these four Woodstock performances are sure to make you wish you had been there that much harder.

“Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)” by Janis Joplin

Just before Janis Joplin went into a live rendition of “Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)”, the opening track to Joplin’s debut studio album, I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!, the raspy-voiced singer addressed the crowd. She asked them if they were comfortable, had enough water, and were stoned enough.

Joplin then offered an encouraging message to the crowd, saying, “Music’s for grooving, man. It’s not for putting yourself through bad changes, you know? I mean, you don’t have to take anybody’s s**t, man, just to like music, you know what I mean?” Listening back to the audio makes the Woodstock FOMO very, very real. Who wouldn’t have wanted to be a recipient of such a pep talk?

“With A Little Help From My Friends” by Joe Cocker

Joe Cocker had a distinct knack for elevating songs to new levels, and this was certainly true of his Woodstock performance of The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends”. Cocker’s soulful, almost pained vocal delivery adds a new layer of desperation to the otherwise affable song about a supportive group of mates. The backup vocalists also deserve an honorable mention, as they kept airtight harmonies despite the fact that they almost definitely couldn’t hear themselves on stage.

“I Want To Take You Higher” by Sly And The Family Stone

Winning a crowd over is already hard enough under favorable conditions. For Sly And The Family Stone, this objective was even more difficult as they performed for a muddy, rain-soaked crowd at three in the morning. Nevertheless, they succeeded in rousing the sleepy onlookers with energetic performances of songs like “I Want To Take You Higher”. Indeed, if there were anything on the festival grounds that could stir even the most exhausted of partiers, it would be Larry Graham’s distinct slap-bass bumping through the sound system.

“Soul Sacrifice” by Santana

Santana’s red-hot rendition of “Soul Sacrifice” from their eponymous debut album is often cited as one of the peak moments of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. Live footage from the performance shows the band full of life and energy, smiling at each other as they trade off rhythms and melodies with unrelenting speed. If Santana’s passionate guitar playing wasn’t enough to reel the audience in, then the breathtaking percussion break in the middle of the song finished the job.

Photo by Henry Diltz/Corbis via Getty Images

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