The youth of the 60s were known as the "Love generation". They made love promiscuously and openly, and preferred open to formal marriages. Weekend "love-ins", free form gatherings, communal living quarters, and rock festivals were held in response to the "love movement". The "love movement" was the hippie belief for peace and harmony. It reached its peak in the summer of 1967, and by then it had over 300,000 followers who referred to themselves as the "love children" or the "gentle people". They gathered in San Francisco, the hippie center of the world, during the summers. During these "Summers of love", they lived on the streets of Haight-Ashbury, sitting in group

Along with the pouring rain and the resulting mud, there were numerous other things to deplore about the concert in Bethel. Three people died, two of which were caused by an overdose of drugs. Over 400 youths had reportedly suffered from "bad trips" caused by low-grade LSD, which was being openly peddled at $6 per capsule. On the other hand, three babies were born, there were no rapes, no assaults, no robberies, not even one fight was reported ("Tired Rock" 2). This theme of peace prevailed at the concert, and was later remembered to be the single thing that set Woodstock apart from the rest of the concerts, making it the most successful and the most remembered.

The lure of the festival was an all-star cast of top rock artists, including Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jefferson Airplane. But the good vibrations of the good groups turned out to be the least of it. What the youth of America, and their observing elders saw at Bethel was the potential power of a generation that had in countless disturbing ways rejected the traditional values and goals of the U.S. Thousands of young people, who had previously thought of themselves as an isolated minority realized now what power they had as a group over society (Fass 3).

Despite the religious pressures, rock music flourished in England, as did the music scene in the U.S. San Francisco immediately became the heart of it. Known as the "Liverpool of the West", San Francisco was bursting with rock activity in the 60s. Embedded in this city's rock scene were such groups as the Grateful Dead, Sly and the Family Stone, and the Byrds. The music of these groups began the infamous "Acid Rock" movement. It symbolized and portrayed the drug abuse of the decade. The widespread use of mind altering drugs such as marijuana and LSD provided the inspiration for the creation of this music (Grunwald 254).

For the first time since Elvis, music stirred the youth into a frenzy and caused mass hysteria. Anywhere the foursome went, they were followed by screaming mobs of young girls. The Beatles though were not the only group to draw large crowds of fans. The Rolling Stones, The Who and Alice Cooper also had their share of young following. Most parents of the time were unaware of the youth reaction to music. The ones who did know were shocked to see their sons and especially daughters so obsessed with the new music culture.

After the first day of the festival, the promoters hired the Hog Farm hippie commune to police the fair. They took care of kids on bad drug trips, and acted as nurses to the few doctors at Woodstock. Along with the mass drug use, thousands of people suffered from injuries such as colds, broken bones, and sore throats. Due to the unexpected large group of people, there was poor sanitation and very little water. The conditions became so bad that the festival doctors declared a "Health Emergency" and over 60 doctors were flown from New York City to help with the crisis (Huges 334).

s along the street and strumming their guitars (Frike 62).

Ewen, David. All the Years of Popular Music. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.,1977.

Woodstock and Watkins Glen were not the first attempts at successful rock festivals. Between 1967 and 1970, more than 2.5 million people attended some 30 rock festivals. Eighteen others had been planned or announced, but were canceled (Fass 8).

Some common words found in the essay are:
San Francisco, Acid Rock, Jefferson Airplane, , Watkins Glen, Max Yasgur's, Bethel Consequently, Tired Rock, Hog Farm, Glen York, rock music, woodstock music, music art, rock roll, music art fair, woodstock music art, art fair, grateful dead, san francisco, rock festivals, jefferson airplane, youth america, 19 march 1999, music festival woodstock,
Approximate Word count = 2965
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)