A quick followup to yesterday’s post where I discussed the Iron Butterfly boys responsible for inflicting the 8 minute song In-a-gadd-da-vida on us. I stumbled on this juicy little bit of trivia on how they were supposed to have performed at Woodstock. The following account is from Wikipedia:
Sounds like Mr. Morris was a little bit of a Father Trucker kinda guy who was not gonna let some 2nd rate band manager boss him around. Not sure that it was a wise decision on the manager’s part because Woodstock certainly made the careers of a number of bands and performers who did appear at the event.
For example, I remember a conversation at Frostburg College with a guy who was in charge of the entertainment committee that scouted and selected musical groups to play at the College. He told me how they could have gotten Richie Havens to come perform for less than $2,000 the year before he appeared at Woodstock. However, when they went back to him after Woodstock and the movie, they learned Richie’s fee had shot up to $20,000 per appearance. Nothing like a little exposure as they say.
Iron Butterfly’s manager obviously ignored one of life’s basic principles – you get by with a little help from your friends. Joe, who was a headliner at Woodstock, knew that lesson well: