I grew up with music constantly playing in the house. My parents, born in the mid-to-late 1950’s, brought me up on all kinds of music. Their tastes strongly aligned with many of the acts that played Woodstock 1969. Family legend says that my dad had a ticket to the festival — he lived outside New York City at the time — but chose not to go.
Regardless, someone has come up with a (supposed) list of what each act was paid to perform that year. I find it absolutely fascinating. I’ve recreated the chart I found on Ultimate Guitar below, with computed 2015 dollars thanks to Wolfram Alpha.
| # | Artist | 1969 Dollars | 2015 Dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimi Hendrix | $18,000 | $118,100 |
| 2 | Blood, Sweat and Tears | $15,000 | $98,430 |
| 3 | Joan Baez | $10,000 | $65,620 |
| 3 | Creedence Clearwater Revival | $10,000 | $65,620 |
| 5 | The Band | $7,500 | $49,210 |
| 5 | Janis Joplin | $7,500 | $49,210 |
| 5 | Jefferson Airplane | $7,500 | $49,210 |
| 8 | Sly and the Family Stone | $7,000 | $45,930 |
| 9 | Canned Heat | $6,500 | $42,650 |
| 10 | The Who | $6,250 | $41,010 |
| 11 | Richie Havens | $6,000 | $39,370 |
| 12 | Arlo Guthrie | $5,000 | $32,810 |
| 12 | Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young | $5,000 | $32,810 |
| 14 | Ravi Shankar | $4,500 | $29,530 |
| 15 | Johnny Winter | $3,750 | $24,610 |
| 16 | Ten Years After | $3,250 | $21,330 |
| 17 | Country Joe and the Fish | $2,500 | $16,400 |
| 17 | The Grateful Dead | $2,500 | $16,400 |
| 19 | The Incredible String Band | $2,250 | $14,760 |
| 20 | Mountain | $2,000 | $13,120 |
| 20 | Tim Hardin | $2,000 | $13,120 |
| 22 | Joe Cocker | $1,375 | $9,022 |
| 23 | Sweetwater | $1,250 | $8,202 |
| 24 | John B. Sebastian | $1,000 | $6,561 |
| 25 | Melanie | $750 | $4,921 |
| 25 | Santana | $750 | $4,921 |
| 27 | Sha Na Na | $700 | $4,593 |
| 28 | Keef Hartley | $500 | $3,280 |
| 29 | Quill | $375 | $2,460 |
It’s not clear to me where nor how these numbers were discovered, but they’re a fun thing to think about either way.
What stuns me the most, other than the ordering, is how little money each of these artists made. With some much-derided bands absolutely cleaning up on tours, to see such legendary artists make so little money is shocking. Granted, this was one show and not a whole tour; nevertheless, much has changed in the last 45 years.
Speaking of how things have changed, we’ve covered Woodstock 1999 before. As much as I love the artists that I grew up with, I can’t argue that Woodstock 1969 was something special.
(Via Ultimate Guitar via Dangerous Minds via Danny Mason)