by Steve Fowler, Morrisville, PA

Was it seeing Jimi Hendrix ‘in the round’ with a revolving stage that due to the technology of the time, had the sound continually building and fading as the stage with all the speakers rotated, adding to the psychedelia psccirculating in us at the Spectrum in 1969; seeing The Byrds in 1968, at the original Electric Factory at 222 Arch St, walking back to meet my idols and getting their autographs; or in that summer of festivals, going to the Atlantic City Music Festival at the AC Race Track on August 01, 02 and 03, seeing groups from Joni Mitchell to BB King, Hugh Masekela, Iron Butterfly, and more; and then festival of festivals, going to Woodstock on 15-17 August 1969. This is an event that I remember fondly every year on its anniversary. It was a who’s-who of the rock world at the time, seeing the Who, Jefferson Airplane, Richie Havens, Ravi Shankar, Ten Years After, Sly and the Family Stone, Grateful Dead, Joan Baez and Jimi Hendrix. At the time we did not know we were making history, otherwise we would have all mugged and waved at the camera.