He does it for the wood?
March 17, 2009 3:31 PM   Subscribe

Wonder how many of the original Woodstock performers are still alive? The Woodstock Death Count reveals that the percentage is not as low as one might imagine after Jeff Kay steps up to the plate and crunches the numbers, again. FYI: He is also responsible for counting the number of f-words in the HBO series Deadwood (which Drudge Report linked to) and this (previously mentioned) internet sensation.)
posted by will wait 4 tanjents (45 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Did he also count the number of cocksuckers in Yankton?
posted by Joe Beese at 3:44 PM on March 17, 2009


Them fast foods look like bowel obstructions even afore they is et.
posted by Mister_A at 3:44 PM on March 17, 2009


Isn't Sly Stone dead?
posted by Gungho at 3:44 PM on March 17, 2009


Greg "Duke" Dewey (Country Joe and the Fish) lives in my small Ohio town and is still making music. He's pretty cool and down to earth, and wears awesome hats.
posted by eustacescrubb at 3:46 PM on March 17, 2009


Gungho: "Isn't Sly Stone dead?"

Still alive and flaking out on gigs.

And he was on top of the world once.

People forget.
posted by Joe Beese at 3:47 PM on March 17, 2009


The real Sausage McMuffin looks marginally more appealing than the ad.
posted by contraption at 4:17 PM on March 17, 2009


If you look at the film, Sha-na-na seems to be the only live act on the program. Ritchie Havens sings an interminable, one-note strumm-strumma-strum stong while the camera focuses on his heel, John Sebastian deep-sixes his career by wearing that tie-dyed, bell-bottomed pants suit, everyone else is tired, dispirited, and terrified by the banality of what the counter-culture had wrought. Star-Spangled Banner, however, is sublime, thanks to the fact that the Band of Gypsies was nodding out someplace else at the time with their organized crime handlers. Maybe Quill was good. We'll never know.
posted by Faze at 4:17 PM on March 17, 2009 [3 favorites]


Isn't this somewhat inaccurate without taking into account the number of liver transplants and quadruple bypasses?
posted by snsranch at 4:29 PM on March 17, 2009


Sha-Na-Na: 12 alive

Jimi Hendrix: dead


Proof that there is indeed no god.
posted by jokeefe at 4:42 PM on March 17, 2009 [9 favorites]


Its really hard for me to think of Jorma as being alive.
posted by sfts2 at 4:46 PM on March 17, 2009


By comparison, how did punk fair? Unless I missed someone's death, the results from the Punk Festival at the 100 Club in London are 2 dead out of 34, a death rate of under 6%:

SUBWAY SECT - 4 living
Vic Godard
Paul Packham
Paul Myers
Rob Symmons

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES - 3 living, 1 dead
Sioxsie Sioux
Steve Severin
Marco Pirroni
Sid Vicious (dead)

THE CLASH - 3 living, 1 dead
Joe Strummer (dead)
Mick Jones
Paul Simonon
Terry Chimes

THE SEX PISTOLS - 4 living
Johnny Rotten
Glen Matlock
Steve Jones
Paul Cook

STINKY TOYS - 5 living
Elli Medeiros
Denis Quilliard
Bruno Carone
Albin Dériat
Hervé Zénouda

CHRIS SPEDDING & THE VIBRATORS - 5 living
Chris Spedding
Ian Carnochan
Pat Collier
John Ellis
John Edwards

THE DAMNED - 4 living
Brian James
Dave Vanian
Rat Scabies
Captain Sensible

THE BUZZCOCKS - 4 living
Howard Devoto
Pete Shelley
Steve Diggle
John Maher
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 4:52 PM on March 17, 2009 [2 favorites]


Old people die. Lol.
posted by MrVisible at 5:02 PM on March 17, 2009


Sha-Na-Na: 12 alive

Jimi Hendrix: dead

Proof that there is indeed no god.


Joe Cocker: alive

Indeed, no god.
posted by Sova at 5:08 PM on March 17, 2009 [1 favorite]


Ritchie Havens sings an interminable, one-note strumm-strumma-strum stong

But a mighty good one...
posted by jckll at 5:09 PM on March 17, 2009


By comparison, how did punk fair? Unless I missed someone's death, the results from the Punk Festival at the 100 Club in London are 2 dead out of 34, a death rate of under 6%:

Is this a boast ("Punk: The Healthy Lifestyle Choice!") or a sneer ("No future? Yeah right!")?
posted by yoink at 5:11 PM on March 17, 2009 [1 favorite]


Maybe a whole series of 'Music Scene Longevity' is in order? I mean, if your average Woodstock performer can last another forty years after their peak, there certainly must be a challenge for which scene can 'outperform' that.

And for those people who know/remember The Mary Whitehouse Experience, I think Dad's Army is hovering at roughly 96% by now. Once Ian Lavender goes, the 'He's Dead' game just won't be any fun.
posted by Sova at 5:16 PM on March 17, 2009


All those cocksuckers are dead? Fuck, now what the fuck am I going to listen to?
posted by mnb64 at 5:19 PM on March 17, 2009


It's a good thing The Ramones were not at that gig, Dee Xtrovert.
posted by Mister_A at 5:26 PM on March 17, 2009


Woodstock performer Melanie Safka, is not only alive, you can buy her vintage clothes on Craigslist.
posted by planetkyoto at 5:31 PM on March 17, 2009


That guy teaching meditation in the film at one point? I think he might have a shaved head? I'd love to know whatever happened to him.
posted by stinkycheese at 5:35 PM on March 17, 2009


By comparison, how did punk fair? Unless I missed someone's death, the results from the Punk Festival at the 100 Club in London are 2 dead out of 34, a death rate of under 6%...

It's a good thing The Ramones were not at that gig, Dee Xtrovert.


That's what freaks me out about The Ramones. They're like the anti-Spinal Tap: only the drummers (Tommy, Marky, Richie) have survived, while everyone else have shuffled off their rockin' coils. If I was C.J., I'd be looking both ways several times before crossing the street.
posted by spoobnooble at 5:50 PM on March 17, 2009 [1 favorite]


The Woodstock Death Count./

Every now and then, you get reminded why you keep comin back to Metafilter.
posted by mannequito at 6:15 PM on March 17, 2009 [2 favorites]


> If you look at the film, Sha-na-na seems to be the only live act on the program.

Hmmm, I dunno about that. I wasn't at the concert, but Santana pretty much stole the movie.
posted by mosk at 7:33 PM on March 17, 2009 [1 favorite]


Ritchie Havens sings an interminable, one-note strumm-strumma-strum stong while the camera focuses on his heel

To be fair to Richie Havens, he was specifically asked to stall for time by the festival promoters, because all the follow-up acts were stuck in the huge traffic jam surrounding the festival:

Havens was scheduled to be the fifth performer on opening day of the biggest rock festival ever. But because of traffic problems, and the fact he had the least equipment and could pack it into the helicopter, he would now be first.

Talk about panic.

"First, they had to catch me," Havens said, laughing. "I'm hiding, not that I didn't want to go on, but, holy smokes, look at all the people. And one more thing - if not for the U.S. Army, who brought the performers in with Hueys, Woodstock wouldn't have happened.

"So, I get on stage and did my songs and they said, 'Richie, could you sing four more songs, and four more,' and did it about six times. When I went off the stage for the sixth time they said 'one more' and I said, 'Geez, that's all I've got.' They would kill me for real. You can see me in the film turn around; I'm still playing the guitar and sit back down."

After singing songs like "Here Comes the Sun," Jimi Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower," the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields" and others, his song cupboard was bare. But Woodstock's Green Room also was still bare of musicians, so Havens decided to improvise a version of "Motherless Child," a song he hadn't sung in 14 years, and added a verse with "freedom" repeated over and over. The song was featured in the Woodstock film, became an international hit and really introduced Havens to the world.

posted by jonp72 at 7:41 PM on March 17, 2009 [5 favorites]


Wow, that is an incredible story from Ritchie Havens, jonp72. The irony of US Army hardware enabling Woodstock is delicious.
posted by Mister_A at 8:12 PM on March 17, 2009 [1 favorite]


Hmmm, I dunno about that. I wasn't at the concert, but Santana pretty much stole the movie.

Damn, I love that. They were all KIDS! 18, 19, 20 years old. FUCK!
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:20 PM on March 17, 2009


Joe Cocker: alive


Waitaminute -- he had a pretty large band at woodstock, including backup singers and a horn section. Wasn't Leon Russel on stage with him? Homework, dude!
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:46 PM on March 17, 2009


Waitaminute -- he had a pretty large band at woodstock, including backup singers and a horn section. Wasn't Leon Russel on stage with him?

Yer thinking of Mad Dogs and Englishmen. They weren't there. Cocker played with (the touring version of) The Grease Band (who provided the backing vocals in falsetto).

Homework, dude!

Ah-hem.
posted by Herodios at 8:56 PM on March 17, 2009


@Herodios
Yep. Jeff is pretty thorough when he sets his mind to a project.
Thanks for setting the record straight before I had a chance
posted by will wait 4 tanjents at 9:21 PM on March 17, 2009


Incredible String Band: 4 alive
Mike Heron: alive
Robin Williamson: alive
Christina “Licorice” McKechnie: alive
Rose Simpson: alive


Licorice, having been apparently absorbed completely into the Church of Scientology, hasn't been seen in 20 years.
posted by anazgnos at 9:59 PM on March 17, 2009



Speaking of homework, here's the folks JFK didn't cover. But first:

the Band of Gypsies was nodding out someplace else at the time with their organized crime handlers.

Two thirds of The Band of Gypsys (Hendrix himself and Billy Cox) were at Woodstock.

Gypsy Sun and Rainbows
Jimi Hendrix: dead (27, choking [drug abuse])
Billy Cox: alive
Mitch Mitchell: dead (62, 'natural causes')
Larry Lee: dead (64. cancer)
Juma Sultan: alive
Jerry Velez: alive (pretty sure)

Kozmic Blues Band
Janis Joplin: dead (27, drug overdose)
Sam Andrew: alive
Brad Campbell: ??
Richard Kermode: ??
Maury Baker: ??
Snookey Flowers: ??
Tony Clemans: ??
Luis Gasca: ??

... and here's (most of) the rest of the story:

Swami Satchidananda: dead (87, thoracic aneurysm)
August Burns: dead (??, ??)
Alan Malarowitz: dead (??, ??)
Albert Moore: dead (??, ??)
Tim Hardin: dead (39, drug overdose)
Gary Thain: dead (27, drug overdose)
David Brown: dead (53, organ failure [chill, wiseguys, he was the bassist])
Alan Wilson: dead (27, drug overdose [possibly suicide])
Bob Hite: dead (38, heart attack)
Felix Pappalardi: dead (43, murdered by his wife)
Jerry Garcia: dead (53, heart attack [heroin, diabetes])
Ron "Pigpen" McKernan: dead (27, stomach hemorrhage [alcohol])
Tom Fogerty: dead (48, tuberculosis [AIDS])
John Entwistle: dead (57, heart attack [cocaine])
Keith Moon: dead (32, trying to live like a 17 year old Keith Moon)
Spencer Dryden: dead (66, cancer)
Nicky Hopkins: dead (50, complications from surgery)
Rick Danko: dead (56, heart failure [drug use])
Richard Manuel: dead (42, suicide)
Paul Butterfield: dead (44, heart attack [drugs, alcohol])
Phillip Wilson: dead (51, ??)
Gene Dinwiddie: dead (??, ??)
Bert Sommer: dead (41, respiratory illness)

That's 1 murder, 1 suicide (for sure), 9 definitely drug-related, and a total of 5 members of The 27 Club.
posted by Herodios at 10:44 PM on March 17, 2009


Oh, yeah:

The Grease Band
Joe Cocker, vocals, air guitar: alive
Henry McCullough, guitar: alive
Neil Hubbard, guitar: alive
Chris Stainton, keys: alive
Alan Spenner, bass: dead (43, ??)
Bruce Rowland, drums: alive (pretty sure)
posted by Herodios at 11:03 PM on March 17, 2009




@mosk
"Bless you, my child."
brilliant find.
posted by will wait 4 tanjents at 12:57 AM on March 18, 2009


Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: 6 alive

Wow. That's incredible.
posted by chillmost at 2:30 AM on March 18, 2009


Probiotics changed the way I feel now!

Thanks, mosk!
posted by Cookiebastard at 6:33 AM on March 18, 2009


Homework, dude!

Ah-hem.


I did phrase it as a question, posed at the site's writer. I'm a lazy-ass. Plus, as noted above, he missed all Hendrix's and Joplin's bands, and Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding are both dead. Not sure what Hendrix's lineup was at Woodstock, though. Homework, yeah.

Oh, baby, hoggify.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:33 AM on March 18, 2009


God help our Rockstars.
posted by tellurian at 6:41 AM on March 18, 2009


totally OT:

am writing a few posts about the death of newspapers and this FPP proves my point : why a paper when the first thing i do is open a browser to read what's on Metafilter (and for that matter, Memeorandum and Oh No They Didn't)?
posted by liza at 6:42 AM on March 18, 2009 [1 favorite]


The irony of US Army hardware enabling Woodstock is delicious.

Another irony is that Havens performed an antiwar song at Woodstock that was co-written with his friend Louis Gossett, Jr., who would later win an Oscar for playing a drill sergeant.
posted by jonp72 at 9:14 AM on March 18, 2009


Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: 6 alive

Wow. That's incredible.


Only if you are talking about Crosby. He's lucky he's made it this far.
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 10:19 AM on March 18, 2009


FYI, the domain in the main link--thewvsr.com--is blocked as "adult/mature content" by some filters, for those not at home right now.
posted by gimonca at 12:14 PM on March 18, 2009


Really, you can't count Sly Stone as being an alive sentient being.
posted by Ber at 12:22 PM on March 18, 2009


Wow, the count is way lower than it seems like it would be.
posted by cordouroy15 at 10:12 AM on March 23, 2009


Sha-Na-Na: 12 alive

Jimi Hendrix: dead

Proof that there is indeed no god


Yes, clearly, because He died on September 18, 1970.
posted by Pollomacho at 10:21 AM on March 23, 2009


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