Arguably the most famous 4 day span in music history, Woodstock has come to serve as a microcosm of pop culture in the 1960′s. In what was planned to be a more modest gathering of under 50,000 attendees, reports claim as many as half a million music lovers made the trek to see the 32 live acts on the Woodstock stage, including many of the most recognizable names and memorable performances of the era. Starting with Richie Havens and culminating with arguably Jimi Hendrix’s peak show, festival attendees were treated to an experience unmatched by any imitation since. Amid overcrowded grounds, inclement weather, rampant drug use and major sanitation issues, the so-called problems that plagued Woodstock helped shape the one-of-a-kind music festival and are often romanticized as a testament to power of music and the spirit and dedication of the event’s attendees. In reality, the place was a pig-sty, but most who were there wouldn’t have it any other way.The entire celebration was largely opposed by its host community, a conservative milk-producing area of upstate New York that saw to stand no gain from thousands of inbound “hippies” swarming the town of Bethel. Though remembered as an epic success and a weekend that forever altered the fate of modern day music, Woodstock itself was very poorly planned. Remembered as a “free concert” tickets were originally on sale for 18 in advance and 24 at the door, only dropping the entry charge once organizers realized the turnout would be hundreds of thousands more than they had anticipated.Among the most memorable performances was when Jimi Hendrix’s finally took the stage to close out the concert. Originally scheduled to go on at 3 a.m., Jimi didn’t play his first note until 8 in the morning, though the remaining audience that stayed until the end was treated to a two hour set, the longest of his career, highlighted by a timely rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner, particularly poignant considering the state of social unrest that had engulfed the United States by 1969. When asked later in an interview about the rendition, Hendrix claimed merely “I’m an American, so I played it.”