Why Elvis Presley Wasn’t at Woodstock
While he was there for so many vital moments in classic rock history, Elvis Presley wasn’t there for Woodstock. He was part of something else that would become very famous. The King of Rock’ n’ Roll might have been a poor fit for the festival.
Elvis Presley was focused on Las Vegas when Woodstock was happening
1969 was a big year for Elvis. He released his beloved songs “Suspicious Minds,” “In the Ghetto,” and “Don’t Cry Daddy.” All three songs reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, proving that the ’68 Comeback Special had made the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll a relevant force in popular music again.
1969 was also the year of the most famous concert festival of all time: The Woodstock Rock Festival. According to the book Elvis: The #1 Hits — The Secret History of the Classics, Elvis was busy preparing for his return to live performance at The International Hotel in Las Vegas when Woodstock was being planned. His famous run of concerts at The International Hotel began a month before Woodstock.
Elvis Presley would have been a major contrast to the artists at the festival
Elvis might have felt out of place at Woodstock. Look at the roster of artists who performed at the original Woodstock Rock Festival. Jimi Hendrix. Joni Mitchell. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. These were all acts associated with the hippie counterculture.
Plus, by the time Woodstock happened, Elvis embraced a horn-heavy, late 1960s pop sound. Love it or hate it, that polished style was a far cry from the folk-rock and hard-rock that defined Woodstock. Elvis going out onstage to sing “In the Ghetto” and “Don’t Cry Daddy” would have been a jarring tonal shift for the concert. However, if Colonel Tom Parker uncharacteristically allowed the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll to evolve with the times, he could have released a Woodstock-style song and blown the house down at the festival.
Organizer Michael Lang discussed the impact of Woodstock
Woodstock was famously organized by concert promoter Michael Lang. During a 2009 interview with Billboard, Lang discussed the importance of Woodstock in retrospect. “It’s always interesting how much it resonates today and how present it still is in so many people’s minds and how many people mark their lives from that point,” he said. “When I looked at the coverage of the [Barack Obama] inauguration it was interesting how many people made comparisons to Woodstock and that feeling of hope coming out of the blue. Nobody really expected Obama to win, you know what I mean? A lot of people dreamed about it but nobody thought it could actually happen.
“That’s what’s wonderful about America; suddenly it turns on its heels and goes in the right direction, and that struck me as the same kind of moment that we were in [in 1969] amidst a horrible war and we experienced terrible assassinations and an unpopular president and all of those things that were going on,” Lang added. “And suddenly there comes this event that again, takes a left turn and suddenly there is hope again.”
Woodstock is legendary — but Elvis might have been an awkward fit for it.
