Joel Rosenman

American businessman

Joel Rosenman (born 1942) conceived and co-created the Woodstock Festival in 1969. Rosenman thought of the idea for the three-day concert when he and business partner John Roberts were evaluating a proposal from Michael Lang and Artie Kornfeld for a recording studio in upstate New York. The four went on to create the event. Rosenman and Roberts are the co-authors of Making Woodstock, originally published as Young Men with Unlimited Capital, a non-fiction account of their exploits as producers of Woodstock.[1]

## Childhood and education

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Born the second of three children, Rosenman grew up on Long Island in the town of Cold Spring Harbor, New York. He is Jewish.[2][3] He attended Princeton University followed by Yale Law School, but sought a career as a professional musician.

## Early career and media sound

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In 1967, after hearing Rosenman perform at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village, John Hammond, then head of A&R at Columbia Records, offered Rosenman a recording contract as a vocalist. Rosenman opted instead for a career in writing and venture capital with friend, and then partner, John P. Roberts.[4][5]

In 1967, Rosenman and Roberts drafted the pilot episode of a situation comedy based on two young men looking for investment opportunities. In search of plot material for the series, they placed a classified ad in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal claiming to be "Young men with unlimited capital" looking for "legitimate and interesting...business proposals."[5] Rosenman and Roberts received hundreds of responses, some of which were attractive enough to warrant evaluation as real investments. Through this channel they were presented with the opportunity to build the Media Sound recording studio, which later led to Woodstock.

## Portrayals

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In Ang Lee’s 2009 film Taking Woodstock Rosenman is portrayed by Daniel Eric Gold.[6] Rosenman also appears in other Woodstock-related books, films, TV shows, interviews, panels.

## References

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1. ^ Rosenman, Joel; Roberts, John; Pilpel, Robert (1999). Young Men with Unlimited Capital: The Story of Woodstock. Scrivenery Press. ISBN 9781893818026.
2. ^ Bloom, Nate (August 19, 2009). "The Hidden Jewish History of Woodstock". 18Doors. "The lawyer for Lang's rock group put Kornfeld and Lang in touch with two Jewish backers, Joel Rosenman, now 67, and John Roberts ..."
3. ^ Benarde, Scott R. (July 1, 2003). Stars of David: Rock'n'roll's Jewish Stories. Brandeis University Press. p. 126\. ISBN 978-1584653035. "Four Jews organized the Woodstock Festival: Michael Lang, Artie Kornfeld, John Roberts, and Joel Rosenman"
4. ^ Spitz, Bob (July 29, 2014). Barefoot in Babylon: The Creation of the Woodstock Music Festival, 1969. Penguin Publisher. p. 10\. ISBN 9780698141940.
5. ^ a b Littleproud, Brad; Hague, Joanne (June 5, 2009). Woodstock - Peace, Music & Memories. F+W Media. ISBN 9781440219276.
6. ^ "Daniel Eric Gold". TheNumbers.com. Retrieved 2022-06-07.

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Woodstock Festival

List of performances and events

Founders|

* Artie Kornfeld
* Michael Lang
* John P. Roberts
* Joel Rosenman
* Max Yasgur

Performers|

| August 15, 1969|

* Richie Havens
* Swami Satchidananda
* Sweetwater
* Bert Sommer
* Tim Hardin
* Ravi Shankar
* Melanie
* Arlo Guthrie
* Joan Baez

|

August 16, 1969|

* Quill
* Country Joe McDonald
* Santana
* John Sebastian
* Keef Hartley
* The Incredible String Band
* Canned Heat
* Mountain
* Grateful Dead

August 17, 1969|

* Creedence Clearwater Revival
* Janis Joplin
* Sly and the Family Stone
* The Who
* Jefferson Airplane
* Joe Cocker and The Grease Band
* Country Joe and the Fish
* Ten Years After
* The Band

August 18, 1969|

* Blood, Sweat & Tears
* Johnny and Edgar Winter
* Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
* Paul Butterfield Blues Band
* Sha Na Na
* Jimi Hendrix

Media|

* Woodstock (1970 film)
* My Generation (2000 film)
* The Road to Woodstock (2009 book)
* Taking Woodstock (2007 book)
* 2009 film
* Woodstock Revisited (2009 film)
* Woodstock or Bust (2019 film)
* Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage (2021 film)
* Trainwreck: Woodstock '99 (2022 miniseries)

Songs|

* "Woodstock"
* "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)"

Recordings|

* At the Woodstock Festival (1970)
* Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More (1970)
* Woodstock Two (1971)
* The Best of Woodstock (1994)
* Woodstock: Three Days of Peace and Music (1994)
* Woodstock (Jimi Hendrix) (1994)
* Woodstock Diary (1994)
* Woodstock 94 (1994)
* Live at Woodstock (Jimi Hendrix) (1999)
* Woodstock 1999 (1999)
* The Woodstock Experience (2009)
* Woodstock 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur's Farm (2009)
* Live at Woodstock (Joe Cocker) (2009)
* Woodstock 1994 (Red Hot Chili Peppers) (2016)
* Woodstock 1994 (Green Day) (2019)
* Woodstock – Back to the Garden: 50th Anniversary Collection (2019)
* Woodstock – Back to the Garden: 50th Anniversary Experience (2019)
* Woodstock – Back to the Garden: The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive (2019)
* Live at Woodstock (Creedence Clearwater Revival) (2019)

Revivals|

* Woodstock '79
* Woodstock Reunion 1979
* Woodstock '89
* Woodstock '94
* Woodstock '99
* Heroes of Woodstock Tour
* Woodstock 50 (canceled)

Related|

* Woodstock Nation
* Woodstock Sound-Outs
* Chip Monck (festival master of ceremonies)
* Arnold Skolnick
* Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
* Hog Farm Collective
* Wavy Gravy

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Netherlands
* Israel

People|

* DDB

Other|

* IdRef

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