Sunday, July 20, 2008

Santana - Soul Sacrifice (Woodstock 1969)

In the summer of 1969, after RTN did his basic Army training at Ft. Lewis in Washington, he was sent to Ft. Eustace in Virginia for training as a helicopter mechanic. He wrote in a letter that he wanted to be at Woodstock.

I remember driving to San Francisco in 1970 to see the film "Woodstock" when it was first released. I remember that I was moved to tears when I saw and heard Jimi Hendrix sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and when I saw Janis Joplin simply walking and smiling. I'm guessing that Jimi Hendrix had already died. Janis Joplin died soon after I saw the film. I was devastated.

Carlos Santana survived and thrived. I still experience intense feelings listening to Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, but Santana's music makes me glad to be alive, no matter what happens.
Santana's music lifted my spirits in during those troubling years from 1969 to 1971. It still does.

2 comments:

Dale said...

:-) Yeah.

robin andrea said...

I made it to Woodstock. Didn't stay long enough to see santana play. Love Carlos Santana's musical energy.