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(More customer reviews)Once I received my copy, I stayed up late, reading it with great interest. As I have already described below, I am fascinated in the subject of this book and Artie Kornfeld has a perspective I have never seen fully explored before. It's been nearly 50 years since he started down the path to becoming a pivotal force in the music industry. He cowrote many songs you would know, including the classic Dead Man's Curve (working with Glen Campell and Leon Russell, who were part of Wrecking Crew at the time). He's managed the careers of many big names. Early on, he launched the Cowsills by cowriting The Rain the Park & Other Things (I Love the Flower Girl). He also cowrote "Follow me...I'm the Pied Piper..." hence the title of this book. He's had personal and professional relationships with Sonny & Cher, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, John Sebastian, Bert Sommer, Chuck Berry, Neli Young, and the list goes on. Artie has finally collected reminiscences from his life in music, including the historic experiences that culminated in 3 days of Peace and Music in 1969. He has a message that is still relevant to a war-torn world today. He bares his soul in a brutally candid and touching chapter that deals with addiction and the heartbreaking loss of both his beloved wife, Linda, and daughter Jamie. Artie: we will all be together again someday, my brother, we are still together. My sincere condolences to you. In my next breath, I should congratulate you for your lifelong achievements.
The book is very nicely produced with a good deal of colorful artwork and photographs. The chapters are categorized and also broken down into bite-sized sub headings, which makes for pleasant reading - like taking a box of tasty chocolates to bed! At Woodstock in 1969, he was on stage nearly throughout as he gathered releases for the film, which became a landmark documentary of this landmark event, and he gives a play-by-play of the events and the performances from a place anyone else has only been in their dreams. Over the years, I've read alot about the concert - nearly everything I could find that seemed authoritative - and I am glad to have another view of the event from someone who was at the center of it all. I had already written a positive review (see below), even before receiving the book, because I knew it would be an interesting book to read and believe it's important to support this long-awaited book's release. This man and his message, as revealed at last to the world here are compelling. It is a book that deserves to be read. Peace
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As a student of music and the 60's in general and Woodstock (the concert) in particular, I have been anxiously waiting to hear Artie Kornfeld's own voice describe his true life experiences - and I am glad the day has finally come! This man is a seminal figure in that culture which I hold dear to my heart. He helped to define the Woodstock Nation, even after the last notes had become only echoes in an empty field, and the multitude had returned to their homes.
I've been visiting Woodstock (the town) since I started driving, 36 years ago (so, I was too young to attend the concert) and I'll admit that it has always been a touchstone for me. Of course, the concert site was in a neighboring county, but it was not somewhere else in spirit from the place I am drawn to, again and again. I have enjoyed discovering the reasons that the concert, a true phenomenon, was conceived as it was, and I still struggle to understand the immense importance the event had in opening our eyes to the possibilities of the producers' vision. I am seeking the truth of it so that I can explain it to my own child, because I want him to know why it is meaningful to me.
Artie's work to keep the faith alive has been an encouragement to many people around the world, and I am grateful to him for committing his message to paper. He knows, firsthand, what the movers and shakers of a generation know. He helped define his generation and he is still making the call to, as Lincoln said in his inaugural address: "the better angels of our nature". If you are reading this, I expect you will be fascinated to find out how it all went down. If you have even a passing interest in the movement, then I recommend you listen to this thoughtful man's take on how we might get back to the garden.
Dan Ramirez
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Forty years ago, amidst the decadence and destruction of a nation at war, civil unrest, and political dissention, the most sensational and romanticized event known to mankind was orchestrated by Artie Kornfeld and his partners in Woodstock Ventures. This is the life of a New York archetypal bad boy -- a believer who saw music as the universal solvent for global rapport and acceptance and used his ability to unite the masses. From the streets of New York City, to hit songwriter, to collaborations with legendary musicians, this is the life of an extraordinary man. All these years later, Artie still sees the Spirit of Woodstock as critical for universal peace -- just as he did as a twenty-five-year-old icon in the world of rock royalty. This is a nonfictional diary of an American rock 'n' roller, a proponent of '60s euphoria and the causes that ignited the youth movement. An odyssey, a time machine, and a must-read for the millions of Baby Boomers and younger generations.
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