Folksinger Arlo Guthrie recalls the Woodstock era

A generation of students who could only describe Woodstock in three terms — peace, love and tie-dye — were flashed back in time Thursday when they got to speak to a living legend who was there.

“It was a different time,” said folksinger Arlo Guthrie. “It’s almost inconceivable now.”

On Thursday, the folk hero spoke to an audience of more than 25, including 19 UConn freshmen taking part in the University of Connecticut’s “Connecting with the Arts” class.

The class is comprised of non-art majors who live in the same residence hall and want to develop an appreciation for music.

Guthrie, in town to perform with family members at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on campus tonight and Saturday, reflected on his times during the informal talk.

“I grew up in a world aware of different kinds of people all over the world,” said Guthrie. “I grew up in a world that was more diversified.”

Guthrie, the eldest son of folk legend Woody Guthrie, came to fame with songs such as “Alice’s Restaurant” and “City of New Orleans.”

He was one of 32 acts performing at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in August 1969. The historic concert’s 40th anniversary was recently celebrated with television documentaries, remembrances and a feature film.
For UConn students, meeting Guthrie was not just part of their class, it was a chance to connect with a pivotal time in American history.

It was a time when change seemed inevitable and the idealized, post-World War II suburban family lifestyle depicted in television shows like “Leave it to Beaver” was coming under attack.

Guthrie, 62, said his generation brought about a change in social consciousness when they became old enough to question authority.

Living under the threat of nuclear annihilation and seeing young men drafted to fight in Vietnam helped make the 1960s a significant decade.

“All the things we had been told were crumbling into this cacophony,” he said, “into real events.”

He recalled teachers advising students to hide under their desks if they saw a “large mushroom cloud.”

Guthrie said he was not alone in questioning this education.

“People began to wonder whether or not it was explained by people who were clinically insane or stupid,” he said.

Before the now-historic three-day weekend in White Lake, N.Y., — when hundreds of thousands gathered for three days of “peace, love and music” — people began questioning who they were, said Guthrie.

He said people began searching for the “real” them without their education, hometown or religion defining who they are.

Guthrie said he doubts if that kind of change will ever come again.

“We began to live in a world that was no longer learned from your own experience,” he said. “But learned from others’ experiences.”

Guthrie said — because of this mentality — the world really has not changed much since Woodstock.

According to Guthrie, he was only a little older than the students in attendance when he left college to pursue music.

He said musicians were “not singing songs in the key of me” and began playing from the perspective of others.

“I got caught up in that world and I haven’t really escaped,” he said. “And I love it.”

Although Guthrie’s stories were more folklore than fact to them, the students said they appreciated the chance to tap into history first-hand.

Kathryn Langdon, 18, of Sedalia, Mo., said she enjoyed the experience of meeting Guthrie in person.

“It’s very interesting,” she said. “It’s not something you get to hear every day.”

Langdon said a lot of her teachers are fans of Guthrie’s and they were equally delighted he was in Storrs.

However, she said she was hopeful that change — similar to what happened in the 1960s — would happen again.

“I feel, given time, it is going to happen again,” she said. “Somebody is going to have a message everyone feels.”

After students left, Guthrie said the world can change again, but everyone will need to personally change for that to happen.

“You have to be aware,” he said. “Have a bigger picture of yourself, of the world.”

He said people do not need to act differently to bring about change, they just need to open themselves to the world and “take more in.”

“Changing yourself does change the world,” he said.

Students attending Guthrie’s talk marked the anniversary of Woodstock by dressing in their best hippie gear —complete with tie-dye, peace signs and flowers in their hair.

Guthrie, though, said he was not sure how Woodstock would be perceived in the future.

Woodstock would always be a part of history, but it would eventually be overshadowed by other events, Guthrie said.

He said he hoped everyone, including the students, would be able to experience that kind of (moment in) history.

“I hope everyone at one point is able to touch one of those to feel the uniqueness of the generation,” he said. “They don’t have to be the center of it, they can be on the side of it.”

Guthrie, along with several family members, will perform tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, 2132 Hillside Road, Storrs. The performance will be a Cabaret setting, with light dinner fare and dessert ($3-$10 and a cash bar). Regular tickets are $34, $38 and $45, with some discounts available. For more information, log on to www.jorgensen.uconn.edu/events/view.php?id=109 or call 486-4226.