What Each Artist Was Paid For Their Woodstock Performance in ’69

Originally a small commercial business idea by Michael Lang, Artie Kornfield and two investors, John Roberts and Joel Rosenman. The Woodstock Music and Art Festival is arguably the most famous popular music event in history.

Around 50,000 visitors were expected during planning, however, it is estimated that between 400,000 to 500,000 actually showed up between the Friday afternoon of August 15th and the Monday morning of August 18th, 1969.

Headlined by legendary acts like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, Joe Cocker, The Who and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The show was packed with talent. However how much did each of the artists actually earn for their appearance?

Hendrix is believed to be on top with $18,000, followed by $15,000 for Blood, Sweat and Tears as the only other act to fetch more than $10,000. Other Notable names include guitar icon Santana making merely $750 and the late great Joe Cocker 22nd on the list at $1,375.

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The list below reveals a set of figures that the artists have reportedly earned for performing at the event.

1. Jimi Hendrix – $18,000
2. Blood, Sweat and Tears – $15,000
3. Joan Baez – $10,000
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival – $10,000
5. The Band – $7,500
6. Janis Joplin – $7,500
7. Jefferson Airplane – $7,500
8. Sly and the Family Stone – $7,000
9. Canned Heat – $6,500
10. The Who – $6,250
11. Richie Havens – $6,000
12. Arlo Guthrie – $5,000
13. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young – $5,000
14. Ravi Shankar – $4,500
15. Johnny Winter – $3,750
16. Ten Years After – $3,250
17. Country Joe and the Fish – $2,500
18. Grateful Dead – $2,500
19. The Incredible String Band – $2,250
20. Mountain – $2,000
21. Tim Hardin – $2,000
22. Joe Cocker – $1,375
23. Sweetwater – $1,250
24. John B. Sebastian – $1,000
25. Melanie – $750
26. Santana – $750
27. Sha Na Na – $700
28. Keef Hartley – $500
29. Quill – $375