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August 1969

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Achievement · music
Sly and the Family Stone electrify Woodstock

Sly and the Family Stone's dawn performance at Woodstock was called the festival's highlight, showcasing the first racially and gender-integrated rock band to achieve mainstream success. Their blend of funk, rock, and psychedelia created a new musical language and directly influenced Prince, Michael Jackson, and countless others.

Events

  1. August 17, 1969
    Sly and the Family Stone electrify Woodstock

    Sly and the Family Stone's dawn performance at Woodstock was called the festival's highlight, showcasing the first racially and gender-integrated rock band to achieve mainstream success. Their blend of funk, rock, and psychedelia created a new musical language and directly influenced Prince, Michael Jackson, and countless others.

  2. August 6, 1969
    Gordon Parks directs "The Learning Tree"

    Photographer Gordon Parks becomes the first Black American to write and direct a major Hollywood studio film.