I remember this song from when it came out. I found that I didn't want to listen to it again but that might be because I was nine years old when Woodstock happened, so it doesn't have any significance for me.
I did not know until now that Ian Matthews was British. He was one of the original vocalists for Fairport Convention, a British folk-rock band, and he sang on their first two albums. He then released a solo album, Matthews' Southern Comfort, and formed a band to tour behind it.
"Woodstock" was written by Joni Mitchell, who wasn't there but heard about it from Graham Nash, who was her partner at that time. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young released a version of the song in 1970 that reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and went all the way to #1 on the CHUM chart. Matthews' version of the song was a #1 hit in Britain and charted well in several European countries; it reached #23 on the Hot 100.
Matthews Southern Comfort recorded two albums before Matthews abruptly quit the band in 1971. He reformed the band in 2010 and 2017, mostly with Dutch musicians. In 2023, they released an album of cover versions of songs performed at Woodstock. It was called, appropriately enough, The Woodstock Album.
Created March 23, 2026.