Wavy Gravy – You’ve Got to be Kidding …
Radio Curious is a program of interviews with those we wonder about. I’ve often wondered about Woodstock of 1969. I’ve often wondered how it got going and what its ramifications were. Why does the recollection make some people puke? So, I thought I’d ask Wavy Gravy, a man with insight on the subject far beyond most other people. We discussed Woodstock and other stories in July of 2000.
Wavy Gravy recommends “The Laughing Sutra,” Mark Salzman & “Angela’s Ashes,” by Frank McCourt.
Originally Broadcast: July 25, 2000
One Response to '
Wavy Gravy – You’ve Got to be Kidding …'
Wavy Gravy – You’ve Got to be Kidding …'.
on April 18th, 2023 at 5:10 pm
Hearing your recent promo on KZYX I went to your website and noticed one show in particular. I was at the Dallas Festival that Wavy Gravy tells about on the July 25th 2000 program. I remember that festival was 2 weeks after Woodstock. I heard about it when I was hitchhiking around that summer and I hadn’t made it to Woodstock but managed to get there. I was one of the ragged souls who woke up in the campground one morning to someone handing me a dixie cup half full of granola – apparently the first granola there was, though I didn’t know that. I remember the night at the the free stage in the campground very well. Saw BB King’s bus come in at night. My recollection of BB King and Johnny Winter playing on the free stage varies a little from Wavy’s in that I recall it being very late at night and there were only 20 or 30 of us standing around the bare stage under the stars, not thousands like Wavy said. I saw BB dubbing him Wavy Gravy (though I didn’t realize then that he wasn’t already Wavy Gravy and Wavy leaning against the big speaker afterward when they started to play ). BB did say he was thirsty and a quart of beer was produced. I had a taste from the bottle that went around .
He and Johnny Winter played a long time into the wee hours. I recall that BB sat on a chair and mostly played simple chords, something he wasn’t known for doing, Johnny Winter was completely full of himself and sang and played with furious energy like he was trying to prove something.
I was one of the skinny dippers in the lake. Lots of naked people in those days. Not sure I recall the water skier with a boner but it probably happened. It was quite a festival, and hearing I’d brushed fates with Wavy Gravy (I’ve never met him) at the free stage took me back.
I should spend more time in your archives, there are so many shows there I haven’t heard. I don’t listen to the radio early in the morning .Congratulations on your great program going on for so many years. I remember some in the early days, and me always nagging you to keep your cassettes down to 29 minutes…
By the way, it was a pleasure to run into you while we were playing tunes by the side of Standley St. (or whatever it turns into) a few years ago.
Best,
Brian Wood