More than five decades after Woodstock, a rare film is offering a closer look at Jimi Hendrix’s famous closing performance, according to Rolling Stone. The footage was shot in 1969 by 22-year-old drama student Albert Goodman, who managed to get onto the stage in Bethel, New York.
Goodman hid behind a friend carrying a guitar and was mistaken for part of the event’s film crew. With only two open-reel videotapes, he recorded Hendrix from about 15 feet away while standing behind percussionist Juma Sultan.
The material will be featured in a new film, Jimi Hendrix: Live at Woodstock — A Second Look, which is set to premiere Tuesday, Aug. 18, during a YouTube livestream at 9 p.m. ET. The film includes fresh views of songs like “Purple Haze” and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” along with Hendrix’s version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
It also contains the only available footage of Hendrix performing “Hear My Train a Comin’,” as well as “Message to Love.” Rolling Stone reports that Goodman later screened the footage for Hendrix, who thanked him, and that he eventually made the tapes available to the Hendrix family after holding onto them for years.
Hendrix performed with his newly formed band, Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, at the festival. Because his set was delayed and many attendees had already left by the time he went on as the final act, footage from the performance remains especially rare.
