On August 18, 1969, Jimi Hendrix took the stage at 9 a.m. on a dairy farm in Bethel, New York to close the famous 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Festival. Now, 46 years later, Woodstock is not only a symbol of Rock, but is defined as one of the greatest moments in the history of music.

The festival began on August 15, 1969 and attracted over 400,000 people. The festival saw 32 acts perform, including Janis Joplin, The Who, Credence Clearwater Revival and of course, Jimi Hendrix, among many others. Although the 3-day event was met with criticism by few residence of Bethel and some rainy weather, the festival was overall considered a success with zero reports of violence.

Due to delays caused by the weather, Hendrix did not take the stage until 9 a.m. that Monday morning in 1969. As people began to trail off after the long weekend, leaving roughly 30,000 people left, Hendrix performed his psychedelic rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. It was at this time that Jimi Hendrix’s performance would forever be defined as one of the greatest moments in Rock n’ Roll.