I Missed Woodstock, but I Met Jimi Hendricks

It was August, 1969. I was married to Adam Linter who managed a club, called The Salvation, on 1 Sheridan Square in New York City’s West Village. I used to go there early in the evening to dance. One night Jimi Hendricks was there, just tuning his guitar. He saw me and sang “Foxy Lady,” then took off his wristband and gave it to me. It was animal skin.

Another night I was there, dancing, and I remember I’d done my makeup very well, with a Sharon Tate look. Sharon Tate had just been slaughtered by the Manson Family, and photographs of her were everywhere on the news. To get her look, I created a dark eye hollow that contrasted with a lighter shadow on the eyelid. My favorite shade was “Heather,” by Elizabeth Arden, that I purchased at Bonwit Teller… Funny the things you remember. I was also wearing very fake-looking, individual lashes. They came, uncut, in a box, and you would cutoff what you needed. They were striped blonde and black, to look natural. Ha! I did them on the bottom lashes, too.

The Salvation had some gorgeous British waitresses working there. That night, one named, Janni, came over to me. She looked like Kate Moss: disheveled blonde hair with roots showing; green, chipped, Diamante nail polish; skinny as a whip and wearing satin pants and “Granny takes a trip” platform boots.

“A friend of mine has a helicopter, and he can helicopter us into Woodstock,” she said. I will never forget Janni saying “helicopters” in that British accent.

My husband, who was a fierce rock ‘n roller, was in full-on hippie mode then… beard, freak flag flying. I thought he’d be the first to say “yes,” but he said, “Nnnnnooo way!” and convinced me to not go. Who knew he was conservative!

Secretly I was relieved and secretly saddened at the same time. I wanted to go. All I needed was a push, but at this point, I had never done any drugs, so I think after 24 hours at Woodstock, I would have wanted to leave. So, no regrets… Maybe a little bit of regret… Saying, “I went to Woodstock” would have been as good as saying “I went to Studio 54,” which I did a lot.

Still, I saw Jimi, and he did give me a nod and a “Foxy Lady” and a wrist band.