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Original 1969 blue nylon Woodstock Music and Art Fair rain jacket, which was personally-owned and -worn by the festival’s production manager and stage announcer, John Morris. The buttoned jacket, size small, features a drawstring waist, and the back prominently shows Arnold Skolnick’s iconic design of a bird perched on the upper neck of a guitar. There were three different official colored jackets issued for Woodstock: green for crew, red for security, and blue for management personnel, the latter being the rarest of the three. The inner collar retains its original Feko label. In fine condition, with stains to the left arm, and wear to the back design. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks.
Originating from the estate of longtime concert promoter John H. Morris (1939–2023), who began his career as a theatrical producer, working with performers such as Peter Cook, John Cleese, and Cass Elliot. In July 1967, during the ‘Summer of Love,’ he produced his first rock concert: a free show in Toronto’s City Hall Square featuring Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. While in Toronto, Morris and Joshua White introduced large-scale theatrical staging to rock concerts, including a psychedelic light show projected from behind a giant screen, marking the beginnings of what became known as the Joshua Light Show.
Morris later persuaded Bill Graham to open a Fillmore theater in New York, where he served as managing director and co-produced the first European tours for Jefferson Airplane and The Doors. He went on to act as production manager for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, booking many of the performers and serving as principal Master of Ceremonies. He is widely recognized as the ‘voice of Woodstock’ for delivering the announcement, ‘It’s a free concert from now on.’
After relocating to England in 1970, Morris launched London’s first rock-and-roll theater, the Rainbow, which opened with The Who on November 4, 1971. He continued producing concerts in Europe and the United States through 1990, including 19 Grateful Dead shows, the first European tour of Paul and Linda McCartney’s band Wings, and tours with Ike and Tina Turner, Chuck Berry, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and Santana. His production companies also presented concerts by Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, and Frank Zappa, and he served as manager for Otis Redding, the Danish band Gasolin’, and Japanese jazz musician Stomu Yamashta.
