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For Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills & Nash, Woodstock was something of a baptism of fire as the group took the stage on only their second live performance together. Nash recently auctioned off much of his guitar collection, including the 1969 Martin D-45, serial #249131, that he used down on Max Yasgur’s farm in the same year it was built. Nash bought the guitar with some of the advance he received from the group’s debut deal with Atlantic Records. Stills and Crosby also bought their own D-45s, which sat, then as now, at the top of Martin’s standard product line. “I felt so great when I could afford to buy this,” Nash said of the guitar, which fetched $162,000 at the Heritage Auctions sale in Dallas on 20 to 21 July.

Nash retains a clear memory of stepping onto the stage in front of the half-million strong crowd, recounting the story to Guitarist: “Woodstock was only the second time that we’d ever played in front of people… But it didn’t really bother me. But in retrospect, the technology of side monitors wasn’t anything like it is today. It left a lot to be desired. We could hardly hear ourselves, but we knew what we were doing. I think there is footage of Marrakesh Express from Woodstock and it’s pretty damn good. I wasn’t particularly scared, but, like I said, in retrospect playing Guinevere, which is a lot softer than the Suite, with one acoustic guitar and only two voices to a half a million people, I thought, ‘Wow, man. We took a chance there,’ but we did okay.” www.ha.com