In the decades since it was staged, Woodstock has become cultural shorthand for the long-haired Age of Aquarius. Everyone, it seemed, was either a hippie in the summer of ’69, or claims to have been. It was, as the kids used to say, a scene.

Despite its staggering cultural influence, though, Woodstock was not exclusively a stacked show brimming with future legends. Yes, you had your Creedence Clearwater Revival, your Grateful Dead, your Jimi Hendrix. But you also had … Sha Na Na? The doo-wop group performed hits that would have been much more attuned to the spirit of 1959 than its own decade, with near-anachronistic performances of “At the Hop” and “Teenager in Love.”

And some of the biggest acts of the time were no-shows for various reasons. Led Zeppelin was off headlining their own shows that weekend. The Doors thought the show was going to be a lame follow-up to the much bigger Monterey Festival and said no, thanks. Even Bob Dylan, living less than an hour away, turned down the gig due to enigmatic, Bob Dylan-type reasons.

The most surprising turn-down of a slot of the world’s biggest bill, though, may have been counterculture icon, Frank Zappa.

Frank Zappa to Woodstock: No, thanks

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