Inside the Rock Hall's Woodstock 40th Anniversary Exhibit

As the August anniversary of Woodstock approaches, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland is taking a look back at rock's historic fest in a new exhibit that opens tomorrow called "Woodstock: The 40th Anniversary." Go behind the scenes with curator Howard Kramer as he outlines some of its highlights — like the vest fest co-producer Michael Lang wore all three days of peace, love and rock & roll as well as the documents listing who was playing and how much they were paid. The exhibit, which runs through late November, also includes a press release from when the fest was scheduled to go down at Wallkill, New York ("Woodstock does not figure on gate crashers") and Lang's original handwritten plans for the event.

Plus, go inside the new book The Road to Woodstock in exclusive excerpts here:

• "The Road to Woodstock": The Stories Behind Rock History

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

More Song Stories entries »

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