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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Sly & The Family Stone played “I Want To Take You Higher” at about 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, August 17, 1969, during their Woodstock set. In Rhino’s archival release, the song is the closing 8:25 portion of a 22:53 medley; Woodstock.com lists it separately after “Music Lover.”
When the performance took place
The band went on at about 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, August 17, according to The Official Sly Stone Site and Woodstock.com’s lineup archive. The apparent day discrepancy comes from the festival schedule: Bethel Woods places the group on Day 2, Saturday, August 16, whose overnight program continued into Sunday morning (Bethel Woods’ Woodstock 1969 lineup).
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So “late Saturday night” can describe the festival night, while August 17 is the calendar date of the performance. The clock time is approximate in the lineup accounts.
Was “I Want To Take You Higher” a separate song or part of a medley?
It depends on which archive’s track-list convention you mean. Woodstock.com gives the band a nine-song set list and prints “I Want To Take You Higher” as its own entry after “Music Lover” and before “Love City.” Rhino’s archival release groups the performance differently: its 22:53 medley runs through “Everyday People” (3:09), “Dance to the Music” (3:11), “Music Lover” (3:56), and “I Want To Take You Higher” (8:25) (Rhino’s Woodstock 50th-anniversary archive).
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For the structure of the released archival audio, Rhino’s medley presentation is the relevant one: the title song is the medley’s closing section, not a separately timed track there. For a broad set-list overview, Woodstock.com’s separate-item listing is useful, provided its convention is clear.
Who performed at Woodstock?
Rhino identifies the Woodstock lineup as:
- Sly Stone — keyboards and vocals
- Freddie Stone — guitar and vocals
- Jerry Martini — saxophone
- Cynthia Robinson — trumpet
- Rose Stone — keyboards and vocals
- Larry Graham — bass and vocals
- Gregg Errico — drums
Woodstock.com describes the group’s sound as a blend of funk-rock, soul, R&B, psychedelic elements, and gospel, and notes that the band included men and women and Black and white members. Those are descriptions of the group, not evidence of a measured audience response to this particular performance.
Rank #2
Where to hear the Woodstock performance
The Woodstock Experience
Legacy Recordings’ The Woodstock Experience is a 2-CD release: disc one contains the studio album Stand!, while disc two lists the Woodstock performance, including “I Want To Take You Higher,” dated Sunday, August 17, 1969. It is the direct CD option among the releases covered here for hearing the Woodstock set alongside the studio album.
Live at Woodstock
The band’s official site announced a dedicated Live at Woodstock 2LP for Record Store Day 2019 and names “I Want To Take You Higher” among its songs (The Official Sly Stone Site). That announcement establishes the edition and track relevance, but not whether it is currently in stock; check a retailer’s current listing before buying.
Rank #3
How the studio version differs
If you want the original studio recording rather than the festival performance, the Library of Congress catalog records Stand! as a 1969 Epic album and lists “I Want to Take You Higher” among its tracks (Library of Congress catalog record). The band’s Higher! anthology is a broader career collection: its official announcement describes a four-CD, 77-track set with a 104-page illustrated book and identifies the song as the studio mono single master, not the Woodstock performance (The Official Sly Stone Site).
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