Michael Lang was an American concert promoter, artistic manager, and producer. He was the co-creator of the music festival, the Woodstock Music & Art Festival. Lang served as the organizer of the festival and its follow-up events, Woodstock ‘94 and Woodstock ‘99. Michael died from Non-Hodgkin lymphoma at 77 years of age in New York City on January 8. Michael Lang net worth at the time of his death is estimated to be $10 million.
Full Name
Michael Scott Lang
Birthday
December 11, 1944
Birthplace
New York City
Profession
Concert promoter, producer
Wife
Tamara
Net Worth
$10 million
Death
January 8, 2022
Walk Through the Article
Early Life
Michael Lang Net Worth & Career
Personal Life
Michael Lang Net Worth
Early Life
Michael Lang was born on the 11th of December, 1944 in New York City, United States. He was born to a Jewish family. Lang grew up in Bensonhurst in middle-class surroundings. His dad, Harry used to run a business that installed heating systems. And his mom, Sylvia used to help his father by keeping the books.
For his study, he joined New York University. However, he dropped out of New York University and shifted his place to Coconut Grove, Florida where he started a head shop. Earlier in 1968, he promoted a series of concert events in Miami. Then, he along with Marshall Brevetz produced the 1968 Pop & Underground Festival. The events gathered around 25,000 people on Day 1. Nevertheless, the event ended early on the Second day due to rain.
Michael Lang Net Worth & Career
Michael started working on the concept of a major festival event after meeting Artie Kornfeld. The two wanted to develop the festival concept to celebrate the 1960s social movements. They also had a plan to start a recording studio in Woodstock town. After a while, he and his event partners initiated the planning of the Woodstock festival. The event was held from August 15 to August 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel.
Along with his event partners, Roberts, Rosenman, and John Scher, he produced the music festival, Woodstock ‘94 in 1994. After some time, he produced Woodstock ‘99 with Ossie Kilkenny and John Scher. In comparison to Woodstock ‘94, Woodstock ‘99 turned out to be more violent and chaotic. Later, the violence resulted in the assault of numerous women. Michael was then asked to be one of the producers of the Altamont Free Concert on December 6, 1969, to provide assistance with the last moment re-location to the Altamont Speedway.
The concert was originally scheduled for Golden Gate Park. However, the permits for the Golden Gate venue were revoked by the City of San Francisco due to the San Francisco 49ers football game. Then, the concert was shifted to Sears Point Raceway. In the end, the concert was canceled due to a dispute over film rights.
Lang was also the owner of Just Sunshine Records. He had released and produced over 40 albums featuring diverse musical artists including Karen Dalton, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Betty Davis. Along with that, he also managed other successful international recording music artists such as Joe Cocker, Tarkan, Rickie Lee Jones, Willy DeVille, and El Ultimo de la Fila.
Michael started managing English singer, Joe Cocker after the Woodstock Music And Arts Fair in 1969. He continued the professional relationship with Joe for over 20 years. In his late years, he worked along the Michael Lang Organization (MLO) which encompassed live event production, artist management, and film production. Lang’s real-life character was featured in the 2009 Ang Lee movie, Taking Woodstock, which was played by actor, Jonathan Groff.
Personal Life
Michael Lang was married twice. First, he tied the knot with a vocal artist, Ann Lang. His first wife, Ann toured as a backup singer with Joe Cocker and Leon Russell from 1978 to 1982. After separation from Ann, he got married to Tamara Pajic. The pair have five kids together named; Shala, Molly, Lariann, Harry, and Laszlo.
Michael took his last breath on January 8, 2022. He was suffering from Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and was getting treatment at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cance Center.
Michael Lang Net Worth
Michael Lang’s personal wealth was estimated to be around $10 million before he died on January 8, 2022. The three-episode docuseries titled “Trainwreck: Woodstock ‘99”, which features Lang’s story started premiering on Netflix on August 3.
