Corning man recalls attending historic Summer Jam at Watkins Glen, 51 years later.

On July 28, 1973, more than 600,000 people filled the racetrack in Watkins Glen for Summer Jam, a rock festival that eclipsed Woodstock in sheer size and broke world attendance records.

Dale Brockway, who later served in the U.S. Army, was one of the faces in the crowd, and he remembers it vividly, 51 years later.

“What I remember the most is the people. Everyone had a good time,” recalled Brockway, a Corning resident who was born at the old Corning Hospital and has lived in the area practically his whole life. “Everyone was friendly. It was a different time. People enjoyed people. There was no violence. Everyone just enjoyed.”

The concert on the last weekend of July in 1973 long held the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest audience at a pop festival.

About 150,000 tickets were purchased in advance, but the rest of the crowd ended up attending what became a free concert for many at what was then known as Watkins Glen Grand Prix Raceway.

Grateful Dead opened Summer Jam with two long sets. The Band's set was later interrupted by a thunderstorm, while the Allman Brothers Band closed out the show that night.

Brockway was 17 years old when he attended Summer Jam with his cousin.

Brockway said Summer Jam was held in a different era.

“You would see people from all over the place just having a good time,” Brockway said. "People that were at Summer Jam came from all over the United States, even Hawaii, from Canada, and other counties. It was like a family atmosphere. We don't have today what we had back then."

Brockway said he and his family walked to the track from Beaver Dams, covering about six miles on foot.

“We walked because you couldn’t get any closer. So, we walked all the way from Beaver Dams,” Brockway said. “Some people were walking with tattered clothes, others naked, (covered) with mud, often carrying a cooler asking if you wanted anything. There was no violence. I had the best time you could ever have.”

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Music continues to play a role at The Glen. On Saturday night, 51 years after Summer Jam, Steeln’ Peaches, an Allman Brothers tribute band, will play at the Finger Lakes Wine Festival event to headline the weekend's musical offerings.

“If you look Steeln’ Peaches up on the internet, their postings and everything is that they are a Summer Jam band,” said WGI track president Dawn Burlew. “It’s really cool.”

This article originally appeared on The Leader: Corning man recalls attending historic Summer Jam at Watkins Glen, 51 years later.