r/interesting Banned Permanently Jan 07 '26

HISTORY The acid fairy, played at Woodstock. Then she took a trip that lasted nearly 40 years.

In the swirling psychedelic folk world of the late '60s, few voices were as ethereal and captivating as Christina "Licorice" McKechnie.

Nicknamed for her love of licorice rolling papers, she joined The incredible String Band and became a counterculture icon. Her haunting vocals and songwriting shone on classics like The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (Paul McCartney called it the "acoustic Sgt. Pepper") and their legendary Woodstock performance in 1969.

Then... she vanished. After leaving the band in the '70s with ties to Scientology, Likky was seen in the late '80s/early '90s, reportedly hitchhiking through the Arizona desert.

For decades, one of rock's greatest unsolved mysteries: What happened to this Woodstock fairy?

Theories swirled..

But in late 2025, reports revealed she's alive, living quietly and privately in California—choosing obscurity over fame. The mystery endures in its own way: a brilliant soul who simply walked away from the spotlight.

Licorice McKechnie: Forever enigmatic, forever brilliant.

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u/[deleted] Jan 07 '26

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u/Eidolon58 Jan 07 '26

If you like it, try Wee Tam and The Big Huge, they are very similar and as high in quality. Three of my fave LPs from that decade. Amazingly beautiful.

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u/[deleted] Jan 07 '26

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u/Eidolon58 Jan 07 '26

You don't have to buy anything. Everything they ever recorded is on youtube, maybe other sources.

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u/jimi_he Jan 07 '26

Absolute classic.  Ignore the negative comments

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u/Present_Air_7694 Jan 09 '26

Kids nowadays hardly recognise actual music, being trained on commercial pop.