Richie Havens (born January 21, 1941) is an American folk singer and guitarist. Havens is perhaps best known for his intense rhythmic guitar style, soulful covers of pop and folk songs and his opening performance at the Woodstock Festival.
Richard P. Havens was born in Brooklyn, the eldest of nine children, and first started singing street corner doo-wop and performed with The McCrea Gospel Singers at 16. Havens first rose to fame in the Greenwich Village folk-music scene that also fostered Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. In 1967, Havens became one of several Village-based artists signed to Verve Records, and released several albums to mostly local notice. In 1969, Havens opened the Woodstock Festival, although he was initially scheduled to appear fifth on the bill. His performance received continuous ovations and he kept playing encores until he ran out of songs. Finally, he decided to improvise a version of "Motherless Child," to which he added a verse with the word "freedom" repeated over and over; the song was featured in the Woodstock film, and became an international hit.
Havens followed up this success with the 1971 release of Alarm Clock, which featured a rendition of The Beatles "Here Comes the Sun." Alarm Clock became Haven's first album to chart on the Billboard Top 30.
For a brief period in the mid-1970s, Havens performed with Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey as Peter, Paul, & Richie. During this time, he also tried his hand at acting, appearing as Othello in the 1974 film ``Catch My Soul.`` He also appeared in Greased Lightning alongside Richard Pryor in 1977. In 1987, he landed a role in the Bob Dylan vehicle Hearts of Fire.
In 1982, Havens composed and performed a promo slogan for NBC's 1982-83 television season entitled, We're NBC, Just Watch Us Now. He also performed slogans for CBS and ABC.
In 1993, Havens performed at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton. In 1999, Havens played at the Tibetan Freedom Concert for an audience of more than 100,000.
Richie Havens (at center stage) in 1969 at the Woodstock Festival
Havens is noted for his guitar skill. Some of his recordings feature a drum sound that is actually his foot tapping on the floor. His guitar playing makes extensive use of open tunings and an unconventional thumb-fretting style. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 1971, John Lennon stated that Havens "plays a pretty funky guitar."
In his early years, Havens rarely wrote his own songs but often applied his distinctive style to the works of others, notably Bob Dylan and the Beatles. More recent albums contain more of his own compositions. His live performances vary greatly, depending on the audience. He maintains a busy schedule, performing worldwide.
In 2000, Havens teamed up with the electronic music duo Groove Armada for the retro '70s-style song "Hands of Time". The track was featured on the soundtrack for the film Collateral, starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx; the same song also used in the film Domino, starring Keira Knightley. Havens was also featured on Little By Little on the band's third album Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub).
He has collaborated with other artists including former Genesis members Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel, Bill Perry, Dayna Kurtz, and Anton Fig.
In 2000, Havens published They Can't Hide Us Anymore, an autobiography co-written with Steve Davidowitz. Havens has maintained his status as a folk icon, and continues to tour. In 2002, Havens released Wishing Well, followed by the 2004 album, Grace of the Sun.
On October 15, 2006, Havens was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.
In 2007 Havens appeared as "Old Man Arvin" in the Todd Haynes film I'm Not There. In a classic front-porch jam scene, he is shown singing the Bob Dylan song "Tombstone Blues" with Marcus Carl Franklin and Tyrone Benskin. Havens's version of the song also appears on the I'm Not There Soundtrack.
He was invited to perform at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival Opening Ceremony. He played "Freedom" in tribute to his fan and jury president Sean Penn.
Havens is scheduled to appear at the August 2008 Rhythm Festival in Bedford, England.
In August 2008 he released a new studio album titled "Nobody Left To Crown". The first single release was country tinged "The Key"
In addition to performing at charity benefit concerts, Havens formed the Northwind Undersea Institute, an oceanographic children's museum on City Island in the Bronx. The museum led to the creation of The Natural Guard, an organization that educates children about the environment.
Havens won the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award in Sherborn, MA on April 12th 1991.
